Livefields (Live)

During the '70s, it appeared as though most rock bands tried to re-create their 'live sound' in the recording studio for their studio albums. But by the early '80s, it was seemed to be the other way around, as studio recordings became increasingly "perfect" sounding. One such band that followed the latter approach was certainly Toto, whose records were so clean-sounding that you could eat a five-course meal off of them. That said, Toto is understandably not exactly the prime candidate to challenge Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! for "grittiest live album of all time." Yet the group of highly respected and skilled studio musicians did offer a document of their 1999 tour the same year, Livefields. Usually, live albums consist of a group's greatest hits, but the only certified Toto hit included here is "Rosanna" (in others words, no "Africa," no "Hold the Line," etc.). Elsewhere, such note-perfect performances of "Caught in the Balance" and "Better World" sound like, well, studio renditions; while the aforementioned missing hits could have easily replaced three indulgent extended solos by various bandmembers. As a result, Livefields will only appeal to the most die-hard Toto fanatics.