Customer Reviews

Falling in Between Live

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The band is playing great. Live albums always struggle to get the mix right, but I was pleasantly surprised at this mix of this one. It's a _big_ sound that isn't loud (if that makes any sense). The vocals are terrific -- balanced and clear.

Compared to their Live in Amsterdam DVD, it's a stronger performance (though...I loved the Amsterdam DVD). Singer Bobby Kimball in particular sounds in top form, as good as he ever was, even in the Toto IV days.

Toto is the band of consummate musicians. All of them are masters on their instrument. This is a performance you want to get particularly if you appreciate a big fat sound, and top notch musicianship. And you can't argue with the tunes. Toto has their share of hits, and they played some lesser known but no-less-great tunes from their back catalog. They picked the gems from "Falling in Between."

There was an era in from the mid 70s to maybe 1995 when the guys in Toto were THE guys you hired to make your record sound great.

Guitarist Steve Lukather has a couple of licks in there that took me by surprise. I'm going to have to sit down with my instrument and grok what he's doing.

Anyone who appreciates Toto, anyone who is a musician, is going to appreciate a strong album from a band of REALLY top notch players.

Five stars. Get it.

Unlike the Amsterdam live DVD, Toto included more recent album songs on this live album. There are tracks from Mindfields and Kingdom of Desire, as well as the newest album they are promoting. There is even a selection from a Luke solo album. I would have selected songs like or "High Price of Hate" from Mindfields, which features a Beckesque Luke guitar jam echoed by Paich on organ---incredibly cool---amd would be a highlight live, but the songs they chose are good ones. "White Sister" is on Amsterdam Live so I won't complain about it's omission from Falling in Between Live.

The live sound is top-knotch, and of course the performance is outstanding by a talented band. It has meatier versions of Falling... tunes, which wakes them up. I wasn't a big fan of Falling in Between, which to me sounded too calculated. When Toto is best is when they are more a rock and roll band, and less a prog- or arena band, as they say. The live mix, here, has a rock and roll band feel to it.

This is a refreshing new album from a great band. There is a DVD from this performance to be released sometime next year, as well as a Steve Lukather solo album.

This is to me one of the best live albums from any band. I LOVED Livefields from TOTO and the DVD Live in Amsterdam is also amazing. But I also find this cd to be maybe the best yet. I thought Falling In Between was one of the best records from TOTO and the best of 2006 from any other band to me. The live sound and the mix are amazing. The list of songs, well you want to hear them. Highlights: the Simon drum solo having Hydra als background, wow. The Rosanna variation, the best version of Rosanna I've heard. All the tracks from Falling In Between (since this is my favorite album right now). Amazing job! a must buy for any music lover. These are brilliant musicians.

I've seen Toto live twice in the past two years and this CD does a great job of capturing the essence of what I experienced both times. The live versions of the 3 Toto staples of classic rock radio (Rosanna, Hold the Line and Africa) are all superior to the recorded versions, each injected with new life by a supremely talented but 'not-very-close' version of the band that originally laid down these tracks more than 25 years ago. Especially pleasing on this set is the inclusion of three cuts from the hugely under-rated 'Kingdon of Desire' album, from 1992. The quality of Toto's friends is clear for all to see as chief songwriter, and founder, David Paich, and long time bassist, Mike Porcaro, are barely missed with Greg Phillinganes and Leland Sklar both proving high class replacements. The 4 cuts from the band's latest album 'Falling in Between', stand up very well against a deep and classy back catalogue.

I'm a longtime Toto fan and have all their albums. A lot of reviewers love what they're reviewing and sometimes lose their ability to rate and review impartially, but I think I can avoid that. This is a really good set, recorded last year in Paris, but it isn't quite perfect, and I don't think I can call it "essential" to an average Toto fan, only the hardcore fans like myself. The best part of this album for me is the inclusion of the tracks "Pamela", and "Stop Loving You", along with "I'll Supply the Love", "Bottom of Your Soul", and "Drag Him to the Roof". Of course, the standard warhorses are here as well ("Rosanna", "Hold the Line", & "Africa") but on this tour, Greg Phillinganes was handling all the keyboard & vocal work for David Paich, who was out sick. Phillinganes adds a new sound that is a little more R & B influenced, and it kind of spices up the sound a little. Lee Sklar is also filling in for regular bassist Mike Porcaro, but Sklar is so solid, there's no difference between him and Porcaro. Lead guitarist/vocalist Steve Lukather and drummer Simon Phillips are the "power" of the band, and they continue to sound amazing on every track. For me personally, Lukather & Phillinganes vocals really stand out. Unfortunately, I thought vocalist Bobby Kimball sounded strained. He still sounded good, but he sounded as though he was struggling more often than I remember.

