"I'll Be Over You" by Toto

Song#:  2846
Date:  08/30/1986
Debut:  87
Peak:  11
Weeks:  23
Genre:  Soft Rock, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Toto's follow-up to their 1982 Grammy-winning, triple platinum album Toto IV, 1984's Isolation, was a significant disappointment. It failed to generate a major hit and that left the LP peaking at a low #42 and only hitting gold-level sales. It was a major bump in the road for the band who then had to reassess their musical direction. For their next effort, Fahrenheit, the band skipped the edgier rock found on Isolation for a more mainstream pop/AC sound. This first single showcased their more laid back approach and it was greeted very well at AC where the tune hit #1 for a couple of weeks. The song was a slow starter at Pop, but it gained enough momentum to nearly crack the Top 10. It peaked at the dreaded #11 spot. It was a good return for the band, but the hit didn't necessarily translate into album sales. The LP peaked at #40 and had trouble getting to the gold level sales mark. Eventually, enough sales trickled in over the years and the album was finally certified gold in 1994. It would be the band's last studio album to go gold.

ReduxReview:  This is a pleasant piece of So.Cal studio pop/yacht rock expertly crafted by the band. This falls more in line with some of the material from Toto IV and it works for them. The addition of Michael McDonald on backing vocals is a nice touch as well. I think this tune was written to be a hit and to get them back in the mainstream graces again. It accomplished that, but it seems like folks were gun shy after the Isolation debacle and weren't ready to fully get back on board with Toto. Plus, in the short few years since Toto IV, music on the chart had changed and the band somehow got relegated to the AC crowd and weren't considered that hip any longer. They wouldn't get this high on the Pop chart again.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  For Isolation, the band hired new lead singer Fergie Frederikson after their original lead singer, Bobby Kimball, was fired. In addition to the music direction of the band not working out, it seemed things were not all that great with Frederikson either and he was let go. For Fahrenheit, the band brought on board Joseph Williams. Williams is the son of famous conductor/film music composer John Williams. The younger Williams developed an interest in music and his singer/songwriter skills got him signed to MCA. He released a self-titled debut album in 1982, but it came and went to little notice. When Toto was looking for a singer, Williams auditioned and got the job. He stayed with the band for two albums before being replaced. However, Williams would rejoin the band in 2010 and to this posting date is still with them. Williams took the lead on all but two tracks on Fahrenheit. Oddly, those two track, including this one, were the LP's first singles and both were sung by long-time member Steve Lukather.

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