Toto-Turn Back (1981)

Toto's third album is unfairly underrated, having been overshadowed by the mega-hits of their first two albums and the multi-platinum "IV" released a year later. The lineup that recorded this album continued to consist of David Paich (keyboards and backing vocals), Steve Lukather (guitars and vocals), Jeff Porcaro (drums), David Hungate (bass), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), and Bobby Kimball (lead vocals). "Turn Back" features a rich repertoire of tracks that are less complex and have simpler, more predictable arrangements. Even so, it includes high-quality songs such as the addictive "Gift With a Golden Gun", the rocking "English Eyes", the melodic hard rock "Live For Today", the semi-progressive mini-epic "Million Miles Away", the exhilarating rocker "Goodbye Elenore", and the appealing AOR title track. While not a complete flop on the charts ("it only managed to reach one million copies in sales"), this third album falls far short of the multimillion-dollar figures of Toto's previous and subsequent works.