| re: Memories | |
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Posted by: |
Evan 08:27 am UTC 04/23/21 |
| In reply to: | Memories - JimmyG 03:05 am UTC 04/23/21 |
| Very nicely said and thanks for contributing here. I was thinking about this earlier today but since you’re a long time fan do you remember the old link on this site for Ravenous Records? I think it was supposed to be Jim’s record company. Did it ever have any releases at all? I remember the suggestion it was just a tax write off. > Already shared on Facebook: > > > https://www.facebook.com/groups/JSRockman/permalink/3896104657169758 > > Jim left us far too soon, but he left us with a lot of > songs and memories to remember and treasure for the rest > of our lives. I'd like share some of my Steinman memories > with you below (some of you may already have read most of > them before). > > I still vividly remember hearing "Anything For Love" for > the first time in late 1993. I was totally out of the loop > on "new music" at the time, and was basically only > listening on 80's compilation albums. For some > inexplicable reason, I was watching the end of MTV Top 20 > European Countdown on this particular evening. The #2 song > was "Please Forgive Me" by Bryan Adams. After that, > "Anything For Love" started. When Meat started singing, my > first thought was "Just another power ballad" (like > "Please Forgive Me"), but soon the song exploded, and by > the time the duet started, I knew I had to buy the single > (I ended up buying the whole album because the single was > sold out). I hadn't had any significant exposure to > musical theater or "rock opera" at the time, so the > various parts and transitions in "Anything For Love" were > new to me. Since then, I've learned to appreciate the > complexity in seemingly "simple songs" like "Please > Forgive Me", but at the time, I only wanted to hear more > "Anything For Love"-type stuff. During the first year > after buying BAT II, I was all into MeatLoaf, and did not > fully recognize Jim's contributions as a songwriter. > Perhaps not surprising for a 14-year old who did not play > an instrument and had not started writing his own songs or > lyrics yet. However, when I saw a $4 sale for the > Pandora's Box tape ("songs by MeatLoaf's songwriter") I > thought "How bad can it be?". Turned out to be absolutely > stunning! Since then, I have typically paid more attention > to songwriters than artists. > > I joined Rockman Philharmonic in 1996, and was fascinated > by reading all the articles in the printed Rockman Record > that was mailed to members. In October 1997, Steen Elm > Steen Elm Sørensen and I headed to Vienna to see "Tanz der > Vampire", and the following summer we went with Sandra > Lindholm-Svensson to London to meet up with Joerg > Bindschus and Jackie Jacqueline Dillon see a "Whistle Down > The Wind" preview, where I also met Jim for the first > time. I posted like a maniac on Jim's mailing list at that > time, and out of all the hundreds of things I must have > posted, he remembered the one time I mentioned that I > worked extra as a tennis coach a few years a week. Bloody > unbelievable! > > Something similar happened at the Joe's Pub concert in > January 2005. Steven Rinkoff came up to me and said "I > remember your e-mail on the mailing list". I had > absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but > apparently I had posted some epic "bats and guitars"-type > e-mail on Jim's mailing list around the 1996/1997 time > frame, and he still remembered it almost a decade later! I > was cranking out a lot of outrageous posts and comments at > the time, but the fact that something stuck with him for > almost a decade is still quite remarkable. I wish I had > remembered it as vividly as he did, as it has become > increasingly more difficult to tap into that "wild side" > in recent years. Would have been a fun read today.... > > I had a long stretch of not seeing a Steinman show between > 2005-2015. My wife thinks Steinman's songs are "worse than > porn" (I know Jim would take that as a "compliment"), so > after 10 years of "celibacy" since the "Over The Top" > performances at Joe's Pub and at the Mohegan Sun, I was > more than ready for a "musical orgy" when I saw "Paradise > Found - The Lost Songs of Jim Steinman" at 54 Below in > 2015, followed by three more Steinman shows (Tyce Green's > release concert and the BOOH musical in Toronto and > London) in 2017 and 2018. > > I am really grateful that Jim stayed alive long enough to > see his Bat Out Of Hell musical finally be staged, and I > also know that the people who performed for him in recent > years are also grateful that he was able to attend some > shows - like Pat's NYC concerts in 2015 - and make their > dream of performing in front of him become a reality. Jim > had a lot of huge hits during his career, but I still > believe that his legacy will grow even greater in the > years to come, as people fully start to understand his > importance in music history. | |
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