He probaly was because it's what everyone wanted, and it's probaly what he wanted to. But I don't think BFG is anything like BOOH if anything it's more like Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run". Left in the Dark isn't really like Two Out of Three, it's a very very dark track, almost a suicidal one. Lost Boys and Heaven are similar alright.

The buzz of excitement was still there when I heard that Meat was performing Bad For Good and Dance In My Pants. Back in those days before the internet we had to rely on getting a phone call the day after a show from someone who had attended to get a set list update, or as a worst case a letter a few days later.

Someone needing you and wanting you but not loving you wouldn't drive a person to suicide would it?

Meat recently commented how funny he thought it was that 2 out of 3 was played at people's weddings. Indeed it's crazy really.

Whats more of a straight up fraud of 2 outta three is "why isnt that enough?"


Left in the dark is a betrayal song. a song you play when you feel betrayed or lonely. Its actually a very suicidal track, like Steve said.

I thought the only "clones" on BFG were DIMP (paradise wannabe) and Stark Raving Love (which is in the realm of Took the Words)

i see no similarities between BFG and Bat.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...arioSmiley.gif

Someone being needed and wanted (perhaps "used") but not loved can also be considered as a form of betrayal in my opinion. The ideas are very similar but the songs entirely different. I still maintain Jim tried to stick closely to the same themes on that record as he knew those things worked going by Bat but then they forgot about the main ingredient as they got big headed.

Left in The Dark could almost be considered as the other person's point of you if you first listen to 2 out of 3. It could have been a woman who had someone she did love, who kicked the guy out, who is now left in the dark, feels cheated on and is now driven to suicide. Who knows, maybe the guy's name was Patrick.

I know some of the greatest Steinman song collectors around and they've never heard of such a thing. No one's calling you a total idiot, but maybe you're mistaken with the date?

Yet that itself wasn't COMPLETELY new, as it pre-dated BFG by a year; an infant version of the tune appeared on the soundtrack to the film 'A Small Circle of Friends' in 1980, along with early (instrumental) versions of 'Making Love...' and 'Loving You's a Dirty Job'.

I hope you have the will power to post it on youtube for everyone to hear and love :-P

She didn't kick him out- he's sneaking in the door- he's guilty. She (he) HAS been betrayed...she's angry and hurting... she wants to know everything, but she doesn't really want to know...at least not now, because right now she just wants to feel loved, so she'll put that aside...she'd rather be oblivious...left in the dark. Not suicidal, necessarily; she wants to feel... something.

It's all right there.

And I've always thought that "I bet you've still got a trace of his love in your eyes and you've still got his eyes on your mind" is one of the best lines ever written.

I love how you say "she" instead of "they" when the two versions i heard men sing it lol

Try this for size then ;)

YouTube Video

And there's also a Swedish version by Cecilia Vennersten called Lämnad i mörkret.

okay thats three versions by men now that ive heard

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...arioSmiley.gif

LMFAO :lmao:

:lol: I was responding to Andrew's post- he used "she". And, I have heard Babs' version before; don't care for it that much. I do like the video, though- the Kris Kristofferson cameo is cool.

Looks a lot like Barry Manilow to me. With a bit longer hair.:lol:

That Streisand version is awful, like Manilow's Read em and Weep, weep I wanted to do after listening to his version. :D

Quite a few people actually like the Manilow version. Think it was on his Greatest Hits album or something. I would love for some re-recorded versions of those 80's tracks to be done in the future. I would love a new Meat version of Read 'Em And Weep.

I actually own the picture disc version of this ... :oops:

http://991.com/NewGallery/Barry-Mani...Weep-39202.jpg

Can't play it of course ... the nose snags on the base of the pick-up arm :lol:

Dave you've gone down in my estimation, there are some discs that need to remain out of even the most ardent collectors collection!

So, you've got one too? :lol:

Nope. I bit the bullet and bought a 7" copy of Streisand's Left In The Dark (13p from ebay if I remember rightly!). But Barry's Read 'Em And Weep travesty will not cross the boundaries of any property I own!

