“Mrs. Johnson,” a song composed by David Paich and Steve Lukather, combines a lot of familiar Toto elements but it does not achieve the same cohesiveness as the other songs from 1977 which were included on 1998’s Toto XX – including “Miss Sun” and “Love Is a Man’s World.”
Perhaps the two were still finding their way as collaborators. This stumble is especially noteworthy given that Paich was the dominate creative force in Toto for the first three albums.
“Mrs. Johnson” combines album-oriented rock textures with adult-contemporary flavors. Bobby Kimball provides a workman-like vocal. He was the most versatile of Toto three vocalists of this era, and uses his lower range well.
Despite Kimball’s touches and tasty piano flourishes by Paich, “Mrs. Johnson” never makes a compelling case for inclusion on the first Toto album. Even a Brian May-inspired solo from Steve Lukather can’t rescue the song.
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