Producer, songwriter, musician Jeff Bhasker has worked with Kanye West, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and the Rolling Stones as well as Mark Ronson, for whose album “Uptown Special” he shared the Producer of the Year Grammy. Jeff recounts his journey from New Mexico to Berklee to the road to a song on the Game’s album to working with Kanye to being one of the most sought out producers in the world.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jeff-bhasker/id1316200737?i=1000551379522

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/0418d921-a90b-42a3-810b-3bda78470903/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jeff-bhasker

https://listen.stitcher.com/yvap/?af_dp=stitcher://episode/90551611&af_web_dp=https://www.stitcher.com/episode/90551611

Spotify playlist: https://spoti.fi/3LC0wQN

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3539uFL

I thought it was on “Fahrenheit.” That’s my favorite Toto album.

The initial one had “Hold the Line,” which was all over the radio.

The second one was “Hydra,” which was less successful commercially, but was the one that sold me. I was on a flight from L.A. to Aspen and heard “99” on the in-flight program, remember those? With those squishy headphone ends? That was the only musical option you had, there were no smartphones, never mind iPods or even Walkmans. And the choices were always cheesy. Well, at least the ones for rock. There were usually seven channels or so, and the hip one was out of date, with anomalies no self-respecting fan of FM rock would listen to. But you checked it out nonetheless. And did I say the audio was poor? This was before noise-canceling headphones.

I eventually bought “Hydra,” on vinyl, cassettes were for amateurs, if you needed a portable version you made your own, in real time, which were far superior to those duplicated at high speed by the manufacturer. And from the very beginning “Hydra” was intriguing. This was back when albums were statements, works of art, and were created that way, where the first tack might not be the single, but an introduction to the act’s latest opus. And in truth, the opening track, the title track, started off majestic, orchestral, then fell into a groove, and then became almost prog rock, but that was an English construction, there was never a credible American prog rock band and no one ever considered Toto to be prog. But really it was the second track, “St. George and the Dragon,” that sealed the deal, with David Paich’s keyboard intro, it was hard not to nod your head. Forget the lyrics, it’s the sound that’s intriguing, and the dynamics, this was a freight train of a band, akin to those of the late sixties stages, yet with the edges worn off but with the power remaining. And then come “99.”

The third LP, “Turn Back,” didn’t build on what had been established, so no one could have predicted the subsequent opus, “IV,” which was all over the radio and won all those Grammys. Toto was not a Top Forty band, but “IV” crossed over. And there was the connection to Rosanna Arquette. You didn’t have to own it, you still heard it. In a way nothing is heard today. And isn’t it funny that when the band excised outside producers and did it themselves they reached the zenith.

It’s nearly impossible to follow up a monolith, just ask Alanis Morissette, and Toto couldn’t either, “Isolation” was a commercial disappointment.

But then came “Fahrenheit.” Not that anybody was waiting for it with bated breath.

The band had gone through changes. Canning its original singer, Bobby Kimball, for Fergie Frederiksen, and since the act was following up a monster, this news was all over the press, contributing to the disappointment of “IV”‘s follow-up “Isolation.” And then with “Fahrenheit,” the band switched singers once again, to Joseph Williams, son of John, huh?

But I saw “Fahrenheit” in the promo bin and purchased it, remembering how much I enjoyed “Hydra,” and I dropped the needle, yes, CDs were available in 1986, but they were still expensive and not fully embraced, and was immediately drawn in.

“Till the End,’ which was actually the opening, had the magic of “St. George and the Dragon” but Williams evidenced a bit more emotion than his predecessors Kimball and Fredriksen. He was spitting the lyrics, however sweetly, and they seemed to be authentic.

And then “Fahrenheit” maintained the magic. The second cut, “We Can Make It Tonight,” was magical from the beginning and listening one knew this LP was a winner, two in a row isn’t easy. And really, the album is great, not for punk rockers, but if you can appreciate sweetness and talent all wrapped up into one, in an era where you didn’t have to have an edge to succeed, you’ll dig it. But the best track is the first side closer, “I’ll Be Over You.” Wikipedia tells me it had impact on Top 40 and AC, but I never listened to those formats. But I did make a cassette of “Fahrenheit” and played it in the car. I didn’t care what anybody thought, although at this point most rock fans were not thinking of Toto, because of the dud that preceded it, and let my mind drift. The truth is all men have soft spots, they just don’t like to show them. But get a few drinks in them in a dark room and you’ll be stunned what they have to say, reminiscing about old loves, missed chances. They might be pierced and tattooed, wearing a leather jacket, but they’re all looking for a woman to embrace them, to fall into and soothe their wounds (or a man!)

So when I was creating my yacht rock playlist I thought “I Won’t Hold You Back” was on “Fahrenheit,” because that’s the Toto album I know best, by heart, but it’s not. I was stunned to find out “I Won’t Hold You Back” was on “IV.”

And listening I realized it was LUKATHER! The stinging guitar player, who’d made his bones in the studio, he sang “99,” “I’ll Be Over You” and “I Won’t Hold You Back” and was involved in the writing too. Of all the guys in the band, the one with the spiky hair and the swagger is the introspective one with a soft side?

