After appropriately opening the 1986 album Fahrenheit with a strong introduction for then-new singer Joseph Williams with two uptempo tracks, Toto shifted gears and featured a vocal by Steve Lukather on “Without Your Love.”
The song also offers an excellent snapshot of Lukather’s growth as a vocalist. On each successive album, Steve Lukather’s vocals gained a certain level of confidence. While his vocals have always been enjoyable to listen to, he really hit his stride on “Without Your Love.” Not only is there more confidence in his vocal delivery, there’s that trademark Lukather soulfulness that would become a trademark of the group’s material as he took an increasingly larger role as a vocalist.
“Without Your Love” also features a soulful and, at times, haunting guitar solo over one of the few Toto rhythms laid down on a drum machine. While this is not Lukather’s strongest song, “Without Your Love” does mark a turning point.
It’s a passing of the torch from David Paich, who had handled much more of the lead vocal duties earlier on in the band’s history, to Lukather – who would be the band’s primary vocalist throughout much of the ’90s.
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Um… huh? Paich and Lukather had a nearly equal number of lead vocals up until “Fahrenheit”. Trust me, I went back and counted like the geek I am.
And… I don’t hear a drum machine.
Agree, there is not a drum machine on this tune. However, there is one on the fahrenheit tune.