Wario
02 Nov 2011, 07:03
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/Meat_Loaf_-_3_Bats_Live_R1-cdcov-1.jpg
With the Sydney 2011 DVD just around the corner, I thought Id take a trip down memory lane with the most recent Live DVD release: 3 Bats Live.
I watched it the day after halloween, so yesterday, and I'm surprised on how much i actually liked about it.
I guess I'll do my Wario thing and dissect it song by song and give my views on each of the 19 performances on the disk. 17 of which Meat lead his vocals to.
All Revved Up 8.5/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/allrevvedup1.jpg
I loved how the DVD started out with the "bloody bat" Meat Loaf logo (which is my personal favorite Meat logo to date) zooming in on John's drumming. This is actually all ruined by the girls singing "Girl" while the rest of the guys are singing "Boy". It would've been more appropriate to all just sing "Girl" since they were the ones on lead voice. That was sloppy but anything with Dave on sax during this show killed sans the next track. thats a fact, wait till I get further into the show.
Paradise 5/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Paradise1-1.jpg
This was bar-none the weakest paradise ever officially released todate. Meat and Aspen had nothing and I cant say i liked the pitch of Meat's voice during this song. i know i always say voice isn't everything but for this performance, it could have saved it and it didn't. The editor put his scissors on this baby. So much banter you can tell is cut. Only saving grace is the instrumental opening and Dave's sax. Also, the wig is awesome and its very colorful.
Took The Words 7/10
Took the Words will always be my favorite Meat Loaf song. It was the song that got me into Meat and the song i have played over and over for seven years and haven't gotten tired of. I love the sax and instrumentation of this baby. Not one of Meat's most energized performances of this number (no audience banter, I feel the editor freaking cut that. Hope that doesn't happen on the sydney DVD. I Want preacher Meat!), but its decent. Meat slurred a word at the start, but other then that it was pretty good.
Frying Pan 8/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Fryingpan2-1.jpg
Frying Pan is also a close personal favorite of mine (Number 3 on my top 50 Meat Loaf songs video). Comparing this version to the MSO showstopper is like comparing Phantom Menace with Emipre Strikes Back. The sax in it is awesome as always and the instrumentation is far superior to that of the MSO version, but its misisng the zest MSO's performance had. That and the weird distracting hiss during the "ancient hallway" verse is distracting. But, in all honesty, its one of the best performances on the DVD. The 2008 UK Itunes release is far superior. with pretty much the same instrumentation.
Lemon 6/10
This song didnt really belong here. Meat was not into this song whatsoever and you can tell watching it. He sounds good (one of the best vocals on the DVD), but hes just not into it. They omit the second verse, which actually makes it worse. I would've Omitted the repeat of the first verse in frying pan, and not cut the stooges verse in lemon. If he was gonna cut the second verse to a bat 2 song, he should've performed Good girls go to heaven and cut the "good boys" verse. In fact putting GGTH after frying pan would've been great. More sax the better.
Anything For Love 6.5/10
After the epic AFL on the MSO disk, this was a real down step. Meat sounds okay, the first minute hes a bit off, but he gets really good during the upbeat parts. Then Aspen comes in and the charisma is stripped away. I cant say its terrible. Its still better then some of the performances during the later part of the show and certainly better then Lemon. Just compared to the other AFLs, it flounders.
Objects 9.5/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Objects.jpg
Bar none, pretty much unanimously this is considered the highlight and best performance on the entire DVD. Objects, until RAH in 2006, was last performed during the storytellers tour of 1999 and by god the arrangement and performance is great. I love the synthesizer usage and, in my opinion, Aspen's vocals work very well and give the song a chilling quality I love. Minor quibble is the ending goes on a bit too long, the editor couldve trimmed that up and the second verse is sadly omitted. If the second verse was in tact, this would rival the legendary Hudson Theater version.
Rock & Roll Dreams 9/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/RRD1.jpg
Other then Objects and Gimme Shelter, the other unanimously praised performance on the disk in Rock & Roll Dreams and this is pretty damn good. the sax solo is fantastic and the band rocked. Meat's voice couldve been more passionate, but he gave it all he got during this, and that's what he literally did. After this song, he seemed to lose everything until bat kicked in.
