Review Summary: Impeccable musicianship, creative writing and (mostly) excellent production. A courageous evolution that obviously couldn't sell like the debut.
"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.”
- Steve Lukather
After a huge breakthrough debut album, like Toto's self-titled 1978 release, it's not an easy task to record a proper follow-up. Which is exactly why Toto did not. Two factors lead to the creation of Hydra; the first being the absence of the desire to copy a formula that already won the first time, the second being David Paich's interest for the progressive rock scene, which also mildly surfaced a few times on the debut album. So, the band decided that it was already time for a change, and thus
Hydra came to see the light on October 1979, almost exactly a year after its fortunate predecessor.
One thing the album shares with the debut is the mixture of different music genres. A thing that's subtly told in the first handful of tracks, but really becomes evident on side two. That said, this time the variation is more controlled and comes off as more natural. So
Hydra begins with the lengthy title track, an airy progressive rock mini-epic with quirky lyrics that somehow fuse a modern-day love song with the fantastical titular beast and the knight that has to slay it. The following, shorter "St. George and the Dragon" follows along, in what initially feels like a proggy concept album... an illusion shattered when "99" comes in, with lyrics inspired by George Lucas' sci-fi movie "THX 1138". Still, more coherent is the instrumental side of the track: beginning as a funky ballad, "99" then evolves into a gentle jazz fusion piece in its final third, keeping intact the album's interesting mood. These are the coordinates on which
Hydra moves, with the addition of a robust hard rock influence on side two, most notable in the hard hitting rocker "White Sister".
A band made of proficient session men
and best friends gives many advantages. Mostly excellent production values and terrific taste for playing being at the center.
Hydra is not a cold professional exercise; it's a rich, creative body of music written by a bunch of highschool friends who happened to be professional musicians. The silly lyrics for the rocking "All Us Boys" highlight the last sentence in all of its naive glory. It's hard to find the real star in this sextet, though Steve Lukather's guitar playing could be the most apparent answer. The variety on display is impressive, ranging from the beautiful jazz soloing of "99" to the fiery shredding of "White Sister" still remembered as a career highlight for good reason. Yet the reality is that the same talk should be made about everyone. For example, the rhythm section is pleasantly unpretentious in its supportive approach, but bassist David Hungate doesn't refuse to add tasteful licks (or simply drive the song nicely like in the misty verses of "Lorraine") just like drummer Jeff Porcaro lets himself loose in the short drum solo that closes "All Us Boys".
It can't be avoided to talk about the presence of two keyboardists: Steve Porcaro and David Paich, the latter having exclusive writing credits on half of the tracks and at least appearing on all of them (the later "Rosanna" will be his creation). This duality leads to the presence of endearing keyboard textures, that shine both in the dynamic calm/rocking structure of tracks like "Lorraine" and in the jazzy flourishes during the funk of "Mama". Lastly Bobby Kimball in its prime was a singer to behold, his soaring vocals shining brightly on "Mama" where his tenor voice reaches impressive heights. In a Beatles fashion (which Toto never denied), this is a band where everyone can sing. In
Hydra most of the lead material is sung by Kimball or Paich, but Lukather gets a lead role too handing his warm voice to "99". This only adds to the variety of the album, even though Steve Porcaro didn't get a singing spot like he did on the debut.
Hydra ended up selling well, but not as well as the self-titled album for reasons that are quite obvious. As it is, this album stands as a down to earth and yet rather bold musical experimentation for a then-"pop-constricted" band that reflects the young age of the musicians in the best way. It does feel slightly incomplete, leaving the listener with unavoidable questions like "what if they had put another prog piece in it?", or more precisely "what if the terrific "Tale of a Man" managed to be part of it?". But it is nevertheless a virtually perfect body of music. It is also the first time Toto tried to free themselves from the commercial chains, which later had the best on them and practically forced the band to release an album like Toto IV. At the time however they refused to bow and decided to work on yet another shade of sound for
Hydra's follow-up,
Turn Back.
"The dragon will cut him with his tail
Chased him to the stairway, caught him halfway to the top
Sent him whirling down - fireballs, summer solstice
Dragon lord descended down on him
She turned to look but saw only darkness, silence"
Toto - "Hydra"
