Ok, now I really can't wait to hear it!!!!!!!!

Carole

I will bet anything he reads all this and has that same grin on his face saying I did it, Yes. Well Meat you did do it. I know I cant wait to get it and listen to every song myself. Great job with the review.

Ok .. forgive me if I duplicate anything that Michael's said ... but this is what I can gather together of my tumbling thoughts .. It's long .. if you don't like long just pass me by :) But I felt so very privileged to be there, and so lucky .. and I know some of you will want to share the experience if only vicariuosly :)

I get there very early, am made welcome and allowed to choose my seat .. front centre of course .. lol. The charming girl who welcomes me says "It'll be very loud there" .. I say "And that's how I like my Meat!!"

I wait downstairs in the foyer for the refreshment phase to begin with some music journalists .. chance to ask if they have heard the single. They haven't, so we talk about how new a direction this is for Meat .. this won't be something they're expecting .. and their interest perks :) When Meat comes in he comes over and says hello and gives me a big hug, before scurrying off with so many things to do :)

During the refreshment party Angi and I work the room a bit .. talk to some music journalists and someone from Universal who says they are excited about this Meat/Cavallo collaboration.

And .. we're called in .. we take our seats (they've invited 100 plus people .. this is London :) .. and there's a big crowd in there. Then Meat arrives .. He works the room wonderfully with a mix of humour, good natured naturalness, and real belief and conviction.

He looks at the audience .. says Hi .. and then seeing how many were way back, says "You wanna move forward from the back? No need to be scared of me!" He tells us he's going to hold us captive for the next hour plus ..

He starts by using the big picture of the album cover .. first time he's had it. He explains the three styles (impressionist, fantasy and realism .. the girl in black is a photo that the artist has painted) .. says of the name Meat Loaf .. I'm still working on that one .. sometimes I look and say to myself .. why the ~~~~ did I .. ? .. gets the audience relaxed and laughing with him. Says there have been many comments about the little creature down here (the bat) .. and explains he'd seen a frieze of them at the bottom of the columns of a church in Lisbon, "old .. built in .. one thousand or something", had photographed them and sent them to the artist. Said .. and there's a little something there round it's neck, but I'll let you figure that one out.

He talks about the title .. he told Rob who said "Yeah .. and what are you really going to call it?" .. but eventually all realised he was serious .. and goes though the explanation .. ".. but, I've got your attention for 3 seconds!"

He talks about this being the most important album of his life .. this is Meat Loaf. Always before, although he's been involved in the records, they've never felt really his. He'd say "how about?" and someone would say "NO, that won't work" etc .. with Rob he says How about? And Rob says "Yeah .. go with it!" He says "Colould we?" .. Rob says "Why not?" Rob says "Can I come in?" and if Meat says no .. Rob says OK and potters off :) Rob says "You want to stop it THERE?" Meat says Yes .. Are you sure? Yes .. Because I know that Steve Vai will come in there with a "THWWWWWAAAAANNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG"

Rob does not put his ego in the mix .. he lets Meat run as far and fast as he wants .. and then he makes it work! :)

Meat talks of how they reached a point where they had 23 tracks and Rob says we have three good ones and the rest suck! Meat goes home .. he can't bear to think of waiting 7 months to come up with other songs .. thinks and thinks .. "and this will sound weird .. but suddenly I had this CD in my hand .. and remembered the idea for a short story that a good friend of mine, Killian Kerwin (who's also a GREAT film producer!) had outlined to .. a soldier, lying wounded in battle, visions his life in flash forward rather than backwards .. Meat talks on the phone to Killian for two hours and the idea is born. They call in a team of songwriters .. but "I know you writers!! If we tell you too much you get too literal .. if we tell you a tree is important .. well we've all seen those musicals where some guy is singing .. and Meat parodies a little tree song .. "This is a tree .. It's a beautiful tree .. I'm standing by the tree" .. and we're (the audience) all saying .. Yes, we can all SEE it's a ~~~~in' tree!!!" So we get in a group of writers, but we don't tell them the story .. and the songs finally chosen all fit together as the soldier, who can't rise or crawl, looks at the blood flowing from him and sees a series of flash forwards about how his life could have been .. all the scenes centre on the same women save one, who's a hooker .. and we won't BELIEVE some lines in that .. we'll say "Whoa! Did Meat Loaf say THAT????" And all of them have links to the one before and after .. but he wants us to figure that out ..

