This song is a staple from the Toto Hydra album in 1977. The lyric that catches me every time I hear it is:
How can you live for tomorrow
When you curse the night and day
The minutes pass through the hour glass
As you let them slip away
Some say it is about cocaine… I am not sure… and I am not sure I care… I don’t do cocaine. What I do know is this was a really driving rock song and one of the first I experienced with Toto. About 15 or 16 when I first heard this song. And it made me pay attention to Toto. I have been a huge fan ever since! Of course other great songs since then. Their body of work is incredible. Not to mention the number of studio sessions and other artist albums each of them has played on. If you have heard a song… especially from the 70s, 80’s and 90’s… it is likely to have one or multiple members of Toto playing on it. Jeff Porcaro coupled with Nathan East (not from the band Toto, but has toured with them) was an incredibly successful rhythm section on most albums you heard from that era. Put “Luke” in any of those songs and it was a hit! Simple… all incredible musicians. I have not even started express my love for Bobby Kimball’s voice! He is in my top 5 list for Male Vocalists! I’ll leave it at that. Go listen!
I did this arrangement because I was inspired by a DVD I own, from Toto from around 2003 or so, with them playing a show in Poland. A 25 year anniversary concert, I think! Still have the DVD… just don’t tend to watch DVD’s much any longer… I can find the show online.
I love how they intertwined this song… The Beatles, The Who and arguably other songs in this whole medley… including a drum solo from Simon Phillips (who replaced Jeff Porcoro after his untimely death). I love the “tribute” to the Who’s “We Won’t Get Fooled Again”… Especially the ending part! So, I played it! Always wanted to! I smiled when I mixed it (and when I hear it). I think I pulled it off! You Decide!
The Process
- I started with the Piano Part… got it all learned and worked out the arrangement. Recorded it using my trusty Triton Extreme… Well… the virtual version of it… I own one… but the 88 key beast is hard to move and is larger than my space really permits. I can’t part with it though!
- I moved to bass… recorded a bass line that was a place holder with my Fender Jazz (Squire) bass. I re-tracked later with my Spector 4 String! That has become my favorite bass in my arsenal!
- Guitars are a couple of tracks – double tracked and panned wide for effect. I love doubled guitars spread out wide… I started out with my Alex Lifeson Les Paul model… but ended up changing to my Gretsch Jet… It just sounded better.
- Then I recorded drums – badly! After I got it all put together and was ready to mix… I hated the sound of them and the feel of them. I just don’t think I played them very well at all! So I tuned… reset mic placement and gain structures… much better. Re-tracked the drums. Thanks to my son, Levi, for helping me with the reset on the drums. My drums are in one room and the control room is another space… So it is a two person job!
Microphones
Drums
- Audix D2/D4/D6 – Small Condensers for Overheads
- Shure SM57 Snare Top
- Audix D2 Bottom Snare
- UA SD-7 Mics with 421 Emulation for Floor Toms
Instrument Tracking Order
- Piano
- Bass
- Guitars
- Drums (a couple of times after a mic and gain reset)
Mix Process and Notes
Whew… well… Mix was a challenge. After attempting to start the mix, I discovered how much I hated the drum sounds… so I went back and checked mic positions, gain structures, and signal chain to achieve a better drum sound. I re-tracked the drums. My timing on drums is always suspect and I never lock to a grid… so it has some give and take.
I like to call myself a jack of a bunch of trades… master of none. I love doing this and ultimately it is about me having fun… so it is what it is! My timing may vary!
Guitars may be a little hot… but I like them there vs. lower in the mix. And my guitar playing is always suspect as well! So you can hear my imperfections. I am trying to imitate one of THE greatest guitar players in the world… and I don’t really profess to play guitar… I do it when I need to… I hire when I need a good guitar part!
Bass was re-tracked as well… I had originally used my 5 String Fender Jazz (Squire) I picked up at an auction for $100 bucks. I decided I didn’t care for the sound so much… so I pulled out the 4 string Spector! I love that thing! Neck thru the body… Bartolini electronics. Sounds and plays so good! I need a 5 string version of it!
Plugins:
Busses
- SSL Bus Compressor
Recorded and Mixed with Universal Audio Luna (DAW)
- Various Plugins including:
- T-HU Guitar Amps
- GK Bass Amp
Mastering
I used my goto TC Electronic Finalizer
Instruments Used
- Drums
- Pearl Drums
- Ludwig Black Beauty Snare
- Meinl Cymbals
- Zildjian Cymbals
- Bass
- Started with my 5 String Fender Jazz (Squire)
- Re-tracked with my 4 String Spector
- Guitars
- Started with my Alex Lifeson Les Paul (Epiphone)
- Ended up re-tracking with my Gretsch Jet
- Keyboards and Synths
- Native Instruments Komplete Controller
- Korg Triton Extreme
- Native Instruments Komplete Controller
- Video
- Zoom Cameras
- Q2N4K
- Q8N4K
- Zoom Cameras
- Editing Software
- DaVinci Resolve
