Disc:Toto.
Year:1978.
That persistent keyboard beat is unmistakable. It is the beginning of Toto's “Hold The Line”, one of those songs that you recognize at the first time, a radio hit with all the letters and a theme frequently used in advertising campaigns and so on. Its great melodic power and its clear FM tendency made possible the rise to fame of Toto, one of the neatest formations of mainstream rock, AOR or whatever you want to call it, as they placed the song in the top ten without too many problems.
They were never a great hard band, as they took more “light” and commercial paths without affecting their enormous musical value, but they will always have a place in the hearts of rock fans thanks to songs like this one, included in their debut album, or albums like the masterful “IV” (1982) with which they made the definitive leap to mass recognition.
Those keys that tinkle systematically are the base of the whole theme, without forgetting the choppy and powerful riff of Steven Lukather, which is repeated in the chorus, nor the melodies of Bobby Kimball, a portentous singer that perfectly printed the romantic tone that the theme was crying out for. Recently the Madrid heavy metal band Ankhara signed a version of the song perfectly adapted to Spanish that they titled “Mantente Firme” as the closing track of their album “Sombras del Paraiso” (2003), preserving the delicious essence of the mythical original cut; guitarist Cecilio has never hidden his fascination for this band.
My people thank you for reading me, I hope you are all super well, spending a family Christmas. I send you a big hug, well I hope you like this work which is to bring a little of what is the stories of iconic songs of great rock bands. TOTO is a band considered as a cult band, their music is very deep, and this theme is one of the most iconic of them. I do not put the original photo of my magazine since that part was damaged, as I say these stories I digitized for all of you. Without further ado, Merry Christmas and a thousand blessings.
