No, not the classic Sunday night meal but the big voice of the massive success of Bat Out Of Hell 1 and 2.
TO kick it off here's my review of Meat Loaf's final concert of The Last World Tour from Christchurch last year.
This was the final concert in Meat Loaf's Last World Tour so it had extra meaning for Meat Loaf and the band.
So being my first and probably last Meat Loaf concert, here's how I found it.
I arrived at what I thought was going to be late. But the crowds were taking their time and I was able to hang around at the front. It seemed to be mostly an audience of older people so there wasn't the pushing and shoving that you get at other concerts. The concert was pretty much close to capacity but I was lucky enough to be the first through the door and secured a place right in the middle at the front.
I was surprised to find those around me weren't that much in the know. A couple beside me asked if it was the Bat Out of Hell tour! They didn't realise their was a new album.
Kasim Sultan (Meat Loaf's bassist) was the opening act and played a couple of songs on guitar which unfortunately was not particularly well recieved. Many(including myself),had never heard of him and he got a bit of stick from some areas of the crowd. He announced that as this was the last show there was a joke going to be played on him. SO he started his first song and Mike and Paul from the band came running on the stage dressed up as spooks and prodding Kasim and each other with pitchforks! Kasim dared them to do it again naked, but they didn't show.
About 8.10 came the main act. They took up their positions and Meat Loaf strode out to a big cheer, while the band launched into Life is a Lemon. I was a tad worried about how Meat was going to sound, some reviewers haven't been so nice about his singing and it seemed they were right as Meat bellowed out the opening lines which sounded nothing like the actual melody. His intensity was huge and I wondered how long he would last. But he settled down though, the band being the force behind the song.
Some new songs followed, the band creating a huge wall of sound enabling Meat to do whatever he wanted. He favoured squeezing out high notes and holding them long which would get the crowd going.
The opening chords of "You Took The Words Right Outta My Mouth" really got the party going. The repartee between Patti Russo and Meat was great. It was pure rock theatre.
It was all there. He told the crowd in the stands to get on their feet or he'd kick their ass. He got us to sing along and said we were the best singing audience he'd had in 10 years and introduced one of his guitarists as being born in ChCh. The crowd went mental. He is from NZ but I think Meat was just working the crowd up. It was brilliant.
Then came a surprise.
I had read that Meat hadn't been doing any of his ballads and was a bit disappointed, considering having a symphony orchestra behind him so was prepared to just rock. But a familiar piano intro began.....could it be? Meatloaf put on a black scarf and began to sing "Two outta Three aint bad"!
I was in heaven, but keeping an eye on Meats condition having collapsed in Concert late last year. Every now and then he would glaze over and sit down for a breather but then he would play a joke and crack a huge smile and I would know that there was plenty left.My favourite song "Out of the Frying Pan" flew by and then they launched into
"Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" and we were rocking. Then came the most amazing moment. Just after the baseball game section of the song Patti strolls over to Meat and sings "Stop right there!...I gotta know right now! etc". It was an explosion of sound like I've never heard before! The crowd was singing lustily along, Meat Loaf and the band waved goodbye.But wait, there's more!
Finally the orchestra was being used to it's potential having been largely unheard during the concert. The opening to "I'd Do Anything for Love" was unbelievable. The roar of the guitar and the thunder of the power chords just can't be described in words. Meat had tears in eyes at the end and his embrace with Patti was really moving. You could see realisation of the end of their journey etched in their faces. The momentous Bat out of Hell capped off a 20 minute encore opus of pure rock. I'll never forget it.Meat made a very moving speech thanking everyone in the audience and everyone on stage. Pumping the sky with his fist like a prize fighter, close to breaking down in tears and the audience paid homage to the hardest working live performer in the world.
You know I've been to some pretty good concerts. Michael Jackson, Marilyn Manson, U2, Tina Turner, Robbie Williams....but I have to say that this topped them all. Maybe because it's fresh in my mind but also because there was no lip-synching, no special on stage effects and moving platforms. It was pure and live and real. No mean feat for a 56 year old with heart problems.
Best....Concert.....Ever
Meatloaf - Bat out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose
The Monster Is Loose
When I first heard this a month ago, I was a little uncomfortable with the production. The guitars just didn't sound like Meat Loaf. I half expected Marilyn Manson to start spitting out something about the government (Thanks John 5). But it's a slick, slick track. The timing of chords, the wandering strings and the sheer bombasity make it tailor-made for Meatloaf and boy does he get into it. The chorus is a little lumbering, but it suits the nature of the lyrics and represents a heaviness that we've never seen from Meat. Though not as strong an opening as BOOH or IDAFL it's a true Bat track.
As is the next one..
Blind as a Bat
Wow! This is vintage Meat Loaf. An awesome awesome track, which would make into a Best of the Bat (if such an album happens) After the nice build-up we get driving emotion-filled verses before launching into one of the more intense Meat Loaf choruses I've heard. It doesn't suffer from over repetition (more on that later) and would be a worthy worthy single. Here's hoping the record company listens to the overwhleming acclaim the fans are giving this track.
