Customer Reviews

Toto: Falling in Between Live [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My favourite rock DVD for sound quality and sheer fun and energy of playing has been Toto's Live in Amsterdam 25th Anniversary. Their new DVD is easily as good but very different for a number of reasons.

1. This album supports the album "Falling in Between" so it's not trying to cover all the hits. Having just seen them perform brilliantly in Auckland, I picked up their DVD to see that this incredible Parisian concert was almost identical to the concert I saw 2nd March 2008. This DVD showcases Toto at the top of their form - this is what they're like now and they rock!

2. We have a new keyboardist, the vastly experienced Greg Phillinganes, plus the bass legend Leland Sklar standing in for Mike Porcaro. These new musicians bring a difference and their own style and enthusiasm so that when you see them perform tracks which they also did on their 'Live in Amsterdam' DVD, like 'Africa' for example, you are seeing something unique - check out the cheeky keyboard solo sounds. What is a great addition on this DVD's is 'Pamela'. Simply wow! Funky, slick with the richest vocal harmonies - beautiful.

3. This DVD is worth the price alone to see the stunning Simon Phillips play an amazing drum solo over Greg on keyboard playing the odd-time signature, 'Hydra'. I believe Simon has over 20 mikes on his kit and like all their live recordings his drum tone is instantly recognisable - a drum kit that is sonically a pleasure. (Alas 'Live in Amsterdam' had no drum solo).

4. This DVD rocks harder with fresh arrangements and wonderful improvisation - from the opening stunner 'Falling in between', Bobby stamps his vocal authority and Luke is soloing with an intensity that is up a notch from their previous DVD. Great rocking tracks like 'Gypsy train', 'Kingdom of desire' and 'Drag him to the roof' must be seen and heard live to fully appreciate these classics - these three tracks plus the opening track show why Toto's musicians have always been highly rated.

5. The concert seems more colourful than the 'Live in Amsterdam' from balloons in the audience to the lime green of Luke's guitar on the opening track. You have some interesting overhead camera shots - I wish we could have had even more of Simon. This DVD conveys the lighting show more vividly than Amsterdam - the consequence is that a few times Simon's picture is overexposed. On the whole the picture is great and particularly the crystal clarity of Steve Lukather's fretboard handiwork.

6. There is a great acoustic set, with Simon on a stripped down kit and Luke on Ovation acoustic with both Greg and Tony Spinner taking turns on lead vocals on songs 'Stop loving you', 'I'll be over you' and 'Cruel'. Some incredible keyboard and guitar interplay and Simon doing one-handed fills that most drummers struggle to do with two!

You surely don't need any more reasons to purchase this DVD. Well done, Toto - no, this is not just playing the same old but a vibrant new show!

Forget the studio greats getting together to form a band, forget that they have " Great Ballads", FOR GET IT.

They rock, they swoon, they reggae, they soul, they funk, the just flat tear it apart.

I have the CD of the live album right after Simon Phillips joined back in the 90's version of the band after the passing of the Jeff the great!, and that disc was at that time just stellar. This one just lapped it at over 100 mph. Jeff is smiling on his heavenly drum stool! He would be most proud.

The band is solid, the vocals are out of this world. Tony Spinner, holy crap, how did Luke snag him? SOLID ADDITION TO THE BAND DUDE.

Being a bassist myself, do we have to say more about Leland Skylar, get some of his work with the Barefoot Servants, this cat just puts the B in bottom end!

The DVD is beyond great in production.

You will keep this playing for days and days.

Hear is hoping these guys can hit the road here in the States and show the american fan base some love!

Cheers!

Cowboy Craig of the Coastal Bend

I currently own about 3000 cds and 300 concert dvds
I would put this concert DVD in the all time top 3 (Boz Scaggs Live is amazing as well)
anyway, the band is tight, great mix from the board... incredible 5.1 audio and video, love the setlist..
Simon Phillips is sick, just stellar..., appreciate the contributions of the new bandmates..
have always wanted them to jam out I'll Supply the love... it has so much potential live
other personal favorites: Pamela, Rosanna, Africa (killer version, gives me chills past the 3:30 mark, Falling...)
to sum it up: this is why HD was created, for this specific concert dvd
great job band, sound engineer, mix, video (my only criticism: during Simon's drum solo, when he does a couple amazing fills, the camera is focused on Greg, the cameraman misses the best fill of his solo)
any other drummers notice????
Great DVD, one of the all time best, only wish more of them sounded and looked this good!

