[Cover photo credit to Alessandro Solca]
TOTO’s David Paich is readying his first solo album, Forgotten Toys, which will arrive via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group on August 19th, 2022. The album’s second single, “Queen Charade”, is out now. The song makes reference to the opera Queen of Spades and explores the exploits of a femme fatale who “has many faces and can manipulate men with her playing card prowess”.
David Paich shares:
This song, about an obsessed gambler and a cunning Duchess, was inspired after I worked on Keith Richard’s solo record.
David Paich has collaborated with artists such as Boz Scaggs, Mötley Crüe, Steely Dan, Bryan Adams, George Martin, Michael Jackson, and many, many others. With his TOTO bandmates, Paich arranged and performed songs on Michael Jackson’s legendary albums, Bad and Thriller. With TOTO, Paich has released 17 albums. Paich wrote or co-wrote TOTO’s biggest hits, “Hold the Line”, “Rosanna” and “Africa”.

The COVID lockdown presented Paich the opportunity to revisit many songs that he has carried in my head for years. He shares:
It seemed like it was time to put something together. Some of these really are forgotten toys. It had been a while since I’ve been in my studio and I found myself listening to these little pieces continuously. I kept rediscovering them, hoping to fit the tracks together like a musical puzzle.
Joined by Joseph Williams as co-Producer and sometimes co-vocalist, Paich welcomed TOTO’s Steve Lukather, Brian Eno, Michael McDonald, Ray Parker Jr., Don Felder, and Steve Jordan of The Rolling Stones to work on this first solo album.