Is "Chinatown" on XIV, THE Chinatown song!?

[TotoFan77]

Andrew (or anyone else in the know) is Chinatown on the upcoming Toto XIV, THE actual Chinatown that was supposed to be on Toto IV but left off? I really REALLY hope so.

[St.George]

Hi there,

You'd better ask Lukather himself via twitter. A few months ago he said this when somebody asked him about the songs for the new album.

"All new but ONE I found of Paich's. It is a classic. from 1977 updated and fresh."

[Sundet]

Back in a 1994 interview with the now defunct Toto Legend fan club, Steve Porcaro listed a few songs that never made it onto an album. I believe most of those he mentioned by title wound up on Toto XX, but he also made mention of Chinatown. I guess that's the one - then and now.

I do wonder if they ever recorded Runaway properly for real. Not that it is a song worth writing home about, but they did is as an encore on three or four consecutive tours.

[WalrusOct9]

I do wonder if they ever recorded Runaway properly for real. Not that it is a song worth writing home about, but they did is as an encore on three or four consecutive tours.

It's not a great song, but it's fun, and I'd definitely like to have a proper version of it. I certainly rank it higher than most of the "Georgy Porgy"-type Steely Dan-tinged soft-rock tunes they peppered their early LPs with.

[The_Noble_Cause]

"Chinatown" is in my top 3 from the new album. Love it.

[Ehwmatt]

"Chinatown" is in my top 3 from the new album. Love it.

Definitely. Great track. Smooth as hell as you said in another thread.

My top 4 in no particular order right now:

Running Out of Time
Holy War
Chinatown
Great Expectations

[The_Noble_Cause]

My top 4 in no particular order right now:

Running Out of Time
Holy War
Chinatown
Great Expectations

Yea, I agree with this list. I like the diversity on XIV alot. Could've used maybe one more rocker.

[JohnH]

"Chinatown" is in my top 3 from the new album. Love it.

Definitely. Great track. Smooth as hell as you said in another thread.

My top 4 in no particular order right now:

Running Out of Time
Holy War
Chinatown
Great Expectations

And add Burn for me. Chinatown sounds like Jeff is back on drums.

[Sundet]

Am I the only one in here who doesn't get Holy War? To be frank, I think it's a bland late 80's melodic arena rock track that would probably make a bunch of middle-aged, bald men (having long lost or shed their mullets) fist-pump, but it seems totally out of place in such a fantastic collection of songs that is Toto XIV. I also think the bridge in the otherwise stellar Burn seems out of place for exactly the same reason - that one cries out for a Lukather solo but instead there is a standard late 80's bridge that, thankfully, doesn't last long enough to ruin the song (for me, that is). It's not that I have anything against late 80's melodic arena rock, but much prefer its contemporary incarnations.

On a much more positive note, I would like to emphasize that I do think Toto XIV contains some of the band's best songwriting to date, right up there with Tambu. Having Joseph Williams back has certainly helped in that respect - I have always thought his songwriting is right up there with his singing.

[Ehwmatt]

Am I the only one in here who doesn't get Holy War? To be frank, I think it's a bland late 80's melodic arena rock track that would probably make a bunch of middle-aged, bald men (having long lost or shed their mullets) fist-pump, but it seems totally out of place in such a fantastic collection of songs that is Toto XIV. I also think the bridge in the otherwise stellar Burn seems out of place for exactly the same reason - that one cries out for a Lukather solo but instead there is a standard late 80's bridge that, thankfully, doesn't last long enough to ruin the song (for me, that is). It's not that I have anything against late 80's melodic arena rock, but much prefer its contemporary incarnations.

On a much more positive note, I would like to emphasize that I do think Toto XIV contains some of the band's best songwriting to date, right up there with Tambu. Having Joseph Williams back has certainly helped in that respect - I have always thought his songwriting is right up there with his singing.

The big chorus is a bit 80s by numbers, but hey, that's what I paid to hear. The rest of the tune is a pretty unique proggy/moody track that I really dig. Luke's rhythm playing and lead fills in the verses are cool, and I like the message behind the vocals.

[r@y]

The big chorus is a bit 80s by numbers, but hey, that's what I paid to hear. The rest of the tune is a pretty unique proggy/moody track that I really dig. Luke's rhythm playing and lead fills in the verses are cool, and I like the message behind the vocals.

+1



Ray

[Anymajordude]

Am I the only one in here who doesn't get Holy War? To be frank, I think it's a bland late 80's melodic arena rock track that would probably make a bunch of middle-aged, bald men (having long lost or shed their mullets) fist-pump, but it seems totally out of place in such a fantastic collection of songs that is Toto XIV. I also think the bridge in the otherwise stellar Burn seems out of place for exactly the same reason - that one cries out for a Lukather solo but instead there is a standard late 80's bridge that, thankfully, doesn't last long enough to ruin the song (for me, that is). It's not that I have anything against late 80's melodic arena rock, but much prefer its contemporary incarnations.

On a much more positive note, I would like to emphasize that I do think Toto XIV contains some of the band's best songwriting to date, right up there with Tambu. Having Joseph Williams back has certainly helped in that respect - I have always thought his songwriting is right up there with his singing.

I agree with you about Holy war, but the bridge in Burn is one of my favourite moments on the album, and Tambu is by far my least favourite Toto album

[The_Noble_Cause]

Am I the only one in here who doesn't get Holy War? To be frank, I think it's a bland late 80's melodic arena rock track that would probably make a bunch of middle-aged, bald men (having long lost or shed their mullets) fist-pump, but it seems totally out of place in such a fantastic collection of songs that is Toto XIV. I also think the bridge in the otherwise stellar Burn seems out of place for exactly the same reason - that one cries out for a Lukather solo but instead there is a standard late 80's bridge that, thankfully, doesn't last long enough to ruin the song (for me, that is). It's not that I have anything against late 80's melodic arena rock, but much prefer its contemporary incarnations.

I like Holy War alot. Great solo by Luke. Great hooky chorus. Great synth fairy dust magic by Steve P. Burn, on the other hand, does nothing for me. The song is pretty much a looped piano riff and a huge chorus, but it doesn't gel. Not to me at least. I realize many people love it - hey, that's great. Like all of TOTO's tracks, even ones I don't dig, there is soo much going on sonically, I rarely hit 'skip.'

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late to my mullet shape-up appointment at the strip mall SuperClips.

[Ehwmatt]

Am I the only one in here who doesn't get Holy War? To be frank, I think it's a bland late 80's melodic arena rock track that would probably make a bunch of middle-aged, bald men (having long lost or shed their mullets) fist-pump, but it seems totally out of place in such a fantastic collection of songs that is Toto XIV. I also think the bridge in the otherwise stellar Burn seems out of place for exactly the same reason - that one cries out for a Lukather solo but instead there is a standard late 80's bridge that, thankfully, doesn't last long enough to ruin the song (for me, that is). It's not that I have anything against late 80's melodic arena rock, but much prefer its contemporary incarnations.

I like Holy War alot. Great solo by Luke. Great hooky chorus. Great synth fairy dust magic by Steve P. Burn, on the other hand, does nothing for me. The song is pretty much a looped piano riff and a huge chorus, but it doesn't gel. Not to me at least. I realize many people love it - hey, that's great. Like all of TOTO's tracks, even ones I don't dig, there is soo much going on sonically, I rarely hit 'skip.'

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late to my mullet shape-up appointment at the strip mall SuperClips.

I'm with you on Burn - not an awesome tune but sounds cool enough that I'll still listen to it a lot.