Though a commercial success, Hydra was far less popular than the band's top-selling debut. Allmusic blamed this on the band's failure to establish a distinctive, recognizable sound on either Hydra or their debut, which would have allowed listeners to immediately identify Toto's major hits with the band themselves. They also noted that most listeners were not familiar with the film (namely, THX 1138) on which "99" was based, and thus found the lyrics hopelessly abstruse, preventing the song from becoming as big a hit as it could have been.Critical response to the album was mixed. Allmusic's retrospective review made little judgment on the quality (noting only as an aside that the songs were "well-played"), instead discussing why it had failed to match the commercial success of their debut.[5] [edit]Track listing
All songs written and composed by David Paich (Copyright Hudmar Publishing), except where noted. Side one No. Title Lead vocals Length 1. "Hydra" (David Hungate, Bobby Kimball, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro - Copyright Otot Music) Paich 7:31 2. "St. George and the Dragon" Kimball 4:45 3. "99" Lukather 5:16 4. "Lorraine" Paich 4:46 Side two No. Title Lead vocals Length 1. "All Us Boys" Paich 5:03 2. "Mama" (David Paich, Bobby Kimball - Copyright Hudmar Publishing/Sheetfire Music) Kimball 5:14 3. "White Sister" (David Paich, Bobby Kimball - Copyright Hudmar Publishing/Sheetfire Music/Porcaro Music) Kimball 5:39 4. "A Secret Love" (David Paich, Bobby Kimball, Steve Porcaro) Kimball 3:07 [edit]Personnel
