Toto
Livefields 1999 Live

Bobby Kimball (vocals)

Steve Lukather (guitar and vocals) 

Mike Porcaro (bass) 

David Paich (keyboards and vocals) 

Simon Philips (drums) 

1) Caught In The Balance; 2) Tale Of A Man; 3) Rosanna... goes into 4; 4) Luke Solo; 5) Jake To The Bone; 6) Simon Solo; 7) Dave's Gone Skiing; 8) Out Of Love; 9) Mama; 10) You Are The Flower; 11) The Road Goes On; 12) Better World; 13) Girl Goodbye; 14) David Solo; 15) White Sister; 16) I Will Remember (Bonus Track); 17) Hold The Line (Bonus Track); 18) I Won't Hold You Back (Bonus Track).

Toto are in the least celebrated period of their thirty-year career, with beautiful albums but less original and celebrated than their previous ones, like "Tambu" and "Mindfields", which after some dim years greatly restored the reputation of the five, with the album marking the return of singer Bobby Kimball, the band's historical vocal, bringing new life into the group’s compositions and enhancing live performances, sharing the frontman role with Steve Lukather. After achieving two Grammy Award nominations with "Mindfields", the Los Angeles band releases this live album to consolidate the greatness that new generations are building around the group after the success of Mindfields, and for this very reason, they call the new live album "Livefields".

Basically, it is an opera omnia, with a setlist covering the entire career of the group, from the beginnings with "Toto" to the most recent successes, with a Bobby Kimball appearing reborn, with stage tricks, a revitalized voice, and his incredible ability as a frontman. The group's performances are perfect, with Lukather and Paich demonstrating perfect coordination, with Lukather performing moving solos (the one without accompaniment sends shivers down your spine!!!) and Paich showcasing refined virtuosity and demonstrating extraordinary taste and impeccable technique in his solo, which with a brilliant move connects to "White Sister". The rhythm section sees Mike Porcaro bowing to accompany Simon Philips, who with his magic astonishes everyone, revealing superhuman technique, exceptional taste, and a double bass drum to die for in some passages!!!! The setlist opens with "Caught In The Balance", one of the best tracks of the latest album, continuing with the virtuoso "Tale Of A Man", which leads to the immortal Rosanna, which the five render perfect and more incisive than the original, giving it a more rock edge. Precisely "Rosanna" introduces Steve Lukather's stunning guitar solo, confirming his rightful place as one of the most beloved guitar heroes in history, with a unique and inimitable style.

At number five comes "Jake To The Bone", which in "Kingdom Of Desire" is the last piece where Jeff Porcaro can be appreciated: a fabulous instrumental ride, where Lukather, Paich, and Philips prove to be three gods of their respective instruments, authors of extraordinary if not impossible virtuosity, particularly Philips, who follows with a beautiful drum solo, followed in turn by the instrumental "Dave's Gone Skiing". Immediately after, follow the acoustic version of "Out Of Love", the historic "Mama", and "You Are The Flower", taken from the band’s debut album, which returns with "Girl Goodbye", following "The Road Goes On" and "Better World". At this point, David Paich gifts us with a moving keyboard solo, with enchanted melodies and grand style virtuosity, always perfectly fitting, introducing an extraordinary version of "White Sister", with profound hard rock hues, which has it all: it begins with the wild screams of the great Bobby Kimball and continues through Paich's melodies, a great solo by Lukather, and a fiery rhythmic section, with Simon Philips reigning supreme in a record that definitively consecrates him among the best drummers in the world, dispelling any doubt from those who didn’t consider him up to replacing Jeff Porcaro.

The CD version is enriched with three bonus tracks: "I Will Remember", the extraordinary "Hold The Line", and the moving "I Won't Hold You Back". If all live albums were like this, I think I might stop listening to studio albums: some tracks are moving, especially thinking that from here on the band will never drop in level, eventually returning with a covers album, two live albums and the studio album "Falling To Between", which will enrich their style with elements drawn from progressive rock and Lukather's sounds becoming almost metal.

In short, an album perfectly presenting a great band, such as Toto ultimately never stopped being...