So you rent then.:-)

By the way. Who's do you think is bigger?:??::-)

Barry's version of "Read'em and Weep"" is pretty damn good, but I'd much prefer Meat's version. To many instruments making an annoying racket in Barry's version, and it takes away from the lyrics and vocals. Never liked Barbara Streisand's version of LEFT IN THE DARK. That song should only be sung by a man. I'm not being sexist, but it should.

well IFWQ was sung by a woman originally. Same with good Girls, future, and IACBTMN.

and i think left in the dark can be sung by a woman if, lets say, Miley Cyrus took a stab at it.

As for barry, i hate him for RAW. hes the reason Meat refuses to play it live....

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...arioSmiley.gif

Did he say that?

Why would you let a big nosed plastic guy intervene with your show song choices? :shrug:

according to the RAW review from the storytellers, he said the reason he doesn't perform it anymore is because Barry ruined it for him.

I gotta find it...

Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion couldn't deter him from performing Left In The Dark and IACBTMN but Barry Manilow allegedly has such a huge impact on whether a song is performed by Meat Loaf or not? Reminds of the elephant that's afraid of the mouse. If I had a song of which I thought that someone else "ruined" it, I would want to perform it more than ever.

I like it.

I think Barbara, Barry, Celine and anyone else who sings a Steinman song gets a lot of unnecessary grief just because they think Meat should be the only one to sing Jims songs :nuts:

I swear to god i read it somewhere. I just need to find it and ill get back to you on this.

its not that. its just that Meat sings Jims songs better than everybody else?
Barrys is not in the same league, babs left in the dark is ok [ but Meats is better ] as for celine? well Meats version was not produced by Jim, so its hard to say what it would of sounded like? alot better than desmonds version no doubt?

I think Celine's version of coming back is one of the best Steinman productions but then it's very close to Pandora's Box. I feel Celine shouts on it rather than sings at times other than that it's great. :up:

No, I like Celine's IACBTMN, La Streisand's LITD is eh...but Manilow's RAW is awful, IMO. The first time I heard it, I thought, "I wonder if Steinman knows what that guy did to his song?" :lol: And I like Barry, generally, but that song just defines "schmaltzy" for me. (And yes, I know Steinman produced it)

Ill give barry one nod:

he actually performs it live...

:yep:

I don't believe Barry's version would stop Meat from singing it live. Meat doesn't want to IMO. Just take a look at the choice of songs he has to pick from anyway. I'd much rather him sing "FCOL", "Not a dry eye", "Where the rubber meet the road" live.

A lot of people see him as the only one who can sing Steinman's songs the best, I wouldn't be to sure about that. He's the main artist for Jim's music alright, but to be fair Jim hasn't worked with many other artists as much as he worked with Meat and Bonnie Tyler. I would have liked to see Rhydian from the X-factor release a cover of Steinman songs. Jim's music is very hard to sing though, you would have to be a tenor almost.

Rhydian's attempt at Not A Dry Eye was the pits.

He sang the vocals well anyway. I blame the producer for not bringing it more to life!!!! I'd like to hear him singing FCOL!!! If he can master that he'll master any Steinman song.

:yikes: Everything I've heard Rhydian sing so far sounded like Phantom of the Opera to me, sorry.

If you don't like him how about Russell Watson? Awesome voice and can sing Jim's songs??? If not him then who else?

I'm not that much into opera, I prefer rock. I don't understand why anybody has to cover those songs. I love Meat's version of FCOL, I don't necessarily need another one. It takes more than just perfect vocals to deliver outstanding versions of Steinman tunes.

i hope we are in agreement though there are three songs of jims meat can only sing: FCOL, Objects, and Bat

Sometimes we are. :D

Not true :nope: but I'm not biased. There's a lot of great singers out there who can do a fantastic job on a Jim song. Elaine Caswell for a start.

yeah!! ok if you say so? Objects? Anything for love? Bat out of Hell? FCOL ?
they can be done better than Meat did them? Bonnie made Total Eclipse her own, its true!!

