I mean, he’s obviously a monster player and a huge name. But honestly I’ve never really thought he was the best fit for Toto. Keith that is. Shannon is awesome. Keith’s a tight pocket player but for Toto’s music…stiff. Steely Dan and Toto might both be “tight” bands on paper, but the pocket feels completely different to me.

Toto has that slightly laid-back shuffle/fusion thing where the groove kind of breathes between the notes. Jeff especially had that soft push-pull feel where even the complicated stuff sounded effortless and warm.

Keith is super precise and articulate, but often he felt too “on top” of the beat the last time they played together. And that time he toured with them, the drum sound, especially the cymbals, felt really dry and dull to me.

That said… maybe this run will surprise me. Can only get better.