Toto: Live at Montreux 1991 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Toto: Live at Montreux 1991 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 21, 2016

Toto definitely isn’t in Kansas anymore on this new Blu-ray documenting their 1991 appearance at the iconic Montreux Jazz Festival. The band, known for some of the biggest so called “arena rock” hits of the eighties, has had its fair share of tribulation through the years. In fact this 1991 concert presents the band as a quartet (with a few back up players), with Mike and Jeff Porcaro being joined by David Paich and Steve Lukather. Some evidence of traumas suffered by the band through the years comes courtesy of the sad fact the neither Jeff Porcaro nor Mike Porcaro are still with us. Just a little over a year after this concert was recorded, Jeff died at the young age of 38 from a heart attack (some early reports blamed it on some pesticide he had been spraying in his yard, but later reports suggested cocaine use may have played a role). Mike only relatively recently died (in 2015), but his story was marred by the fact he contracted ALS (otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), ultimately succumbing to it at the not all that old age of 59. Toto in fact toured in support of Mike’s medical bills during this era, with surviving brother Steve rejoining the band. This concert finds the band in happier days, offering a high energy concert that provides showcases for the band’s appealing blend of idioms.

While not lengthy in terms of number of tunes played, the band's penchant to stretch out on its material makes this a decently long concert. Their set list is as follows:

1. On the Run
2. Kingdom of Desire
3. I'll Be Over You
4. Africa
5. Jake to the Bone
6. Red House
7. Rosanna
8. I Want to Take You Higher

Toto: Live at Montreux 1991 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Toto Live at Montreux 1991 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment and Universal Music Group with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Perhaps because of the vintage of the shoot (i.e., 1991), this is a less consistently clear and sharp looking high definition presentation than many more contemporary such offerings. While things look very good a lot of the time, something that's help by more natural than usual lighting schemes, there's still some milky contrast that when combined with a tendency toward purple washes leads to a lack of detail, especially in midrange and wide shots. Close-ups fare at least relatively better, where element of fine detail like the accruing sweat on the players' faces is pretty readily seen (for better or worse). Black levels aren't especially strong, either, something that adds to kind of hazy appearance at times. Occasional light banding is evident when the camera is aimed squarely at light sources. While not optimal, the viewing experience here is certainly acceptable and should satisfy if not absolutely delight fans.

Toto: Live at Montreux 1991 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similarly, both the LPCM 2.0 and (especially the) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes included on this disc aren't quite at the levels of excellence that many other more recent Eagle Rock releases offer. Again, while nothing here is so problematic as to prevent fans from enjoying things, I found the 5.1 mix especially kind of muffled and not especially vibrant sounding, with Steve Lukather's vocals tending not to resonate very clearly except when goes for the gusto on high notes like those that are employed in "Africa". Midrange and low end are okay sounding, but not quite as forceful as I personally would have hoped.

Toto: Live at Montreux 1991 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplemental material on the Blu-ray disc. The digipack comes with a Bonus CD containing all the tracks of the concert.

Toto: Live at Montreux 1991 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While I have a few passing quibbles with both the audio and video presentations here, the admittedly bittersweet quality of seeing this particular iteration of Toto outweighs any such qualms. The band sounds great and plays with a lot of energy, plus it's fun to see a brief cameo by Quincy Jones introducing them at the beginning. With caveats, noted, Toto Live in Montreux 1991 comes Recommended.