He says to us we think we know what's in it? Well we don't!!!!!!! And he didn't understate .. not one bit!

He finally says it will be loud, because he likes it loud .. lol "But if you're really having trouble to raise your hand and say Meat my ears are bleeding! and we might turn it down" .. lol .. He says he will be listening to it with us because he loves to hear it .. and sits down right behind me.

Over all what strikes me is .. yes there's humour, huge enthusiasm .. he's persuasive, informative, interesting .. but mainly it's this clear and honest conviction .. a genuine belief he has in it. Meat and this album are bonded somehow .. it possesses him, he has put his soul into it. I think of the train analogy he used about getting BOOH accepted .. that has always described so well his drive, guts and determination .. head down, keep pushing until that sucker wins through!

This time it seems somehow different to me .. Evangelistic is not the right word, with all its connotations of tub-thumping hallelujah merchants .. but that's the word that keeps coming to me .. This presentation may be easy, entertaining and accomplished .. but it's not slick. There's a raw honesty to it that is compelling.

To me Meat's saying this record is ME .. I AM this record. You may love me or hate me .. but I believe this is special, different, new. I've finally been able to put me into an album, and I'm asking you to listen because I want you to believe too.

That's as far as I've got .. lol ..

As I sit there listening to the album I am just lifted away. From the crash at the start through the angry noises of war, the tracks roll on, one after another, and I am stunned. In part lifted away seeing what the soldier sees as he lies there .. in part feeling as if I am there hearing Meat and a group of incredibly talented musicians deliver each one live, as in concert.

He's sitting right behind me .. and I'm a little conscious of that, but I have to go with the music, although stay in my seat :) But I think he is just sitting there, eyes closed, head nodding .. as he said, he loves listening to it, and I can understand why now!

I'll need time to try and piece together something of the songs .. but the sounds, the colours are still whirling round in my head .. and Meat's voice, which is so REAL as well as powerhouse on this album that has been produced to perfection. It's rining in my head still .. I feel like I do after a concert .. taken somewhere else for a time and still not wanting to come back .. But this time was to a new place .. and it was amazing!!

Caryl

Thanks for the wonderful review Caryl, sounds like you all were in for a real treat and a fantastic time was had by all. That's really great that Meat finally got to do what HE wanted in an album. His enthusiasm for this is infectious and has us all intrigued and anticipating it even more. And I really can't wait to hear THAT song!!!!!!!!

Carole

Thanks so much for the review. I'm hoping for even more info. (a more detailed song-by-song would be nice :D) if you don't mind.

Were certain songs more Steinman-esque? How many?
Were others more in the style of CHISB, BAH3? or anything else Meat's done?
...or was the whole album radically different?
Does "Los Angeloser" give us a pretty good idea?


Was it more of a catchy album or did it have non-traditional arrangements in the BAH tradition?


How many ballads? How intense as opposed to light etc. was the album?

Was there a standout track ("the next AFL")?

What can you tell us about the Hawkins tracks (Love is Not Real etc.)?

Any flaws?

I can't wait to buy this album! Congrats on the experience!

If Meat Loaf reads this; thank you for the great music! Can you give us an idea of when you will be touring the States?

Tried answering this bit by bit but best advice I could give is to listen to this album with a completely open mind not comparing it with anything Meat's done before with whoever he's worked with.

This album is nothing like you've heard Meat do before.

I actually dont think Los angeloser gives an idea to how the rest of the album sounds like. That song is after my opinion much more different to the rest of the songs. It is not nearly as powerful.

Sounds good. I love the single and I'm very optimistic. I'm actually eager for a new direction (if that's what's in store). For now though, any more feedback on the songs would be great!

lol .. Was just about to reply and saw your post.

I agree .. keep your memories of all you treasure from what Meat's done before .. but then turn round, clear your heart and mind and just step into something new. Then you'll find something else to treasure :)

And as Sarah says, Los Angeloser doesn't convey the over all feel of the album .. it's just one step in the story ..

Caryl

Thank you Caryl for sharing your amazing experience and making me feel like I was right there with you :-)

Like Michael, I'm finding it so hard to give any sensible kind of track by track review.

First track .. stunning .. Huge sound pulls you in and sucks the soul out of you, then tosses you into the second which was SO massive that halfway through I find the tears starting in my eyes, and just feel a wave of pride for what Meat's achieved. Meat's used words like "raw" and "edgy" .. and now I think I truly understand what he was trying to convey .. And EVERYthing is just so balanced, his voice is so powerful, the arrangements amazing, the instrumentals carried to the edge and then on for a few miles .. And that's what just carried me away, and I lost the ability to think or remember track by track .. But that's a good thing I think .. it's what lies at the powerful heart of this album.

Los Angeloser may not be like the other tracks, but after the emotional rawness and huge sound of the first two, it has a perfect fit for me .. and it still grabs me the more I hear it. I think it's a terrific single, even if it doesn't mirror the raw power of some of the other tracks. I love the humour, the beat .. the sheer delight of it ..

And then we pound on into If I Can't Have You with Kara Dioguardi and Hugh Laurie on piano .. a big powerhouse of a ballad, and then into Love Is Not Real .. and I see what Meat was talking about when he said .. no, we'll stop there because Steve Vai will come in with a .. Well .. one more understatement!!!

California Isn't Big Enough, which I'll always now think of as "the hooker song" made me lol .. Yep ... no punches pulled there :) ... it's wonderfully outrageous .. but as Meat says afterwards .. there's a redemption in the following track Running Away From Me ..

As Elvis In Vegas begins I feel like I do when I hear the chords of BOOH strike up at a concert .. OMG .. it's nearly over! How can the time have run through my fingers like that? And as the record closes and Meat gets up and walks to the front again, there is a huge and deserved burst of applause. I don't know how this compares to other events. I just hope it's an indicator that everyone else was as blown away as I.

In the aftermath, and I use the word advisedly .. lol .. it's just so hard as Michael said, to remember track by track. Each one just builds and builds .. the experience is amazing. It's as if everyone, Meat and every single player (and I agree, John's work is just awe-inspiring) threw every imaginable boundary away. The other word Meat's used a lot is "huge" .. and it just sums up the whole roller-coaster ride that the album takes you on.

There's something very powerful too about just being there, uninterrupted, and hearing it through from opening crash to stunning finish. Most new albums I listen to with distractions .. If I want a coffee I stop 'play' and get one .. if the phone rings I do the same.

This one demands the experience Meat gave us today I think .. and imo demands it be repeated. There are songs that stand alone and stand wonderfully .. but listened to in its entirety just blows one away, because the parts are pretty overwhelming, but the whole is so much greater than the sum of the parts!!! I can understand why Meat just loves to sit there and listen to the whole each time. I can understand his utter conviction and pride in what he and Rob have produced together.

I keep trying to put my finger (and my words) on what it IS about this album. There's a kind of paradox for me .. in that there is so much talent, skill and expertise brought together and allowed to explode into a huge powerful sound, yet at the same time there is such a clean real feel to it. For a studio album it has, to me, this incredible sense of a live performance .. I'm not left wondering how this track or that would sound live .. I feel like I've experienced it.

Michael said operatic, it's not .. No, it's the pure and unfettered rock Meat has in his vision .. It's not bombast either .. nothing of pretension here, this is raw (but never rough) honesty .. Bomb-blast perhaps .. because it pounds into your soul and threatens to shatter it :)

This is not only unfettered rock . it's unfettered Meat ... and the ride is amazing .. the adventure huge ..

All I can say is ..

Meat, I'm a believer! And now ... I have no socks!!! :)

Caryl

What's Brian May's contribution on whichever track he's on like?

After hearing these views on the album I'm glad I've booked the 19th April off so I can listen to it properly (all day)! :D Just hope at least one of the versions i've ordered arrives on release date!!

well done!! fantastic, after that i feel i was there?:lol:

Thanks for the great reviews, the more I read about HCTB the more I want it right now!

i know! but then i cant complain, i will be able to get it on the 16th:D
one of the few perks of living in ireland:lol:

I might have to take a day trip lol!

well i can have it to you by 6pm friday 16th of april? no probs:D

Thanks I really appriciate the offer but I have the LP and Super pre-ordered and I really want to buy the standard version from HMV on the release date (I have already asked them to hold one for me).

yep! you cant beat walking into the shop and buying it:D

He plays on Song of Madness and on Love Is Not Real .. Too much whirling around to be more forthcoming on what his conttibution was like .. I can't isolate each track in my mind .. I sat and just opened my ears heart and soul to the album as a whole, and if you do that first play I suspect you'll find the same :) There was fantastic guitar throughout .. But I need to hear it more times to be able to identify parts from the whole :)

It'll be a day to remember imo :)

Caryl

Thanks for the review of the songs Caryl, and I understand what you mean, I'm sure when I hear it for the first time I will be bamboozled and need to hear it a few more times to be coherent about it. I can well imagine how overwhelmed you must still be feeling and the thoughts buzzing around in your head trying to explain it all.

Carole

I know exactly what you mean!!!!!!!

Carole

lol .. I'm suddenly reminded of the first time I took a friend to Epcot .. We came of the energy ride and all she could say, repeatedly, was .. Absolutely ~~~~ing Amazing!! .. over and over and over ..

AFA became a family expression for something superlative and almost beyond words .. and THAT's what the album was today when I sat and heard it from start to finish ..

Simply .. AFA!!!!! .. :-)

Caryl

It sounds to like everyone was amazed! Is it too early too ask (even for a vague idea of) where this ranks among ML albums?

Why would one want to "rank" it? It's new .. it isn't another in a series. I never do rank songs or albums .. but most importantly the essence of this album is that it is the future, and trying to compare it to anything he's done before just makes no sense to me, apart from saying "It's completely different" .. in fact almost diminishes it, you know?

Trying to think of an analogy here which doesn't diminish what's gone before either .. best I can think of at this time in the morning after a long and exciting day ;) .. It's like saying what's better? .. the silk the silk worm produces or the silken cloth it's woven into? You have to start with the silk .. but when woven into cloth it's just totally different :-)

It's new .. it's completely different to any other Meat album I've heard. Meat's often said "I'm a plumber" .. well it's like he's now an electrician ;) .. I'd never say one is more useful than the other .. it depends on whether I have a leak or an electrical fault :-) But if I keep looking for plumbing skills in the electrician I'm not doing him justice.

Caryl

WOW... what an awesome day you all had.

Thanks Monstro and Caryl for the wonderful reviews. :))

Is it April yet???

J. xo

Thanks for all the reviews you lucky sods. Hoping Meat does something similar for fans in Australia next week. Any more news on that?

It is oh so far away.

so its good! yeah!!:lol:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed Mel!!!!!!!!

Carole

Floor to ceiling album cover........

http://media.mlxxfc.net/playback backdrop.jpg

More pics from the day and scans of the press release stuff on my facebook

Look forward to seeing them Monstro.

Carole

well with a round trip of 500 miles & spending 13 hours on buses .

it was well worth the 3 hours of fun & laughter we had at the london playback of HANG COOL TEDDY BEAR .

first we all met up outside venue when this man appears & we were all jaw dropping as meat just came over & met us all & said right we are doing todays twiter.waiting for the up link .
then into venue for pre album drinks & canope's
walking into the presentation room to be greeted with an awsome album cover the size of a single story.pics were soon taken & discuissons going on

then it was time to take our seats Meat came in & said words which have already been mention then into the music itself ,was open minded but was blown away with some of the hardest & rockier songs than i.ve herd meat play,there is some songs like: peace on earth,like a rose ,california isn't big enough,if it rains,, would love to hear live on first listen my favs are LIKE A ROSE,LETS BE IN LOVE,IF IT RAINS.

