Hydra, released on October 30, 1979, still provides one of the most varied, complex peeks into the muse of Toto. Known these days for their smooth balladry — even this sophomore release’s biggest seller was “99,” with its outer-space sensuality — Toto displayed a startling range.
“We didn’t get credit for anything,” Steve Lukather says in an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown, with a rueful laugh. “We were using strings and horns, doubling the bass. Mixing R&B with harder-edged stuff, I’m not saying we invented any of that. But we always make the worst-band-ever lists, and nobody was doing that at the time. We were hated very much by the mainstream, and there are still a few people hanging on to that grudge. But a new generation of people is finding us. Kids are discovering all of this music. We are seeing a resurgence of record sales, and we’re selling out arenas again. It’s amazing that all of it has come full circle — if you hang on long enough.”
Those newer fans would do well to seek out Hydra, featuring the original lineup of David Hungate, Bobby Kimball, Lukather, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro. From progressive rock to R&B, from propulsive pop to jazz-inflected fare, from arena rock to (yes) power ballads, there was little Toto wouldn’t try — and even less in which they wouldn’t succeed.
They begin Hydra, for instance, with the title track — a transfixing prog excursion, dark, edgy and more than 7 minutes in length. Lukather explores some of his most interesting guitar asides while keyboardists Steve Porcaro and Paich (who sings lead) once again encircle the proceedings with these prog-rock inspired flourishes. From there, the album moves directly into a companion piece, “St. George and the Dragon,” which takes the unusual tack of describing a pitched battle from the standpoint of the beast our hero is trying to best.
“That’s a cult classic!” Lukather enthuses, though he says some of its pretensions reflect the age. “I listen to that album, and I think ‘how high were we?’ [Laughs uproariously.] I was, like, 20 years old when we started that record. I turned 21 while we were making that album. You listen to that stuff, and you can hear the youth in it. But at the same time, we were trying to find our way. We were just experimenting, and we didn’t care what anybody thought. They already hated us! It’s fun to listen to and think: ‘Wow, that was really cool!’ And also: ‘That lyric, whoa. Are you kidding me?’ We have a really good sense of humor about all of it.”
Toto goes on to succeed on a sweeping scale throughout Hydra, proving just as adept at the crunchy fun of “All of Boys,” the the episodic emotionalism of “Lorraine,” and the sweaty soul of “Mama,” a thunderous feature for the now-departed Kimball.
Unfortunately, Hydra reached just No. 37 on the Billboard charts, a sharp disappointment after Toto’s Top 10 finish for its self-titled debut. They continued to dip through a third album before refocusing on more accessible fare for IV, and reaching a multi-platinum zenith. Still, their more interesting work since IV has often followed the template set with Hydra, notably 2006’s similarly layered Falling in Between.
“We’re not just a classic-rock hits band,” Paich insists, in a separate Something Else! Sitdown. “We were more of a progressive nature, especially when we first came out, and we’ve returned to that over the years.”
While it remains a road map to the rest of what Toto does, away from those familiar love songs, Hydra even has a pretty good example of that too: “99.” Paich’s No. 26 hit was inspired by THX 1138, a 1971 George Lucas film set in a totalitarian 25th century where people are simply numbered drones. Not exactly your every-day adult-contemporary subject matter, and another example of the way Toto has always quietly pushed the envelope.
Lukather, always an advocate for Toto’s wider scope, once memorably joked about growing weary of “99,” and he’s faced questions about it ever since. “That’s an example of talking out of the side of your mouth,” he admits now. “People still ask me about it. It’s an example of how the Internet is so viral. At first, I did think it was a cheesy lyric. But we played it on the last tour — just to prove that I was just kidding.”
Toto has also reinserted “St. George and the Dragon” into the set list, giving a new generation of fans a broader taste of Hydra — not to mention working as a sharp reminder to anyone who ever pigeonholed the group as soft-rock stars. And a long-awaited follow up to Falling in Between, due in 2015, promises to reanimate this album’s heady ambitions, as well.
“We’re still exploring that kind of ’70s, less fusion-y type of prog,” Lukather says. “There’s a new song called ‘Great Expectations’ that David, [current lead singer] Joe [Williams] and myself wrote. Some of it was pieces that were from long ago that we’ve put together into a new epic song. It’s melodic, and has a lot of different changes in it, but it’s not math music, if you know what I mean. It’s part of our early Yes-type influences, things like that — or Genesis, that sort of prog, rather than the later, Return to Forever/Mahavishnu prog. We’ve always had those roots, but we’d write pop songs, and the record companies would put those out. And so we got that label.”
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Thank you Nick. Hydra is indeed everything that you mentioned and more. I too am looking forward to their 2015 release and seeing that the boys have gotten off tour, it seems that they are investing everything into this next release…we will be the beneficiaries again of their great works. I just wish Luke would let it go about the lousy press they have received. His musical colleagues (Michale McDonald, Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, etc) all know just how great a band Toto is and that should be worth a lot. It seems he constantly feels the effects the negative press has had on a potential surplus of U.S. fans…but if true music fans allow reviews to mold their music likes and dislikes, then they may not be true music fans at all. Luke & Co…just keep on rockin’ and never sell out…that is why we love you. Peace to Mike Porcaro.