''Tambu'' is the ninth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Toto. It was released in May 1995 through

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...

. ''Tambu'' has sold 600,000 copies worldwide. It is the band's first album to feature Simon Phillips following

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 death in 1992. The album includes the single " I Will Remember", which failed to chart in the US but was the band's first chart hit in the UK since " I Won't Hold You Back" twelve years before. ''Tambu'' was a nominee for

Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...

Reception

AllMusic's review reflected on the album as a major change of direction for Toto, commenting on the anguished and highly vague philosophical lyrics and the focused, bluesy musical style. They found Steve Lukather's performance as chief lead vocalist of such quality that it was puzzling why he hadn't been given the role earlier, and concluded "You couldn't call the result accomplished, but Tambu suggested that Toto was embarked on a new personal and musical journey that might lead in an interesting direction." ''

The Absolute Sound ''The Absolute Sound'' (TAS) is an American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, along with recordings and comments on various music-related subjects. History ''The Absolute Sound'' was founded in 1973 by Harry Pearson, ...

'' called the album "brilliant" and "near-perfect", saying that it was better than the band's previous works.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are descen ...

. Toto *

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 ...

– guitars, lead vocals (1-10, 12), backing vocals (1-5, 7-10, 12), bass fills (5), acoustic piano (2, 6, 10), synthesizers (2, 6),

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

(12) *

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 ...

– synthesizers (1, 3-13), acoustic piano (1-5, 7-9, 11-13), string arrangements and conductor (2, 4, 10, 12),

Fender Rhodes 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, th ...

(5, 7, 10),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

(5, 7, 10), backing vocals (5, 7), lead vocals (7, 9) *

Mike Porcaro Michael Joseph Porcaro (May 29, 1955 – March 15, 2015) was an American bass player known for his work with the rock band Toto. He retired from touring in 2007 as a result of being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was ...

– bass guitar, additional keyboards (7) * Simon Phillips – drums, drum loops (5),

Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...

(6), additional keyboards (7) Featured musicians * Jenny Douglas-McRae – lead vocals (5, 7, 9, 13), backing vocals (1-5, 7-10, 12) * John James – lead vocals (9), backing vocals (2, 5, 7, 8) * Michael McDonald – backing vocals (2) Additional musicians *

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 ...

– drum loops (5) *

Lenny Castro Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * '' ...

– percussion (1, 2, 6) * Michael Fisher – percussion (4) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (5, 7, 8) *

Phillip Ingram Phillip Ingram (born 1958) is an American musician. He is perhaps best known as one of the founding members of the Motown Group "Switch" and is the younger brother of James Ingram. Biography Ingram was raised in Akron, Ohio. He came from a musi ...

– backing vocals (5, 7, 9) * Ricky Nelson – backing vocals (5, 7) * Jim Giddens, Steve Lukather,

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

, Mike Porcaro and

Elliot Scheiner Elliot Ray Scheiner (born 18 March 1947) is a music producer, mixer and engineer. Scheiner has received 27 Grammy Award nominations, eight of which he won, and he has been awarded four Emmy nominations, two Emmy Awards for his work with the Eagl ...

– S.P. chant (1)

Production

* Produced by

and Toto * Recorded by Elliot Scheiner,

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and othe ...

and Bill Smith. * Mixed by Elliot Scheiner * Additional recording by John Jessel * Assisted by Jim Giddens, Stephen Genewick, and Sean Schimmiel. * Digitally Edited and Mastered by

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

at Sterling Sound (New York, NY). * Production Coordination – Ivy Skoff * Keyboard Programming and Set-Up – John Jessel * Set-Up for David Paich and Mike Porcaro – Paul Jamieson * Guitar Tech – Gavin Menzies * Cartage for Steve Lukather – Andy Braun Studio Rentals * Piano Tuner – Keith Albright * Set-Up for Simon Phillips – Drum Paradise * String Contractor – Shari Sutcliffe * Management – The Fitzgerald Hartley Co. * Creative Direction – Doug Brown * Art Direction – Eric Scott * Cover and Portraiture – Daniel Brereton * Photography – Melanie Lawrence

Additional notes

Catalogue: (CD) Sony Legacy 64957

Singles

* I Will Remember / Dave's Gone Skiing ''(released in UK and EU)'' * Drag Him to the Roof / I Will Remember ''(released in Japan)'' * The Other End of Time / Slipped Away ''(released in EU)'' * Just Can't Get to You / I'll Be Over You ''(released in EU)'' * The Turning Point / The Road Goes On ''(released in EU)'' * If You Belong to Me / Don't Stop Me Now ''(released in EU)''

References

''Tambu'' (1995)
{{Authority control Toto (band) albums 1995 albums Albums produced by Elliot Scheiner Albums recorded at Capitol Studios Sony Music albums Hard rock albums by American artists