Never cared much for the Toto of the 80s. They had several hits like Rosanna & Africa but it always seemed like commercialized 80s bubble gum tunes to me. The band in this 2007 Live Concert in Paris has now grown to all new levels. The caliber of musicianship has increased 10 fold plus! Screaming Guitar Leads. Perfect Vocal Harmonies are thick and luscious. The band is extremely tight and now in progressive rock mode. Bobby Kimball, Lead Vocalist, was 57 years old when this DVD was recorded. His vocal range is incredible. I can't think of any other artist at any age with this incredible range other than possibly Jeoff Tate of Queensryche. With the passing of the band's original drummer Jeff Porcaro, Simon Phillips joins the band to add a new level of groove. Legand Leland Sklar stands in on bass. The DVD is very well done both visually and sonically. The new progressive rock TOTO reminds me of Dream Theater. If you like them you'll, love the DVD or at least part of it. If you prefer the TOTO of the 80s, you'll hear many of their hits performed at all new levels of musicianship. Something for everyone. A MUST BUY!

Ok... bear with me... this may be a little bit of a long story. Rather than reviewing the show itself, which others have already done... I think my story will offer another way of looking at this:

Like everyone... I knew Toto more for Hold the Line, Rosanna, and Africa and a handful of slower songs I didn't think all that much about. I knew they were considered great musicians, a touch progressive, and lighter than most hard rock or metal. I thought I knew they had a well renowned guitarist that sort of didnt get to shine within the Toto framework. WRONG on that account. They rock plain and simple and Steve Lukather (their guitarist) really riffs it up in an impressive way (but also with feel and control). His guitar tone is great.

Anyway, this BluRay is great and it showcases a good mix of things new and old from Toto. I LOVE it... the video is great... the sound is great... the musicianship is great and even the short little interviews are very entertaining. If you like any form of hard rock music... I think you will like this.

What happened after I bought this about a month ago is, I first checked my CD collection to surprise myself that I only had their first greatest hits CD and nothing else... not even Toto IV. I then logged on to Amazon and bought every CD that was 6.99 (which is many of them). After getting those and enjoying ALL of them, I proceeded to buy just about everything else reasonably priced. I still do not have mindfields and a few others. I even went and bought some of Lukather's solo CDs. I realize man... I missed out on some great things through the years from Toto... but the fun has been that I have been able to catch up in a huge way lately. I just ordered their other BluRay and now I am anxiously looking forward to watching that one as well!! I wish more bands would be putting out BluRays... this is how I want to see concerts... HIGH DEF!!

Anyway, if you only knew a little bit about Toto or figured they were a bit too light and fluffy... check this out, you will be surprised... it ROCKS!!!

I was eagerly waiting for this DVD.

After being nicely surprised by the excellent Falling In Between CD, and after watching TOTO live a couple of times in my native Panama in support of Mindfields (also a great CD) and Through the Looking Glass, I have a renewed appreciation for their greatness as a group.

After watching the whole DVD I can only say that this is one of the best sounding live concert DVDs I own (and I do own 100+), along with the Eagles Farewell I Tour, Duran Duran Live From London, and U2's Live From Chicago and Popmart DVDs.

Simon Philips, which besides his excellent contribution to TOTO as a superb drummer, also serves as sound engineer in the DVD and the results are spectacular.

Sound is so crisp, detailed and well balanced that is like being front row. There is a sense that every musician's output was carefully captured and mixed so that you can get the studio sound in a live context.

Toto's repertory is so vast that within a regular 2 hour concert it is impossible to cover all their hits and fan favorites, however, they did a great job including both the great new material from FIB (I missed No End In Sight), as well as classics (Pamela, Hold The Line, I'll be Over You, Rossana, Africa) and fan favorites (Caught In the Balance, Isolation), while including great songs from the Luke-fronted Toto albums (Kingdom of Desire, Tambu).

This time around, and unlike Live From Amsterdam, we are given the opportunity to enjoy great solos from Greg, Luke and Simon, which contribute greatly to the concert's flow and vibe.

As an extra, all musicians are interviewed, and you get the opportunity to see the passion and love these guys have for their craft.

Much have been said about TOTO's musicianship, and it is fully proven in their amazing performance on that night at the Le Zenith in Paris.

For TOTO and rock music fans, this is a must buy. Let's hope there is "No End In Sight" for TOTO's ongoing legacy.

