Mindfields
Mindfields is the tenth studio album (though counted as the 11th album overall — see Toto XIV) by the American rock band Toto. It was released in Europe and Japan in March 1999, followed by a US release on 16 November 1999. Mindfields saw the return of vocalist Bobby Kimball, who had departed the band following the 1982 album Toto IV.
Mindfields | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1999 (Europe, Japan)[1] November 16, 1999 (US) | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Arena rock, pop rock, progressive rock | |||
Length | 78:50 | |||
Label | Legacy | |||
Producer | Toto, Elliot Scheiner | |||
Toto chronology | ||||
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Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Q | [3] |
The album received mixed reviews from critics. Michael Gallucci of AllMusic wrote: "Overlong, overwrought, and devoid of personality, this incredibly dull world-view update of Toto's crassly professional sound manages to pillage several cultures at once without contributing a single song worth remembering. The playing is tight—as you would expect from a bunch of studio session musicians—but all the skills in the world can't liven these 14 plodding tracks."[2]
Track listing
1999 Release
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "After You've Gone" | Steve Lukather, Phil Soussan | Steve Lukather | 6:37 |
2. | "Mysterious Ways" | Dean Grakal, Mark Hudson, Lukather, David Paich | Bobby Kimball and Lukather | 3:42 |
3. | "Mindfields" | Bobby Kimball, Lukather, Paich, Simon Phillips, Mike Porcaro | Kimball | 6:04 |
4. | "High Price of Hate" (1) | Lukather, Stan Lynch, Paich, Phillips, Porcaro | Kimball | 9:221 |
5. | "Selfish" | Lukather, Lynch, Paich | Kimball | 5:30 |
6. | "No Love" | Randy Goodrum, Paich, Lukather | Lukather | 4:34 |
7. | "Caught in the Balance" | Kimball, Lukather, Lynch, Paich, Phillips, Porcaro | Kimball | 6:21 |
8. | "Last Love" | Lukather, Paich | Lukather | 4:58 |
9. | "Mad About You" | Paich, Joseph Williams | Kimball | 4:24 |
10. | "One Road" | Goodrum, Lukather, Paich | Kimball | 3:45 |
11. | "Melanie" | Goodrum, Lukather, Paich | Lukather | 5:19 |
12. | "Cruel" | Kimball, Jed Leiber, Lukather, Phillips | Kimball | 5:57 |
13. | "Better World (Parts I, II & III)" | Lukather, Paich, Phillips | Lukather | 7:50 |
Total length: | 74:42 |
1999 Bonus Tracks
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Spanish Steps Of Rome" (2) | Lukather, Paich | David Paich | 4:27 |
Total length: | 79:09 |
1 On some copies of the album, a longer version of "High Price of Hate" was used clocking in at 9:49.
2 Bonus track on North American and Japanese versions of the album.
2018 All In Remaster
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Cruel" (3) | Bobby Kimball, Jed Lieber, Steve Lukather, Simon Phillips | Bobby Kimball | 5:55 |
2. | "Mysterious Ways" | Dean Grakal, Mark Hudson, Lukather, David Paich | Kimball, Steve Lukather | 3:40 |
3. | "Mindfields" | Kimball, Lukather, Paich, Phillips, Mike Porcaro | Kimball | 6:03 |
4. | "High Price of Hate" | Lukather, Stan Lynch, Paich, Phillips, Porcaro | Kimball | 9:49 |
5. | "Selfish" | Lukather, Lynch, Paich | Kimball | 5:31 |
6. | "No Love" | Randy Goodrum, Paich, Lukather | Lukather | 4:36 |
7. | "Caught In The Balance" | Kimball, Lukather, Lynch, Paich, Phillips, Porcaro | Kimball | 6:21 |
8. | "Last Love" | Lukather, Paich | Lukather | 5:00 |
9. | "Mad About You" | Paich, Joseph Williams | Kimball | 4:26 |
10. | "One Road" | Goodrum, Lukather, Paich | Kimball | 3:48 |
11. | "Melanie" | Goodrum, Lukather, Paich | Lukather | 5:21 |
12. | "After You've Gone" (3) | Lukather, Phil Soussan | Lukather | 6:38 |
13. | "Better World" (4) | Lukather, Paich, Phillips | Lukather | 7:41 |
14. | "Spanish Steps" (5) | Lukather, Paich | David Paich | 4:27 |
Total length: | 79:36 |
3 Track 1 ("Cruel") and 12 ("After You've Gone") switched places
4 Track 13 ("Better World") was originally named "Better World (Part I, II and III)"
5 Track 14 ("Spanish Steps") was originally named "Spanish Steps of Rome"
Personnel
Adapted from album's liner notes.[4]
Toto
- Steve Lukather – guitars, lead vocals (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 11, 13), backing vocals (tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, 10–14)
- David Paich – keyboards, horn arrangements (tracks 2, 5), backing vocals (tracks 3, 8), slide guitar solo (track 5), lead vocals (track 14)
- Mike Porcaro – bass guitar, cello (track 1)
- Simon Phillips – drums, tabla (track 1), percussion (tracks 5, 6, 8, 10, 13), loops (track 11), backing vocals (track 13)
- Bobby Kimball – lead vocals (tracks 2–5, 7, 9, 10, 12), backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 8–10, 12, 13)
Guest musicians
- Steve Porcaro – keyboards (tracks 7, 11)
- Clint Black – harmonica and backing vocals (track 6)
- Lenny Castro – percussion (tracks 1–3, 9, 11, 13, 14)
- Jim Horn – horns (tracks 2, 5, 12)
- Tom Scott – horns (tracks 2, 5, 12), horn arrangements (track 12)
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – horns (tracks 2, 5, 12)
- Chuck Findley – horns (tracks 2, 5, 12)
- Gary Grant – horns (tracks 2, 5, 12)
- Mark Hudson – backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5)
- Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5, 11)
- Phil Soussan – backing vocals (track 1)
- Richard Page – backing vocals (tracks 3, 7, 9, 12)
- Chris Thompson – backing vocals (tracks 6, 8, 10, 11, 13)
- Maria Vidal – backing vocals (track 14)
Production
- Producers – Toto and Elliot Scheiner
- Recorded by Eric Cowden, Steve Genewick, Steve MacMillan, Charles Paakari, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Jess Sutcliffe and Jeff Thomas.
- Mixed by Elliot Scheiner at Capitol Studios (Hollywood, CA).
- Mastered and Sequenced by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
- Editing by Steve MacMillan
- Production Coordination – Shari Sutcliffe
- Copyist – Dan Ferguson
- Creative Director – Doug Brown
Singles
- Melanie / Spanish Steps Of Rome
References
- "Official Toto News Archive".
- AllMusic review
- Johnson, Howard. "Review: Toto - Mind Fields (sic)". Q. EMAP Metro Ltd (July 1999): 125.
- Mindfields (booklet). Legacy. 1999.