AWSOME album that some fans will not like but will get new fans from the new crowd of hard rock,sadly Meat had to leave after the album had finished ,so no time for photos for all of us (but we have a twiter to look forward to)or discuss are views of the album

but Meat was going to australia - have a safe trip Meat


after a few more drinks of to the pub for a few more drinks & more discussions about the album,then our goodbyes till the next tour ????

thanks again meat for the invite & too a awsome album
waiting now for april for the album to come out

I keep seeing everyone asking about song by song. It is not that Kind of album. All the songs speak to each other. You have to think of it as a novel. It more like chapter to chapter. It is a movie and when you watch a movie you judge the whole thing and then decide if you like the film. You can't possible understand this album with one listen. You can feel it, but not understand it. So don't say I like this song and that song. "Running away from me" will be the hardest to understand , you have to understand the point of few of the Character. after a while you will see the depth of that song.
M

Thanks for your review, glad you had such a great time.

Carole

true, but you dont cut 5 mins out of a movie and put it on your ipod either lol

Thanks for that Meat, I look forward to hearing it for myself and forming my own impression. But I am sure I will be blown away by it.

Carole

Fancy sending me a promo copy coz I'm dying to listen to it again, right now April seems soooooooooo far away lol

can i have one too please would be awsome

Yeah, I would like a promo copy CD too please ;)

Yes .. listening to it was an experience, not a series of tracks .. and a mind-blowing experience at that :) I know that I need to listen to it again, several times, just as I did yesterday .. from start to finish without interruptions to appreciate, not only the fact it's a huge wild new kind of rock album, but what it is that grabbed my senses in a way no other album has done.

I found listening to it once with my mind open, I was just overwhelmed by the force, strength, sheer no-boundaries power of it. That's like a first layer, and it stuns, but there's so many more that just can't be taken in on one listening.

Really interested that you say Running Away From Me will be the hardest to understand and see the depth of until I really understand the character, because that's the one track I found myself sitting most quietly through, and felt somehow I was missing something .. I loved the sound, but like Angi, felt there was more to it that I just hadn't got.

Caryl

It sounds amazing. J x:D

Yeah me too? lol

YesCarol, I have EVERYTHING crossed ha ha

Thanks for this Meat,
And I fully agree, you need to listen a few times before judging, not just with yours but with anybodys. I can't wait to hear HCTB though :cool:.

From reading people's comments, i'm assuming Pearl isnt on the album afterall?

WOW, THANK YOU, Monstro and Caryl for Amazing reviews:D
Cannot wait to hear this Album, sounds EPIC:D

Just two female credits on what we were given, Kara Dioguardia singing with Meat 'If I Can't Have You', and Let's Be In Love featuring Patti Russo

Caryl

Did Meat not say on the Norway interview that Pearl is in there somewhere? Backing vocals again maybe? Or maybe on the 2 others tracks not yet named?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwmds...eature=channel

We're famous lol

lol..now thats really sweet!! ....
:cool::D

icwuke wrote:
It's perfectly possible she may be singing backing vocals, but I couldn't say .. it would just be speculation, and there's so much one CAN say about this album.

I'm just going by the tracklisting we were given yesterday of the album we heard which lists all the songs.

Not sure what you mean by "two other tracks not yet named". Unless you're hinting at possible bonus tracks. We heard the album which has 13 tracks listed, and the two featured female singers who duet with Meat are as I posted..

Caryl

Can i have a copy... plzzzzzzzzz.... as i never had the chance to go yesturday ;-). x x

Our man seems to think there are 2 other tracks recorded as possible b-sides but doesn't have 100% info etc.

Pearl,
Sings with me on a song called Boneyard . When they go to the grave yard.
M

Ooh trhat sounds intreaguing !!

Thanks for the heads up :up:.

maybe thats 1 of the two! :)

Just got back from a mad dash to and from London.

Got to say thanks to Kev, without his generosity we wouldn't have been there, I'm sorry you missed it, but if truth be told I'm not sorry I was there.

What a fantastic day. First the twitter video, filmed live in the street, no rehearsals, no retakes, so Rainer and I really must practise the timings of our introductions :lmao:

Words fail me on describing the experience. To share the first listen of that album with a few good friends and Meat is an awesome experience that will just stick with me forever. We were very lucky and very privileged to be there.

I'm not going to talk about the album in any details because I want you to hear it in the same way I did, with very few preconceptions. Just be prepared for shack and awe musically!!

