Meat Loaf calls The Classic Cafe
 

I don't know if anyone has heard this yet but Meat did an interview with The Classic Cafe:

http://wncx.cbslocal.com/2012/10/12/...popovich-more/

Great interview ! Thanks for posting the link Jenna :D

he got the US release of the DVD wrong. I think he meant to say october 20th.

so hope this show in cleveland is recorded in some compasity.

Gee, he mentioned Springsteen- what a surprise! :twisted:


For the record, Bruce sounds better this tour than he has in YEARS- absolutely amazing! :cool:

It appears you can't listen to the interview on iPhone. Which means I have to wait until I get home this evening.
Anyone else get the feeling the 'big announcement' may be RnR HOF related? :cool:

No he didn't ... the USA release date of the DVD is November 20th Chris, not October 20th :-)

I hope the Cleveland show is recorded too.

I wonder where that impulse to mention Springsteen (and his voice) again and again comes from. What's the use of comparing oneself to other artists?

If I didn't compare myself to other Guitar players I would never get better.

I think it makes sense for ML to compare himself to his contemporaries, especially someone like BS who has music in the same vein and is the same age as ML.

The difference is that BS is his own Jim Steinman. And (unfortunately) he's more prolific than both of them put together.

Actually he mentions Springsteen in terms of him being a contemporary but with a very different style of singing (in relation to needing recovery time for his vocal performance).

I'm a guitar player and I try not to do that, yet I'm constantly improving. There's a difference between admiring, being impressed and inspired by and maybe learning from others and comparing oneself to others. Comparisons don't make you better - passion, talent / skills and effort do.

As a huge Springsteen fan, who just recently saw The Boss in concert, I neither like some of his Springsteen references much nor do I understand why he makes them.

Like Caryl said, he wasn't really comparing himself to Springsteen like that, though. It was more of "I have this sort of voice so I require this...however, some artists (like Springsteen) have THIS sort of voice so they can do THIS." He was just noting different singing styles.

Admittedly, he did jump to Springsteen pretty fast though :oops:

I'm still hoping for something Steinman related :cool:

And what exactly is the use of such comparisons?

Is there really anything wrong with it?

This can be argued.

A better question is 'How is is detrimental?'

I just don't understand why they are necessary and why he repeatedly brings up Springsteen. It appears kind of odd and not very convincing to me. You can pretty well describe your way of working without such comparisons, I guess.

I imagine he keeps bringing up Springsteen since part of his fan base manages to endlessly brings up Springsteen as well.

:lmao: I knew you would come up with something like that. :roll:

You put the question out there. I gave a possible explanation based on my observations and my opinion. This forum is all about the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Since the subject of this topic is Meat's appearance on Classic Cafe, I want to say thank you to Jenna for posting the link. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, more than once. Love the sound of his voice

I think Bruce might have pushed himself a bit too hard last tour; the European leg in particular he was sounding pretty rough. This time he's had more frequent and longer breaks, and it's paid off because he has been sounding fantastic.

Meat does seem to mention him pretty often in interviews. Why, I have no idea.

I actually was kind of surprised that Meat would be involved in anything having to do with the Rock Hall, given some of the things he's said about it in the past. The list of nominees just came out for next year:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/m...inees/1610957/

Personally, I'm rooting for the Canadian underdogs. :cool:
http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/...3/Rush+333.jpg

Indeed .. as Wendy's would say .. Where's the beef?


I'd actually call it illustrative, and perhaps we might remember Meat is on the phone responding off the cuff to questions. Springsteen is another household name, a contemporary, and although Julie points out he had been pushing himself perhaps too hard, and I'm pleased for his fans that more rest time has made him sound fantastic, Meat has always had a more operatic voice which others (in particular Steinman) have pointed out needs recuperative time between shows. I think this is the point he was making .. ie it's not simply the passing years as the interviewer was implying, but his style of singing has always needed more rest between performances.

Okay, so Bruce presumably needs less rest due to his less demanding style of singing. (?) Let's assume that's indeed the case. Correct me if I'm wrong but as far as I recall, his current shows are longer than Meat Loaf's and he does things on stage that Meat Loaf doesn't do. So I could jump conclusions and just claim that his shows are more physically demanding than Meat Loaf's. An apparently less difficult style of singing doesn't necessarily mean that it (and the overall performance) is less exhausting. Besides, things like climate, lifestyle and one's constitution might also have an impact on how resistant your voice is. Sorry, but I think such comparisons are a bit too simple and kind of questionable.

Of course you do. However, as I wrote, Meat was responding to a question on the phone. It was a short interview in which the interviewer was (in my view) hurrying things along as they do, and Meat was responding to what was (in my view) a suggestion that he needed more rest between shows now than he did in the early days. He was not suggesting (in my view) that Bruce's shows are, or were at any time, less demanding, inferior any other derogatory .. simply contrasting the needs of different styles of voice.

You find Meat wanting yet again. I cannot add much more to my thoughts on this (in my view) excellent interview. I think Meat's quick illustrative comparison both straightforward and perfectly acceptable .. sometimes something graphically simple works best. We disagree.