Seize the Night 10/10
CC and Aspen are beautiful and haunting. The piano is great. Sadly the damn editor cut the storm introduction that was present during the tour and you can faintly hear the ending seconds of the instrumental softly under the crowd before the piano starts. I hate whoever edited this.
Here comes the eye of the DVD. The moment of the time when this DVD turns to crap.....
Monster Is Loose 2/10
This was a mess of a performance. I wished they wouldve shot the DVD in Europe when they replaced this with In the land of the Pig. The studio vocals are obvious, the video is distracting that overlays the performance. this is a concert DVD not a music video. I always wanna skip this. You can tell Meat hates this song while hes singing it. He says there isnt a song he regrets recording, but I think this is one that can put that to the test.
Bad For Good 5/10
Sax is great, Meat sounds decent, the band is excellent, and THE EDITORS A FREAKING DUMBASS. The Audio errors were not fixed. This takes laziness to a whole new level. Call Meat and ask for a Bad For Good Board Tape or something. That's ridiculous they let that through. This wouldve been the best of the Bat 3 performances. Damn it. And whats sadder is weve yet to get an official bad for good live recording produced by Meat and Paul themselves. Damn it. Wish it was on the second disk of HCTB instead of another Anything for Love.
Break It 3/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Brakeit2.jpg
After TMIL, this is a skipper. The song is good, i love break it when im in the mood, but the mess ups are just unbearable. Meat's voice is okay and the band is great, but man alive the lyrics are to the shite. So glad a proper live release is found on the second disk of HCTB. Its basically this arrangement with no mess ups and the toy gun finale. I love how its compositioned and shot though. One o the most beatuiful performances to watch on the DVD Ill give it that.
Blind as a Bat 4/10
Meat forgot a lot of words, and his studio vocals are heard during the chorus which I loathe. Al lot f people love this eprformance, I think its nothing special and should be skipped. Again, Meat did a far superior version on the second disk of HCTB.
Two Out Of Three 5/10
The same arrangement as MSO without the orchestra or passion. The weakest official two out of three to date and certainly the most forgettable. i forgot he did this song when I watched the DVD. And I don't think it works for the show having this coming after BAAB.
Bat Out Of Hell 7/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/BOOH.jpg
Something sparked in Meat and Meat sounded really good during bat. He seemed to be into it and was actually moving around the stage and looked like he was having fun (somewhat). Really good performance after a 5 track bridge of misses.
Black Betty 7/10
I actually think this is better then the B side on the IACBTMN single.Again Meat looks like he's having fun and the and kicks ass. Very short and catchy. Made me miss this a lot. Could've used a synthesizer bass like the one used during the HOTD tour. Loved that arrangement.
All Coming Back To Me Now 6/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/IACBTMN.jpg
I hate this song and the live version didn't do anything more for me. i preferred the arrangement during the Today show, but the performance was good. Meat sounded decent and Marion sounded fantastic. Their version does nothing for me, but it wasn't a horrid performance by any means. In fact, its the best bat 3 performance on the DVD.
Mercury Blues 7/10
Mercury didn't really fit in with the show and I still think it shouldn't have been performed. Nothing else is really wrong with it though. Has nothing on the MSO version, though. And Meat does not look like hes having fun. He looks beat and you can tell he wants to go to sleep. Nothing special.
Gimme Shelter 9/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/gimmeshelter.jpg
My second favorite performance on the DVD. Meat and everyone are great on this and Dave is awesome on his sax as usual. Meat did the Stones Justice and he leaves with a "god bless you" (not a "dont you ever stop rocking). The remaining minutes is Aspen, CC, and the band jamming till the end.
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Overall, the DVD was a good watch, high points are scattered and it feels unfinished, rushed, and under produced. The cover is really cool though, and I prefer the 3 Bats Live cover over the MSO one. More thought and effort went into the cover then the production of the DVD.
My main problem is that Meat isn't having fun during this show. Also, in the UK, this was packaged with The Paradise Documentary. Cant say that did the dvd any favors as it'd give the dvd a negative atmosphere if you decided to watch the documentary first.
