Toto Blanke Compleat from 1975 to 1984

In a period of under a decade this astonishing guitarist annually made a series of masterpieces in the style of progressive fusion.  Some people out there might not have all of them, in particular, the last 1983 LP is worth hearing though it will inevitably disappoint in terms of its pandering to the latin and simplistic influences that affected all of fusion and jazz come the eighties.

In the beginning of course he was with the group Association P.C. (named for Dutch Pierre Courbois, the percussionist).  All those records are well worth hearing.  Following this he set out on his own with Spiders Dance which was quite reminiscent of the earlier band.  (Note the first track adorably called Lady's Bicycle Seat Sniffer.) The next album created the name Electric Circus and introduced the synthesizer for playing lyrical melodies to excellent effect.  Subsequently here the discography uses the EC term for another genius album, the one called Friends with Stu Goldberg (on keyboards).  The 1980 live album called Family was to me disappointing, with the sidelong jam Bolero being way too uninspired and what is worse, a crime for me in staying in the key of E throughout.  Note that 1978's Tales of Tomorrow was played almost entirely by Toto.  For me this is his masterpiece.  In the 1980s he switched back to acoustic guitar with a couple of guitar duet albums, the first with Rudolf Dasek, the second (Somewhere in Time) with himself.  That album I reviewed here:

When my wife saw it in the mail she actually said, "Is that another Toto Blanke?"
Alas-- when I looked at her, the grin on her face made it clear: a name she had heard me say many times before, had become a very dry kind of joke...  In 1969 legendary belgian percussionist and jazz bandleader Pierre Courbois founded the first European 'Rock-Jazz' group, Association P.C.. This famous ensemble, winner of the Down Beat Poll, existed until 1975 with Toto Blanke, Sigi Busch, different key-boarders, including Jasper van 't Hof, Joachim Kühn and Sigi Kessler.

Finally as mentioned above, the last 1983 album Belladonna inevitably disappointed.  Notwithstanding I prepared a new stereo rip as the previous one was in  mono.

So there you are, eight albums total.