Toronto Rocks (2003 TV Movie) User Reviews

Stones just keep Rollin' (and Rockin')

[pkwalden · 8/10 · 24 April 2007]

I bought this purely on the strength of the Stones being on stage with ACDC. Both their acts just blew me away. After having viewed it several times and, each time picking up just a little bit more, I have come to realise that this is one great concert overall. Dan Ackroyd and James Belushi blend in like leftovers from the 60's and the other standouts for me were the Guess Who. As it is we don't get to see the entire concert but these guys should do this more often. As for the Stones, this is as good as it gets with any of their post 2000 concerts- nostalgic yet professional, rock solid and rollin, and above all, 4 timeless musos defying nature with their brand of rock and roll. ACDC are just like a bottle of red wine and just keep getting better with age. Onya'Angus and Keith, keep on rockin'.

A poor document of an amazing concert

[doctorgonzo23 · 4 September 2004]

I was there front and center for most of the performance; eventually a bathroom break and a need for food forced me to the back of the crowd for the last few bands.

The DVD is a great souvenir of the day, but it is a really poor document all in all. Firstly, the sound in nowhere near the fidelity they actually achieved at the live event. Secondly, there are so many great performances that are missing (thank god for European bootleggers- the complete Rush, AC/DC and Stones sets are available on DVD- I haven't personally seen them and suspect they may be grey market or perhaps even non-north American legitimate releases... they are out there however...) Finally, to top it all off, non-Canadian buyers are stuck with a single disk set that leaves out the majority of the acts.

The shots are really quick and terribly jarring to the viewer. There's plenty of shots featuring beautiful young women (and their breasts), but the crowd shots are not tastefully inter spliced with shots of the band. This, in my opinion, ruins the continuity of the whole program.

This concert truly deserves a collector's boxed set that includes ALL of the material from the show; re-edited to focus on the bands and a higher quality soundtrack. The whole things seems to have been put together in a hurry and without very much regard for the great material they had to work with.

Good as far as it goes, but leaves you wanting more

[rushnroll · 5/10 · 26 February 2005]

In one sense, I would have loved to have been at this show. For the music, Rush most of all, and because I love Toronto. I can't even begin to imagine being in the midst of that many people, tho, and how much could most of them really hear or see? So I was quite eagerly anticipating the release of the DVD. Disappointing indeed that the full show was not included. I heard that each of the main acts (other than the Stones) was asked to choose 3 songs from their sets. I believe AC/DC's duet with the Stones was one of their choices, so I can see why AC/DC "purists" could be disappointed by that. Why did the Guess Who only have 2 songs, though, if they could have had 3? A prior reviewer complained about Sass Jordan getting 4 songs. I suspect that one of them was included because of the guest appearance by Jeff Healey on guitar, but why she still got 3 more is anybody's guess. Nothing against her, but...I would have liked to see more of some of the other bands. However, the one Justin Timberlake song (and his goofy duet with Mick later) were more than enough, though, thank you. It's not even because of his musical style, as you might think from a rocker like me, so much as that he's so embarrassingly amateur & such a fanboy & wannabe among all these rock veterans.