Hydra (Toto album)

Hydra
Studio album by Toto
Released October 1, 1979
Recorded January 1979
Studio Sunset Sound and Reggie Fisher Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Genre Progressive rock, hard rock, funk rock, R&B
Length 41:23
Label Columbia
Producer Tom Knox, Reggie Fisher, Toto
Toto chronology
Toto
(1978)Toto1978		 Hydra
(1979)		 Turn Back
(1981)Turn Back1981
Singles from Hydra
  1. "St. George and the Dragon"
    Released: 1979
  2. "99"
    Released: January 1980
  3. "All Us Boys"
    Released: 1980

Hydra is the second studio album by American rock band Toto, released in 1979.[1] It reached #37 on the Billboard Pop Albums.[2] While most of the album's singles failed to make any impact in the charts, "99", a song inspired by the 1971 science fiction movie THX 1138,[3] reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [5]

Though a commercial success, Hydra was far less popular than the band's top-selling debut. AllMusic suggested this was due to the band's failure to establish a distinctive, recognizable sound on either Hydra or their debut, which would have allowed listeners to immediately identify Toto's major hits with the band themselves. They also speculated that most listeners were not familiar with the film (namely, THX 1138) on which "99" was based, and thus found the lyrics hopelessly abstruse, preventing the song from becoming as big a hit as it could have been.[5]

Critical response to the album was mixed. AllMusic's retrospective review made little judgment on the quality (noting only as an aside that the songs were "well-played"), instead discussing why it had failed to match the commercial success of their debut.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by David Paich, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Hydra" (David Hungate, Bobby Kimball, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro)Paich7:31
2."St. George and the Dragon"Kimball4:45
3."99"Lukather5:16
4."Lorraine"Paich4:46
Side two
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."All Us Boys"Paich5:03
2."Mama" (Paich, Kimball)Kimball5:14
3."White Sister" (Paich, Kimball)Kimball5:39
4."A Secret Love" (Paich, Kimball, S. Porcaro)Kimball3:07

Personnel

Toto

Additional musicians

Production

  • Produced by Tom Knox, Reggie Fisher and Toto.
  • Engineered and Mixed by Tom Knox and Dana Latham.
  • Assistant Engineer: Stephen McManus
  • Mastered by David Donnelly
  • Art Direction: Jim Hagopian, Tony Lane and Jeff Porcaro.
  • Design: Philip Garris
  • Photography: Jim Hagopian
  • Calligraphy: Mike Manoogian
  • Management: The Fitzgerald Hartley Co.

Singles

  • "99" / "Hydra"
  • "St George and the Dragon" / "A Secret Love"
  • "All Us Boys" / "Hydra" (released in US)

Charts

References

  1. ↑ "Turntable Tips". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. January 16, 1980. p. 9D. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  2. ↑ Hydra Billboard chart history, Allmusic.
  3. ↑ Regemann, Petra & McVey, Steve. Toto Band History, toto99.com.
  4. ↑ Toto Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Hydra at AllMusic
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2012
  8. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  9. ↑ "charts.org.nz Toto – Hydra". Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original (ASP) on October 27, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Toto – Hydra". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Toto – Hydra" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ "allmusic ((( Hydra > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Album Search: Toto – Hydra" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Top 100 Albums". RPM. December 20, 1980. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  15. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 20, 1980). Billboard.com – Year End Charts – Year-end Albums – The Billboard 200.
  16. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Toto – Toto". Music Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  17. ↑ "American album certifications – Toto – Toto". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 1, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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