“Moodido,” subtitled “The Match: Boxing Theme,” is a rare Toto gem. It’s an instrumental in the great tradition of others such as “Child’s Anthem” from 1978’s Toto, “Don’t Stop Me Now” from 1986’s Fahrenheit, plus “Jake to the Bone” from 1992’s Kingdom of Desire and “Dave’s Gone Skiing” from 1995’s Tambu.
“Moodido” was included on the 1984 Columbia soundtrack Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad Los Angeles but has otherwise never been released domestically on a proper Toto album. It’s only surfaced elsewhere as part of a 2002 Greatest Hits … and More” import. “Moodido” could also be found on the B-side of the 1990 single “Out of Love” from Past to Present.
I chatted with founding Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who gives us the rundown on this dynamic, driving instrumental.
“‘Moodido’ was done for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games,” Steve tells us. “Several artists were asked to write something evocative for a certain Olympic sport. ‘Moodido’ was for boxing. They would play it, if I remember correctly, when they would go to and from commercials. We had just lost Bobby Kimball and at the time the band had no singer. That’s why doing an instrumental was perfect.”
He added that “Moodido” was “recorded at [Steve’s brother] Jeff [Porcaro]’s home studio, the Villa, and engineered probably by Shep Lonsdale. I remember we had a lot of fun doing it. It might’ve been the first thing we actually recorded at Jeff’s studio.”
The song probably would’ve been recorded around the time of the Jacksons’ Victory album, which was released July 1984. Victory was basically a Toto-powered record: Steve Lukather, Steve and Jeff Porcaro and David Paich appeared as producers, writers and / or performers, along with Toto cohorts Lenny Castro, Jerry Hey and Nathan East.
Both Victory and Toto’s soon-to-be released 1984 album Isolation share a sleek, hi-tech sound, and that’s no accident. “We were using Yamaha synths a lot then,” Steve Porcaro adds. “DX7 was the model number. It just gave the synths a certain color that was common in the ’80s.”
Oh and one more thing – the word “Moodido.” Does it have a particular meaning? “Moodido was the sound of the clavinet bass part: ‘Moo-di-do,'” Steve says. “Doesn’t mean anything.”
Listen closely: At one point in the song, you’ll hear what sounds like a boxing bell.
