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| Cool article from 1978 | |
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bellminer 07:19 pm UTC 01/22/15 |
| The man who wrote the recipe By Joshua Dratel Columbia Daily Spectator April 20, 1978 "If you could imagine a person riding a motorcycle, then he's a rock'n'roller," Jim Steinman postulates. "I could see the Rolling Stones running over old ladies, or The Beatles doing crazy stunts, but Fleetwood Mac or Carley Simon? She'd probably ride a Moped." A rather demonic motorcyclist adorns the cover of Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell record album, and most rock aficionados probably see it as the image of Meatloaf himself. But it just as easily might be Jim Steinman. Jim Steinman composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the Meatloaf album. He also plays piano in the band that features Meatloaf, one Marvin Aday, a lead-singing 300-lb. ex-tackle who stalks back and forth across the stage in flamboyant style. But the record, which represents an unusual approach to rock music, was Steinman's creation. "The structure is like operatic arias or dramatic scenes," he explained. "They're very visual. Every song is thought of as a film or something that's on stage." Steinman was looking to break the current trend of mellow monotony with his songs. "I think rock music has been real boring for the last four or five years," he offered. "It's been either bland and homogenized or second rate heavy metal. "The best rock'n'roll has five or six magical elements," he continued. "A sense of fever, fantasy, romance, violence, rebellion and fun are necessary. You want great songs and lyrics, with some power behind them, like The Who, The Stones, The Kinks and the Beatles." While Steinman's perception of what makes quality rock and roll appears well thought-out, he trusted his instincts in regard to including his key ingredients on the album. The result has been a record that is selling well in the northeast and in Europe, but has not enjoyed much air play out west. "I always felt that if it was done right and was heard," he commented, "that there would be a great reaction. But radio is controlled by lots of different egos, and the only place it's having trouble (selling) is where its never been heard." It would be hard not to hear Meatloaf if the album was being played somewhere in the same state. The music is loud, often boisterous and quick-paced, with some slower, romantic numbers included for good measure. The title track, along with "All Revved Up With No Place to Go," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" are probably the most well-known, and the cuts are long and ambitious. "I tried as much as possible to write anthems," Steinman admitted. "I like the way the emotions play off one another on the album—like pinball or a demolition derby. Violence becomes romance at times, and vice versa." The vehicle for the lyrical portion of Steinman's music is Meatloaf. The two met during auditions for the play "More Than You Deserve" (Steinman wrote the score), and although Steinman was not immediately ready to form a partnership, he was captivated by the Loaf's "amazing voice and presence. I had only written for myself, but I felt very comfortable with Meatloaf doing my stuff. He had a similar style—that excessively violent, romantic quality." By November 1976, a working team had been formed, and the pair worked almost a year on recording the material Steinman had written. Originally titled Meatloaf and Steinman, the album was released in October 1977 without the latter's name in the title, but with few hard feelings. "I was a little pissed-off at first," Steinman conceded, but he refused to undercut Meatloaf. "He (Meatloaf) is very important," Steinman added. "He's the public voice of my private fantasies. I write very strictly— the melody lines are already down. What we tried to do from that point was to get his (Meatloaf's) dramatic sense out through the music." And they did get what they wanted. Turned down by RCA, Steinman and singer signed with Epic Records, and Todd Rundgren, a major star in his own right, was called in to handle production. Despite his status as an artist and behind the control panel, Rundgren proved to be very flexible and cooperative. "He hates to produce, but he liked the material so much that he agreed to do it," Steinman noted. "We realized he understood perfectly what we wanted, and it was a great thrill for me to work with him. "He was very generous," Steinman added, "and not at all a tyrant. I can't think of anyone who could have done a better job." On "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" someone might have done a more tasteful job with the break that has New York Yankee broadcaster Phil Rizzuto doing a sexual play-by-play (in baseball terms) while two teenagers exercise in a car. Rizzuto had never heard the song before, and apparently suffered some embarrassment from ballplayers until the album gained acclaim. Steinman overdubbed his voice for both parts of the background shenanigans. "Todd's girlfriend felt sick," he recalled, "So we sped up the tape when I did the girl's part. I had a great conversation with myself while making out with myself." What emerges is a rather bizarre mixture of sporting events that borders on the perverse. "I never think I'm overdoing it," Steinman maintained. "The album never would have been made if I wasn't constantly going over the edge." As for Rizzuto, he was the first choice because Steinman, a Hewlett, Long Island native, is a fanatic Yankee supporter. "In fact, I was so obsessed during the recording that I was convinced that unless the Yankees won the World Series the album would be a complete flop," he revealed. The Yankees whipped the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Steinman's project enjoyed popular success far beyond his experience. A drama major at Amherst College, Steinman began writing extensively as an undergraduate before composing for the New York theatre circuit. His first work was a rock opera, Dream Engine, followed by More Than You Deserve, and electric scores for King Lear and Brecht. "My three big influences were theatre, rock and opera, but I love rock more than any of them," he remembered. "I found the theatre boring, frustrating and tedious, and I could never really get across." The need to appeal to older, suburban audiences "heavily compromised" Steinman's work. Rock music, though, proved to be a freer medium of expression. "Rock is still a pretty exciting area," Steinman remarked. "You are appealing to the youngest, most passionate audience, and, in terms of writing, I've had the most freedom since college." Steinman's success has made a rock and roll fan of at least one older suburbanite: his mother. "She's an expert now," he insisted. "She listens to WPIX all day." Jim's older brother Bill, the assistant sports information director at Columbia, did not have to be converted. "I love the stuff that he does, and it's no accident," Bill explained. "I grew up with Elvis Presley, so it's hardly likely that I wouldn't like loud rock music." And Jim's success was not unexpected, either. "I always thought he'd be a success, if not commercially, at least aesthetically," Bill stated. "I actually thought he'd be a playwright rather than a musician." But Bill recalled Jim's first original work at the piano. After abandoning the instrument, in high school after almost a decade of study, Jim returned home immediately after graduation and, after a two-year absence from the family piano, proceeded to play a piece that he has been using in many of his theatre productions. "I think I saw the birth of a composer right there," Bill mused. The younger Steinman wished he had learned more about the instrument. "I wish I had studied classical piano more so I could write some thunderous, orchestrated classical pieces," Jim decided. He also wishes he could do something completely different. "If I could've, I would have been a shortstop," he fantasized. Instead, Jim will spend most of this spring on tour, and then he will work on more music and two screenplays. "At some point we'll have to stop touring, so I can write," Jim predicted. "I can't write on the road— it's too hectic." But that does not mean that Jim Steinman will be relaxing. "I never feel I can relax," he contended. "The next step is always the more challenging step. I haven't rested for two-and-a-half years." The next step seems to be the cinema, for Jim feels there is a need for better rock and roll movies. One script is for the story of a Fender guitar and its various owners, and another will adapt Peter Pan to the rock and roll age. "I always expected him to gravitate toward that area," brother Bill said. "He's very imaginative, and he doesn't need music to do it." Just motion. That is what Jim Steinman feeds on. "A theme of what I write might be from 'All Revved Up With No Place to Go,' " Jim related. "I think it's a great slogan for this country, because it represents a teenage, rock and roll, and American state of mind. That's why I think of Peter Pan as the ultimate in American and rock and roll stories." Except that Jim Steinman is all revved up, but with someplace to go. | |
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