[9] During the first half of the 1970's, the future members of Toto worked as session musicians in Los Angeles, California, for artists such as The Pointer Sisters, Foreigner, Boz Scaggs, Barbra Streisand, Leo Sayer, Alice Cooper, Steely Dan, among others.

[23] On the same day, Cashbox described the album as a "a collection of accessible, sophisticated pop-rock confections," adding that while the band boasted "clean, crisp instrumental work," it also possessed "several capable lead vocalists.

[25] Meanwhile, Cashbox wrote that the single offered "simple emphatic piano part [sic], heavy surging guitars, pleasant turns, fine singing and strong chorus.

On December 1, John Laycock of The Windsor Star, wrote that Toto sounded like a real working band that understood "what's out there beyond the transistors," stating that the album was not one for "virtuosos" but rather one for hits.

[10] On the same day, Timothy Yagle of The Michigan Daily noted that the album's music was reminiscent of the bands Toto's members had worked with as session musicians.

[28] On December 16, Michael Lawson wrote in The Star-Phoenix that Toto is "slick, melodic and highly listenable," noting that although the majority of the songs were written by David Paich, the album avoided the tendency to "follow any one format.

"[12] In contrast, by January 1979, Rolling Stone's Don Shewey delivered a more critical review, calling Toto a "dull debut" expected from a group of session musicians.

[29] Shewey critiqued Paich's songs as "excuses for back-to-back instrumental solos," and considered that only three members sang "passably", while the fourth, lead vocalist Bobby Kimball, was "terrible.

AllMusic's William Ruhlmann observed that the band's "rock-studio chops" allowed them to play a variety of pop styles, which implied that "music-making took craft rather than inspiration and that the musical barriers critics like to erect were arbitrary.

[30] For the album's 45th anniversary, Al Merchor from American Songwriter wrote that Toto's debut is a paradox between "solid consistency" and a "collection of tracks written and performed in various styles.