Former Toto singers seem to have found a home on Italy's Frontiers Records. Joseph Williams fronts Vertigo, and Fergie Frederiksen has handled vocals on the Mecca project and now Baptism By Fire, the first collaboration between the Isolation-era singer and renowned multi-instrumentalist/producer Tommy Denander (who, if the press info on this guy is to be believed, has more than 1,000 albums to his credit). Even Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro shows up. So, for that matter, does Styx bassist Ricky Phillips and guitarist Michael Thompson – who recently participated in his own Frontiers-based collaboration called TRW.
Anyway, Baptism By Fire starts off strong with driving AOR tunes like "Let Him Go" and "Right Heart, Wrong Time," cools off in the middle and picks up again near the end with the punchy "Never Try To Love Again," the heavier-than-expected "Dead End" and "Left With Nothing" (which, not surprisingly, sounds like a track from the Toto vault). Baptism By Fire is drenched in the kind of melodic, big-chorus, lost-in-a-time-warp stuff that has caused many critics to dismiss the musical style. But it's also a perfect example of why the genre still manages to boast an international fan base that craves albums exactly like this one.
Track Listing:
1) Let Him Go
2) Right Heart, Wrong Time
3) Silver Lining
4) Crossing Over
5) Written in Stone
6) My Saving Grace
7) Baptism By Fire
8) Can't Get Enough
9) Never Try To Love Again
10) Dead End
11) Keep A Light On
12) Left With Nothing
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