If you've read our recent reviews of Toto's Falling In Between Live CD, you are probably aware that this scorching live concert from Paris (March 26th, 2007) is also available on DVD. As if their Live in Amsterdam DVD from a few years back wasn't hot enough, Falling In Between Live is an absolutely stunning live rock concert in every aspect. Quite frankly, as you watch this performance, it becomes readily apparent that Toto have suffered one of the greatest injustices in the music industry over the last 20 or so years. Let's go back in time to the late 70's/early 80-Toto were one of the biggest bands in the world, with hit songs like "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa" permeating the radio airwaves, Gold & Platinum album sales, sold out tours, and multiple Grammy wins, all part of their winning formula. The band continued to crank out strong releases throughout the rest of the 80's and into the 90's, combining expertly crafted pop songs with plenty of hard rock and jazz fusion elements, but with the ever changing musical climate, fans, at least here in the US, sort of forgot about Toto. That's always been a real shame. It's not like the band stopped writing good songs, but popular music rode the hair metal, rap, and grunge trains for the next decade, and acts like Toto fell by the wayside. Over in Europe and around the rest of the world though, fans still appreciated the band, so they took their show for the most part to places that still came out to see them play.Watching Toto performing in front of a huge stadium audience in Paris, an audience who not only react enthusiastically to the hits but also to strong album cuts like "Pamela", "Isolation", "I'll Supply the Love", "King of the World", "Drag Him to the Roof", and "Kingdom of Desire", shows that not everyone forgot about this band, and many still continued to follow them through the years. At one point guitarist/vocalist Steve Lukather asks the crowd "So, how many of you out there are musicians?", and when he gets a huge roar in response he chuckles and says "Yeah, that figures...". Luke has made similar statements in the music press over the years alluding to the drop in interest here in the US from their fans, that most of the casual fans moved on to other musical interests, but the hardcore Toto fans, many of whom are musicians themselves, are the only ones that stayed with the band, and that they are a very small percentage of their 'peak' fanbase.
This is all really sad, as by watching this DVD (and hearing any of their studio recordings from the last decade or so ) you can plainly see that this is a band that still has a lot to offer. Lukather's guitar work is as rip roaring and impressive as ever, new keyboard player Greg Phillinganes (himself a veteran with plenty of miles under his belt) adds a nice jazz-fusion touch and great vocals, drummer Simon Phillips always the consumate pro, and singer Bobby Kimball shows that he still has it and brings plenty of charisma to the table. Rounding out the band here is singer/guitarist Tony Spinner and bass veteran Leland Sklar. Sounding as tight as ever, and appearing to be having a blast tearing through this set in front of a hugely appreciate crowd, the band jumps from tender ballads ("Bottom of Your Soul", "Stop Loving You"), jazzy/funky rockers ("Cruel", "Gift of Faith") to out and out heavy rumblers ("Gypsy Train", "Don't Chain My Heart"). The camera work is near perfect throughout, the video quality sharp and colorful, and the sound just magnificent. With the DVD you get a nice little booklet with lots of color photos and information about the band and the show, and there are short interviews with all the band members in the bonus features section.
News out of the Toto camp is that Steve Lukather is going to put the band to rest for a while as he intends to spend time on his solo career and other projects. Hopefully the bands near invisible status here in the States hasn't prompted them to put things on ice for an extended period of time, or forever for that matter. That would be the greatest shame of all. In the meantime, while we hope that the future holds more live and studio posibilities for this veteran band, enjoy this absolutely wonderful DVD, showcasing what is essentially a true 'classic rock band'.
Track Listing
1) Intro
2) Falling In Between
3) King Of The World
4) Pamela
5) Bottom Of Your Soul
6) Caught In The Balance
7) Don't Chain My Heart
8) Hold The Line
9) Stop Loving You
10) I'll Be Over You
11) Cruel
12) Greg Solo
13) Rosanna
14) I'll Supply The Love
15) Isolation
16) Gift Of Faith
17) Kingdom Of Desire / Luke Solo
18) Hydra / Simon Solo
19) Taint Your World
20) Gypsy Train
21) Africa
22) Drag Him To The Roof
Bonus Features-Interviews with all band members
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