“If I had another chance tonight

I’d try to tell you that the things we had were right

Time can erase the love we shared

But it gives me time to realize just how much you cared”

It’s over, he has regrets. He knows he acted badly, he knows he was at fault, he feels bad about it. As for time erasing the love you share…I don’t believe that, your beloved remains frozen in your brain, they’re still in your heart, you can move on, but you can never get completely over them.

“Now you’re gone, I’m really not the same

I guess I held myself to blame

Time can erase the things we said

But it gives me time to realize that you’re the one who’s sad”

You don’t realize what you’ve got till it’s gone, that’s true. As for time erasing the things that were said…it’s funny, the zings, the dealbreakers, they fade away and you only remember the good times.

But the verses are just a set-up for the chorus. They’re the story, but not the hit to the body, the magic that puts “I Won’t Hold You Back” over the top. This is something music can do that movies and TV cannot. A repetitive dart to the heart that infects you that you never recover from. The best songs you never really burn out on, they’ve got a special place inside you.

And the majesty of “I Won’t Hold You Back” does not appear in most tracks. There’s something similar, especially with the harmonies, in Chicago’s “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long,” but that ends on an exuberant note whereas “I Won’t Hold You Back” does not, everybody still remains where they are, disconnected and apart. As for what his ex beloved feels we have no idea. He’s stating that he cares for her. He’s accepted it’s over, but…

“You know I won’t hold you back now

The love we had just can’t be found

You know I can’t hold you back now”

You stop reaching. You let them go. You still have your feelings, but they’re unrequited. Or maybe you were such a bad boyfriend they refuse to return, many times bitten, very shy. He’s setting her free, reluctantly. He won’t interfere. But he now realizes what he lost. She cared, they shared, it worked until he screwed it up. That’s right, the love they had just can’t be found, There are billions of people in the world, but finding someone you can connect with and be with is damn hard.

But it’s more than the lyrics. More than the changes. More than the background vocals (although those are superior and magical unto themselves, enough to make the track memorable all by themselves). It’s the orchestrations of James Newton Howard and Marty Paich, and Luke’s stinging guitar on top of it all in the instrumental section.

But it’s always back to that chorus. Over and over again. Just like you play the relationship over and over in your head.

Toto were criticized for all the stuff that’s now a lost art. Aces with studio experience, who can both write and play who didn’t start doing it for the fame. Mixed in with the orchestra made possible by a lot of money and studio time. Seemingly all these elements are gone. Studio musicians… There are few sessions, few opportunities. Maybe because there’s not enough money to get it right in the big rooms. But now the search is for something grittier, less sweet, based on rhythm as opposed to melody. And those leaning in that direction are so sappy as to be discarded by anybody who’s been around and seen the real thing. Used to be the music was enough to sell the record, few knew who was even in Toto, now personality is dominant, and you burnish it with social media. As for tracks that are forever?

“I Won’t Hold You Back” is forty years old, but it sounds as fresh and impactful as the day it was released. It’s not dated by period sounds. And first and foremost it’s a song. And the message is eternal. And it’s a revelation to hear that guitar solo screaming over the orchestra, that’s not even a sound in today’s canon.

Surprisingly, “Africa” came back, as a result of a cover by Weezer. Do I expect “I Won’t Hold You Back” to come back? No, because the hipsters in charge of such things don’t want to touch, to embrace something that puts the heart first, it’s kryptonite to them, but in truth it’s what so much of the audience wants, and needs. Along with a significant other.

https://spoti.fi/3GSs8gX

Change happens overnight.

The most important story you missed last week was this:

“Why This Could Be a Critical Year for Electric Cars – Booming in a depressed market, battery-powered vehicles are a plus for the climate but pose a big threat to carmakers and parts suppliers that are slow to change.”: https://nyti.ms/351DH8s

Last year, electric cars made up NINE PERCENT ((9%) of new car sales worldwide…NINE PERCENT! That’s astronomical!

But in the U.S?

Only 4%.

This is what drives me nuts about America. The supposed greatest country in the world whose biggest advocates are uneducated nincompoops who’ve never been anywhere.

Go to Norway. It’s all electric! And Norway is a rich country because of its oil. It’s the Scandinavian Saudi Arabia. And just like Saudi Arabia, it’s investing in the future. But America? The last time I wrote about electric cars I got an e-mail from some idiot telling me internal combustion engines were forever!

Er, no. Absolutely not.

And even worse, the Detroit companies are way behind.

Even Mercedes-Benz. Its vaunted EQS is being panned by all the critics. Not because it’s a bad car, but it’s not in the league of Tesla and Lucid and the rest of the electric startups who began with a blank sheet of paper. There’s too much legacy in the EQS, because the underlying platform has to work for a gasoline version too. Turns out you can’t compromise in the fight for the future, you’re either all in or you’re out.

GM? Had to take its Bolt off the market. It caught fire. Ford’s a bit better. Stellantis is way behind. Turns out the future of automobiles is Chinese. They are the only country that can compete with Tesla. China bought up lithium production around the world, a crucial element in battery cars, while Detroit was still asleep at the wheel.

