Meat Loaf's Los Angeloser

[WalrusOct9]

Yeah....this album is...underwhelming. A few decent tracks, but really, I'm not sure what the point of it is. Meat and Steinman need each other....I liked Couldn't Have Said It Better, but that's the only non-Steinman LP that's really worked, in30 years of trying. A disappointment, for sure.

[Ehwmatt]

Bat III was a VERY good album. Will listen to this vid in a bit.

My fave from Bat III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptOhE7B13GU - What About Love

[The_Noble_Cause]

Bat III was a VERY good album. Will listen to this vid in a bit.

My fave from Bat III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptOhE7B13GU - What About Love

GREAT album. I know I'm in the minority, but I think it has even more re-play value than Bat 2. Great mix of Steinman broadway-rock ham, and modern pop.

[LtVanish]

Los Angeloser this song sucks the big one. Man I was excited about the new album, now I feel like the excitment was stuck in a trash compactor. Figures since Bat III and Could of Said albums were good Meat was due for a piece of junk.

[Don]

Speaking of BAT III, I think Meat and Marion's version of Steiman's It's All Coming Back to Me Now is much better than Celine's rendition.

The video is very well done also. Shades of Wuthering Heights, for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR7benLiU_w

[The_Noble_Cause]

Now that Meat's out doing the publicity blitz for "Hang Teddy", he is really throwing Bat 3 under the bus.
This statement is similar to a few others I've read -

"Yes, Bat Out Of Hell III was not good. And I'm talking about EVERY FACTOR - the tour was horrible, the response to the album, the feeling from the band and crew, it was just...NEGATIVE! Really negative on every level. And then - to make matters much worse - I developed a cyst on my vocal folds - it was just so bad. So I had a month of doing nothing at all. And then my response was to just fire everyone."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/bl ... -Interview

[rockinfayrose]

Okay, I listened to the new album...let me start by saying Bat Out of Hell III was brilliant - Hang Cool Teddy Bear is bad, and when I say a Meat Loaf album is bad, it's pretty BAD. What is Meat Loaf thinking? In true Meat Loaf style, the album is over-the-top, but not in a way that works well this time. As a whole, it just sounds kinda strange...

Overall, the CD is very disappointing but I have to point out the two tracks that left me We already established "Los Angeloser" blows, but then there's the tasteless "Like a Rose" featuring Jack Black. I equate roses with beauty & class so I don't get the equation made in the song at all. But the track to top all tracks here is "California Isn't Big Enough" - to be quite blunt here, I can't imagine any songwriter (Justin Hawkins / Eric Nally wrote this) penning the lyrics "I can barely fit my dick in my pants" and thinking "hey, this will make a great chorus!" - yes, it's the chorus! I was laughing out loud in public when I heard Meat repeatedly utter those lyrics...again, what is Meat thinking? The worst part is that Meat is giving so much hype to a release that falls flatter than any obscure UK release of the 80's.

I did like "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" though and all the others I have to give a second listen to, but unfortunately I am disappointed. Now I really have to ask the question, what is the future of music coming too?

[Don]

It's sort of like Spinal tap meets the Free Credit Report.com band. Bat 1, 2, 3, Dead Ringer, Midnight At The Lost And Found, Bad Attitude, Blind Before I Stop, Welcome to the Neighborhood, and Couldn't Have Said It Better all have to be considered better than this. Yep, that's pretty much every album ever done by Meat, before this one.

Elvis In Vegas is sort of catchy, reminds me a little of Home On A Monday by LRB, if you ratcheted up the latter about 10 fold.
I'll keep listening though. Maybe it's an acquired taste.

[Don]

If I Can't Have You begins with a sound similar to DSB running into With Or Without You.

[Memorex]

Okay, I listened to the new album...let me start by saying Bat Out of Hell III was brilliant - Hang Cool Teddy Bear is bad, and when I say a Meat Loaf album is bad, it's pretty BAD. What is Meat Loaf thinking? In true Meat Loaf style, the album is over-the-top, but not in a way that works well this time. As a whole, it just sounds kinda strange...

Overall, the CD is very disappointing but I have to point out the two tracks that left me We already established "Los Angeloser" blows, but then there's the tasteless "Like a Rose" featuring Jack Black. I equate roses with beauty & class so I don't get the equation made in the song at all. But the track to top all tracks here is "California Isn't Big Enough" - to be quite blunt here, I can't imagine any songwriter (Justin Hawkins / Eric Nally wrote this) penning the lyrics "I can barely fit my dick in my pants" and thinking "hey, this will make a great chorus!" - yes, it's the chorus! I was laughing out loud in public when I heard Meat repeatedly utter those lyrics...again, what is Meat thinking? The worst part is that Meat is giving so much hype to a release that falls flatter than any obscure UK release of the 80's.

