Hydra
Studio album by
Toto
ReleasedNovember 1979[1]
RecordedSummer 1979[2]
StudioSunset Sound and Reggie Fisher Recording Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Genre
Length41:23
LabelColumbia
Producer
Toto chronology
Toto
(1978)		 Hydra
(1979)		 Turn Back
(1981)
Singles from Hydra
  1. "99"
    Released: December 3, 1979 (US)[3]
  2. "St George and the Dragon"
    Released: January 4, 1980 (UK)[4]
  3. "All Us Boys"
    Released: March 24, 1980 (US)[5]

Hydra is the second studio album by American rock band Toto, released in 1979.[6] It reached #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 #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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Record Mirror[12]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[13]
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

All tracks are written by David Paich, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Hydra"Paich, Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Bobby Kimball, David HungatePaich7:31
2."St. George and the Dragon" Kimball4:45
3."99" Lukather5:16
4."Lorraine" Paich4:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
5."All Us Boys" Paich5:03
6."Mama"Paich, KimballKimball5:14
7."White Sister"Paich, KimballKimball5:39
8."A Secret Love"S. Porcaro, Paich, KimballKimball3:07

Personnel

Toto

Additional musicians

Production

  • 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

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

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 838. ISBN 9780862415419.
  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. 1 2 3 Hydra at AllMusic
  12. ↑ Smith, Robin (19 January 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, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Archived 2012-12-28 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 1, 2012
  17. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  18. ↑ "charts.nz Toto – Hydra" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  19. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Toto – Hydra". Hung Medien. VG-lista. Archived from the original (ASP) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  20. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Toto – Hydra" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Toto Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Album Search: Toto – Hydra" (in German). Media Control. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Top 100 Albums". RPM. December 20, 1980. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  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.
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