While there have been a bunch of Toto budget-line compilations over the years, 2003's The Essential Toto is the first high-profile hits collection since 1990's Past to Present 1977-1990.
At 14 songs, The Essential is one track longer than that compilation, but it shares eight cuts with Past to Present, which, of course, are all the big hits: "Africa," "Hold the Line," "Georgy Porgy," "Rosanna," "I Won't Hold You Back," "99," and "Pamela." What differentiates the two compilations, then, is that The Essential boasts a much better remastering and a better selection of songs, including the single "Make Believe" and a good selection of album tracks from their peak period, like "I'll Supply the Love." While this is missing some hits, they're minor ones that won't be missed by most listeners -- "Live for Today," "Afraid of Love," "Loves in the Night," "Waiting for Your Love," "Stranger in Town," and "Holyanna" -- and what's here is very good, an accurate representation of Toto at their best, making this their best compilation to date.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AfricaDavid Paich, Jeff Porcaro | Toto | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | 99David Paich | Toto | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Make BelieveDavid Paich | Toto | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | I'll Supply the LoveDavid Paich | Toto | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Georgy PorgyDavid Paich | Toto | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | I Won't Hold You BackSteve Lukather | Toto | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | I'll Be Over YouRandy Goodrum, Steve Lukather | Toto | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Without Your LoveDavid Paich | Toto | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Afraid Of Love | Toto | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Mama | Toto | Play | 05:14 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Jake To The Bone | Toto | Play | 07:05 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Stranger In Town | Toto | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Caught In the Balance | Toto | Play | 06:21 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Stop Loving You | Toto | Play | 07:19 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | Isolation | Toto | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | Pamela (Single Version) | Toto | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | Don't Chain My Heart | Toto | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 18 | Mushanga (Single Version) | Toto | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 19 | I Will Remember (Single Version) | Toto | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 92 mins | 211 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paulette Brown | Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Lenny Castro | Congas, Group Member, Percussion |
| 3 | David Coleman | Art Direction, Design |
| 4 | Paulinho Da Costa | Guest Artist, Percussion |
| 5 | Chuck Findley | Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Martyn Ford Orchestra | Strings |
| 7 | Randy Goodrum | Composer |
| 8 | Gary Grant | Trumpet |
| 9 | Gary Herbig | Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Jerry Hey | Horn Arrangements, Trumpet |
| 11 | Jim Horn | Recorder, Saxophone |
| 12 | Toto Horns | Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | James Newton Howard | Conductor, Orchestral Arrangements |
| 14 | David Hungate | Bass, Group Member |
| 15 | Phillip Ingram | Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | John James | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Keely, Dennis | Photography |
| 18 | Tom Kelly | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Bobby Kimball | Composer, Group Member, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Tom Knox | Producer |
| 21 | Steve Lukather | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Stan Lynch | Composer |
| 23 | Jacki Magee | Vocals (Background) |
| 24 | Jeff Magid | Compilation Producer |
| 25 | George Massenburg | Engineer, Producer |
| 26 | Michael McDonald | Guest Artist |
| 27 | Mike McDonald | Vocals |
| 28 | Jenny Douglas McRea | Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | Rick Nelson | Vocals (Background) |
| 30 | David Paich | Composer, Fender Rhodes, Group Member, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements, Organ (Hammond), Synthesizer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 31 | Marty Paich | Orchestral Arrangements |
| 32 | Joseph M. Palmaccio | Mastering |
| 33 | James Pankow | Trombone, Vocals (Background) |
| 34 | Jimmy Pankow | Trombone |
| 35 | Bill Payne | Engineer, Producer |
| 36 | Simon Phillips | Composer |
| 37 | Jeff Porcaro | Composer, Drums, Group Member, Percussion |
| 38 | Joe Porcaro | Marimba, Percussion, Vibraphone, Vocals (Background) |
| 39 | Mike Porcaro | Composer |
| 40 | Steve Porcaro | Electronics, Group Member, Keyboards, Programming, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 41 | Elliot Scheiner | Engineer, Producer |
| 42 | Dirk Schubert | Engineer |
| 43 | Tom Scott | Guest Artist, Horn Arrangements, Saxophone |
| 44 | Jim Shea | Photography |
| 45 | Sidney | Percussion |
| 46 | Jo Smith | Saxophone |
| 47 | Toto | Engineer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 48 | Chris Trujillo | Percussion |
| 49 | Jaan Uhelszki | Liner Notes |
| 50 | Tony Walthers | Vocals (Background) |
| 51 | Fee Waybill | Composer |
| 52 | Fred White | Vocals (Background) |
| 53 | Fred White | Vocals (Background) |
| 54 | Joseph Williams | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |