Customer Reviews

Welcome Home: Live at the Arlington Theater 1992

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

 

 

I don't know how else to put it. This album is amazing. It captures Toad at their best, when it comes to live performances. It's a shame these guys didn't get more recognition.. they much more than deserved it.

Anyway, as I said, this is the boys at their best. Everything is spot on. Every song sounds just as good as their studio counterparts, and some are even better. The emotion and musicianship put into each song are unparalleled by almost any of today's top bands.

If you are a bigger fan of Toad's later works (Dulcinea and Coil sessions), you may not enjoy this as much, since this was a performance from 92. Naturally, it encompasses their first 3 albums. You might want give the samples a good listen or 2 before you decide on making this purchase.

But if you are a long time fan, and/or if you enjoy their early albums, you MUST BUY THIS NOW!! It is that good. I bought it about a month ago, and it is has never left my cd changer since...

This is the Toad album I have been waiting for.

This album offers something for everyone, whether it be the seasoned fan or a newcomer to Toad's music. The versions of All I Want, Fall Down, and I Won't Take These Things for Granted are stellar, and some of the songs, like Know Me, are augmented with some new lyrics and intros. It's a perfect representation of what this band was capable of, and makes me wish they were still together. There are some neat little anecdotes from Glen (Is It for Me?, Brother), and the crowd is supportive, but not overbearing. This has to be one of the finest live recordings I've encountered recently. Even if you just remember Toad the Wet Sprocket from the early 90s, pick up this CD. You won't regret it. I can only hope there will be others.

Finally, a live CD from Toad the Wet Sprocket. It's about time! And it surely doesn't disappoint. This band never got half the credit or recognition they deserved. But this CD is one treat for those of us who were fortunate enough to follow them throughout the years. My only complaint is that "Good Intentions" is not here. But that's all right. The outstanding quality of the album as a whole speaks for itself, and is reason enough to get this. If you're new to Toad the Wet Sprocket, I would recommend getting their studio albums first and then picking up this one. And for the long-time fan, get this NOW. Toad may be no more, but they sure left behind some great music.

Oh man, what a gem for fans. This live disc from 1992 is nearly flawless. It does only draw from the first three albums, but that's exactly why I love it. It has numerous songs from both their debut and my favorite album "Pale", and roughly half the disc is from "Fear", which is their hit-heavy and most popular album. Plus this is 19 tracks and 74 minutes long. The songs stick to the originals for the most part, but being live gives them a nice fresh sound. Glen speaks at a few points, but keeps to jamming for the most part. I really have no complaints with the tracklist, but in a perfect world this would also include "Covered In Roses" and "High On A Riverbed". Still, it's an excellent live record, and a must for Toad-heads.

Toad The Wet Sprocket were riding at their peak when this concert took place. "Fear" became their biggest seller and the top forty welcomed "All I Want" and "Walk On The Ocean." This being a homecoming concert, both the band and their Santa Barbara fans were stoked, and the show comes off as a hero's welcome.

The band has always been underrated, and the compositions here (from the first three albums) show a lot of strength. Glen Phillips' gifts as a song-writer have never been truly recognized. While he (and the band, who co-wrote the majority of the material) did cultivate a folkish and, even at a certain level, mellow sound, there is a dark streak to many of their best songs. "One Little Girl" and "Hold Her Down" are unflinching takes on abuse, while "I Will Not Take These Things For Granted" may be the most beautiful song to never hit the top-40. They were also not shy from experimenting, as "Butterflies" shows. (Love the Beatles quote at the end!)

All in all, "Welcome Home: Live" shows Toad The Wet Sprocket in full gale as a band. A band that toughed it out through years on the road and a couple of poorly selling albums to develop the chemistry and the tenacity that they were still there when the lucky break occurred. Along with the "P.S." best of collection, this CD is a terrific representation of the band at their toadiest. Incidentally, Phillip's post-toad solo work is quite good. Check it out.

In 1992 Toad The Wet Sprocket was still on the rise. With three great albums to their credit, and the third: "Fear" being their most powerful and popular recording of all of them, their time was indeed near and within their grasp.

Here are 19 great songs and almost 80 minutes of Toad the Wet Sprocket infront of their hometown fans. This is Toad on the boards and playing with all the heart and energy that they are known for. In the middle of the Grunge music explosion, here we have a band that is quite different. Toad, has a frontsman (singer/guitarist Glen Phillips) that has the voice to give big life to the words and music he composes. The string skills of Todd Nichols and the solid rhythm section of Dean Dunning and Randy Guss holds it all down in a perfect manner.

This live disc would serve well as a greatest hits collection of the band's early years quite nicely. All the best-known Toad songs can be found here with: "Walk On The Ocean" "All I Want" "Jam" "Come Back Down" "Before You Were Born" "Hold Her Down" and "Fall Down" being the band's most well-known songs. As with other live recordings, the music found here achieves a new life when performed live. Toad The Wet Sprocket, do come to the party ready to rise up and take their music to a higher place. These are seasoned road veterans that are at home on stage playing music and giving their best to an audience of crazy fans.

One of America's greatest rock bands, Toad The Wet Sprocket is on the road in 2011, and I have tickets for the show here in my hometown next Saturday night. I'm a happy guy, I will be there in the eighth row cheering on this amazing group of artists.
This is live: Toad The Wet Sprocket.
Four Stars!

This live album captures Toad in their early days, yet there's enough of the early hits to appeal to anyone. They'd still have a couple of great albums after this live show, so it doesn't really count for a "greatest hits live" (maybe something they can do in the future). All of the songs from the Fear album featured on this one are excellent versions. I saw them recently in 2011 and have to say this band has only gotten better. The All you Want greatest hits disc is a nice look at the re-recorded hits by a stronger more evolved band. But this disc serves a fun early introduction to Toad's music and shows how great they've always been live.

I was so amazed when I got this CD and listened to it. The band is captured at its peak, during an incredible live performance. Some people said that it is too loud and not mixed well, however in my opinion it's just loud enough, and is mixed wonderfully for a live CD. Granted, there is some background and auidence noise in some parts; overall, though the sound quality is awesome! And let's face it, part of the joy of listening to a live CD is hearing the auidence and the surroundings and absorbing the "atmosphere" where the band is playing. If you don't want this, then buy a canned, non-live version and listen to that. I love hearing the crowd, and this does NOT mean that any of the music is drowned out by background noise. The crowds enthusiasm and input adds something to the tracks. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of this band, and I don't know all of their material. That being said, after listening to this CD, I had a new appreciation for them and for their talent and their ability to captivate an audience. If you like even a few songs this band does, I think you'll really like this CD a lot, and you should put it on your list of things to purchase. Music is a huge part of my life, and when I can't be there to see a band live, a CD such as this is the next best thing and makes me very happy. Give it a shot, and you might be pleasantly surprised. I know I was!

I was mildly aware of Toad the Wet Sprocket back from their 'Fear' CD days. I could always groove to them, but eventually they seemed to fade out of my sphere of interest. It wasn't until a few years ago I picked up 'Dulcinea' and they fell crashing down into my main rotation of music. God how did these guys ever go away?

I was skimming through Amazon and found their live 'Welcome home' cd and purchased it on a whim. The samples sounded okay, and that was good enough for me.

As for the cd itself. The sound quality's great for what I was expecting of a recording from 1992! It's clear, not distorted, and it encompasses all the necessary songs to make it timeless.

I would highly recommend picking this up if you are even remotely interested in Toad the Wet Sprocket.

I enjoy the performance of the band. My gripe with this disc is that it seems to suffer from the loudness wars syndrome. By that I mean the engineers took away the dynamics of the recording and made it all sound just... loud. If you haven't invested in a quality sound system this probably will not affect you. If you plan on listening to this on mp3s you definitely don't care. Thanks