Review: David Paich 'Forgotten Toys'

David Paich

By Mike O’Cull

Mega-platinum keyboardist, vocalist, songwriter, and founding member of Toto, David Paich stretches his well-known talents on his first-ever solo outing Forgotten Toys, featuring guest artists Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Brian Eno, Michael McDonald, Ray Parker Jr., Don Felder, and drummer Steve Jordan of The Rolling Stones.

Paich’s record is set to be released on August 19th, 2022 via the Mascot Label Group and is full of the hyper-melodic pop/rock sound that has long been Paich’s calling card. He’s a slick and sophisticated player capable of creating or adapting to any possible musical situation. The songs he presents here have been in the back of his mind for a long time and the Covid pandemic allowed Paich the opportunity to finally record and release them.

“It seemed like it was time to put something together,” he said. “Some of these really are forgotten toys. It had been a while since I’ve been in my studio and I found myself listening to these little pieces continuously. I kept rediscovering them, hoping to fit the tracks together like a musical puzzle.”

Listen “Spirit of the Moonrise”

Six-time Grammy winner, David Paich is among the most-heard musicians of the last 50 years. In addition to his massively successful work with Toto and Michael Jackson, he has appeared on over 2000 albums by stars including Boz Scaggs, Mötley Crüe, Steely Dan, Bryan Adams, George Martin, Quincy Jones, P!NK, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, The Doobie Brothers, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Jessie J, Cher, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Michael McDonald, Joan Baez, Ray Charles, Elton John, and Barbra Streisand. He’s released 17 Toto records and wrote or co-wrote the hits “Hold the Line”, “Rosanna,” and “Africa.” “Africa,” alone, has been streamed over a billion times and has become one of the most covered and sampled songs in the history of music. Altogether, Toto has sold over 40 million records and garnered over 3 billion streams.

The core Paich sound is smart, tuneful, and inviting and he carries on in that tradition on Forgotten Toys. The opening song “willibelongtoyou” is a masterful blast of the radio-friendly pop/rock that made Toto a multi-generational success. It’s smooth and inventive but never twists so much that it loses your attention. Paich, of course, excels on vocals and keys and the instant familiarity of his playing gets you on his side right away.

The single “Spirit Of The Moonrise” rocks harder and tells a dramatic story about a distraught girl riding in the moonlight that was inspired by one of Paich’s recurring dreams. Steve Lukather shines on guitar, as he does on everything he touches, and the rhythm section pushes him to do so. Consider this intelligent rock that will make you want to drive faster.

“Queen Charade” is a Paich-style blues/rocker that proves that our man David can do some houserocking in addition to all his chart-topping. Former Eagles member Don Felder lights it up on slide guitar and Warren Ham contributes some sweet harmonica lines. On the emotional ballad “All The Tears That Shine,” Paich rolls out a world music-inspired beat and passes the lead vocal to the golden-voiced Michael Sherwood, who sadly passed away in 2019. Sherwood’s tone and vulnerability are second to none here and you’ll feel every word of his lyrical flow.

Forgotten Toys is a wonderful but all too brief experience, coming in at just seven songs. Each of those songs, however, bears the touch of an actual maestro and they’re as intricate as they are listenable. Paich has clearly not lost a step at anything he does and can still quickly touch his global fan base with a song even after all this time. Let yourself love every minute of this long-overdue release.