I never said that. But on the flip side, who's to say that they can't be done better but we just haven't heard it? :shrug: I think it would be diplomatic and fair to say that Meat is the one who's done best versions of those songs...thus far. Would they or could they be done equal or better? you'd be wrong to totally dismiss the possibility.

maybe/maybe not,, i see your point of course. but im only going by what i know, and what ive heard, how many people down the years have tried a Meat Loaf cover? Meat has a unique connection with Jims music that not many, if any connect with the same way. Bonnie Tyler is the only other person ive liked doing Jims songs, ive heard what part body hurts etc etc,, and the first thing i think is [ f**k Meat would take that to another level ]
and i do see what your saying, really i do. but to be honest there are just some songs that cannot be bettered,

Indeed. Like Elaine's IACBTMN. Not that it's stopped people trying.

good voice, but not great imo

No problem. Hopefully you have some opinions that are on the money :-)

I'm in agreement with Pudding because we are on the same wave length for once. Jim is fairly picky with who he works I'd say, and given his age and attitude these days I'm fairly convinced he won't be working with a different artist anytime soon. I won't dismiss it yet, but I'm not hopeful.

well i hope a better version of Bat out of Hell is somewhere out there waiting for you? because it wont ever happen imo.

We could NEVER be on the same wavelength. :wacko:

It's unlikely, but not impossible.

2077, the 100th anniversary of bat, well see something major. don't threat. ill still be alive (hopefully) to see it.

then ill bring you all a copy when i get to heaven (hopefully)

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...arioSmiley.gif

I expect to see you miming to it on geriatrictube

I don't expect a better version of Bat Out of Hell to EVER come out. It's just not possible to make it any better than it is right now. I do hope a better version of "Bad for Good" gets released though. It's a lost album in the music world, that had much more potential. If I don't get that I'd settle for a remastered copy of the same album.

the problem i have with the Bad 4 Good album is, that its done in a very campy style. and it badly needed Meats vocals. and the videos off it were yikes!!!

The videos were funny. Jim Steinman standing on that thing that was supposed to look like a rock, trying to make impressive gestures, the half-naked dancers... :lmao:

Yes.

Not necessarily, it could have been done with someone else.

Yes.

The videos were stupid and as Daveake pointed out I'm not sure either why Steinman has an obsession with almost naked male ballet dancers. Not exactly an image that comes to my mind when I listen to his music.

Imo BFG would have been amazing when done with Meat's vocals from '83 onwards and would have probably sold millions and pretty much sealed the deal for more Meat/Steinman records if they at least could let management take a hike.

:whistle:

Indeed.

yea.... :silence:

At least there is a girl in the videos. Or is it a Shemale.:?

I agree the Bad for Good videos were very strange indeed, but what else would you expect from Mr Steinman? They looked cheap and tacky.

The Total Eclipse of the Heart video was done in a similar way but much much better. I've always questioned Jim's sexuality, and his music videos were very gay orientated.

Dance In My Pants
Rock And Roll Dreams
Bad For Good
Stark Raving Love
Surf's Up
Left In The Dark
Frying Pan
Lost Boys And Golden Girls
The Storm
Love & Death & An American Guitar


PS. Just imagine - this songs with Meat's voice (from 1984). :cool: What a pity!

Can we keep this thread somewhere near it's intended topic please, thank you

I'd kill to hear Meat sing the original Left in the Dark and Surf's Up D: Even if it was with his Dead Ringer period voice (which really wasn't that bad, IMO), it'd be amazing

I wouldn't. His version of Surf's Up on Bad Attitude is brillant I was only listening to it in the morning. I think it's better than the one on BFG. Left in the dark on WTTN is solid enough probaly not as good as Jim version though; which was darker. I would like to hear the original RNR dreams that was recorded for Dead Ringer. I wonder how different it is from the one recorded in 1993, it had a different producer too. ;)

You'll have to explain your theory in how you think Meat Loaf had recorded RnRD for Dead Ringer?

:twisted: I'm assuming that it's in reference to Storytellers, where Meat says he swaped R&RD for another song (Dead Ringer For Love?).


He may have swaped the song, but thre is no indication he recorded it before swapping.
In fact, I rather doubt it.

he says he swapped it with jim during DRFL's commentary on MSO

So what? did he say he recorded it? You might swap a condom with a tampax, doesn't mean either one has been used :shrug:

wow i accidentally deleted my second sentence:

"He also stated that it was ON the record. and that Jim came and wanted to trade"

I took it as he did record it. :shrug:

Those kind of things don't make any sense to me whatsoever. Clearly Dance in my Pants is a kind of sequel to Paradise as is Dead Ringer For Love. It wouldn't make any sense to have either an album with both those songs on it or an album without any of the two considering the songs that were available and the around only 8 or 9 allocated song slots. I think people take what Meat and Jim say as spur of the moment things far too seriously.

Can you remember this photo from the Bat3 recording sessions? At the time Bat3 was being recorded Only When I Feel, Elvis In Vegas, I Wanna Be With You were slated to be ON the album but were never recorded.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...ing/Bat3-1.jpg

sadly I came here in 2007 after bat 3 was released.

I never saw that before! :shock:

He said on Storytellers he had it recorded.

Lost Boys & Golden Girls
Frying Pan
Left In The Dark
Surfs Up
Bad For Good
Rock & Roll Dreams
Stark Raving Love
Dance In My Pants
The Storm

I listened to Left in the Dark last night. It depressed me before I went to bed.

the magic of music
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...arioSmiley.gif

You can see why a bloke went home and nearly done away with himself having heard THAT song.

Which bloke is that then?

A guy that was working in the studio where Jim was recording the album. I heard that story years ago. He had just broken up with his wife, because he found out she was having an affair with another man. Left in the Dark pushed him over the edge.

Who did you hear that story off? because I've never heard it and sounds like a total load of bullshit to me.

I heard it from Jim.

:yikes: :yikes: :yikes: :yikes:

In the middle of a red hot dream...

As if Jim would tell me that in the middle of a red hot dream in fairness. He told everyone. That story is old.

Where exactly did Jim (I'm presuming Steinman) tell everyone? Sounds like a story you're making up or have twisted to try and sound like a sensationalist. Steinman regailing a story of attempted suicide by someone he worked with after listening to one of his songs seems utterly ridiculous.

I'm very happy that my facts have been validated. I was telling the truth after all, and I'm delighted with myself. :lol: Never doubt Steve6. Click here: http://www.jimsteinman.com/unknown.htm

Also to quote Scaramouche:

"I have a Fox FM (Australia) radio interview from 1981 were Jim says one of the (B4G) studio engineers split from his girlfriend, listened to LITD about 30 times and then nearly drove his car off a cliff.

I think it's just one of his 'stories'.

Everyone on here should give me a pat on the back, and say "Well done". :lol:

Will a cowpat do? :-P

So we have from the Sandy Roberts article:

Except the depressed studio engineer, who listening to a new song called 'Left In The Dark' tried to slit his wrists.

And then a radio interview:

"I have a Fox FM (Australia) radio interview from 1981 were Jim says one of the (B4G) studio engineers split from his girlfriend, listened to LITD about 30 times and then nearly drove his car off a cliff.

The only pat you're going to get is from a bull ;)

Read my original post a while back:

"You can see why a bloke went home and nearly done away with himself having heard THAT song".

and you replied:

"Where exactly did Jim (I'm presuming Steinman) tell everyone? Sounds like a story you're making up or have twisted to try and sound like a sensationalist. Steinman regailing a story of attempted suicide by someone he worked with after listening to one of his songs seems utterly ridiculous"

The only bull is you, and I have you cornered now. Come on Pud give up, you have been defeated. :smartass:

If you read the article that YOU linked to, nowhere does it say that Jim said that a man went home and nearly killed himself. Sandy Robertson quoted an apparent story but doesn't say from who. Prove me wrong and I'll suck your balls :shock:

Enough bickering.