Hydra (Toto album)

1979 studio album by Toto

Hydra

Studio album by

Toto

Released| October 26, 1979[1]
Recorded| Summer 1979[2]
Studio| Sunset Sound and Reggie Fisher Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Genre| Rock
Length| 41:23
Label| Columbia
Producer|

* Tom Knox
* Reggie Fisher
* Toto

Toto chronology
| Toto
(1978)  | Hydra
(1979)  | Turn Back
(1981)

|
|

Singles from  Hydra

1. "99"
Released: December 3, 1979[3]
2. "St George and the Dragon"
Released: January 4, 1980[4]
3. "All Us Boys"
Released: March 24, 1980[5]

Hydra is the second studio album by American rock band Toto, released in 1979.[6] It reached No. 37 on the Billboard Pop Albums.[7] While most of the album's singles failed to make any impact in the charts, "99", a song inspired by the 1971 science fiction movie THX 1138,[8] reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9]

In 2013, Toto's guitarist Steve Lukather said of the album:

> You get successful with something, it’s always the whole thing where you don’t want to repeat it. So we tried something a little different with Hydra, and it sold well, although it might have been a little bit rushed for us. And here's some irony for you -- Rolling Stone beat up on the first album, and then when they reviewed Hydra, the opening line of the review is something like, "It doesn’t have the magic of the first album." We're immediately pissing ourselves on the floor with laughter. Who are these cats? Do they think we have amnesia? We were just following our muses, man. We were following our own rules and we didn't want to listen to anybody.[10]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide| [13]
Record Mirror| [12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide| [14]

Though a commercial success, Hydra was a far less popular album than the band's top-selling debut. AllMusic suggested this was due to Toto's failure to establish a distinctive, recognizable sound on either Hydra or their debut, which would have allowed listeners to immediately identify Toto's major hits with the band themselves. They also speculated that most listeners were not familiar with the film (namely, THX 1138) on which the song "99" was based, and thus found the lyrics hopelessly cryptic, preventing the single from becoming as big a hit as it might have been.[11]

Critical response to the album was mixed. AllMusic's retrospective review made little judgment on the quality (noting only as an aside that the songs were "well-played"), instead discussing why it had failed to match the commercial success of their debut.[11]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by David Paich, except where noted.

Side oneNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Lead vocals| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Hydra"| Paich, Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Bobby Kimball, David Hungate| Paich| 7:31
2.| "St. George and the Dragon"|  | Kimball w/ Paich| 4:45
3.| "99"|  | Lukather| 5:16
4.| "Lorraine"|  | Paich| 4:46

Side twoNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Lead vocals| Length

|
|
|
|

5.| "All Us Boys"|  | Paich| 5:03
6.| "Mama"| Paich, Kimball| Kimball| 5:14
7.| "White Sister"| Paich, Kimball| Kimball| 5:39
8.| "A Secret Love"| S. Porcaro, Paich, Kimball| Kimball| 3:07

## Personnel

[edit]

### Toto

[edit]

* Bobby Kimball – lead and backing vocals
* Steve Lukather – guitars, lead and backing vocals
* Steve Porcaro – synthesizers, electronics, synthesizer programming
* David Paich – acoustic piano, keyboards, lead and backing vocals
* David Hungate – bass guitar, guitars
* Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion

### Additional musicians

[edit]

* Lenny Castro – percussion
* Michael Boddicker – synthesizer samples
* Roger Linn – assistant synthesizer programming
* Marty Paich – string arrangements

## Production

[edit]

* Produced by Tom Knox, Reggie Fisher and Toto.
* Engineered and Mixed by Tom Knox and Dana Latham.
* Assistant Engineer – Stephen McManus
* Mastered by David Donnelly
* Art Direction – Jim Hagopian, Tony Lane and Jeff Porcaro.
* Design – Philip Garris
* Photography – Jim Hagopian
* Calligraphy – Mike Manoogian

## Singles

[edit]

* "99" / "Hydra"
* "St George and the Dragon" / "A Secret Love"
* "All Us Boys" / "Hydra" (released in US)

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (1979–1980)  | Peak
position

|

Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[15] | 41
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[16] | 10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 38
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] | 37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] | 29
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] | 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] | 15
US Billboard 200[22] | 37

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (1980)  | Peak
position

|

Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23] | 52
US Billboard 200[24] | 67

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Canada (Music Canada)[25] | Platinum  | 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] | Gold  | 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 52.
2. ^ Lukather, Steve (2019). The Gospel according to Luke (1st ed.). Post Hill Press. p. 83\. ISBN 978-1-64293-285-0.
3. ^ "Toto singles".
4. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 838\. ISBN 9780862415419.
5. ^ "Toto singles".
6. ^ "Turntable Tips". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. January 16, 1980. p. 9D. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
7. ^ Hydra Billboard chart history, Allmusic.
8. ^ Regemann, Petra & McVey, Steve. Toto Band History, toto99.com.
9. ^ Toto Chart History, Billboard.com. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
10. ^ Giles, Jeff (October 18, 2015). "Interview: Steve Lukather Recounts 35 Years of Toto History". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
11. ^ a b c Hydra at AllMusic
12. ^ Smith, Robin (January 19, 1980). "TOTO: Hydra". Record Mirror. p. 15.
13. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 688.
14. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 712.
15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
16. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9482a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
17. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Toto – Hydra" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
18. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 978-4-87131-077-2.
19. ^ "Charts.nz – Toto – Hydra". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Toto – Hydra". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
21. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Toto – Hydra". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
22. ^ "Toto Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
23. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0275". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
24. ^ Billboard.com – Year End Charts – Year-end Albums – The Billboard 200. December 20, 1980.
25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Toto – Toto". Music Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
26. ^ "American album certifications – Toto – Toto". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 1, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* "Hydra" at discogs

* v
* t
* e

Toto

* Steve Lukather
* Joseph Williams
* David Paich
* Greg Phillinganes

* Steve Porcaro
* David Hungate
* Bobby Kimball
* Jeff Porcaro
* Mike Porcaro
* Fergie Frederiksen
* Jean-Michel Byron
* Simon Phillips
* Keith Carlock

Studio albums|

* Toto
* Hydra
* Turn Back
* Toto IV
* Isolation
* Fahrenheit
* The Seventh One
* Kingdom of Desire
* Tambu
* Mindfields
* Through the Looking Glass
* Falling in Between
* Toto XIV
* Old Is New

Live albums|

* Absolutely Live
* Livefields
* Live in Amsterdam
* Falling in Between Live

Compilation albums|

* Past to Present 1977–1990
* Best Ballads
* Toto XX
* The Essential Toto
* 40 Trips Around the Sun

Soundtracks|

* Dune

Notable songs|

* "Hold the Line"
* "I'll Supply the Love"
* "Georgy Porgy"
* "99"
* "Live for Today"
* "Rosanna"
* "Make Believe"
* "Africa"
* "I Won't Hold You Back"
* "Waiting for Your Love"
* "Stranger in Town"
* "I'll Be Over You"
* "Stop Loving You"
* "Pamela"
* "I Will Remember"
* "Bottom of Your Soul"
* "Holy War"

Related people|

* Lenny Castro
* Warren Ham
* Nathan East
* Boz Scaggs
* Tony Spinner
* Leland Sklar
* Shannon Forrest

Related articles|

* Discography
* Members

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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