Submitted by Howard on Wed, 06/24/2009 - 06:12
Hi all,
I am currently reading David Foster's new autobiography ( very interesting by the way ) and in it he mentions about working with Toto, although just in passing and doesn't go into detail.
Does anyone know whether he contributed on any of the albums ? Or maybe helped out in some other way in the studio ? He's not specific, so maybe he means he worked with the musicians from Toto, rather than contributed on a particular album.
Howard.
Comments
Update...
I've now finished David Foster's book, and it was a very interesting read. Look forward to Luke's book also. There were a couple of other references - one for Paich and one for Luke. Here's the Luke one talking about an Alice Cooper album that DF produced :
'... we had fun doing it, and we had one top 10 hit "How are you gonna see me now" , with Steve Lukather on guitar. Steve was 18 at the time, and this was one of his first big breaks, and he did a big, raunchy solo that turned out very well.'
and the Paich one, which I think is talking about the time circa 1978 :
'... I got the Hall and Oates job through David Paich, the brilliant leader of Toto, and he introduced me to Tommy Mottola, who was then a manager.'
Interesting stuff. I'm not sure I've heard the Alice Cooper track above. Could be worth a listen for Luke's solo, if the description is anything to go by !
Best,
Howard.
David is one Hell of a producer................
When he was producing The Tubes record, with a song co-written by Luke, I got a call from Bill Champlin to come down and sing the background vocals for "She's a Beauty". When I got there, Bill had a scratchy throat, so he asked me to do the backgrounds by myself. I triple-tracked all of the backing vocals on that song, and had a great time doing it. There's a lot to be said for singing on a well written and well produced song. It was a very fun day, and the song went through the roof, gaining The Tubes a lot of fame. It stayed on the charts for quite some time.
David was not really working with Toto, so much as the members of Toto were working with him on his projects. Any personal issues with David have nothing to do with his great talent for making fantastic music. Long live great music................Bobby
Tubes...
Hi Bobby,
I've got that Tubes records, and I hadn't realised your backing vocals were on there - I must check the sleeve notes ! It is a great album the one produced by David, for sure.
In David's book he mentions how his style of working sometimes effects people differently - it's certainly worth a read if you can get a copy. I imagine some of the stories will make more sense to you guys, having worked with him.
With that in mind, what is it that you think makes him such a good producer ? He mentions in his book he tries to get an extra 10% out of singers he works with.
It certainly comes across in the book that he has high regard for the musicians of Toto. It would have been interesting to have a Toto album produced by David - I guess maybe the Boz Scaggs music was as close as it got !
Thanks for the insight, it's always great to hear what things were like 'From the Inside' , to quote an Alice Cooper record !
Can we expect a book from you as well ?! Would make a great read.
Best,
Howard.
The truth about Toto...........
I've been keeping a diary for about 20 years of all the happenings with Toto, and you can bet they will end up in a book. It was not my original plan to write a book, but I have so much material now, I can't avoid letting the fans know what really went down from the very beginnings to the end of the band. I also have the cassettes of rehearsals and most of the sound-check tapes, and a lot of personal discussions on tape that are more-than proof of the details. I recorded everything as a memento, and some of it is very telling about why the band ended up like it did. The book is really already written, so all I have to do is have someone put it into text form to be printed in a book. Some of you may be very surprised at what you read in the "goings on" during the band's highest moments in the beginning,.....but even more so in the ending of the band. It's not a pretty sight, but possibility something that had to happen,. You'll understand when you read the REAL facts. The point is,.....it was always a great, and very creative band, and in the end, became small minded and petty over things like money and power-trips. You'll understand when you see the facts.
Toto will always be my favorite band, and that said, is enough.....................Bobby
I bet there were a lot of
I bet there were a lot of crazy moments along the way. If you turned it into a movie you might knock "This is Spinal Tap" off my #1 spot. :)
Sounds serious but very
Sounds serious but very interesting, Bobby. Keep us posted.
Foster
David Foster was a part of Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees LP,which has many members of Toto in it before they formed Toto. MESogard
TOTO fan since 1978.TOTO fan after IV.TOTO fan from the USA.TOTO fan forever.
TOTO fan and Christian.
TOTO fan looking forward to meeting Jeff in Heaven!
Foster
I think the word amnesia comes to mind.
He used to be a great guy, really helped me out when I was a kid and a great musician. I dont know him at all anymore. Not in decades
I dont want to say too much now but it will all be in MY book.
Luke
Are there any word on when
Are there any word on when your book will possible be released, Luke?
Book...
I could be a distant relative of his, as I share his surname - I'll have to have a word with him, he should have been in touch again by now :-) Funnily enough Greg gets a mention later on in the book as one of the musicians who drops round his studio sometimes. I've not read the whole book yet, just skimmed through so there might be some other mention of Toto or musicians associated with Toto in there.
It's interesting to put the pieces together about the whole Westcoast music scene by hearing stories and reading books like this. It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle. I read that Jim Keltner was one of the people who helped David in his early days for example.
Look forward to your book also ! The truth about Foster ! Heh Heh.
Best,
Howard ( Foster ! )