Almost 50 years after beginning his professional music career, founding Toto keyboardist/singer/songwriter David Paich has released his debut solo EP, Forgotten Toys.
Paich co-produced the seven-track collection with longtime Toto frontman Joseph Williams, who also co-wrote and sang on three tunes, while founding Toto guitarist Steve Lukather contributed to multiple songs as well. David also enlisted a variety of other well-known musicians for the project, including Michael McDonald, ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder, Brian Eno, Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone, Ray Parker Jr. and Rolling Stones touring drummer Steve Jordan.
Paich tells ABC Audio that he’s “excited” about releasing Forgotten Toys, which he describes as a “collection of little gems.”
“I’m giddy and have butterflies, like I did…when we released the first Toto album,” David says. “I think it’s fresh. It’s new for me…I have my fingers crossed that people will enjoy it out there as much as I enjoyed making it.”
He adds, “[T]he reward…was the actual making of the record, with the players that I made it with. And it was so much fun and so inspiring.”
Paich notes that doing the EP outside of Toto gave him the chance to collaborate with “other musicians who have been family and friends for such a long time…[but] that I normally wouldn’t work with.”
For example, the track “Queen Charade” features Felder on slide guitar and Jordan on drums, with additional guitar from Lukather.
David says the tune, which he calls “my rock ‘n’ roll song,” was influenced by The Stones, noting, “It’s a little more reckless than Toto gets sometimes.”
Coinciding with the EP’s arrival, Paich is releasing the melodic tune “willibelongtoyou” as a single today, along with a companion video.
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