Luke discusses TOTO - past, present and future.

[Starrider]

I think considering Bobby is basically an old man now, he still does great! Also bear in mind, his solo band couldn't kiss Toto's shoes! That combined with the fact that the Toto songs he sang were all written in a ridiculously high key

Those tenor Toto songs are pretty brutal. Come to think of it, at the Minneapolis 2007 show I saw, Fergie himself was struggling on the really, really high parts of ISOLATION and ANGEL DON'T CRY. He mostly pulled the songs off, but there are definitely some notes that are up there and songs that aren't easy to sing.

I don't think Fergie's strength was live singing, and I think that's a big reason why he was out of Toto so quickly. Those high parts in Isolation and Angel Don't Cry are extremely difficult to reach. Fergie was 33 when he recorded Isolation. In 2007, Fergie was well into his 50's. He's had some serious health issues and is 62 now. I'm a huge fan and Isolation is one of my favorite songs. Would love to be able to see him live sometime soon.

I just found out that Fergie auditioned to be the lead vocalist in Kansas after Steve Walsh left, but the job went to John Elefante. Also interesting was that Fergie supposedly beat out Eric Martin for the spot in Toto.

There are certainly a few songs in the Toto catalog with soaring tenor vocals that anyone would have trouble singing in their original key.

Fergie a few months ago with Legends: Voice of Rock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2R1XQsWB-4

I think Fergie sounds pretty good, especially considering his age and all the health problems he has had. The song does sound like it's been sped up quite a bit. You can't expect him (or Bobby or Joe) to sound like they did 30 years ago.

[DracIsBack]

Yeah - I have read that there were really a few issues ... he'd get nervous in the studio and blow a lot of takes; he'd lose his voice live; and Isolation didn't sell as well as expected with him. Love that album though!

It was a big trip to see him live with them though. I totally wasn't expecting it. A few months earlier, Luke had gone on a rant about how he was touring as Toto and appearing on tv shows. Even at the venue that night, there was a sign saying "first Toto show here in three years". Definitely Toto had not been there before, but I'm guessing Fergie had as he lived in Apple Valley.

Anyway - they made a big deal about bygones being bygones. I met one of Fergie's friends in the audience and his sons were there too. If I remember right, they did about five songs with him on stage. He did Isolation and Angel Don't Cry alone. Then he started I'll Supply The Love and Bobby did the second verse (that was cool!). Then he went away, but came back for the encores. He sang along when they did AFRICA and DRAG HIM TO THE ROOF, though you could tell he didn't really know the latter.

[WalrusOct9]

I've been led to believe the issues with Fergie were more in the studio than live, which is sort of the opposite of most singers, which is interesting. I only have one bootleg from the Isolation tour, but I recall he sounded pretty solid on it.