OVERALL: 114.5/190 = 60% +7% (Cinematography, lighting, and Boxart) = 67% (D+)
With the Sydney 2011 DVD just around the corner, I thought Id take a trip down memory lane with the most recent Live DVD release: 3 Bats Live.
I watched it the day after halloween, so yesterday, and I'm surprised on how much i actually liked about it.
I guess I'll do my Wario thing and dissect it song by song and give my views on each of the 19 performances on the disk. 17 of which Meat lead his vocals to.
All Revved Up 8.5/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/allrevvedup1.jpg
I loved how the DVD started out with the "bloody bat" Meat Loaf logo (which is my personal favorite Meat logo to date) zooming in on John's drumming. This is actually all ruined by the girls singing "Girl" while the rest of the guys are singing "Boy". It would've been more appropriate to all just sing "Girl" since they were the ones on lead voice. That was sloppy but anything with Dave on sax during this show killed sans the next track. thats a fact, wait till I get further into the show.
Paradise 5/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Paradise1-1.jpg
This was bar-none the weakest paradise ever officially released todate. Meat and Aspen had nothing and I cant say i liked the pitch of Meat's voice during this song. i know i always say voice isn't everything but for this performance, it could have saved it and it didn't. The editor put his scissors on this baby. So much banter you can tell is cut. Only saving grace is the instrumental opening and Dave's sax. Also, the wig is awesome and its very colorful.
Took The Words 7/10
Took the Words will always be my favorite Meat Loaf song. It was the song that got me into Meat and the song i have played over and over for seven years and haven't gotten tired of. I love the sax and instrumentation of this baby. Not one of Meat's most energized performances of this number (no audience banter, I feel the editor freaking cut that. Hope that doesn't happen on the sydney DVD. I Want preacher Meat!), but its decent. Meat slurred a word at the start, but other then that it was pretty good.
Frying Pan 8/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Fryingpan2-1.jpg
Frying Pan is also a close personal favorite of mine (Number 3 on my top 50 Meat Loaf songs video). Comparing this version to the MSO showstopper is like comparing Phantom Menace with Emipre Strikes Back. The sax in it is awesome as always and the instrumentation is far superior to that of the MSO version, but its misisng the zest MSO's performance had. That and the weird distracting hiss during the "ancient hallway" verse is distracting. But, in all honesty, its one of the best performances on the DVD. The 2008 UK Itunes release is far superior. with pretty much the same instrumentation.
Lemon 6/10
This song didnt really belong here. Meat was not into this song whatsoever and you can tell watching it. He sounds good (one of the best vocals on the DVD), but hes just not into it. They omit the second verse, which actually makes it worse. I would've Omitted the repeat of the first verse in frying pan, and not cut the stooges verse in lemon. If he was gonna cut the second verse to a bat 2 song, he should've performed Good girls go to heaven and cut the "good boys" verse. In fact putting GGTH after frying pan would've been great. More sax the better.
Anything For Love 6.5/10
After the epic AFL on the MSO disk, this was a real down step. Meat sounds okay, the first minute hes a bit off, but he gets really good during the upbeat parts. Then Aspen comes in and the charisma is stripped away. I cant say its terrible. Its still better then some of the performances during the later part of the show and certainly better then Lemon. Just compared to the other AFLs, it flounders.
Objects 9.5/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Objects.jpg
Bar none, pretty much unanimously this is considered the highlight and best performance on the entire DVD. Objects, until RAH in 2006, was last performed during the storytellers tour of 1999 and by god the arrangement and performance is great. I love the synthesizer usage and, in my opinion, Aspen's vocals work very well and give the song a chilling quality I love. Minor quibble is the ending goes on a bit too long, the editor couldve trimmed that up and the second verse is sadly omitted. If the second verse was in tact, this would rival the legendary Hudson Theater version.
Rock & Roll Dreams 9/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/RRD1.jpg
Other then Objects and Gimme Shelter, the other unanimously praised performance on the disk in Rock & Roll Dreams and this is pretty damn good. the sax solo is fantastic and the band rocked. Meat's voice couldve been more passionate, but he gave it all he got during this, and that's what he literally did. After this song, he seemed to lose everything until bat kicked in.
