The gold-certified Toto album Fahrenheit ends in a rather unusual yet spectacular way.
“Don’t Stop Me Now” is jazz done Toto style, and without compromise. The David Paich-Steve Lukather composition ties in Jeff Porcaro’s delicate brush work with Mike Porcaro’s formidable walking bass, setting the bedrock for the song. David Paich’s acoustic piano adds to the rhythm section, yet gets a few moments to step out and support guest soloist Miles Davis. Davis provides a haunting muted trumpet solo, which is as elegant and nuanced as any of his work from the 1980s.
Alto saxophone player David Sanborn plays in harmony with Steve Lukather, delivering a melody every bit as enticing as anything on the jazz radio at the time. Steve Porcaro provides light touches of atmosphere with his synthesizer. This can initially go unnoticed but, upon repeated listening, Porcaro adds texture only as he can.
“Don’t Stop Me Now” was released as the B-side to “‘Till The End” in the U.S. and “Lea” in Asia. That’s a testament to how wonderful the song is. Another testament to its power is that it is rumored Miles Davis was so taken with recording with the band, and with Steve Lukather’s playing, that he asked Luke to join his band.
Luckily, Lukather decided to continue on with Toto – and the next album The Seventh One is a Toto classic. Unfortunately, the band moved forward without Steve Porcaro as a full-time member.
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