Tool Album: “Salival [CD/DVD]”

"Think for yourself. Question authority...."

And so starts yet another successful outing from one of history's greatest bands. Tool's "Salival" (the name being derived from the diehards' nervous anticipation for the release of what would be "Lateralus" the next year) is much different than most band's live CD's or B-sides albums. And for that matter, much MUCH different than any other band's video catalogue; but therein lies the band's appeal and mysticism that has been attracting fans for ten fascinating years. But "Salival's" diversity and strangeness also make it more of a fan commodity than something that would appeal to the world at large (argueably because the world simply doesn't "get it"). This is not the disc that you will be handing your friend to introduce him or her to Tool. But for the faithful followers, this is quite a rewarding box set.

The DVD includes the four grotesque and symbolic Tool videos, something that hasn't been available to buy prior. The videos are mostly the brain-child of the multi-talented guitarist of the band, Adam Jones, who directed and created most of the scenes. "Prison Sex" puts to animation the painful story of Maynard's childhood abuse in chilling detail, while "Aenema" demonstrates symbols of God, psychological circumstances, and self-rigor. None of the videos displays Tools overall theme of realization better than the "Sober" video. Even though this was the eventual breakthrough for the band back in 1993, few stuck around to read into the message. The video showcases an old man in a desperate search for something the turns out to be sheerly imagined. And finally, "Stinkfist" is probably the most bizarre, revolting, unsettling, but insightful videos ever made. Lots of symbolism here as well, while "Hush" is a simple visualization to the anthematic singing of the Maynard-penned "I can't say what I want to."

The live CD is stunning, though most of the fans here are right about it not being long enough. Ever the optimist, I think it's great they released anything at ALL before the classic "Lateralus," so the 8 songs are not disappointing. Aenima's "Third Eye," recorded in Salt Lake, kicks off the set, starting with some good insight by Timothy Leary. The song is much different than the studio version, but so goes the band's music on tour. The obvious climax is the toned-down, but still insanely beautiful and classic "Push-it," which is presented by the band "at a different angle and under a different light." "Merkaba" and the hidden track (dubbed "Lame" by fans) represent the previously unreleased Tool material, both being pretty good. Covers are also part of the arsenal; a breathtaking version of Zeppelin's "No Quarter" and Peach's "You Lied" (Peach is Justin Chancellor's old band). Don't expect to get an in-depth look at a Tool tour on the CD, or any "never before seen" surprises from the DVD. This was just a very pleasant way to bide time before the next studio album. But if you're a big Tool fan, you understand that the consumer wins. Overall: 7 out of 10.

This is an extremely great box set. A must for any TOOL fan, but I'm actually writing to let everyone know that the last track is LAMC not Lame. It stands for Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Everybody knows that anything Maynard touches is gold, and that Salival is spectacular as are all Tool releases, but I cannot believe that some sellers have the audacity to ask for $160-$260 for this box set. I've never even paid $160 for Tool tickets, let alone a used box set of theirs. You're much better off trying your luck at Best Buy or a local used cd store, and I know for a fact that Barnes & Noble carries this box set in their stores for no more than $40 (I used to work there and sell this quite often!) I just had to share that with fellow Maynardologists, do not get sucked into buying this box set at such a ridiculous price!!

"Salival" is delicate. The package is put together with wonderful attention to detail and boasts some of the most amazing and beautiful artwork to ever grace the sleeve of a music product.

The songs on the CD are all fantastic - The live performances have a quality that surpasses the majority of live recordings I've heard, and the songs themselves are not the run-of-the-mill popular singles - "Pushit" is sung with true compassion and "Third Eye" opens the CD with a resounding mantra. "No Quarter" is a great song, and it is nice to finally have a decent quality recording of it on CD. "L.A.M.C." and "Harry Manback 2" are both interesting fillers in the style of the ones found on "Aenima". The hidden song is also excellent. The length of the CD, clocking in well over an hour, means you don't feel ripped off in any way.

The videos are in true Tool fashion, and anyone who has seen them knows how good they are. Using lots of puppets and morbid sets the videos compliment the songs perfectly. My favourite has to be the video for "Sober", with it's dark, macabre feel.

"Salival" is fantastic. Comfortable, but vulnerable, and fantastic.

A lot of people have been saying that this set is just to please fans who are waiting for a new album. It's not really that kind of thing at all. For a long time there have been rumours of whether Tool was going to put out a collection of the videos since lots of bands had been putting out video anthology's shortly after DVD went public. The band never gave a concrete answer but it looks like they realized this is what fans want. This set should be appreciated because it is meant to satisfy those few people that actually sat up night after night watching MTV with a finger on the Record button of their VCR in hopes of taping the Tool videos that MTV claimed to be "groundbreaking" (which they were) only to be completely abandoned by MTV in the next few weeks. This box set should be praised for having crystal-clear, unedited videos that are a thousand times better than the poor SLP/EP VHS tapings (along with the first few seconds of the song missing due to the VCR's slow start time for recordings) I have in my collection. The songs on the CD are spectacular too. I have two 90 minute cassette tape bootlegs that sound like pure crapola compared to these soundboard recordings. The inclusion of No Quarter in studio recorded format is enough to warrant this box set being twice as much to purchase. I heard that song live at Lollapalooza (played as a going-away present for Orbital's last night on the tour) and have waited endlessly for a studio version to replace my raspy bootleg. Buy this set if you are tired of listening to your horrible bootlegs or MP3's. I gave this item a 4 star rating because the DVD should have had more crammed onto it due to its monstrous storage capacity.