Seize the Night 10/10
CC and Aspen are beautiful and haunting. The piano is great. Sadly the damn editor cut the storm introduction that was present during the tour and you can faintly hear the ending seconds of the instrumental softly under the crowd before the piano starts. I hate whoever edited this.
Here comes the eye of the DVD. The moment of the time when this DVD turns to crap.....
Monster Is Loose 2/10
This was a mess of a performance. I wished they wouldve shot the DVD in Europe when they replaced this with In the land of the Pig. The studio vocals are obvious, the video is distracting that overlays the performance. this is a concert DVD not a music video. I always wanna skip this. You can tell Meat hates this song while hes singing it. He says there isnt a song he regrets recording, but I think this is one that can put that to the test.
Bad For Good 5/10
Sax is great, Meat sounds decent, the band is excellent, and THE EDITORS A FREAKING DUMBASS. The Audio errors were not fixed. This takes laziness to a whole new level. Call Meat and ask for a Bad For Good Board Tape or something. That's ridiculous they let that through. This wouldve been the best of the Bat 3 performances. Damn it. And whats sadder is weve yet to get an official bad for good live recording produced by Meat and Paul themselves. Damn it. Wish it was on the second disk of HCTB instead of another Anything for Love.
Break It 3/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/Brakeit2.jpg
After TMIL, this is a skipper. The song is good, i love break it when im in the mood, but the mess ups are just unbearable. Meat's voice is okay and the band is great, but man alive the lyrics are to the shite. So glad a proper live release is found on the second disk of HCTB. Its basically this arrangement with no mess ups and the toy gun finale. I love how its compositioned and shot though. One o the most beatuiful performances to watch on the DVD Ill give it that.
Blind as a Bat 4/10
Meat forgot a lot of words, and his studio vocals are heard during the chorus which I loathe. Al lot f people love this eprformance, I think its nothing special and should be skipped. Again, Meat did a far superior version on the second disk of HCTB.
Two Out Of Three 5/10
The same arrangement as MSO without the orchestra or passion. The weakest official two out of three to date and certainly the most forgettable. i forgot he did this song when I watched the DVD. And I don't think it works for the show having this coming after BAAB.
Bat Out Of Hell 7/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/BOOH.jpg
Something sparked in Meat and Meat sounded really good during bat. He seemed to be into it and was actually moving around the stage and looked like he was having fun (somewhat). Really good performance after a 5 track bridge of misses.
Black Betty 7/10
I actually think this is better then the B side on the IACBTMN single.Again Meat looks like he's having fun and the and kicks ass. Very short and catchy. Made me miss this a lot. Could've used a synthesizer bass like the one used during the HOTD tour. Loved that arrangement.
All Coming Back To Me Now 6/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/IACBTMN.jpg
I hate this song and the live version didn't do anything more for me. i preferred the arrangement during the Today show, but the performance was good. Meat sounded decent and Marion sounded fantastic. Their version does nothing for me, but it wasn't a horrid performance by any means. In fact, its the best bat 3 performance on the DVD.
Mercury Blues 7/10
Mercury didn't really fit in with the show and I still think it shouldn't have been performed. Nothing else is really wrong with it though. Has nothing on the MSO version, though. And Meat does not look like hes having fun. He looks beat and you can tell he wants to go to sleep. Nothing special.
Gimme Shelter 9/10
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/3%20Bats%20Live/gimmeshelter.jpg
My second favorite performance on the DVD. Meat and everyone are great on this and Dave is awesome on his sax as usual. Meat did the Stones Justice and he leaves with a "god bless you" (not a "dont you ever stop rocking). The remaining minutes is Aspen, CC, and the band jamming till the end.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, the DVD was a good watch, high points are scattered and it feels unfinished, rushed, and under produced. The cover is really cool though, and I prefer the 3 Bats Live cover over the MSO one. More thought and effort went into the cover then the production of the DVD.
My main problem is that Meat isn't having fun during this show. Also, in the UK, this was packaged with The Paradise Documentary. Cant say that did the dvd any favors as it'd give the dvd a negative atmosphere if you decided to watch the documentary first.
OVERALL: 114.5/190 = 60% +7% (Cinematography, lighting, and Boxart) = 67% (D+)