At this point, I'm pretty stoked with the way a Steinman absent album is working. Can it keep the momentum?...
It's All Coming Back To Me (w/Marion Raven)
OK, sure a Steinman track. But did it have to be this one? I just don't think it really suits Meatloaf's voice. As a duet it's even worse, with Raven's contribution little more than a harmony and an echo. The voices don't blend very well either and while the arrangement is suitable "Meaty" it just feels like too much. It would've been fine as album filler, but only as a Meat Loaf solo. The fact that it's the first single is more than a worry for the public opinion of the album.
Bad For Good
Now here's some vintage Steinman….albeit 25 years late. It's got it all, the characteristic lyrics, every line repeated twice, lots of backing vocals. If I would put in a criticism, it sounds a little dated, Brian May's guitar included, and I think Steinman wrote a far better rock track with "Out of the Frying Pan" from Bat II. I think it suffers from a lack of melody, although the "For the good of…" section is easily the best part of the song.
Cry Over Me
Diane Warren is a talented ballad writer; she has a string of hits with a number of artists, including Meat. But this doesn't quite feel like a Meat Loaf track, but more of a Faith Hill type weepy. "Cry over me, feel what I feel…even for a moment"? Is it just me or are these implicitly female lyrics? What's a big man like Meat Loaf singing them for? If it was Patti singing to Meat then it would make a whole lot more sense.
Not necessarily a bad inclusion though as it gives us a breather before the next track….
In the Land of the Pigs (The Butcher is King)
This is a wholly confusing track. It sounds very much like a track Steinman might have written for a rock opera, but what I can't quite comprehend. That's not to say it's not entertaining…..just utterly pointless. (Edit: It's from Jim Steinman's abandoned "Batman" musical)
Monstro
Obviously designed as an atmospheric track along the lines of Back Into Hell. But it serves as nothing more than an intro into the next song….
Alive
…which apart from the musical link is pretty much unrelated to the previous track. A nice happy rock song with a swathe of accompanying backing vocals. It's not a particularly memorable piece of music but it's good enough to fill the album.
If God Could Talk
Starts off as a broken heart ballad - does anyone do passionate angst better than Meat Loaf? There are unfortunately a few too many musical cliches here. That aside, it's a good track but considering the last couple, that's not saying a lot.
If It Aint Broke, Break It
Back to the anarchy with a stomping modern sounding rock dance track. This would stand proudly amongst the anthems of the stadium hair-rock bands of the 80's with it's crowd-pleasing chorus, horn section and flashy guitar interludes. The arrangement is quite modern and dancey...would make a good single.
What About Love
Did Meat Loaf hire The Edge to write him a song? The guitar work and chord structure reeks of U2. The whole song is very mainstream rock throughout but it's refreshing to hear Patti sing. It's far more successful as a duet than IACBTM.
Sieze the Night
A big orchestral opening. I understand it's taken from Der Tanz der Vampires? Unfortunately it ends up being the same thing over and over and over again. It's a nice idea, but just 4 minutes too long. People would make the same point about IWDAFL at 11min, but the difference here is that we see the same "Dies Irae" section repeated in exactly the same way. No development or musical variation. It would work fine for a stage production, but here it is redundant. Might've been different if Steinman had produced it.
The Future Aint What it Used To Be
Jennifer Hudson's wailing aint an asset in this song. Her and Meat just don't blend and the song itself is a stinker. Can't make up it's mind whether it wants to be a cheesy ballad or a cheesy rock song. It ends up being just cheese.
Cry To Heaven
Wow.
What a crap way to end the album. The song says nothing. Meat's vocals are terrible, especially the last note. Sorry Desmond but Lost Boys/Heaven Can Wait, this aint.
*appreciates* <3
Meatloaf rocks the party.
Jim Steinman YES! he did the first When Rock&Roll dreams come through my best song ever! and the record cover picture art on his Bad For Good album is ultimate coolness!
I wasnt really old enuff for the infamous Meatloaf era some what young, tho but older College kids always played 2out of 3 aint bad and Took the words right outta my mouth
I go the Bat out of hell T-shirt hanging up on the floor somewhere
Unfortunately Steinman doesn't have a lot to do with this album.
He and Meat had a legal stoush over the "Bat Out of Hell" trademark because Meat wanted to get on with it but Jim wasn't ready.
So while about half the songs are Steinman songs, they aren't particularly fresh offerings and the production of the album has been left to Desmond Child.
Which is a shame, because Meatloaf wouldn't be here if it weren't for Jim.
Best record cover art ever! was Jim Steinmans Bad For Good Album
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jim_Steinman_-_Bad_for_Good.jpg
i had Rolling Stones 'Tattoo you' and
David Bowie's 'Alladin Sane'
but when i seen Jims cover i was liek 'man ive gotta tattoo that on my forehead'
Here it is Ladies and Gentleman!
The trilogy is complete with the impending release of Meat Loaf's "Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster is Loose"
Featuring songs by Desmond Child, Jim Steinman, Nikki Six, John 5, Diane Warren.
Wow !!!! Wish I had been there too Phantz