April is too far away now, I want to listen to it all over again and again and again.

That was LOVELY.
Great to see you all again:D
Where was Caryl?
Had you gone inside Caryl?

Thats great to hear Meat, is that the only song Pearl sings with you ?
x

Yes, that is what is killing the music. Sales are so bad in 2010 it is just sad . I tunes has killed the music business. No one cares about creating anymore they make 3 singles and 7 shit songs. They don't care. They want only to be famous anyway they can. Artist have no foundation . They don't know who they are. Only do what they are told. It is a crime . In today's music world there would be no Pink Floyd, David Bowie, etc. they made whole albums.
m

How come it was left off the album? Will it be a B-side for the single?

Mabe I'm old fashioned but I would rather have the CD than download an album, it makes it more real.

Yes, I was inside talking to some of the music journalists who'd been invited :)

Caryl

may be true, but I'm not a big fan of Pink Floyd or Bowie anyway!


(guess I opened myself up to countless insults now lol)

We don't need any new reasons; we got plenty already ;-)

I do agree about the download culture having pretty much ruined what we had before, particularly in the days of vinyl, where buying a new album and playing it for the first time was a real event. Nowadays the emphasis is on singles, and sometimes the "album" has one decent track padded with 40 minutes of crap.

Dave

Maybe I'm old fashioned too, but I feel exactly the same way.

Sounds very intriguing ... thanks Meat :-)

Oddly enough, Ive been on a Floyd binge lately....haha, Anways, your right Meat. We were just talking about this in my Mass Communications class Thursday. And I mentioned that your upcoming album is going to be an actual album, not just a few single worthy songs and the rest be shit tracks. So I think I got my class of about 245 people quite interested in your CD! Btw, I loved the new single! ROCK ON!

all jokes aside, the Loaf definitely has a point there!

That's an excellent point. It's also probably why there are so many "one hit wonder" singers now ...

Wow ,they were examples. Insert here ___________ a band you like that made albums. Dude come on. !!! You know what I meant.
M

Now thats a real band, and just happen to be on our label! :)

I think the whole want to be famous / Simon Cowell vehicle has got a lot answer for. Everyone is just singing covers and wanting to be a pop star rather than Creating something or putting on a show, a vision and ultimately a story. The desire of the old crew Springsteen / Meat Loaf / Dire Straits / David Bowie and all that lot was not to be famous it was more to put on a kick ass show and to tell a story, even if that took 3-4 hours.

X factor last year was so crap because there was such a lack of emotion in most of the performances. It's quite sad the music industry has come to this. Don't get me wrong there are a few exceptions here though. I was very impressed by My Chemical Romance and 30 Seconds to Mars, both their latest albums are very clever. Perhaps full of cliches but that's what I like.

lol yeah I get what you mean

I have to agree and this is probably why I am not a huge fan of the charts today, for example though he got alot of slack Michael did write, compose and sing songs that he had written, but he managed longevity by being original and not 'following the crowd.' But that is just an example there are others who have struggled long and hard to finally get their big break yet these Simon Cowell products get their without pain, struggle or effort.
Bring back how it used to be and without the use of computers to make someone sound half decent.

I do think the lack of creativity is missing from the music industry today, it's all jump on the bandwagon to be famous then when they've had a hit half the time you never hear of them again !

To me, this sounds very much like the Pet Shop Boy's album VERY. All of the songs are brilliant on their own two feet, but lined up together they take on an entirely new and dynamic life of their own.

Certainly there are songs which stand on their own two feet on their own. but take a single song with the knowledge of all the other songs on the album and it'll take on a life that the song on it's own will never have.

That is exactly what the Very album did for me :-)
This makes it even more exciting!!!

Yes, the whole is so hugely much bigger than the sum of the parts .. and each part is increased to the power of 10 by the way it builds from and into others .. Layers of complexity that are just so different from what one expcts from concept albums. And it's not just the tracks .. but the way the whole thing takes you in one direction and then spins you round into another completely different one .. But then Meat told us to expect nothing but the totally unexpected ;)

And did he ever say a mouthful there! :-)

Caryl

And I wondered why most of my favorite albums were recorded in the 1960s and 1970s and why I have bought only a handful of new albums in recent years...

