by William Ruhlmann

Having traded in lead singer Bobby Kimball for Fergie Frederiksen, a smooth tenor wailer in the tradition of Journey's Steve Perry, Toto proceeded to follow its power ballad smash Toto IV with a Journey clone album, minus the aching ballads that had made Journey such a success. A workout for drummer Jeff Porcaro, keyboardist David Paich, and guitarist Steve Lukather, Isolation was anything but the kind of record those millions who had loved "Rosanna" were waiting for. It seemed intended to restore the bandmembers' heady studio reputations as hard rock technicians, which it did by dispensing with the elements that finally had made the band a big success in 1982.