AndyK
02 Mar 2007, 12:20
From canada.com (http://www.canada.com/cityguides/vancouver/story.html?id=bee6348c-46c1-406a-8652-427425613b79&k=11754) very similar to other articlaes that have been floating around this last week.
What's it like to talk to Meat Loaf?
Like listening to his albums: over the top.
In fact, he describes his albums that way. Doesn't mind at all. They are over the top. If you want subtlety, you won't find it on a Meat Loaf record.
Similarly, an interview with Meat Loaf is no small affair. The usual phone interview is 15-20 minutes in length. On this occasion, a conference call was arranged and lasted 90 minutes. Music reporters were lined up on the phone with one question each. To his credit, Mr. Loaf, born Marvin Aday in Texas in 1947, answered every one of them as conscientiously and thoroughly and thoughtfully as he could.
He is touring to promote Bat Out Of Hell III. Like its two predecessors, a large part of it was written by Jim Steinman. Prior to this recording, Steinman had a stroke and Meat Loaf and Steinman had a legal wrangle over ownership of the Bat Out Of Hell title. As Steinman learned to play piano again, a doubt-filled Meat Loaf enlisted another professional hack, Desmond Child, to produce and provide Bat Out Of Hell-type epics. Child, in turn, called on Diane Warren and Holly Knight. The result is a harder-sounding record than Meat Loaf is known for, but also the most varied. Steinman's involvement, though, seems crucial. Meat Loaf solo albums don't sell nearly as well as the Bat Out Of Hell franchise, which are as much about Steinman's vision as Meat Loaf's passion.
The two are friends again. Jim Steinman is well and wanted "to be in on the project" just as he has been on most Meat Loaf albums.
"People are very passionate both ways," Meat Loaf says of the reception of Bat Out Of Hell III. "I like it that way. The album deals with the peaks and valleys of people's lives. Jim Steinman is very clever in how he deals with those peaks and valleys.
"I'm very emotional," he continues. "I wear my feelings on my sleeve. I take everything to heart. You have to believe the good reviews as well as the bad."
Just as well. Although the reviews of the Bat trilogy generally have been good, sales are down. The first Bat album sold 35 million copies and it would be hard in this age to repeat the 1977 hit. The emotional side of Mr. Loaf is probably buoyed by those reviews, but the smaller sales indicate that he has to work harder. Hence the lengthy conference call, which is punctuated by several references to making "an emotional connection" with the audience.
For this reason, the current show is "all Bat all the time."
"I don't do theatrics," he swears. "I don't do theatre. I deal with the emotions of the song. It's emotional theatre, not theatrical. There is no tomfoolery, no motorcycles, no disco dancers in cages, no pyrotechnics . . .
"People aren't paying attention," Meat Loaf continues. "They aren't used to thinking. With a Jim Steinman song, he's subtle. [Really?] He doesn't hit you over the head. You have to be emotionally connected."
While readers ponder the last statement, they might also be wondering what my one question was. It was the only one Meat Loaf misinterpreted. I wondered, since he doesn't write the songs, how he got inside a song's character and how he prepared to play the subsequent role.
He has been in 50 films or TV shows -- Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fight Club, Roadie -- and evidently is an ardent film buff, so acting shouldn't be new to him. Unfortunately, he took the question as an attack on him.
"This has nothing to do with reality," Meat Loaf huffed. "Hackman doesn't write, Brando didn't write his character for On The Waterfront, De Niro doesn't write."
OK, they were playing a part. When he does Bat, he's playing a part. Fortunately, in a roundabout way, Meat Loaf ended up answering the question.
"I don't take on the physicality of the character when I'm offstage but when I go onstage, I do," he explains. "He has a past, a present, a future. He has a wife. He has mates. I work very hard on this."
So there will be just Meat Loaf, a flexible eight-piece band, the Bat Out Of Hell songs and no distractions. Then, he will go away.
"I didn't know if there would be a Bat Out Of Hell III," Meat Loaf declares. "I was ready to retire.
