| re: NJC: HCTB - I think I kind of like it. | |
|
Posted by: |
Infinite_Victims 06:39 pm UTC 04/16/10 |
| In reply to: | NJC: HCTB - I think I kind of like it. - Vin 03:02 pm UTC 04/16/10 |
| Very good points & I agree with most of them. I wasn't sure how I felt on 1st listen which wasn't under good conditions - but I had to hear it & had time to kill. Now on 2nd listen it is good, some songs improve on 2nd hearing. The voice is there, the musicians are spectacular, and the songs are a bit all over the map but not bad. The only ones I still have doubts on whether I will grow to like are "California" which just seems to try too hard to be whatever it is trying to be, and the stuff you mentioned on "Love is Not Real". I either like or can tolerate everything else quite well. The guitars and drum work are amazing and an enthusiasm the was obviously lacking on Bat 3 is back in a major way. > After one semi-proper listen on the iPod today, (and > having had time to hear "Elvis in Vegas" loud, in the car, > on decent speakers) I think I am going to reasonably enjoy > this record. It ain't Steinman, but its better than > trying to be Steinman and falling flat on your face. > > My early opinion is that this, more than any of the > others, is Meat Loaf's record. He's always said he's an > actor, not a singer (or sometimes he says that, anyway). > And on the Steinman records he was of course simply > playing the lead in Jim's movie, interpreting somebody > else's vision. We know Meat's natural first choice of > music isn't Jim's Wagner Rock; Meat is a Guitar Guy at > heart, not a Piano Man. I think much of the songs on > HCTB, while not the product of Meat's own vision, fit > nicely into it, and are at home there, and Meat in turn is > at home with them. > > With almost all, if not exactly all, of Meat's prior > albums, the songs have generally made the albums; Meat has > lived and died by the material. With HCTB, and again only > on first impression, I felt like Meat was actually > elevating the material. His enthusiasm on this record > really is palpable, and in large part he sounds like he's > found a way to shave 10 years and a fistful of nervous > breakdowns off of his singing voice. Several of the songs > I know I probably SHOULDN'T like (If I Can't Have You > comes to mind) but Meat makes me enjoy them in spite of > myself. > > The songs here are definitely genre-benders and a bit all > over the place, but I didn't really mind it. I think > there's an earnest attempt at creative bombast going on > here, perhaps the one bone thrown to the Steinman crowd, > which I appreciate even if the results are mixed. (For > example, I think I need to find a way to edit the first > and last two minutes off of Love is Not Real;I really dig > the middle, but the 70s groove-guitar bookends aren't so > hot.) But there were definitely moments of unexpected > musicality throughout that I'm looking forward to hearing > on good speakers. > > Also, HCTB has a definite sense of humor, something Jim > noted that Bat III lacked. (Plus, Spoken Word! Though not > quite what we were all looking for, eh?) This record > doesn't take itself too seriously, which is a good thing. > I found myself smiling at various points throughout, even > at Los Angeloser, and I was laughing *with* Meat, not *at* > him. Sort of like, "Okay, Old Boy, I get it. You're > doing it your way just like you said you would. > Well-played." > > If I'm a critic, here's my blurb for HCTB: > > If nothing else, Meat Loaf is clearly having a great time, > and HCTB is sprinkled with high-spots where the mirth is > contagious. | |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | re: NJC: HCTB - I think I kind of like it. - Evil_One 11:33 pm UTC 04/16/10 |
| Next: | re: NJC: HCTB - I think I kind of like it. (Oh and one more thing:) - Vin 03:19 pm UTC 04/16/10 |
| Thread: | |