I did like "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" though and all the others I have to give a second listen to, but unfortunately I am disappointed. Now I really have to ask the question, what is the future of music coming too?

There were a few songs - like California... - that I simply could not get through in their entirety. It was too uncomfortable.

[Memorex]

THANK GOD we have this to look forward to:

http://www.melissaetheridge.com/

April 27th! One week!

[rockinfayrose]

THANK GOD we have this to look forward to:

http://www.melissaetheridge.com/

April 27th! One week!

Yeah, I have high hopes for this one to be a winner.

Still unhappy about Meat Loaf's CD being poor on many levels

[The_Noble_Cause]

Doesn’t seem to be a lot of middle ground on this one. Fans are either hailing it as the return to form they knew Meat was capable of, or a career-ending disaster that must be heard to be believed. Either way, gotta get my hands on this.

[Don]

Take Midnight at the Lost and Found and delete any of the songs you like off of it. What ever is left is basically what you are getting with this album. I don't know how else to describe it.
I also think there is a touch of TBF magic going on here. Even with the help though, the vocals aren't anything to write home about.

THIS SUCKS. I hope Meat still tours and does some U.S. dates. His bread and butter are the UK venues but it would be nice to catch him at a gig here in L.A. If this album bombs, he'll probably pull a Perry and go into seclusion again, unfortunately.

[rockinfayrose]

In 15 years of being a fan and owning every album, I seriously never thought I would criticize any release from Meat Loaf. The #1 trouble I have is that the writing is so poor, #2 the acoustics sound very dated, #3 half the songs seem mean-spirited, not at all inspiring which is what I love in music

[The_Noble_Cause]

Thanks for the reviews guys. Drew also mentioned being underwhelmed over on The Noticeboard.

[X factor]

I REALLY like this tune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjjuwmuc ... re=related

Though it's a "non- album track". Haven't heard much of the rest, but let's be honest- Meat's really had three albums that were relevant (BAT trilogy) and I tend to agree with his assessment of the third. Loved "It's All Coming Back" and "Blind As A Bat", but c'mon ya'll- the rest of that album sucked canal water. Steinman's input was GREATLY missed in pretty much all areas!
Meat needs to get Steinman, Rundgren, Bittan, Weinberg and Rory Dodd and make BAT IV and ride off into the sunset!

[S2M]

Second favorite Meatloaf song, 'Cry Over Me'.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I REALLY like this tune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjjuwmuc ... re=related

Too derivative, sounds like its trying too hard to be classic 'Loaf. Hell, the "dick in my pants" rock track shows more life than this imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgdyvUry3F8

Loved "It's All Coming Back" and "Blind As A Bat", but c'mon ya'll- the rest of that album sucked canal water. Steinman's input was GREATLY missed in pretty much all areas!

The Steinman songs are easily the A material on the cd, but Desmond Child's contributions, including "Blind as a Bat", most certainly do not suck canal water. Some are a little too Diane Warren-esque, but so what? In the case of the epic "What About Love", Child nearly out-Steinmans Steinman.

[X factor]

I REALLY like this tune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjjuwmuc ... re=related

Too derivative, sounds like its trying too hard to be classic 'Loaf. Hell, the "dick in my pants" rock track shows more life than this imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgdyvUry3F8

Loved "It's All Coming Back" and "Blind As A Bat", but c'mon ya'll- the rest of that album sucked canal water. Steinman's input was GREATLY missed in pretty much all areas!

The Steinman songs are easily the A material on the cd, but Desmond Child's contributions, including "Blind as a Bat", most certainly do not suck canal water. Some are a little too Diane Warren-esque, but so what? In the case of the epic "What About Love", Child nearly out-Steinmans Steinman.[/quote

A bit derivative, but a step in the right direction, nevertheless.
And if you look closely, you'll see I said I like BAAB off of III. As for the rest of that album, I couldn't disagree more. And ANYTHING that sounds too DIANE WARREN is a bad thing in my book.
But, you say potato...even some of the Steinman tunes don't really blow wind up my skirt. I love BAD FOR GOOD as a song, but find Meat's rendition somewhat dryand uninspired. (MUCH prefer the version Steinman released back in the day.) And if you're going back and mining BAD FOR GOOD (as he has wever since the mid 80's) Why noi STARK RAVING LOVE or SURF'S UP (Yeah I know he did it on BAD ATTITUDE, but that version was weak and sounds WAY dated now)
Ah well...love Meat. I could go on all day, but I won't...

