Album Review: Steve Lukather - Bridges
Reviewed by Lana Teramae
For his ninth solo album, ‘Bridges,’ guitarist Steve Lukather wanted to make a record in the style of Toto. To do that, he teamed up with past and present Toto members, including vocalist Joseph Williams and keyboardist David Paich, to craft eight tracks for that current, yet familiar sound. According to Lukather, Toto will never make another studio record, so ‘Bridges’ is the closest thing fans will get to another Toto album. Other musicians that contributed to the album include Simon Phillips, Shannon Forrest, Lee Sklar, Jorgen Carlsson, current Toto keyboardist Steve Maggiora, and Lukather’s eldest son Trevor.
The album opens with the melodic rocker 'Far From Over', which Trevor has a co-write credit for. He also plays guitars, bass guitar, synths, and does backing vocals for the track. Phillips maintains a solid groove on that one, as well as on 'Not My Kind of People'. The latter is backed up with a killer bass line and impeccable guitar playing to give it an edge. The straight-up, brutally honest lyrics help out, as well.
The same can’t be said for 'Someone'. The lyrics deal with the same old, same old. Finding that special someone they can’t let go of. It’s very commercial sounding and has a pop feel to it. 'All Forevers Must End' changes the pace of the album for a bit. It has a beautiful keyboard melody blended nicely with the electric guitars, but it’s a little cheesy and the slow tempo makes the song drag on forever. 'When I See You Again' is another melodic rocker with great backing vocals, but the chorus isn’t that strong.
'Take My Love', which leans into jazz territory, was co-written by Maggiora and he performs all keyboard duties and sings backing vocals, while Forrest does the drum work. There’s also some incredible bluesy guitar work on that song. 'Burning Bridges' immediately grabs listeners with a swinging beat, courtesy of Phillips, and an infectious melody. Again, leaning into jazz territory and it works. “I’ll Never Know” closes the album in an atmospheric, dramatic fashion.
On the plus side, the musicianship is excellent and the production is very modern sounding. But the album lacks direction. Most of the songs are good, but the theming jumps all over the place from rockers, to ballads, to bluesy/jazz numbers. Some of the lyrics are horrible too. They’re not groundbreaking and it’s not like they’ve never been done before in Journey, REO Speedwagon, or any other AOR band. Thankfully, ‘Bridges’ is a short album, with a run time of 36 minutes. It will be released on June 16, 2023 through The Players Club / Mascot Label Group.