Caryl, you asked, "What's the beef?" Well, I'll be honest, and try to explain my feelings on the matter. I can't presume to know what Sarge is thinking, but I think I have an idea.

This interview, taken by itself is not that big of a deal. Although, why Meat had to mention any other artist at all is unknown to me- he could have simply said, "I need a lot of time to rest my voice so that it sounds like I want it to, and I always have". Period. How does it matter what other artists do or don't do? His comment about Bruce liking to sound like gravel (or whatever he said) can be taken to imply that Springsteen doesn't care that much about how he sounds, which, given what I know about him, can probably not be further from the truth.

You can say I'm too sensitive as a fan. Perhaps, but there have been other subtle "digs" in the past as well. There was a comment about how Meat's songs are more complicated to sing- he mentions Springsteen specifically. There was another time Meat said that Bruce "just goes out and sings loud". He does sing loud- at times. So does Meat for that matter. I don't remember the rest of the context of the comment and I can't be bothered to look for it right now, but the implication was that there wasn't a lot of musicality or skill involved, which again cannot be further from the truth. I can cite numerous examples, but I think most people wouldn't listen anyway, so I won't waste my time.

Meat posted on this very board that Bruce sang flat at the Superbowl- was that necessary? I don't know if he did or not- he was a bit out of breath, but I think I can overlook that given that he was running around the stage, throwing guitars and jumping on top of the piano. I can imagine the uproar that would occur if someone said that about Meat. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true.

It's not only Springsteen either- there are numerous examples of Meat saying, "I do this, unlike so-and-so, who does that". As a fan of Meat, I'm sorry, but I find that disappointing. Let one's work speak for itself instead of trying to point out shortcomings of others. One thing I can say about Springsteen is that I have never, ever heard him mention another artist in anything but a positive light. Usually, it's to talk about how much he admires or was influenced by them.

I think that was my point, plus it was a quick response to a question. Personally I can understand what he was trying to get at.

Wouldn't dream of saying that. I won't comment on what you perceived as subtle digs, because I don't know the context, which for me is important.

Very possibly, but probably not from me. I think I have only been critical of those I see biting the hand that fed them for many years ;) But this is a Meat fanclub, so I'd expect people to support him.

I'm not disappointed in Meat however. I've explained my take on this interview, I respect your right as a Springsteen fan to have a different one, but mine remains unchanged :-).

Caryl

:twisted: Can we please please please go discuss this on the Bruce Springsteen forum? :pray:

OK, Meat mentioned Bruce in an interview, he may not have had too, whatever.

Can we agree to disagree on the matter and move onto another subject.
Meat may have mentioned Bruce, doesn't mean we all need to too.

But my point is, why mention it at all? I don't think it's at all necessary for Meat to "explain" why he maintains the touring schedule that he does. He does what works for him, and it's irrelevant what other artists do. Again, it's not one interview, it's a cumulative effect.

OK, here's the context:

For one:

"He made it harder for me to sing," he said, laughing. "My voice was more in the Tom Jones area [before Jim]. I know Tom and I love him, but he just goes out and sings loud, and he usually sings songs that are within a one-octave range. So does Springsteen. There’s no rock, other than Freddie Mercury, that ventured into the three-and-a-half-octave range that ‘Bat Out of Hell’ does. And we still do that in the same key that we recorded it in."

Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/ne...#ixzz29JBONPiT

Q: How difficult is it to sing Meat Loaf songs?

M: Most people don't understand how difficult it is. Freddie Mercury's stuff, like Bohemian Rhapsody, was tough. But the average Springsteen song has maybe a six-note range in it and most rock songs might have an eight-note range. With my songs, we're into three-and-a-half to four octaves. And it moves around, there's a lot of octave jumps.

http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/e...ck_2012-02.jpg

So, the implication is that Springsteen songs are even "simpler" than the average rock song (I'm not a musician, so I wouldn't know, but neither is Meat, by his own admission), and that Bruce (and Tom Jones) just comes out and sings simple songs loudly. Again, why the need to mention other artists or their work at all? I don't think I'm going to impress anyone with my skills by pointing out how much harder my job is than someone else's.

There are other instances as well, these are just two that come to mind.

I'm sorry, Mouse- I was typing my comment while you posted yours. I'm just commenting on something that I (and others) have been noticing for a while now.

I have just expressed my view. I do not seek to change anyone else's .. simply put mine across .. about an interview with Meat. I shall not be visiting the Springsteen forum ;)

Judging by the tone of a few postings by Jim's PA on rockman recently, there does appear to be an ongoing thaw between the two camps - certainly in comparison to the period post bat 3 anyway.

Can only be a good thing. I'd like them to do a final non-bat album together. J.S. did once promise he was going to finish "renegade angel", and Meat also promised "who needs the young"

You also get the impression there would be enough unreleased material around to do it now also.

I'm not worried either way as to whether it's a Stienman related thing or not but I hope it's something that fans all over the world can enjoy rather than it being a special show in the USA or something.