| re: My Braver review | |
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Posted by: |
AnotherDay 07:36 pm UTC 07/01/16 |
| In reply to: | My Braver review - TNT 11:30 am UTC 07/01/16 |
| I think, personally, if you look at it as a performance, Meat is wonderful. Yes, his voice is not what it was 20 years ago, but it's impossible to expect it to be. His vocals are still powerful, raw, and fine. I HATE when people say his vocals are WEAK. They aren't. I've seen him live, even recently. > The first full Jim Steinman album since "Tanz Der Vampire" > brings out the anticipation in me, but at the same time > it's a let down that it doesn't really contain anything > that's really new from the composer. Fortunately "Braver > Than We Are" contains full production versions of some of > the lost Steinman songs from the last 47 years, so this is > still very interesting. > > The opener "Who Needs The Young" is a good song, and this > version keeps the weirdness, which makes it interesting. > The instrumental track is great, but the problem is Meat > Loaf's voice. That's really not a surprise, but I had > expectations about the studio production being able to fix > some of his problems. That's not the case, and the problem > continues through out the album. Maybe Meat's weak voice > is the reason for all the other involved singers here? > > Why "Braver Than We Are" have become "Going All The Way Is > Just The Start" is a mystery, but the song is still the > same. To me this is one of Jim's best songs ever, and both > the "Dance Of The Vampires" demo and Karine Hannah's demo > are fantastic versions. When the song is finally released > on an album it seems like a wasted opportunity that it's > done by Meat with a shot voice. The girls are very good, > and I can't stop thinking that the reason for so much of > the vocals being done by others than Meat is to make as > much of the track as possible good. Also I would have > preferred a more "bombastic" production on this song, so > in that department Jim is really missed, even though Paul > Crook is doing a fine job at creating his sound. > > "Speaking In Tongues" is a fine song, based around the > piano, which makes it sound like a real Steinman ballad. > It also seems like it's easier for Meat to sing the quiet > stuff, so it doesn't sound that bad. He is also saved by > Stacy Michelle as she's doing the more powerful parts. > > To do a new version of "Loving You's A Dirty Job But > Somebody's Gotta Do It" is kind of pointless as the > original is excellent. This is still different enough to > make it interesting, but again Meat's voice is the > problem. It doesn't have the magic from the original > either. To me Todd Rundgren's parts in Bonnie's version is > fantastic, and especially his "You're never gonna see it" > lines are pure magic, as you really can feel the > desperation. Michelle isn't even close to recreating this. > Also it is so typical for the album that Meat's voice is > mixed below the other voices, which obviously is done to > cover up as much of his vocals as possible. > > "Souvenirs" really show how bad Meat's voice is, and it's > really a shame he didn't get to do these songs 15 or 20 > years ago. The music through out the album is after all > great, and the songs deserve so much more than these weak > vocal performances. Another thing that might be a problem > is things like the "Left In The Dark" melody parts and the > "I’m cryin’ icicles instead of tears…" which might give > the listener without knowledge about the history of the > songs the impression that Jim is repeating himself, unless > the album is marketed as being old songs, leftovers, and > early versions. > > We're back to the pure piano ballad when it's time for > "Only When I Feel", and it's really a shame this has been > split from "If It Ain't Broke (Break It)", as the complete > piece would have been a cool song. It doesn't really > matter though as Meat's vocals on "Only When I Feel" is > just terrible. > > It is impossible to match The Sisters Of Mercy's version > of "More" as that is one of the real masterpieces, but > again it's done so different that it in some ways work. > The heavy guitars are great, and the short vocal lines > kind of works for Meat. Again the chorus is saved by the > female voice. > > "Godz" is done to the maximum as "Ewigkeit", but it kind > of works as this version as well. This is not Meat at his > worst on the album either, so this is ok. Some of the > background vocals also sounds a bit more like classic > Steinman than on the rest of the album. > > "Train Of Love" is the least interesting song on the > album, as this is just a pure rock'n roll song. This kind > of stuff have never been Jim's strongest songs, but this > is still ok. Meat's voice is ok on this. > > The main problem with the album is without a doubt Meat's > voice, and that's really a shame as I believe this could > haven been a great album with Meat in his prime. There's > still a possibility that I might get more used to the > singing on the album with repeated listens, but > objectively there is no way I can say that Meat delivers a > good performance on "Braver Than We Are", but I guess it's > still maximum of what he's capable of these days. > > Over all the sound of the album is fine, and Paul Crooks > production is good, but it lacks the over the top > production of Steinman himself. | |
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