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Salival salvation

Reverend_Maynard | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 07/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD/VHS set was a stop gap between 'Aenima' and 'Lateralus', and consists of a CD featuring live and rare tracks, as well as a video containing the bands ambitious, biazzare and at times grotesque music videos (now sadly out dated due to the release of videos from the 'Lateralus' album). This is an essential live document for Tool fans, for the versions of some of the songs featured here surpass the originals in places. The live version of 'Third Eye', the 13 minute epic from 'Aenima' is imbued with far more atmosphere than the original, has a different sample at the start (Timothy Leary on freedom of thought), and is simply required listening for fans. 'Pushit' is also revamped, with a slower, more thoughtful opening, lengthy bong-drum interlude and alternative lyrics. Elsewhere on the disc, we have 'Part of Me' live, which is the discs weak point, as one feels a better song could have been selected for inclusion. Also, the song is very little changed from the studip recording: hardly a new criticism of live material, but when viewed against the quality of the other material here it is a severe defect. A version of Led Zeppelin's 'No Quarter' surfaces finally here, which is thankful, as Tool do a fine job of making the classic song their own. A cover of 'You Lied' by Peach (Justin Chancellor's previous outfit) is very welcome, as is the hidden track towards the end of the album, which I would urge the listener to discover for themselves. Overall the disc is very strong.
The VHS suffers immediately from being out of date, but this does not diminish the quality of the videos included. For those who have never seen a Tool video I am unable to explain their merits here: Adam Jones is evidently a genius in my eyes, but the nightmare imagery is unlikely to appeal to everyone.
This is an essential commodity for Tool fans, but for the casual listener there will be very little of interest here. For this reason I do recommend this set highly, but only to the initiated."

A nice tide-over until the new album

Reverend_Maynard | 04/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To put it bluntly, the video in this boxed set is worth your [money] all by itself. Containing all 4 of Tool's major release video's, there isn't much to disappoint you here. If you're a fan of claymation, stop-motion animation, or anything by artists such as the Quay brothers, you'll love this. The video itself comes in interesting packaging similar to the outside box, and contains the videos for "AEnema", "Stinkfist", "Prison Sex", and "Sober", not to mention the amazingly well-crafted, animated introduction. The only real complaint about the VHS version is the fact that it doesn't contain the video for "Hush", off of Tool's first EP, "Opiate", which is included on the DVD.The music videos themselves are just as haunting and thought-provoking as any of Tool's music. It's interesting that Tool can make a video with so much brilliance and depth, but also, noticeably, that the band never appears in the videos. (Except for a brief flash during "Sober".) It's also a shame that the producers of the video didn't feel it necessary to include any live footage, interviews with the band, fans, or anything of the like, on either the VHS or DVD. Nonetheless, they are both worth well over what you paid for them.As for the CD, it just puts the final touches on the whole set. The majority of the album is live, and the usual explosive and amazing sound of Tool's live performance skill is captured, all without losing the sound quality due to crowd screams, as is done on some live albums. All the live performances on the album have the sound quality of a studio recording, but have a very live feel to them. "Third Eye" and the newly experimental "Pushit" are some of the most intense and captivating tracks you will hear, with their crunching instrumental performance and Maynard's emotional vocals. Although "Part Of Me" is also intense and breathtaking, it was included as a live track on "Opiate", so the band could have replaced it with something different. "Stinkfist", "AEnema", or "46 & 2" might have done the trick. "You Lied", the cover of the Peach song, which Justin, the bass player, used to be in, is also a great live song.The more experimental tracks are brilliant as well. "L.A. Municipal Court", or "L.A.M.C" for short, is strange and draws you in, but the pounding in the foreground of the song becomes rather redundant. Also, "Message To Harry Manback II" brings back that old "AEnima" feeling. "Merkaba" is purely electrifying and deserves a place on a studio album sometime in the future. As for the last 2 studio tracks, "No Quarter", which is a Led Zeppelin cover, and the hidden song after "L.A.M.C.", they top the CD off. Both have amazing sound quality and show that Tool's talent has yet to even dim the slightest.The packaging on the whole product is nice. A black box with the picture from the video is on the back. Once opened, the CD and video rest inside a velvet, perfectly fit case, all of which slides into a plastic sleeve. Don't miss this if you're a Tool fan or are curious to be one."

Great visuals to go along with wonderful songs.

D. Pachal | WA | 01/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Salival is a great box set from one of the best bands of all time. TooL is probably one of the most influental bands, with a staying power that is not too common in bands today. There are two great "gifts" that come along with this box set, a cd, and a video/dvd (depending on which version you get).The has about 8 songs on it, some of them live, some of them new, and others that are reconstructions of old songs. With a trademark hidden song at the end of the cd, it is definately a cd to add to your TooL collection. The songs are full of TooL's best, with great lyrics complete with Maynard's wonderful voice.The dvd/video has 4 videos on it, two from songs on "aenima" and two from songs on "undertow". The videos are "Prison sex", and "sober" (from undertow). And "stinkfist" and "aenima" (from Aenima). The videos are complete with TooL's strange cinematic characters, complete with strange little dolls, defigured humanoids, and puppetronics that rivel Jim Henson's muppets.This is definately a must needed addition to anyone's TooL collection. The vidoes are great, the music is great, making it well worth the money to buy it."