Toto, “Hooked” from ‘Falling in Between’ (2006): Toto Tuesdays

With “Hooked,” Toto offers some of the same sonic sensibilities of “King of the World,” the previous song on 2006’s Falling in Between, while delivering an even more contemporary sound.

Written by the entire band, minus Greg Phillinganes, “Hooked” features subject matter that might have seemed mundane if not for the programming and synth wizardry of Steve Porcaro and the engineering of Simon Phillips, which make it all sound fascinating.

Credit should also go to lead singer Bobby Kimball, who delivers a powerfully effective vocal that matches the heavy guitar and fretless bass attacks. Trevor Lukather and James Torme contribute the crowd-like backing vocals, and touches of organ and synth abound.

Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson stops by to offer a flute flourish, but it ultimately adds little to this weird yet enjoyable Toto song.

Toto Tuesdays is a multi-writer song-by-song feature that explores the band’s rich musical history. Click here for an archive of earlier entries.

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Preston Frazier

Preston Frazier is a bass-playing lawyer living in Atlanta. He hosts the music podcast Slang of Ages and regularly writes about his favorite music on slangofages.com. He can be reached at [email protected]; follow him on Twitter: @slangofages. Contact Something Else! at [email protected].

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