After Toto’s rousing ending of “Taint Your World” and Steve Lukather’s cockney sign-off, the mood changes dramatically on 2006’s Falling in Between with the crisp opening hits of “Let It Go.”
The groove is sophisticated and tight, with excellent guitar and bass interplay from the top. After a few seconds, a funky keyboard comp with subtle pitch bend enters the mix, which is not the usual keyboard stylings of David Paich or Steve Porcaro. It’s clear this is Greg Phillinganes making his contribution to the cut, but that’s only the beginning.
On “Let It Go,” Phillinganes also makes his lead vocal debut with the band. It is a confident and assured performance. “Greg kills on the vocal in this song,” Toto singer Bobby Kimball effused in the album liner notes. The late Mike Porcaro added: “This tunes got it all. Killer groove, incredible background stacks, and Greg’s outstanding lead vocal.”
In terms of the writing, “Let It Go” is a band effort. Kimball started the lyrics, while everyone else had a hand finishing them off. (For a fascinating insight into this collaborative process, check out The Making of Falling In Between Pt. 10.) Musically, “Let It Go” is a tight groove in a funk-fusion vein, augmented with synths from Porcaro and percussion from Lenny Castro.
Structurally, “Let It Go” adopts a traditional verse/chorus/bridge format, which is followed by a lyrical guitar solo from Lukather. After that, however, the music takes a sharp turn. The post guitar-solo section is complex and beyond my capacity to count.
Phillinganes says drummer Simon Phillips challenged him to come up with “an interesting lick in the instrumental section after Luke’s solo and when I finally did, Mike and Luke were so pissed when learning it,” Phillinganes wrote in the liner notes, “because it’s the kind of line that’s easier to play on keyboard as opposed to guitar.”
It’s no wonder that Lukather considers this “son of ‘Jake to the Bone,'” and has called it as one of his favorite tracks on Falling in Between. It must be a real workout though. Lukather acknowledged in the liner notes that “Let It Go” has “some weird and somewhat difficult passages to play,” calling it a “true Toto extravaganza.”
Take a listen: If you can work out the time signatures and licks in that mid-section, don’t be shy about letting me know.
- 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