I grew up with musicians like Springsteen and I remember how eagerly I was waiting for every new album - not the next single! There's no one to grow up with anymore.

I spent my childhood in a country in which music was censored, so artists were often forced to conceal the actual message of a song. It resulted in extraordinarily interesting, intelligent lyrics and music. That's why you had to develop very good listening skills to understand what was said beween the lines and songwriters needed to be especially clever and creative. People seem to have lost those abilities. The "artists" wanna make a quick buck and the audience... They've gotten lazy, they wanna be entertained but they don't wanna explore and discover, they don't wanna think.

People don't understand music anymore. I recently heard someone say this about Billy Joel's album The Stranger: "I believe my CD is broken." The reason for that statement was the fact that the intro of the theme song was repeated at the end of the record.

In the 1960s and 1970s, a record often was regarded as a piece of art. Great albums often came along with a cool cover. You didn't just sell or buy music... I can get crazy about that Robert Crumb comic on Janis Joplin's Cheap Thrills or a Grand Funk Railroad LP that has a cover which looks like an oversized silver coin.

Right now Meat is raising my hopes that I'll be as excited about his new album as I'm about classics like Carole King's Tapestry, Springsteen's Born To Run, Bowies's Ziggy Stardust, the old Led Zep and The Who stuff, etc.

I'll take you at your word. If it's not like that, I'll get bitter and despaired and will spam this forum with "everything was better in the good ol' days" rants. :twisted:

please meat be right!!:D

You actually have to put in effort nowadays to find good 'album' bands as I like to call them but they are there. It's a shame but as Meat said people prefer to go with one or two songs as opposed to crafting an album.

The best example I can think of is my favourite band Dream Theater, they're consistently putting out great albums. They're actually a band I'd recommend to fans of Meat. They're not really similar in any way but in some ways they are, you get a lot of longer songs, a lot of emotion within them and meaning and sometimes it's a bit over the top and silly but fantastic.

Probably not to the forums tastes but Opeth are another band that have been great lately, although I'm sure Melodic Death Metal might be a bit much for some people.

Also got Transatlantic, a Progressive Rock Band which is a side project of Mike Portnoys from Dream Theater. Also features Neal Morse of Spocks Beard, Pete Trewavas and Roine Stolt. The song lengths are maybe a bit off putting for people with them often being about 20-30 mins long, and in the case of their latest album The Whirlwind, it's a song suite which lasts for 77 mins. It's amazing though and the time flies by.

For more traditional rock, there is a band who I picked up an album of called Bigelf, they've been around a while who sound like they'd fit in in the 70s, they've got a heavy Deep Purple/Zeppelin/Floydy vibe going on with their work. Their latest album 'Cheat The Gallows' is very good and a must have for any rock fan.

The problem with these bands I've recomended as some of you might know is nobody has bloody heard of them and you're never going to see them in the charts because its just not fashionable, they don't create music for the radio or think in terms of singles they put out albums they're proud of much like Meat does.

Very valid point...albeit a bit sad to admit that it is...

In other news...this is all very incredible and I am very happy for my friends to have a days like this...I know how it feels - I was there myself just a few years ago...in NYC for Bat III...very happy for all of you it is truly an unforgettable experience!

thank you!
 

A huge thank you to Monstro, Caryl and others who have commented on the London playback experience!

I am filled with anticipation for Meat's new album! ..but I'm already so thrilled about Meat's unprecedented pride and joy in it that I don't know what will happen when I finally actually hear it in April; I may just spontaneously combust :lol:

-Kathy

All so true, and perhaps the thing that stands out most is They want only to be famous anyway they can. Artist have no foundation . They don't know who they are.

All the wannabees who endlessly parade onto X-Factor, Pop Idol and the like, and are just grist to the mills of people like Cowell for one quick hit single. and who are distraught when they don't make the cut, saying this is all they ever wanted to do. Which begs the question, why don't they make a start and work their way up? Success that comes as a gameshow prize is fleeting and insubstantial for all but a very few .. and those have sufficient talent that they could have made it the traditional way imo, given they had some drive and determination.

