7/24/2023 0 Comments Suzerain bandThat is, until 2019 when inner band turmoil over a lawsuit by Jeff's widow Susan Goings - along with David Paich no longer physically being able to tour anymore - tore the band apart and pushed them towards a hiatus note their second after a brief one lasting from 2008 to 2010. In spite of Jeff Porcaro's death as a result of heart failure brought on by cocaine use in 1992, his replacement Simon Phillips bowing out in 2014, and Mike Porcaro's death at the hands of ALS in 2015, the remaining four members from the Fahrenheit album lineup still performed as Toto, backed by a cadre of session musicians. Kimball left shortly after and the band's fortunes declined somewhat, but they found a semi-permanent replacement in the form of another school friend named Joseph Williams, son of the prolific film composer John Williams. Their greatest success was 1982's Toto IV, which included the number one hit "Africa" and the number two hit "Rosanna" and won six Grammy awards for the band. Indeed, they are often noted as the Trope Codifier for the latter genre their keyboard-driven music combined with Kimball's soaring vocal and Lukather's slashing guitar arguably bridged the gap between Fleetwood Mac and Foreigner. While the group's music incorporates Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Soul and Jazz, they are most commonly associated with the Soft Rock and AOR categories. They're officially named after the dog from The Wizard of Oz, but stories went around for a long time that Bobby Kimball was actually a Cajun whose real name was Robert Toteaux and the band was named after him. They were soon joined by the dynamic lead vocalist Bobby Kimball and bass guitarist David Hungate, who would leave after their fourth album and be replaced by the third Porcaro brother, Mike. The nucleus of the group consisted of school friends David Paich (keyboards, vocals) Steve Porcaro (keyboards, vocals), Jeff Porcaro (drums, percussion) and Steve Lukather (guitars, vocals), all experienced session musicians and aspiring songwriters who had played on hundreds of records between them. Tien jaar geleden zouden we een groep als Suzerain nog hebben vergeleken met Marion of Rachel Stamp, maar wie herinnert zich deze nog?Įen tip dus voor zij die houden van Britpop met new wave en punk (nou ja) invloeden.Toto, circa 1977 (l-r: Steve Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Bobby Kimball, David Hungate, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro).īoston and Journey may have arrived on the scene first, but there was no band that defined the AOR boom of the late seventies and early eighties quite like Toto. Na vijf jaar te hebben doorgebracht in de Londense clubscene, hebben ze dan nu eindelijk hun debuut uitgebracht waarop twaalf nummers prijken.ĭe stem van Tom Pether mag dan misschien net iets te gepolijst klinken, toch is het een opkikker dat er terug een groep is die de gitaren uit de kast tovert zoals we die kennen van U2 uit hun “October”-dagen. Het mogen dan wel het soort muzikanten zijn die er hun hand niet voor om draaien om op verschillende paardjes te wedden, toch is die 80’s touch bij Suzerain een goede zaak want het is net hierdoor dat deze groep niet het lot toegedeeld krijgt om bestempeld te worden als één van de vele. Nu goed, Suzerain is misschien niet meteen het soort groep dat wij zouden gaan bestempelen als een typische Peek-A-Boo act maar niet alleen was hun debuut één van de eerste releases die op onze redactie kwam binnengewandeld, ook hebben we bij Peek-A-Boo steeds een luisterend oor voor aanstormend talent. Heeft er iemand zin in nog eens een neo postpunk band, of (zoals ze zich zelf graag omschrijven) iets dat klinkt als new wave rock of electro indie disco? Ten years ago we definitely would have compared them to the likes of Marion or Rachel Stamp, but who remembers them?Ī tip for those who like Britpop that has some new wave and punk (well, some) influences. The vocals from singer Tom Pether is perhaps a bit too polished to get a grip on you but it’s definitely a godsend to finally hear a band who decided to hang on to the guitar sound U2 were having during their “October”-days. They’re indeed the kind of musicians who like to bet on different horses as they say but in the case of Suzerain this can only be a good thing as the 80’s touch that is flavouring their indie sounds gives it an extra touch so you won’t categorize them as just one of the many.Īfter five years of being at the London club scene, they finally have their debut out which features twelve tracks. Someone in the mood to hear another neo postpunk band or just like they’re describing themselves, a band that plays new wave rock or electro indie disco?Īnyway, Suzerain isn’t maybe an act that we would describe as a typical Peek-A-Boo band but not only was their record one of the first that landed in our office but we also wanna give new talent an optimal chance to exposure themselves.
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