Like Kathy I would not make that trade either. I agree that BOOH was a one in a million and like her attribute it to more than just the composer. The songs were epic, but so was the man who sang them. The blend of factors was right and right to catch a tide that made it a lasting phenomenon. I'm sure he'd be extremely happy to make another album of Steinman penned songs, but again I agree with Kathy, he'd need to have control, because the way he sounds now is perfect, and to me too more profoundly moving the way it is delivered now, and I would not want that lost.
But Lucy made a very good point about expectations, plus there seems little evidence that Steinman is actively composing, so I think it may be academic. True, Steinman doesn't "write like a jukebox", nor is Meat recording songs penned like one in my view. Would BOOH catch the same tide now? We'll never know, because it did at the time and has become etched in music history. Were Steinman to compose some songs now that were right for Meat I'm sure he'd be delighted to record them. But I don't think Meat is chasing the impossible .. ie another BOOH, because times have changed, that was a one-off and won't be repeated.
Meat has found a superb new path, and I have no desire to see him shift from it. He has also said repeatedly that what matters most to him is that the work is good; CHSIB was good, and BCTB and HIAH are very good indeed. Lucy said " love what we already have from them rather than pine for 'just one more'", and I agree. If it should happen I'd greet it with the delight I greeted CHSIB and now HCTB and HIAH, but no more .. because these are Meat's own great albums and I could not want better. These songs do not only capture my imagination, they capture my soul.
Caryl
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