Toto/NY,USA 2019

TOTO has finally completed their 40th anniversary tour and announced a hiatus. Their latest live albums will be released all at once. This work is the second in a series of four simultaneous releases. This is a masterpiece audience recording of “October 15, 2019 Port Chester Performance”. For an overview of the final North American tour (for now), please refer to the explanation of the first release “KANSAS CITY 2019” released at the same time, but here we will zoom in and check the interrelationship of the four works.・September 20th – 25th (5 performances) ・September 27th “KANSAS CITY 2019″ ・September 28th – October 13th (10 performances) ・October 15th: Port Chester performance ←★This work★ [October 16: Announcement of suspension of activities] ・October 16: Inglewood performance ・October 18: “MASHANTUCKET 2019” ・October 19: Red Bank performance ・October 20: “PHILADELPHIA 2019” [Activities] Last show before announcing suspension] This is a total of 21 performances of the North American tour that just ended. “KANSAS CITY 2019” was the only show in September, but the other three performances are concentrated in late October. It was on October 16th that the news of “activity canceled after Philadelphia performance” spread around the world, and the Port Chester performance of this work was the 17th performance, the day before that. Lukather cited fatigue from the long tour, the burden of living away from his family, and David Paich’s withdrawal from the tour last July due to health issues as reasons for his suspension. They said, “I’m really devastated, and I want to take a break from all activities and check on the current situation,” but it is said that the real reason for their exhaustion is the lawsuit. In fact, last year, Susan Porcaro-Goings, wife of the late Jeff Porcaro, filed a lawsuit against Lukather/Paich over copyright fees. This lawsuit seems to be turning into a pretty ugly mess, and among enthusiasts this is said to be the “true reason” for the group’s suspension. In any case, while they decided to stop, the world still didn’t know the future. This work is a live album at such a timing. [A masterpiece recording filled with the joy of watching a live performance] This work, which records such a show, has excellent quality. Although it is a real audience recording that inhales the enthusiasm of famous songs, the essential performance sound and singing voice are powerful and robust. Apparently it was very close to the PA, and the sound was picked up directly without any sense of distance. Of course, if it were too close and exploded, there would be nothing left, but the taper who worked on this work is also a master who has been attracting attention in recent years, and he has not made such a mistake. Even with the highlight of “Hold the Line”, the band does not waver at all even when they are pumping it up with all their might, making it a masterpiece recording with outstanding stability and beautiful symmetry. Although the performance sound is far away from the audience, the sense of realism is definitely a guest recording. The cheering and chanting was really passionate. In fact, there is an enthusiastic female fan to the left of this taper, and her singing voice is also being picked up. Normally, this would be a disappointing point, but that is not the case with this work. This woman is a true TOTO fan and never interferes with the performance. It goes without saying that the music should not be contaminated by speaking, but if the handclaps are perfectly synchronized with the rhythm, and the chanting and lyrics are perfect, the music should remain silent during quiet songs and listening scenes. Moreover, the most exciting ones are not “Rosanna” or “Africa” but numbers such as “Home Of The Brave” and “Lion”. At concerts, there are often people in the audience who think, “This guy is a maniac,” but she is a mirror to that. A good audience makes a show even more enjoyable. Being able to immerse yourself in a masterpiece with such an audience is also the real pleasure of audience recording. This work is a 40th anniversary tour full of famous songs with the audience (apparently not an acquaintance), which Taper himself praises as “a super fan” and “The recording would have been perfect without her, but I have no complaints about her.” It’s a live album. Just to be sure, you will only feel her presence if you listen to it with headphones, and if you play it through normal speakers, you may not notice it because it will be drowned out by the thick, meaty sound of the performance. However, in order to enjoy the real thrill of enjoying the show with fans who truly love the band, we recommend that you wear headphones and immerse yourself. This is a work where you can fully enjoy the fun of audience recording, with a sound that is separate from the audience. Live at Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY, USA 15th October 2019 TRULY PERFECT SOUND Disc 1 (65:04) 1. Intro 2. Devil’s Tower 3. Hold the Line 4. Lovers in the Night 5. Alone 6. I Will Remember 7. English Eyes 8. Jake to the Bone 9. Rosanna 10. Georgy Porgy 11. Human Nature 12. I’ll Be Over You 13. No Love Disc 2 (71:06) 1. Stop Loving You 2. Xavier Talpin Piano Solo 3. Girl Goodbye 4. Band Introductions 5. Lion 6. Dune (Desert Theme) 7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 8. Make Believe 9. Africa 10. Home of the Brave Steve Lukather – vocals, guitars Steve Porcaro – keyboards Joseph Williams – vocals Shannon Forrest – drums Shem von Schroeck – bass Warren Ham – saxophone, vocals Lenny Castro – percussion Dominique “Xavier” Talpin – keyboards