[X factor]

I REALLY like this tune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjjuwmuc ... re=related

Too derivative, sounds like its trying too hard to be classic 'Loaf. Hell, the "dick in my pants" rock track shows more life than this imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgdyvUry3F8

Loved "It's All Coming Back" and "Blind As A Bat", but c'mon ya'll- the rest of that album sucked canal water. Steinman's input was GREATLY missed in pretty much all areas!

The Steinman songs are easily the A material on the cd, but Desmond Child's contributions, including "Blind as a Bat", most certainly do not suck canal water. Some are a little too Diane Warren-esque, but so what? In the case of the epic "What About Love", Child nearly out-Steinmans Steinman.[/quote

A bit derivative, but a step in the right direction, nevertheless.
And if you look closely, you'll see I said I like BAAB off of III. As for the rest of that album, I couldn't disagree more. And ANYTHING that sounds too DIANE WARREN is a bad thing in my book.
But, you say potato...even some of the Steinman tunes don't really blow wind up my skirt. I love BAD FOR GOOD as a song, but find Meat's rendition somewhat dryand uninspired. (MUCH prefer the version Steinman released back in the day.) And if you're going back and mining BAD FOR GOOD (as he has wever since the mid 80's) Why noi STARK RAVING LOVE or SURF'S UP (Yeah I know he did it on BAD ATTITUDE, but that version was weak and sounds WAY dated now)
Ah well...love Meat. I could go on all day, but I won't...

Scuse the typos...typing during dinner!

[The_Noble_Cause]

And if you look closely, you'll see I said I like BAAB off of III.

I noticed. That's why it's worth pointing out that one of the cd's strongest tracks is non-Steinman.
Does BAT 3 fail to meet some lofty masterpiece benchmark set by the last two albums? I guess. Given the reported Meat/Steinman personal falling out, the final result blew my expectations away.

[X factor]

And if you look closely, you'll see I said I like BAAB off of III.

I noticed. That's why it's worth pointing out that one of the cd's strongest tracks is non-Steinman.
Does BAT 3 fail to meet some lofty masterpiece benchmark set by the last two albums? I guess. Given the reported Meat/Steinman personal falling out, the final result blew my expectations away.[/quote

Perhaps I should revisit it. I really DID like a few of the tunes (ALL COMING BACK is as strong as anything on the second BAT and some of the first) Always wished Meat would've done TOTAL ECLIPSE, NOWHERE FAST or MAKING LOVE (outta nothing at all). Been interesting to see him tackle some of Jimmy's other hits.

[Ehwmatt]

Now that Meat's out doing the publicity blitz for "Hang Teddy", he is really throwing Bat 3 under the bus.
This statement is similar to a few others I've read -

"Yes, Bat Out Of Hell III was not good. And I'm talking about EVERY FACTOR - the tour was horrible, the response to the album, the feeling from the band and crew, it was just...NEGATIVE! Really negative on every level. And then - to make matters much worse - I developed a cyst on my vocal folds - it was just so bad. So I had a month of doing nothing at all. And then my response was to just fire everyone."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/bl ... -Interview

I think most of that seems to be centered on the unfortunate occasions that followed the album and it's soured him. I hate to see artists I like criticizing their past work that I really enjoy, it's almost insulting as a fan. Luke used to do this, but he seems to have toned it down. At any rate, Bat III was, as I said, a great album. I'm gonna revisit some of that shit tonight.

[The Sushi Hunter]

I know that fucker loves bacon like no bodies business

Your probably right about that stevew2, hell, the guy may even be responsible for that hidious pizza burger on that other thread.

About the song and video.....well I've experienced liking a song in the past and after a number of years finally seeing the video of it for the first time and being very dissappointed in what I saw. So sometimes the video does not represent an accurate depiction of the song that goes with it. The video in this case to me anyways seems to be something completely different in nature as compared to the song. Meat Loaf is from a different generation, which I would safely say that only the people living during that time period are going to like his music. I don't see any of the new younger generation in high school and right out of high school liking this guy or his music that terribly much. That's my opinioin and I agree that I could be totally wrong about it.

