''I Found the Sun Again'' is the eighth studio album by

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

, released by The Players Club (

Mascot Label Group Mascot Label Group is an independently-owned record label. Founded in 1989 in The Netherlands under the name Mascot Records, the company was renamed Mascot-Provogue in 1999 and since 2010 has been known as the Mascot Label Group. The company is ba ...

). It was released on February 26, 2021, the same day as his bandmate from Toto, Joseph Williams, released his album ''Denizen Tenant'' under the same label. This is Lukather's first solo studio album in eight years, following '' Transition'' (2013), marking the longest gap between two albums to date.

Background

The then current lineup of Toto played their last show on October 20, 2019, before breaking. Tensions were rising within the band and its management because of a lawsuit Susan Porcaro-Goings (

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

's widow) had against Lukather and

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

, the sole directors of Toto Corporation, because she hadn't been paid money due her former husband's estate. This, according to Lukather, drove a wedge between him and then-member of Toto

Steve Porcaro Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, and film composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff in 1992 and M ...

. Furthermore, Paich's health was pretty fragile so he wasn't able to tour. After this situation, Lukather says that him and Joseph Williams were "the only ones who wanted to keep working". As Williams was already working on a solo album, Lukather decided to release one himself too, with both of them collaborating on each other's efforts.

Recording

Lukather desired to do an old-school, early 70s vibe record. In his own words: "I wanted to see if I could do it the way we used to do it". In order to achieve that, the whole album was recorded in eight days in February 2020, "recording a song a day", with no rehearsals, demos, click tracks or computers. As claimed by Lukather: "all that stuff you're hearing is being played live", including the solos. There were "very minimal overdubs", specifically some double-guitar parts and the vocals. In an interview with

MusicRadar MusicRadar is a music website that offers information pertaining to artists and their music. The site features music gear news and reviews, artist interviews and online music and production tutorials. It is owned by British media company Future ...

, Lukather described the recording process as the easiest and most enjoyable of his career to date. Furthermore, Lukather says that "not everything was written out". Jeff Babko and him had co-written some stuff as a "good road map", plus "some stuff that we figured that was needed in the songs and the right voicings", but the majority of the work was improvised. The band hired for the recordings included

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...

on drums, Jorgen Carlsson and John Pierce on bass, and

and Jeff Babko on keyboards. Then, in Lukather's words, Joseph Williams "took it home and layered a few backgrounds".

Songs

Of the eight tracks, there are five original songs, as well as three covers chosen by Lukather as "an homage to the people that I love": "

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys ''The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band Traffic, released in 1971. The album was Traffic's most successful in the United States, reaching number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs chart and becoming the ...

" by

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

’s "Welcome To The Club" and "Bridge of Sighs" by

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

. According to Lukather, he took the cover songs first "because that was gonna set the tone of what I wanted to write pretty much for the record". These three were songs that he "played in junior and high school in bands" and influenced him. With "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys", Lukather said that he "wanted to play and stretch out". He also denoted that this version includes "one of the greatest piano solos" that he's heard of in his life by Jeff Babko, and that David Paich plays a great "

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...

organ solo". As stated by Lukather, Walsh "really dug" the cover of "Welcome to the Club" included in the album. About "Bridge of Sighs", Lukather said that he chose that song because "Robin

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

doesn't get enough love" and he "wanted to capture that era when it was recorded in the early '70s". He has also affirmed that it's a great and fun song to play, that he loves the lyrics and the vibe of the song, and that "not a lot of people have done it" as far as he knows. Looking at the original songs, the album starts with "Along for the Ride". Lukather has indicated that he wanted it to be punchy and that he "didn’t want people to think that I’d lost my rock and roll sense". He has also acknowledged that "there's probably a bit of

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

in there". Andy Greene of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' has wrote that the lyrics of this song show the "frustration and anger he’s felt over the past couple of years", alluding to the lawsuit and the end of the previous incarnation of Toto. According to Greene, "things get even more bitter on 'Serpent Soul, the next song on the album. Lukather said about it that "we wanted to just write something swampy" and that it's his tribute to

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

All credits sourced from the album's liner notes. *

– guitars , lead vocals * Jeff Babko – synths , keys , Wurli Rhodes , piano ,

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

, effects , organ *

– organ , piano *

– drums *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– drums, tambourine * Jorgen Carlsson – bass * John Pierce – bass * Joseph Williams – background vocals , all keys , strings , horn arrangements Technical * Ken Freeman, Steve Lukather –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Joseph Williams – co-production * Ken Freeman –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing * Brendan Collins, Ryan Potesta – assistants * Bruce Sugar – additional recording *

Gavin Lurssen Gavin Lurssen is an American mastering engineer. He owns Lurssen Mastering in Hollywood, California.mastering * Roy Coch – artwork * Alex Solca – photography

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Steve Lukather albums