| re: Another Braver Review | |
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Posted by: |
Jacqueline 12:30 pm UTC 07/07/16 |
| In reply to: | Another Braver Review - Ali 02:54 am UTC 07/06/16 |
| Crazy how Speaking In Tongues went from nobody's favorite song to everyone's! Gives me hope for others I less than love. Dead Ringer and All Revved Up, I'm looking at You! > Firstly a note of reassurance. Have you been let down by a > Meatloaf album before? Don’t worry: this one’s good. You > can trust it. It will be there for you. > > Apologies that this is so long. I got carried away and > then kept on going… > > > Who needs the young? > Like a middle aged lady sitting in a theatre eating a > homemade packed lunch with her legs wide open, Who Needs > the Young is as gloriously unselfconscious as ever. After > a rather cute little opening bridge which capers on to the > scene like an overexcited terrier at a fairground, the > intro gradually settles and matures into something that > gets gradually sexier until the main melody bursts forth > like an unexpected erection. Unleashed for the first time > upon a new generation that has forgotten that punk ever > happened, this is a song that is going to offend a lot of > people. There is something rather wonderful about that. > > Meatloaf's voice, ravaged by years of overuse lends the > words a special poignancy: the line “My voice just isn’t > what it was!” suddenly sounds courageous and powerful. > Great art does not always have to be beautiful and this > album is very much a work of art. > > > Going all the way > There are very few rock songs that can justify a > playlength of greater than ten minutes and to the best of > my knowledge Jim Steinman has written all of them. Like > some sort of musical King Midas, his production turns > everything it touches to aural gold, and never more so > than when he applies it to his own material. Going all the > way is a true Steinman classic in his usual inimitable > style. Don’t be fooled by the beginning: this is not just > another version of “Braver than We Are”: this is so much > more. > > > Speaking in Tongues > Speaking in Tongues is my new favourite thing: not only my > favourite song on the album but currently my favourite > thing. I genuinely like it more than I like, say, coffee > or my sofa or anything else I'm fond of. > > This is a *perfect* song. One of Steinman's great > strengths as a writer is, and always has been his > willingness to ‘go there’: "There are things that we learn > at the end of life, there are things we learned at the > start" is a line of huge poignancy. Meanwhile the gentle > acoustic accompaniment is the aural equivalent of lying in > a bath full of warm honey with someone gently massaging > your shoulders. Mmm… > > > Loving you’s a dirty job: > Justification if ever it was needed for Steinman’s policy > of reworking songs until they reach perfection, this feels > genuinely revitalised. The real touch of genius is the new > backing riff, which announces its presence as soon as the > track begins and adds something that you will never have > realised was missing before. I’m not sure I can listen to > Bonnie’s version again after this. > > > Souvenirs > I like this song more the more I hear it. It starts with a > rather gorgeous saxophone intro (we’re back in the bath of > honey again) then gradually works itself into a delightful > frenzy of classic Steinmanian/Meatloavian excess. > > The line “crying icicles instead of tears” is a throwback > to “Two out of three aint bad” and the melody echoes Left > in the Dark in places, but nevertheless this stands alone > as a genuinely great track and I would probably like it > more if the first four tracks weren’t quite so > exceptional. > > > Only when I feel > More spoken than sung at times, this does feel very much > like what it is, part of a larger whole. I solved the > problem that others have complained of by simply attaching > “Break it” to it on my playlist. Problem solved. ;) > > > More > More is a true heavy rock anthem and Meatloaf growls his > way through it like an angry tiger at a disco. The female > vocal line begins to take over towards the end of the > song, drifting gently out over the cacophony like candy > floating incongruously in a vat of boiling lead. Fans of > "Life is a Lemon" will love it... > > > Godz > A familiar classic from Tanz der Vampire, this is as > brilliant as ever. Please set aside any worries that > Meatloaf might not do the song justice, he really really > does. > > > Train of Love > Very polished and Meatloaf’s vocal performance is one of > the best on the album. If I’m going to be picky, and > that’s after all what reviews are for, it lacks the > emotional poignancy of the earlier tracks, but it’s still > very enjoyable. > > If you haven’t already heard Braver then you’re in for a > treat: this album is one more perfect primal scream from > the team that changed music forever. > > ------ > > I think this may actually be my longest Rockman post ever. > If you’re still reading this then I’m very touched: if > you’re coming to Manchester in February I will buy you a > drink! > > Now I’m going to go back to listening to Speaking in > Tongues on repeat another 30 times… > | |
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