[The Sushi Hunter]

Just did some research and Meat Loaf is supposedly a vegetarian and has been for a number of years. He's also got a damaged/bad heart having to do with electrical currents in the heart. So we are wrong, he doesn't eat bacon and he has absolutely nothing to do with that horrible pizza burger.

[rockinfayrose]

So upon second listen, Meat Loaf's latest does have a few postives I want to note, despite all the disappointments. Here's my track by track review...

1. "Peace on Earth" - Mixed on this; the intro is awesome but didn't love the entire song; betcha $1,000 this song will be first on the tour setlist
2. "Living on the Outside" - Forgettable
3. "Los Angeloser" - I think we can all agree this song blows
4. "If I Can't Have You" (featuring Kara DioGuardi with a special appearance on piano by Hugh Laurie) - I'm a fool for duets about love & longing; wish it would have been Patti Russo instead of DioGuardi who sounds like she's on helium towards the last part
5. "Love is Not Real / Next Time You Stab Me in the Back" - At 7 min 3 sec, it wants to be epic like "Paradise" & "Anything for Love" but misses the mark big time
6. "Like a Rose" (featuring Jack Black on background vocals) - Tasteless lyrics
7. "Song of Madness" (Special Guitar Appearance by Stevie Vai) - Mixed; I like the sound but couldn't understand one word so I don't know what it's all about
8. "Did You Ever Love Somebody" - I feel the lyrics on this one
9. "California Isn't Big Enough (Hey There Girl)" - Discredits album; Meat, what were you thinking?; my bet this must be included to get controversial attention from the media
10. "Running Away from Me" - Didn't blow me away
11. "Let's Be in Love" (Featuring Patti Russo) - Favorite Track! This is the classic Meat Loaf sound I wish the whole album would have been like. Of course, I love every duet with Patti, she would make a Taylor Swift tune sound hot
12. "If It Rains" - Love this one
13. "Elvis in Vegas" - Not loving this one; Forgettable

Still love ya Meat, even if your judgement of good material is questionable

[The Sushi Hunter]

Loved reading your review, though I've only heard only the one song that this thread started on. I love feeding my imagination off of what you wrote. So I can just imagine how each of the songs are.

He's a 62 years old... got to cut the meat....some slack....I guess. In less then five very short years from now however he should be an old fuddy duddy reduced to gumming on a bag of super sized marshmellows and screaming at the tv watching all star wrestling like it's for real.

[rockinfayrose]

Loved reading your review, though I've only heard only the one song that this thread started on. I love feeding my imagination off of what you wrote. So I can just imagine how each of the songs are.

He's a 62 years old... got to cut the meat....some slack....I guess. In less then five very short years from now however he should be an old fuddy duddy reduced to gumming on a bag of super sized marshmellows and screaming at the tv watching all star wrestling like it's for real.

Sad truth that all my favorite male rockers have reached the age where they could sit in rockers and get senior discounts Well, my motto was always 'age ain't nothing but a number' so rock on!

[The Sushi Hunter]

Loved reading your review, though I've only heard only the one song that this thread started on. I love feeding my imagination off of what you wrote. So I can just imagine how each of the songs are.

He's a 62 years old... got to cut the meat....some slack....I guess. In less then five very short years from now however he should be an old fuddy duddy reduced to gumming on a bag of super sized marshmellows and screaming at the tv watching all star wrestling like it's for real.

Sad truth that all my favorite male rockers have reached the age where they could sit in rockers and get senior discounts Well, my motto was always 'age ain't nothing but a number' so rock on!

That's how it works. I remember laughing at my Grandfather for liking some old singer that I had never even heard about before when I was a teenager. He'd talk about singers and groups he liked back before I was even born and I thought he was nuts. That flustered his feathers big time. Funny thing is, it's now happening with me when I talk to kids these days about music that was popular when I was a teen. They don't know who many bands I used to listen to are when I ask them, like the Bay City Rollers. Yeah, could have been a stupid band but when I was in second grade I thought they were cool. The earliest songs that I really liked as a child were Don McLean's "American Pie", The Hollies "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" and a few years later Billy Swan's "I Can Help", Jim Stafford's "Spiders & Snakes", and "Space Cowboy" by the Steve Miller Band. Chicago was another really good band I though when I was in my pre-teen years. I also remember listening to popular songs by Marvin Gaye back then also. I also loved watching "Yellow Submarine" because I loved all the songs that were played during that movie. Good songs when I was a little kid.