| re: One more review of Braver | |
|
Posted by: |
steven_stuart 02:41 am UTC 09/21/16 |
| In reply to: | One more review of Braver - Marklbetya 08:42 pm UTC 09/19/16 |
| I think it's an interesting album for several reasons but it really is very different from BOOH and BOOH 2 and even Dead Ringer. But I am glad that they at least tried this experiment. > MY BRAVER REVIEW > 1) Who Needs the Young. Not a good song for Meat’s voice. > My wife hit the nail on the head when she said he > sounded like the Grinch in an animated cartoon. This has > the potential to be a looooong CD. > 2) Going All the Way is Just a Start. Refreshing and > surprising change. Meats voice suits this song nicely, > and when he does duets, you still have that tonal quality > you need for a Steinman song while other voices can carry > the melody. This is a very Steinmanesque song and > arrangement, and of course it’s great to hear Karla and > Ellen. If nothing else, this will probably make the > album worthwhile. > 3) Speaking in Tongues. While I think this “gospelly” > song also suits Meat’s voice, the music doesn’t feel like > Steinman to me. The lyrics, certainly do, but it doesn’t > feel to me like part of a Bat Trilogy. The song may grow > on me. > 4) Loving You’s a Dirty Job. A reasonable version. > Interesting to see the male/female role reversal from > Bonnie Tyler. And this is a good song for the > angry/gravelly voice (like Jim’s version of Left in the > Dark), so Meat’s voice does work on this song...at least > until the end. The last verse was a little shaky. I > prefer Bonnie’s version, but I wouldn’t skip this track > when listening to this CD. > 5) Souvenirs. There is no doubt in my mind a preliminary > version of 2 out of 3 Ain’t Bad. From starting with > “Baby” and the “crying icicles instead of tears”, sending > outside into the cold night, and breaking up. And even the > line: “Take my soul, You can have my mind, But you're > never gonna get your hands on my love.” There is 2 out of > 3, literally. It also seems to have the same lyrical > and timing qualities of Left in the Dark during other > verses as well. I like the song, but it just seems like > earlier works that have evolved in to two, stronger works. > I prefer the Steinman online demo version on Youtube. > 6) Only When I Feel. What is this? I’ve never been a fan > of this song. This is somewhat painful to listen to. > It seems like a reprisal of something from a broadway > musical. And it doesn’t have that Steinman feel to the > music again. > 7) More. Maybe it’s me. When I think of the best > Steinman, I hear a piano, not electrical music. To me, > this is the “If it’s not Broke, break it” of the album. > I’ll be skipping this one. I like the female refrain > enough, but not that much. And it certainly goes on > longer than necessary. > 8) This seems like another one-off from a musical that > doesn’t fit. This is the song that the army would sing as > they march off to war in a musical. It’s not even a > song, in that nobody in their right mind would release > this for radio play. It’s like a novelty song with a drum > beat and not much more. I would never had guessed this > was a Steinman composition. > 9) Skull of Your Country. Similar to Souvenirs, there are > parts in here that eventually made it to “Total Eclipse of > the Heart”. Again, we’re just listening to a work in > progress that evolved into a much more polished song. I > wouldn’t say I don’t like it. It clearly does sound like > a Steinman song and arrangement, so it’s clearly worth > listening to, but it’s a shell of Eclipse. > 10) I think I like this. It’s more commercial that most > of the songs on this album, but it definitely has the > Steinman lyrics we’ve come to expect. More rock/drums > than piano, which as you probably figured by now is my > taste, but Meat’s vocals work here at least. > > Overall, I would say it was about what I expected after > hearing some of the leaked items. Disappointing, in that > I still had hopes of something remarkable that I hadn’t > heard before. But there is nothing new here, and Meat’s > vocal qualities can’t elevate this to new heights. > > I still love Meat’s voice, and think when he’s doing a > duet of Steinman works, we can still imagine how they were > meant to be sung, but I think I’m going to go listen to > Bat out of Hell for the 50,000th time instead. > > I wish them both well, and will never be able to repay Jim > or Meat for the hours of joy they’ve given me, but it’s > over. Jim isn’t writing much new, and Meat is pretty much > done. It was quite a ride though. > > Thanks guys. > | |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | One more review of Braver - Marklbetya 08:42 pm UTC 09/19/16 |
| Next: | Braver Than We Are - Markus 08:03 pm UTC 09/19/16 |
| Thread: | |