Meat fought his way to the top the hard way, with talent, creativity and a fierce drive, not to "be famous" but to perform, to create, to make the most of the talent he was blessed with. And that continuing journey and commitment is what has developed his creative vision, which in partnership with Rob Cavallo has finally been let loose :)

My head's still buzzing with what I heard yesterday, and I realised today adventure and ride are two such relevant words to describe the experience. If I were to go on the most amazing thrill ride in an adventure park and people were to ask me what it was like, I'm not an engineer .. I can't explain the technicality of the ride itself, only describe the feeling of being on it. In the same way I can't explain how our engineer has visioned, designed and brought HCTB to a reality, I can only try and convey the thrill of the ride, the feeling of being swept this way and that as a kaleidoscope of different impressions whirled around me ..

.. and of course, instead of losing my lunch, I lost my socks :lol:

Caryl

all that aside, we shouldnt generalize that much.
There are great artists around today as well. It's not that they ALL come from idol/xfactor/whatever. It's just become a little harder to find the gems.

I have to agree with what Meat has said and several of you that the artists created in that way, through Simon Cowell and through the process of a short lived tv season do not seem, for the most part, to create material to the same standard as Pinky Floyd, Bowie, Bon Jovi, the Stones, dylan....there is no comparison whatsoever.

But I completely agree with jcmoorehead. I am pretty young, and I listen to a lot of david gilmour, meat loaf, metallica, neil young, bon jovi....Artists that are tried and true and create and evolve with time. But at the same time, I'm in on the Canadian local music scene and I can assure you that there is a lot of young talent out there that is fighting through the ranks with their own material and personality. Most of them do NOT make it to the charts, or the Grammys, or most of the comercialized systems that seem to recognize the same, limited group and style of artists each year. The local bands have their own talent, and are fighting in the same way Meat did. Their albums carry heavy meaning and do have a storyline or idea behind it. I think the problem is not that real talent doesn't exist...but that for some idiotic reason the media and television focus, for the most part on talentless well marketed musicians.

And yes, I am now opening myself up for debate here :D

Not so long ago, you could discover all kinds of cool music via MTV but look what has become of MTV... :sick: In the 1980s and 1990s there were a lot of music shows on TV on which bands could perform their songs or have their music videos presented. Where have they gone?

It is a very sad state of affairs today Meat, and all I can say is Thank God For YOU, you still have it and you still rock!!!!!!!! Your music has always had heart and soul and PASSION!!!!!!! And always will.

Carole

This is almost permanent discussion in our house...how MTV ate some good solid music video networks...and then became a network for retarded reality shows...

We also think that MTV contributed somewhat to high rate of ADD around the world...

True as well...I also have to say that these days AI is going where it never went before and promoting people who wouldn't even be selected in the first season...let's see...AI:
Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, David Cook and icing on the cake - Adam Lambert...where would they be now but for the grace of AI?

TOTALLY AGREE.

yeah music tv is commercial, like the music business.. its about making money

theres plenty of awesome musical talent out there, sometimes you just need to go out and look for it (usually theres no ego involved)

And let's not forget that before AI and X Factor there was Star Search and Ed Sullivan show before that...so the idea isn't novel - no reason to say that it is...

Once in a while a fully conceived album can make it through the net and become a big hit. 'American Idiot' by Green Day (and produced by a certain Rob Cavallo) is considered a concept album and sold 14 million copies since it was released in 2004. I think the appetite for these kind of projects is still there, even if it isn't often being fulfilled.

Hopefully HCTB can be another one of the few. Either way, it's going to be seen as an important part of Meat's legacy.

Happy Sunday meatie peeps ...
 

A little late with the thank you's to all those that posted reviews. I've been under the weather the past two days. However, the reviews were all awesome and what a golden opportunity you all had. Mind blowing is an understatement I'm sure. So 1,000 thank you's again!!!

Suzieq

David Cook and icing on the cake - Adam Lambert.

I didn't like either one of them....i was rooting for David Archuleta all the way

Well...where is he now? Never mind...Adam Lambert wasn't in that season anyway...

However you can hear both David Cook and Adam on the radio every day...what did actually happen to David Archuleta???