"You need to disappear. You've got to get over yourself. It's called not being overexposed."
What's it like to talk to Meat Loaf?
Like listening to his albums: over the top.
In fact, he describes his albums that way. Doesn't mind at all. They are over the top. If you want subtlety, you won't find it on a Meat Loaf record.
Similarly, an interview with Meat Loaf is no small affair. The usual phone interview is 15-20 minutes in length. On this occasion, a conference call was arranged and lasted 90 minutes. Music reporters were lined up on the phone with one question each. To his credit, Mr. Loaf, born Marvin Aday in Texas in 1947, answered every one of them as conscientiously and thoroughly and thoughtfully as he could.
He is touring to promote Bat Out Of Hell III. Like its two predecessors, a large part of it was written by Jim Steinman. Prior to this recording, Steinman had a stroke and Meat Loaf and Steinman had a legal wrangle over ownership of the Bat Out Of Hell title. As Steinman learned to play piano again, a doubt-filled Meat Loaf enlisted another professional hack, Desmond Child, to produce and provide Bat Out Of Hell-type epics. Child, in turn, called on Diane Warren and Holly Knight. The result is a harder-sounding record than Meat Loaf is known for, but also the most varied. Steinman's involvement, though, seems crucial. Meat Loaf solo albums don't sell nearly as well as the Bat Out Of Hell franchise, which are as much about Steinman's vision as Meat Loaf's passion.
The two are friends again. Jim Steinman is well and wanted "to be in on the project" just as he has been on most Meat Loaf albums.
"People are very passionate both ways," Meat Loaf says of the reception of Bat Out Of Hell III. "I like it that way. The album deals with the peaks and valleys of people's lives. Jim Steinman is very clever in how he deals with those peaks and valleys.
"I'm very emotional," he continues. "I wear my feelings on my sleeve. I take everything to heart. You have to believe the good reviews as well as the bad."
Just as well. Although the reviews of the Bat trilogy generally have been good, sales are down. The first Bat album sold 35 million copies and it would be hard in this age to repeat the 1977 hit. The emotional side of Mr. Loaf is probably buoyed by those reviews, but the smaller sales indicate that he has to work harder. Hence the lengthy conference call, which is punctuated by several references to making "an emotional connection" with the audience.
For this reason, the current show is "all Bat all the time."
"I don't do theatrics," he swears. "I don't do theatre. I deal with the emotions of the song. It's emotional theatre, not theatrical. There is no tomfoolery, no motorcycles, no disco dancers in cages, no pyrotechnics . . .
"People aren't paying attention," Meat Loaf continues. "They aren't used to thinking. With a Jim Steinman song, he's subtle. [Really?] He doesn't hit you over the head. You have to be emotionally connected."
While readers ponder the last statement, they might also be wondering what my one question was. It was the only one Meat Loaf misinterpreted. I wondered, since he doesn't write the songs, how he got inside a song's character and how he prepared to play the subsequent role.
He has been in 50 films or TV shows -- Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fight Club, Roadie -- and evidently is an ardent film buff, so acting shouldn't be new to him. Unfortunately, he took the question as an attack on him.
"This has nothing to do with reality," Meat Loaf huffed. "Hackman doesn't write, Brando didn't write his character for On The Waterfront, De Niro doesn't write."
OK, they were playing a part. When he does Bat, he's playing a part. Fortunately, in a roundabout way, Meat Loaf ended up answering the question.
"I don't take on the physicality of the character when I'm offstage but when I go onstage, I do," he explains. "He has a past, a present, a future. He has a wife. He has mates. I work very hard on this."
So there will be just Meat Loaf, a flexible eight-piece band, the Bat Out Of Hell songs and no distractions. Then, he will go away.
"I didn't know if there would be a Bat Out Of Hell III," Meat Loaf declares. "I was ready to retire.
"You need to disappear. You've got to get over yourself. It's called not being overexposed."