I’ve never made much of a secret that, when it comes to Toto vocalists, my preferences lie more with Joseph Williams and Fergie Frederiksen. Bobby Kimball, being the original Toto vocalist, still gets my respect. But quite frankly, I used to hit skip when “You Are the Flower” came up on my CD player.
There were a few times when my finger didn’t make it to skip soon enough, however, and the song slowly worked its way into my mind. I felt myself being pulled along by the groove and the overall ’70s vibe that — perhaps more than any other track on Toto’s debut — would not have sounded out of place on Boz Scaggs’ Silk Degrees.
Throw in Jim Horn’s killer flute work dancing around Bobby Kimball’s voice, this song is very much a duet between Bobby and Horn’s flute. Layered on top of David Hungate and Jeff Porcaro’s slinky rhythm, “You Are the Flower” seeps under the door when you’re not expecting it, then far less subtly it grabs you firmly and doesn’t let go.
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When my daughter was born in 2009, “You Are the Flower” gained even more significance for me, as Bobby Kimball had written it for his own daughter. While the music had been more to my liking initially and the lyrics secondary … suddenly the lyrics took on a much deeper meaning. As a father, I got it.
Today, the song is one of my favorites from Toto’s debut and is easily my favorite of all the songs from Bobby Kimball’s combined two tenures in the band.
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