Post Toastee — a wild, burning warning from a soul too bright for the world
There is a moment when “Post Toastee” begins — that fierce, spiraling guitar line from Tommy Bolin — when you can almost hear a life rushing at full speed, carrying brilliance and danger in equal measure. Released in 1976 on his second solo album Private Eyes, the song was never a charting single, never polished for radio, never softened to please anyone. And perhaps that is why it still hits so powerfully today: it is raw honesty set to music, a man telling the truth about the storm he was living through.
Private Eyes would become Bolin’s final album, released just months before his passing. Among its tracks, “Post Toastee” stands like a warning flare — bright, frantic, and tragic in its clarity. Bolin wrote it as a direct reflection of the world swirling around him, especially the destructive pull of drugs and the false rush they offered. He poured into the lyrics a sense of chaos, paranoia, and the dark seduction of excess. It’s not a metaphorical song; it’s a confession set to a groove that feels like running downhill with no brakes.
The meaning emerges sharply the closer you listen.
Lines describing hallucinations, confusion, and the sense of slipping away mirror the realities Bolin faced in his own life. His artistry had always been fearless — whether with the James Gang, Deep Purple, or as a solo guitarist — but “Post Toastee” reveals a different kind of courage. This is the courage of someone willing to put his vulnerabilities on record, someone trying to laugh at the madness while knowing it was swallowing him whole.
And yet, the music itself is irresistibly vibrant. The track opens with that unmistakable riff: sharp, clean, almost joyful in its energy. Then the band drops in, creating a rhythmic pulse that feels like a chase — exhilarating, breathless. Bolin sings with a voice that’s playful on the surface but threaded with something heavier underneath. The contrast is stunning: upbeat funk-rock carrying a message that is anything but light.
For listeners who discovered Bolin in the 1970s, the song brings back memories of a talent that seemed limitless. Here was a guitarist whose tone could shift from velvet to fire in a heartbeat, whose solos felt like improvisations pulled straight from the insides of his mind. But “Post Toastee” reveals the cost of that intensity. In those few minutes, you hear not just a musician, but a man trying to outrun his own shadows.
Over time, the track has become one of Bolin’s most talked-about songs precisely because of this emotional weight. It is more than just a standout on Private Eyes — it is a window into the final chapter of an artist whose life burned too bright. The song carries a strange mixture of defiance and vulnerability, as though Bolin knew he had entered dangerous territory and was singing directly to those who loved his music: I see what’s happening to me. I know where this road leads.
Today, “Post Toastee” feels almost prophetic. Its energy still electrifies, but its message lingers even longer — a reminder of how thin the line can be between brilliance and self-destruction. And for those who still listen, who still feel that opening riff spark through their memory like lightning, the song remains a bittersweet tribute to one of rock’s most gifted, most fragile, and most unforgettable spirits.