TOTO: FALLING IN BETWEEN LIVE - Blu-ray review

The latest concert release of note from Eagle Vision, which is building quite a catalog of stellar Blu-ray music titles, is "Toto: Falling in Between Live" at Le Zenith in Paris. This was one of the stops in the classic rock band's "Falling in Between" tour, and in Blu-ray the picture and sound are nearly as phenomenal as the music. Eagle may have dropped the ball with the previously released "Toto: Live in Amsterdam," but this one merits a "wow."

Most casual music fans know Toto through their megahits, "Hold the Line" or "Rosanna," but this band has quite the history, and they're more of a survivor than Survivor. It was 1977 when the band was formed by keyboardist David Paich (a Bozz Scaggs alum), and percussionist Jeff Porcaro, with the first album featuring those two and bassist David Hungate, guitarist Steve Lukather, keyboardist Steve Porcaro, and singer Bobby Kimball. They were flying high by 1982, when their fourth album, Toto IV, placed three singles on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and scored big at the Grammys, winning six times, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year ("Rosanna"). But it was also a year in which Bobby Kimball broke his leg jumping off a speaker onstage and it wasn't long after that when he was fired because of personality clashes. He was replaced over time Fergie Frederiksen, who was quickly fired; Joseph Williams, who was replaced by Jean-Michel Byron, who was fired in 1990. Along the way, Steve Porcaro left the band and wasn't replaced, and his brother Jeff died. Simon Phillips was asked to replace Jeff, since the band knew that he was admired by their late drummer. Session singers John James and Jenny Douglas McRae filled in on vocals until the band came full circle and asked Bobby Kimball to return in 1998.

In 2002 the band celebrated with a "25th Anniversary Tour, and "Toto: Live in Amsterdam" came out of that tour. But shortly thereafter keyboardist David Paich began to phase himself out of the band, eventually retiring in 2005. Greg Phillinganes, who'd been filling in, took over permanently.

"Falling in Between Live" was recorded in Paris in 2007, after Leland Sklar had taken over for bassist Mike Porcaro, whom concert-goers were told had suffered a hand injury. No one knew it at the time, but it also turned out to be Toto's last big concert video. The following summer, Lukather, the leader and only member to play all 30 years with the band, said that he was leaving Toto. In effect, that meant Toto was totaled. So this concert video has a "Last Waltz" feel to it when you watch it knowing that the band has since disbanded.

What made Toto a band to be reckoned with was that even in 2007 they continued to attack the music and venture off into new areas. Technically, as musicians they played with speed and near flawless precision. And as performers, when one of them messed up during a concert, they didn't try to hide it. They pointed fingers and laughed. These guys continued to write and produce new songs when other classic rock bands were just content to rest on their laurels . . . or play state fairs. It's what gave Toto an energy level that the crowd could sense, and close-ups of their guitar, drum, and keyboard work show a virtuosity that they clearly worked hard to achieve and took pride in featuring.

The crowd at Le Zenith was on their feet jumping to the beat from the opening song, and the band fed off that energy to give their French fans an evening to remember. The playlist for the night featured a combination of rarely heard tracks, covers, album favorites, classic hits, and individual solos. Twenty-two songs are included here:

"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"
"I'll Be Over You"
"Cruel"
Keyboard solo--Greg Phillinganes
"Rosanna"
"I'll Supply the Love"
"Isolation"
"Gift of Faith"
"Kingdom of Desire"
Guitar solo--Steve Lukather
"Hydra"
Drum solo--Simon Phillips
"Taint Your World"
"Gypsy Train"
"Africa"
"Drag Him to the Roof"

"Luke" and Kimball handle the bulk of the vocals, but Phillinganes and guitarist Tony Spinner also take a turn.

Blue Leach directed this concert video, and the multi-camera approach with quick cuts and angle changes, combined with intimate onstage shots of the performers exchanging smiles or words, gives "Falling in Between Live" a documentary feel. You get a sense of the audience's world as well as the performer's, experiencing the concert from both the audience's perspective and the performers' because of point-of-view filming. Cameras are always in motion, and the quick cuts capture the electric atmosphere without being too camera-jerky distracting. Long shots of the crowd and stage, with three giant circular-oval screens beaming images, give fans the big picture for vicariously experiencing the concert, while medium shots from the perspective of the crowd gives you a sense of what you would have seen if you had floor seats at Le Zenith--though no one was sitting. The crowd stood, sang along, pumped fists in the air, and hopped up and down for most of the concert, and "Luke," who played emcee for the band, took delight in joking with the crowd.

