Toto, “I Think I Could Stand You Forever” from Turn Back (1981): Toto Tuesdays

David Paich has four sole compositions on Toto’s 1981 album Turn Back. The Steve Lukather-sung “I Think I Could Stand You Forever” is the one which contains the most varied elements.

The track starts with an expressive acoustic guitar opening handled by bassist David Hungate. Lukather is in full ballad mode, sharing a tender line or two of lyrics before breaking through the soft-rock malaise with hard-rock power cords. The song quickly shifts from tender ballad to obsessive power ballad.

Lyrically, this shift is so abrupt that it seems as if two songs were sewn together in haste. The rhythmic shift is handled with the deft skill expected of a Toto song, but the track is sabotaged by its lyrics — so much so that even a expansive Steve Lukather guitar solo can not transcend it.

Toto Tuesdays is a song-by-song feature that explores the rich musical history of Toto. The group returned in 2015 with ‘Toto XIV,’ their first album since 2006.

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Preston Frazier

Preston Frazier is a bass-playing lawyer living in Atlanta. He is the author of 'Toto: The Band, Not the Dog,' a look at his favorite band. Frazier hosts the music-focused Slang of Ages Podcast and regularly writes about his favorite music on slangofages.com. He can be reached at [email protected]; follow him on Twitter: @slangofages.

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