Toto - 25th Anniversary Live In
Amsterdam (2003/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C Concert: C
Besides
all their great work as session musicians, Toto has had their Pop success and
even a few good songs along the way.
Deemed the next Chicago, a band that had that rare combination of
commercial success, critical praises and mainstream durability, they (like Mr.
Mister, for instance) did not quite hold up as well, though part of that was
personal tragedy. A few years ago, when Toto - 25th Anniversary Live In
Amsterdam (2003) arrived on DVD-Video, I was not so impressed, though one
of my fellow critics enjoyed it more as you can read about at the following
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/502/Toto+25th+Anniversary+in+Amsterdam
A few
years later, the new Eagle Vision HD label has picked the title as one of their
very first Blu-ray releases and it technically offers a rare chance to see DVD
vs. Blu-ray differences no other title can simply because no HD-shot title this
old is coming out in the new format for a while.
I was not
a fan of the concert. It lacked energy,
excitement and was bittersweet with sad irony throughout. Even one of my few favorites, Hold The Line, was one line that
deserved to go dead. Fans will like it
and it makes for an interesting curio, but it just was not that strong a
concert.
The 1080i
1.78 X 1/16 X 9 digital High Definition image was not so great at the time,
though HD-to-DVD tradedowns were more volatile then. In this new 1080p format of Blu-ray, you can
see limits of the HD shoot, that this was an early shoot when HD was not used
as often and the new clarity shows new flaws.
With that said, this looks better than the previous DVD, but with
reservations.
I was not
impressed with the sound mix either, here again offering PCM 2.0 Stereo and 5.1
mixes in Dolby Digital and DTS. No HD
sound upgrades of any kind, likely because the fidelity of the recording would
not handle it. For what is here, the DTS
is the preferred mix and is a bit better than the standard DVD. The combination makes a mixed concert nicer
to sit through, but this is not the better of the first wave of Eagle Blu-ray
titles. The extras are also the same as
the DVD, but they exhibit no major difference.
If you are a fan, put your money on this edition over the DVD, which
holds up on its own but is not as good a performer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