But I take you back to Kodak. We kept hearing that digital would supersede film. But it never happened. There were digital cameras in the marketplace, but then seemingly overnight, EVERYONE switched to digital and your film camera was worth nothing.

Gonna be the same deal with electric cars. DO NOT BUY A NEW GASOLINE CAR! Unless you plan on getting rid of it within five years. Because the value is gonna crash overnight, your car will be worth nothing. Buy used. Or lease, which is insane for most people, financially stupid, today’s cars are so good you can keep them for two decades, after your payments are through you’re sailing clear, without payments. Some have tax advantages to leasing, most don’t. They just want to drive a new car every few years or don’t want to lay down for ownership, or can’t afford it. If you’re leasing a new car for status, just talk to the younger generation, THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE DRIVER’S LICENSES!!!

So people are e-mailing me that 112 million people watched the Super Bowl.

That’s because it’s a national event, the only time the country is all on the same page, there are parties, IT’S NOT BECAUSE OF FOOTBALL! Because otherwise the rest of the playoff games would have numbers in the same neighborhood and they’re not even close.

People are driven to that which everybody else is, especially in the disconnected world we now live in. They want to feel included, they want to be able to comment. But if you think it’s about the game… Look at the Grammys and the Oscars, flying high and then ratings tanked almost overnight, AND WILL NEVER COME BACK! Turns out their universality is gone. Used to be everybody watched them like the Super Bowl, then they all looked at each other and asked why and now don’t.

This is how it happens, and it happens fast.

So the negatives of football are huge. First and foremost, the younger generation participation numbers are going down down down. They don’t even have youth leagues in Inglewood, where the Super Bowl took place. Come on, every person has a mother, and most want to protect their children. As for the effects of football, read this article:

“For N.F.L. Perfection, a Steep Price – Nick Buoniconti, Jim Kiick and Jake Scott, of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins, were each found to have C.T.E., the brain disease linked to head hits, bringing to six the number of players diagnosed from that team.”: https://nyti.ms/3JwB6SG

I remember watching Nick Buoniconti on “Inside the NFL.” They were always talking about him raising money for charity. His son was paralyzed playing football. And then Buoniconti disappeared. I wondered what happened. Turns out he had dementia from CTE and now he’s DEAD!

You don’t want to die, really. You’ll be begging for more life at the end, believe me. As for full functionality, people killed themselves because of long Covid, football players are routinely committing suicide because of CTE. And mothers are gonna let their kids play the game? Come on!

And you’re right, I used to watch. But now I can’t. It offends my sensibilities.

Meanwhile, soccer has made inroads over decades and when the World Cup is played this year…believe me, all those kids who grew up playing soccer will be tuned in. And THE WHOLE WORLD will be tuned in, just like they are for electric cars. Turns out America is too often last.

And don’t say that’s because I hate the country. I’m saying to wake up, so we can compete! Trump kept all those foreigners out, who worked at Silicon Valley companies, and now they’re creating startups in their own countries, we missed out.

So the esports revolution will happen overnight, just like digital cameras and electric cars. It’s been in the marketplace for years, but change happens very slowly, then all at once.

Meanwhile, boomers are getting older every day. Young people are being minted as I write this.

It’s kind of like baseball. I grew up when it was the number one American sport, absolutely. And then in the mid to late sixties the NFL usurped its title, because it was faster with more action. Meanwhile, I know tons of boomers who are addicted to baseball. Younger people? NONE! Why do you think your perspective is the world’s, and nothing will ever change. And then the world changes and you want protection, you want to be made whole, no one can lose in America.

Football’s got a ton of negatives. And nothing is forever. Gladiators? Those are history. But no, nothing can die in your lifetime, nothing you’re addicted to!

Even skiing, my love. It was hip in the sixties and seventies, everybody talked about it. Then it became saturated, the tree-huggers wouldn’t let them build new ski areas and the smaller areas closed when the big ones invested so much money in infrastructure that the middle class was squeezed out. There’s still a ski industry, but it’s mature, if you’re a skier you’re in a backwater, with the rest of your minority group. Even snowboarding! Gen-X embraced it, then kids started to ski instead of board, they didn’t want to be like their parents, and snowboarding stalled, despite what you see in the Olympics, which reflect what was happening DECADES AGO! Hell, Shaun White is 35.

For the last twenty five years all we’ve seen is change. The CD is forever! Well, it turns out no.

And then change happened so rapidly. Big floppies to small floppies to hard drives to solid state storage. For years you’ve been angry at your cable company having a monopoly, and now the wireless companies are providing home broadband, actually that was one of the commercials in the Super Bowl!

So when you stand on ceremony, believe there will be no change, that your love is forever, you’re just demonstrating a narrow perspective. Unfortunately, head in the sand ignorance is rampant in America today. But that doesn’t mean change doesn’t happen. Mark Zuckerberg was caught off guard by Apple’s privacy protections and TikTok, and I’m supposed to believe you have your finger on the pulse of the future?

NO WAY!