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Mindfields

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Mindfields
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1999 (1999-03) (EU, JP)[1]
November 16, 1999 (1999-11-16) (US)
RecordedAugust 10, 1998 – January 1999[2]
Studio
  • Royaltone Studios
  • ATS Studios
  • Hollywood Sound Recorders
Length79:37
LabelColumbia (EU)
Legacy (US)
ProducerToto, Elliot Scheiner
Toto chronology
Toto XX
(1998)
Mindfields
(1999)
Livefields
(1999)
Singles from Mindfields
  1. "Melanie"
    Released: April 1999[3]

Mindfields is the tenth studio album (though counted as the 11th album overall — see Toto XIV) by the American rock band Toto. It was released in Europe and Japan in March 1999, followed by a US release on November 16, 1999. Mindfields saw the return of vocalist Bobby Kimball, who had departed the band in 1984 during recording sessions for the Isolation album.

Recording

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The band began recording the album on August 10, 1998[4]. This came after a reunion tour with former lead singers Bobby Kimball and Joseph Williams earlier that year to celebrate their 20th anniversary and Toto XX album. Although the band decided on Kimball, Williams did contribute as co-writer of the song "Mad About You". As of December 3, 1998, the album was being mixed and the cover art was being designed.[4] Release dates were also set but pushed back as they grew closer. The album was eventually released across Europe beginning the first week of March 1999.[5]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarHalf star[6]
QStarStarStar[7]

The album received mixed reviews from critics. Michael Gallucci of AllMusic wrote: "Overlong, overwrought, and devoid of personality, this incredibly dull world-view update of Toto's crassly professional sound manages to pillage several cultures at once without contributing a single song worth remembering. The playing is tight—as you would expect from a bunch of studio session musicians—but all the skills in the world can't liven these 14 plodding tracks."[6]

Track listing

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1999 Release

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No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."After You've Gone"Steve Lukather, Phil SoussanSteve Lukather6:37
2."Mysterious Ways"Dean Grakal, Mark Hudson, Lukather, David PaichBobby Kimball and Lukather3:42
3."Mindfields"Bobby Kimball, Lukather, Paich, Simon Phillips, Mike PorcaroKimball6:04
4."High Price of Hate" (1)Lukather, Stan Lynch, Paich, Phillips, PorcaroKimball9:221
5."Selfish"Lukather, Lynch, PaichKimball5:30
6."No Love"Randy Goodrum, Paich, LukatherLukather4:34
7."Caught in the Balance"Kimball, Lukather, Lynch, Paich, Phillips, PorcaroKimball6:21
8."Last Love"Lukather, PaichLukather4:58
9."Mad About You"Paich, Joseph WilliamsKimball4:24
10."One Road"Goodrum, Lukather, PaichKimball3:45
11."Melanie"Goodrum, Lukather, PaichLukather5:19
12."Cruel"Kimball, Jed Leiber, Lukather, PhillipsKimball5:57
13."Better World (Parts I, II & III)"Lukather, Paich, PhillipsLukather7:50
Total length:74:42

1999 Bonus Tracks

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No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
14."Spanish Steps of Rome" (2)Lukather, PaichDavid Paich4:28
Total length:79:10

1 On some copies of the album, a longer version of "High Price of Hate" was used with a length of 9:49.

2018 All In Remaster

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."Cruel" (3)Bobby Kimball, Jed Lieber, Steve Lukather, Simon PhillipsBobby Kimball5:55
2."Mysterious Ways"Dean Grakal, Mark Hudson, Lukather, David PaichKimball, Steve Lukather3:40
3."Mindfields"Kimball, Lukather, Paich, Phillips, Mike PorcaroKimball6:03
4."High Price of Hate"Lukather, Stan Lynch, Paich, Phillips, PorcaroKimball9:49
5."Selfish"Lukather, Lynch, PaichKimball5:31
6."No Love"Randy Goodrum, Paich, LukatherLukather4:36
7."Caught In The Balance"Kimball, Lukather, Lynch, Paich, Phillips, PorcaroKimball6:21
8."Last Love"Lukather, PaichLukather5:00
9."Mad About You"Paich, Joseph WilliamsKimball4:26
10."One Road"Goodrum, Lukather, PaichKimball3:48
11."Melanie"Goodrum, Lukather, PaichLukather5:21
12."After You've Gone" (3)Lukather, Phil SoussanLukather6:38
13."Better World" (4)Lukather, Paich, PhillipsLukather7:41
14."Spanish Steps" (5)Lukather, PaichDavid Paich4:28
Total length:79:37

3 Track 1 ("Cruel") and 12 ("After You've Gone") switched places
4 Track 13 ("Better World") was originally titled "Better World (Parts I, II and III)"
5 Track 14 ("Spanish Steps") was originally titled "Spanish Steps of Rome"

Personnel

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Adapted from album's liner notes.[8]

Toto

  • Steve Lukather – guitars, lead vocals (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 11, 13), backing vocals (tracks 1, 4, 6, 8, 10–14)
  • David Paich – keyboards, horn arrangements (tracks 2, 5), backing vocals (tracks 3, 8), slide guitar solo (track 5), lead vocals (track 14)
  • Mike Porcaro – bass guitar, cello (track 1)
  • Simon Phillips – drums, tabla (track 1), percussion (tracks 5, 6, 8, 10, 13), loops (track 11), backing vocals (track 13)
  • Bobby Kimball – lead vocals (tracks 2–5, 7, 9, 10, 12) backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 8–10, 12, 13)

Guest musicians

Production

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  • Producers – Toto and Elliot Scheiner
  • Recorded by Eric Cowden, Steve Genewick, Steve MacMillan, Charles Paakari, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Jess Sutcliffe and Jeff Thomas.
  • Mixed by Elliot Scheiner at Capitol Studios (Hollywood, CA).
  • Mastered and Sequenced by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
  • Editing by Steve MacMillan
  • Production Coordination – Shari Sutcliffe
  • Copyist – Dan Ferguson
  • Creative Director – Doug Brown

Singles

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  • Melanie / Spanish Steps Of Rome

References

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  1. ^ "Official Toto News Archive".
  2. ^ "Official Toto News Archive". Archived from the original on December 6, 1998. Retrieved December 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Toto singles".
  4. ^ a b Petra + Mark Regemann, e-mail: ninetynine@toto99.com. "TOTO Hot News". www.toto99.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 1998. Retrieved December 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Petra + Mark Regemann, e-mail: ninetynine@toto99.com. "TOTO Hot News". www.toto99.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 1999. Retrieved December 22, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b AllMusic review
  7. ^ Johnson, Howard. "Review: Toto - Mind Fields [sic]". Q (July 1999). EMAP Metro Ltd: 125.
  8. ^ Mindfields (booklet). Legacy. 1999.