Toto, “Good For You” from ‘Toto IV’ (1982): Toto Tuesdays

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Being as Toto IV is such a brilliant album from start to finish, one of the most difficult questions was likely which songs to release as singles. There were so many strong tracks that even the material that would have been considered “filler” on this Toto project could also likely been released as singles, if the suits at CBS had been so inclined.

“Good for You,” penned by Steve Lukather and Bobby Kimball, is highlighted by one of Kimball’s better vocal performances from his original tenure in the band. It had the makings of a hit on par with songs like “Make Believe” and “Rosanna.” In fact, it’s arguably one of the strongest tracks from Toto IV that wasn’t released as a single.

My only real complaint with “Good for You” is Roger Linn’s fanfare embellishments. These synth parts have “horn chart” written all over them, and I can’t help but wonder how much more the song would have leapt off the album — how much more fire it would have had — if those parts had been played not on a synthesizer but with an honest-to-God horn section.

Toto’s “Good for You” was “almost there” as a hit single in and of itself. Having a horn chart instead of synth horns would have pushed it over the top, making the already-massively successful Toto IV even more so.

Perplexio