There were no pyrotechnics at this now-historic concert, but Toto did rely on plenty of special lighting effects. If there was a dominant theme, it was blue lights. Several songs were played with entirely blue lighting. Other times flashing lights and multiple colors were used to complement funky beats. Stage lighting creates a haze, and High Definition can't erase that. But the cameramen do a nice job of cutting through the haze with close-ups that reveal plenty of detail, even in poorly-lit, grainier shots, and also by limiting the zooms in and out to limit the graininess of cameras trying to focus. We realize how careful they've been to minimize such things when we do see an occasional pull-back that makes the digital camera struggle a bit to find the focus.

In the end, it's those non-standard "intimacy" shots that make the difference. It's as if one cameraman standing at the rear of the stage had the assignment to shoot candids of band members losing themselves in the music or sharing moments with each other onstage. It really adds a nice dimension to the concert.

At times, Toto sounds a little like a lot of the bands from the '80s. Strains of Steely Dan or Genesis poke through in a number of songs, but then the improv kicks in and long instrumental reveries really showcase this band's widely varied sound. There's a little blues, a little funk, a little classic rock, a little '80s rock, a little R&B, and, in a song like "Africa," a little modified world music. Put it all together and you've got their name, which is Latin for "all encompassing."

Video:
After disappointing fans with a VC-1 transfer on the Amsterdam concert, Eagle bounced back with a more sophisticated, Hi-Def friendly, region-free AVC/MPEG-4 transfer that delivers truer colors under harsh concert-lighting conditions and stronger black levels. As I said, some of the shots under colored lights tend to be grainier with a little noise, and the detail doesn't hold. But those shots are minimized--deliberately, I suspect. Shots of performers at the front of the stage and hand-shots are particularly clear and detail-rich, but even the long shots fare better than they usually do. There isn't the severe haloing you often get from those faraway shots of the whole stage and crowd. And mid-range shots of the crowd from the band's perspective go 20 rows deep before the faces become more indistinct. Simon says in his bonus-feature interview that he often looks into the crowd, so it's neat to see what he sees. "Toto: Falling in Between Live" looks great in 1080i, and the widescreen presentation (1.78:1 aspect ratio) just adds to the experience.

Audio:
Fans can choose from three ways to watch the concert, all of them in English: a 2.0 LCPM uncompressed audio that features concert-style sound with back speakers not as involved; a dynamic DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio that involves the rear speakers more noticeably and throws a wider spread across the front speakers; and a plain Dolby Digital 5.1 that delivers a plain and unremarkable sound. If you're looking to replicate the concert experience, you'll probably go with the PCM, which is crisp and clear and picks up every note that Luke plays as his hands fly up and down the neck of his guitar. Greg's four keyboards also sound particularly impressive on the PCM. But the DTS-HD MA is probably more dynamic and delivers a richer-sounding timbre.

Subtitles are provided, but only for the interviews in the bonus features: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, or Portuguese.

Extras:
There isn't a whole lot here, but fans will appreciate that the interviews aren't talking-heads sitting like stumps in a field. Each one is questioned right there by his instruments during a rehearsal for the concert, and so several of them actually give demonstrations. They also cover different ground in their brief (5-6 min.) interviews. Guitarist Spinner talks about how happy he is to get to play guitar with these guys, but talks about how his three-piece band background makes it a tough adjustment. "In a three-piece band, everybody's crashing and bashing, just trying to fill space." With a large band like this that has accomplished musicians, there isn't much space to fill. You have to pick your spots, he says. With visiting bassist Sklar, we hear how he knew Luke since he was a 19 year old and that he's having the time of his life playing with these guys because they're working on "new albums and new adventures." Phillinganes talks about how Page called him personally and asked him to take over for him, and says how he thought it might be "downhill" after touring with Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton. But this ranks right up there, he said, because Toto is an ensemble where everyone pulls equal weight. Drummer Phillips talks about what he thinks about onstage and how he likes to look around. Luke takes his guitars one-by-one off the rack and talks about each one, playing each and showing how he uses them for different songs, different things. He also explains the pedals he keeps tapping with his feet during concerts so curious fans can get another education. And Kimball? He jokes how he's the only band member who was fired AND rehired.

Bottom Line:
As concerts go, this one is solid, with Toto at the top of their game--make that end-game. If you're a fan, this is a must-own in Blu-ray. And if you're building a music library of classic performances by classic groups, this is one you might consider.