The second track from 2018’s Old Is New is an absolute treat for long-time Toto fans.
Taken from sessions for Toto’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, Toto IV, “Devil’s Tower” features the late Porcaro brothers, Jeff on drums and Mike on bass.
But Steve Lukather says they never recorded a lead vocal for the unfinished demo. Joseph Williams composed new lyrics to finally complete the song.
“We wrote the chorus and stuck it in there; new tech allowed this,” Lukather says, in an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown. “So, we kept as much as we could from original sessions and then added the rest. One of my faves, it was just a basic track that we never finished.”
A stark and complex contrapuntal line, courtesy of David Paich, opens the proceedings. This is quite different to other tracks from the Toto IV era – indeed any Toto track, to the best of my recollection. The exposed line is cleverly conceived and almost academic in nature.
Kicking off with a high piano and low bass moving in contrary motion toward each other, the pattern starts on the second semiquaver of the first beat, a highly irregular approach. On each repeat another instrument is added to the mix: guitar on the second time and tom fills on the third – each successively building upon the other, before the last bar is robbed of a beat and we’re catapulted into a commanding and heavy riff.
The groove is unmistakable. It’s pure Jeff: driving, forceful, dynamic, ghost notes judiciously sprinkled throughout, and growing cymbal play to build transitions. Atop the chugging guitar and bass pulse, there are orchestral hits and that contrapuntal riff reappears. The energy in this arrangement is stellar and leaves me wondering why the band opted not to commit this to the Toto IV album.
In terms of the song itself, lead vocals are shared between Lukather and Williams. Fittingly, as Williams wrote the lyrics in 2018, the tone of the narrative is different to what early ’80s Toto may have produced.
In the first verse, Lukather opens with questions searching for truth.
Who’ll tell the tale when words collide?
Where is intelligent design?
Joseph Williams follows with a pre-chorus that portrays a man mentally broken, not recognizing who he has become:
I live in fear and destitution
There’s someone else in my reflection I don’t recognize
The chorus places the devil’s tower as a challenge that must be overcome once again – a chance for redemption perhaps?
I found the dream but I was blind
Now I’m looking for a second chance before I lose my mind
Climb the devil’s tower one more time
When Steve Lukather sings the second verse, his introspection touches upon familiar territory about growing old.
And like a shot time rushes by
How many summers till I die?
However, this time in the second pre-chorus, Williams counters with a conviction to move forward. He is a changed person who has learned from his mistakes and is determined to make amends.
Now I’m a man of resolution
No longer making all the same mistakes anymore
The chorus repeats before we’re treated to an epic Lukather guitar solo. What’s interesting here is that this is a juxtaposition of his current tone and technical maturity atop the rocking exuberance of early ’80s Toto. There is fire and control. Pure bliss.
The solo blends seamlessly into the pre-chorus and, by this stage, the groove is well and truly cooking. A double chorus follows with a neat change to the lyric order that keeps us on our toes:
I found the dream but I was blind
Now I’m looking for a second chance before I lose my mind
Climb the devil’s tower one more time
Now I’m looking for a second chance before I lose my mind
I found the dream but I was blind
Climb the devil’s tower one more time
The introductory groove becomes prominent again, before that contrapuntal riff reappears and repeats three times. And, just as abruptly as it began, “Devil’s Tower” ends.
Having reviewed this song, and not being familiar with American landmarks, I felt compelled to learn about Devils Tower. (Signage in the area follows a government naming standard that omits the apostrophe.) This isolated Wyoming formation – known as a butte – became the first United States national monument in September 1906. It boasts steep, vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top.
In the context of the song, not only does “Devil’s Tower” present itself as a challenge to overcome, but metaphorically, the landmark aligns with Toto’s music: The crazy riff that bookends this piece also serves as a stark, abrupt up-and-down climbing challenge for the protagonist.
- Toto, “Spanish Sea” from ‘Old Is New’ (2018): Toto Tuesdays - June 15, 2021
- Toto, “Devil’s Tower” from ‘Old Is New’ (2018): Toto Tuesdays - May 11, 2021
- Toto, “Alone” from ‘Old Is New’ (2018): Toto Tuesdays - April 27, 2021