I realize it would be impossible to have a live album with everyone's favorites on it (I'd like to hear "Manuela Run", "Without Your Love", "I Think I Could Stand You Forever", and "Stranger in Town") and to their credit, Toto always mixes up their song selection for live albums. But I thought the solos (a standard at Toto shows) could've been scaled back to allow room for a couple more surprise song selections. Otherwise, the sound quality is great, and all phases of the band are represented from the late 70s to their most recent album from last year 'Falling In Between'. Another great concert from Toto!

I bought this CD along with the live Tull CD. First watched the concert on the 101 Network. i thought Toto was only a studio band. Was in my car changer with the live Tull CD for three months which is unheard of for me. On my IPOD and gets a lot of play time. A well recorded live CD.

This album is a musical masterpiece. Excellent sound from amazing Toto musicans. Be carful not to become addictive to the album!

I just got the cd and dvd (soon to get the blu-ray) and it looked great, it sounded great and the only thing that could have made it better would be Porcaro and Paich. Toto is one of the few bands where I was with them when the first album was released and have stuck with them ever since. I'd never seen the band until just recently (May 2007) for this very tour. The venue was a bar in a casino! They played two shows and I got to see both of them (Thanx Rabbit! It was one of our more memorable outings!). Not to sound like an awe-struck kid, but met Luke after the show and got his autograph. It was kind of cool to meet and shake the hand of one of the members of a band who'd spent so much time on/in my turntable/cassette deck/Walkman/cd player/mp3 player. Toto has always been just pop enough to rack up some impressive hits yet retain even the most discerning musician's respect. If there was ever any doubt to whether these guys are just oustanding musicians...WATCH THIS SHOW! This was an especially nice treat for me as the show I'd seen was in a small bar, this would've been the way to see this show and I can't WAIT to see it in 1080p and hear it through an optical cable! Sitting in for Mike Porcaro is Leland Sklar who has played with EVERYONE. He learned the entire show in 5 days when Mike Porcaro was unable to play (ALS...sorry Mike!) and did a stellar job! He's spot on and still brings a very relaxed feel to it. Greg Phillinganes is on the keys for this tour (Paich has retired from touring) and does a top-notch job of handling them in David's absence. Watch the extras, his portion was especially nice as you get to see his interpretation of some famous Toto melodies and keyboard solos. Luke? What can I say, he rocks! Still one of my top 5 favorite guitarists of all time, he does it all! Props to Tony Spinner for his obvious promotion. Who knew this guy could sing as well as play guitar!? Simon is probably one of the tightest if not THE tightest drummer around. I'd love to jam on the bass with him playing ANYTHING. I know, I'm not being very technical...haven't been this jazzed over a live performance in awhile! BUY IT! WATCH IT! LISTEN TO IT! nuff said...

On a sidenote...Is it just me or am I hearing just the "slightest" evidence of some "vocoder" on the vocals? Turn your back and listen very carefully...it's not a harmonizer...too suttle. Just a "tad" of vocoder? Anyone else hearing this? Is this why the vocals are just smooth as silk on this thing...almost..."too" perfect?

4.75 actual rating for possible vocoder

Excellent voices, excellent musicians....great music. Not just the old popular Toto songs, very new and still going on. I'm an avid music lover and this is my favorite right now, I'm literally wearing it out. Steve Lukather is just as great now as he was years ago, same with Bobby Kimball, what a voice. Greg on keyboard and Simon on Drums fantastic, educated musicians. Speaking of educated musicians, Leland Sklar, bass who has been with James Taylor, Phil Collins sat in for Mike...this guy has been around for so many years and is so terrific. This is definitely a 5 star live show.

All I can say is Steve Lukather at his finest!
What a show - non-stop enjoyment for any Toto fan!