Long have I waited for this DVD to come out and when it was released last February (2007) I bought it without a shadow of a doubt that it would be just as good as the Amsterdam Anniversary DVD. But I must say that I am a bit disappointed in this DVD. Why? I'll tell you.
As for the sound and camerawork: nothing but compliments about this DVD. Reallyreally good. Great work done here by all those involved.
The band: Steve Lukather on guitars and vocals/ Simon Phillips on drums/ Bobby Kimball on vocals/ Greg Phillinganes on keyboards and vocals/ Leland Sklar on bass guitar/ Tony Spimmer on guitar and vocals. So: top musicians all over.
The setlist is impressive: Falling In Between/King Of The World/Pamela/Bottom Of Your Soul/Caught In The Balance/Don't Chain My Heart/Hold The Line/Stop Loving You/Cruel/Greg Solo/Rosanna/I'll Supply The Love/Isolation/Gift Of Faith/Kingdom Of Desire/Luke Solo/Hydra/Simon Solo/Taint Your World/Gypsy Train/Africa/Drag Him To The Roof. That's not bad is it?
So why am I disappointed? Partially it's because it's a very limited Toto we see here. The cover says:"They rock like never before'. That may be true, but.... Toto used to be so much more than just rock. Furthermore there are (in my opinion of course!) too many 'down points' on this DVD. Overall the songs are performed well, as one can expect with topmusicians like these. The first couple of songs are very good indeed (with 'Bottom Of your Soul' as my favorite; this one is, like 'Africa' and 'Rosanna' going to be an all-time Toto classic). Then the band settles down for some semi-accoustic work. Nice idea. But although Tony Spinner is a good guitarist and a good 2nd vocalist, he's not one to do lead vocals in a company like this. Then after that, the way in which 'I'll Be Over You' flows into 'Cruel' is not really nice and thereby wastes quite some of the beauty of 'I'll Be Over You'. One of the absolute 'down-moments' of this DVD is the Greg solo. Starts off promising, but nothing comes out of it. Maybe technically brilliant but highly uninteresting to see and hear; you can't wait for it to end, but it goes on and on. The David Paich solo of the Amsterdam DVD is ten times as good in variation and musicality and a hundred times nicer to listen to. 'Rosanna' starts off in a different way then usual which is a nice try to make it sound fresh, but in my opinion the song does not need that; it's a classic in the way it is. So I'm glad to see them pick up the normal pace after a couple of minutes. Next couple of songs are okay until Luke's solo comes along. Like Greg's this is absolutely uninteresting to watch. Lukather is a great guitarist, and a brilliant musician, but this solo.... I've seen and heard so much better things from this man... 'I'll Supply The Love/Isolation/Gift Of Faith/Kingdom Of Desire' are not the complete songs but a kind of medley. Next Simon's solo. Let me say that I really, really love the way Simon plays in the songs. The man is absolutely a joy to listen to and his drumming is so musical and creative! But although I am a drummer myself I am not a lover of drumsolo's on CD's or DVD's. They are so boring! Nice to see for one time but that's it. 'skip' every next time (unless for practice purpose, but this DVD is not meant for that).
In general what is my greatest disappointment of this DVD is that I miss Toto. David Paich and Mike Porcaro were never the frontpeople like Lukather is, but now that they are not there you can tell they are missing. Greg is a very good keyboardplayer and Leland Sklar is one of the best to be found (and I absolutely love his bassplaying). But the 'Toto-chemistry' is missing (one time I played the 'Amsterdam' DVD immediately after this one and THAT is a difference). This is more like a 'Phil Collins thing', starring Steve Lukather. And, as I wrote above, with this DVD the accent is mainly on rocking, and although Toto are very good in that, they can be so much more than just a rockband. If you like the rock-Toto then this DVD will not be a problem to you, but if you want to see the 'complete' Toto: you'll miss it. I'm not saying this DVD is a waste of my money, because it certainly is not, it's a good DVD. But it's more a 'watch and skip' thing to me. If I want to see a complete Toto concert, I'll be playing 'Amsterdam' or the old 'Paris' DVD's again. And play them I shall again and again, because Toto remains one of the best bands in the world to me.

I bought this because of the many good reviews for AV quality for a Blu-Ray Concert Disc. I must say that the picture quality is very good and the audio quality is excellent. The HD Master Audio mix was very well balanced, especially on the more mellow songs like "Bottom of your Soul".

Now, regarding my review title - The commercial and disc box review of this concert say "Toto rock harder than ever before..." This is true and it's because this version of Toto contains only 2 longstanding members of the band - Steve Lukather and Simon Phillips Everybody else is a stand-in (Bobby Kimball who, after a 14 year hiatus could pretty much be lumped into the "stand-in" status). Realizing Toto is a "morphing" band of session players akin to the likes of 'The Alan Parsons Project' in "morphology", I took a chance on this version of Toto and am pleased to say that, for the most part, they succeed in continuing the Toto legacy.

Original Members:
David Paich
Steve Lukather
Joseph Williams
Steve Porcaro
Simon Phillips
Mike Porcaro

Simply Brilliant. What more can be said. If you are a fan of Toto and a fan of pure musical genius then this DVD is for you. I have the 2003, 25th Anniversary Toto DVD and that is solid but this betters it by 50%. I listen to it in stereo and am blown away so I guess the 5.1 would be mind boggling. There is not a dull moment in the 2 hrs of onstage time. Even the solos hold your attention from start to finish. Congrats to Luke and the gang for a memorable performance. It is a wonderful addition to the complete library of material Toto has produced for the millions of fans. As I said early.......Simply Brilliant. We fans are blessed.

Always enjoyed TOTO's music and with the addition of skilled sidemen this concert cannot be beat. If you're a music buff and pay attention to what's going on individually you'll know what I mean about solid, accomplished performers. There isn't a song on here that you'll want to skip over. The jam at the end of Rosanna is awesome. Simon Phillips' playing is incredibly precise but I do wish they hadn't strobed the poor man. It was hard to focus on his playing with this going on. That said, I would agree with others that this DVD is among my top 3.