This forgotten treasure selection goes out to Mike Porcaro, the longtime bass player for Grammy-winning rock band Toto who died over the weekend.
Ok, i’ll be honest I’m not a Toto expert. I had always considered it to be the kind of soft-rock / adult-contemporary music that you would hear in the bathroom of a Burger King. I mean, even Family Guy did a whole segment (link) on Toto’s biggest hit Africa.
But when I heard about the passing of Mike Porcaro I immediately thought of sharing an absolute gem i’ve been sitting on for a while now, waiting for the right occasion to share it.
When I first heard “Mama” (taken from their 1979 album Hydra) I was stunned to find out the band behind it was Toto. The song had more in common with Steely Dan‘s fusion of jazz, funk & rock than the pop-rock / yacht-rock / radio-cheese I had come to associate them and groups like Hall & Oates. If I ever do a Guilty Pleasures mix, then this would probably be the opener!
When I did some reasearch of Mike Porcaro’s career I found out that he only joined the band in 1982, a couple years after “Mama” was record. It kind of messes up the concept of my post, but hey, this is the Toto related joint I could think of!
And in case you thought TOTO weren’t the shit back then, check out this live version of “Mama”. Next time you see “Hydra” in a dollar bin, you make sure to pick it up!
Mama, I don’t love you anymore
Money’s got me crawlin’ on the floor
Lover, I’m so ashamed that I must go
Funny, somehow I thought by now you’d know
Girl, you’d better take my hand
And say what you mean to say
And she said, “Stay as long as you can
Don’t wait till you’re thrown away”
Mama, throw me out into the cold
(See the girl with the eyes on fire)
Woman, the love you bought was never sold
Girl, you’d better take my hand
And say what you mean to say
And she said, “Stay as long as you can
Don’t wait till you’re thrown away”
Mama, I don’t love you anymore
Sorry, I’m not the boy you’re lookin’ for
Girl, you’d better take my hand
And say what you mean to say
And she said, “Stay as long as you can
Don’t wait till you’re thrown away”
She’s gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah
She’s gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah
(See the girl with the eyes on fire)
She’s gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah
She’s gone away, yeah yeah yeah yeah
(Now he know she’s the one he desires)
(Now he know she’s the one he desires)
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