The Bruce/ Meat Discussion

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Metal Loaf

Throughout the entire HCTB process both ROB and MEAT brought up different Artists/ Bands to focus on as we were reviewing the songs.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN came up a lot as did TOM PETTY and QUEEN.

I noticed Queen references in the music (and some Led Zep) but I still have to find Tom Petty.

Originally Posted by renegadeangel

The only other artist I've seen that can perform as well as Meat and the Neverland Express is Bruce Springsteen.
But I think Meat has always been better.

In which respect exactly? I don't know why some members of this forum are that obsessed with comparing Meat Loaf to Bruce Springsteen all the time. They are different artists with different shows, different audiences with different expectations (although there are a couple of Meat Loaf fans who are Springsteen fans as well), and different approaches to their work/performances. A singer/songwriter like Springsteen trying to be like Meat Loaf would appear ridiculous as well as I can't imagine Meat picking up an acoustic guitar and just play and sing a song on his own in front of a large audience (I'd really like to see that, though).

I've always been more interested in Meat Loaf's live performances than in his records. When it comes to Springsteen, it were the songs that drew me to him. Bruce (and Kojak ) shaped my concept of America when I was kid, whereas I consider Meat Loaf good entertainment.

What you think is "better" depends on your personal preferences (which may vary in the course of time). This will probably get me a lot of "dislikes" but if Bruce and Meat played in my town at the same night, I'd go to Bruce's show. 15 years ago I might have opted for Meat, who knows? The NLE has always been one of the greatest bands I know and consisted of truly amazing musicians, the current line-up is especially interesting, but at the moment Bruce attracts me more than Meat.

Originally Posted by renegadeangel

He sets the bar so high I think its almost intimidating for anyone to even admit they want to be compared to him.

It was a couple of things that came together at the right time that formed the "Meat Loaf style", that made it unique and hard to imitate. (Which is a blessing as well as burden as many people associate him with and love him for the Bat sound. That makes him stand out but it also makes it harder to be successful with something new.) Since he and his performance use to be unusual, over the top and theater-like, most people who try to be like him will fail and/or appear like a caricature. That does not only go for Meat Loaf. Try to be like David Bowie, for example. There are things that just can't be credibly reproduced. But how many other atists actually desire to be like Meat Loaf or Bowie? I don't know any artist who is like Springsteen either. Some may be able to create something similar to the typical Springsteen sound (but not necessarily that of the E Street Band, musicians like Clemons or Bittan have/had a very distinctive style of playing) but what about his personality? You might be able to copy some features of another artist's style and sound but not the artist. It doesn't have anything to do with being "better" than someone else but with being different from other artists. You can't be exactly like someone else, even if you want to.

[loaferman61]

Originally Posted by renegadeangel

I wonder if other Artists pull from MEAT LOAF? I wonder if they're in the studio saying things like THIS HAS TO SOUND LIKE MEAT LOAF IN 1977?



The only other artist I've seen that can perform as well as Meat and the Neverland Express is Bruce Springsteen.
But I think Meat has always been better. He sets the bar so high I think its almost intimidating for anyone to even admit they want to be compared to him.
No one can bring to the stage the performance that you guys do. I took my son to his very first concert last year in London and after watching the opening bands do their thing, he was completely blown away by how good you guys were and how much was put into the show.
Amazing,

I have only seen Bruce live on DVD, he has a great band and great songs, he works hard on stage. For me at the end of the day Meat is better as a vocalist obviously and as a showman in total command of the stage. This takes nothing away from Bruce who is great in his own right. As for catching the Meat Loaf sound on record I have not heard anyone do it successfully including an imitator who tried to make his own album and it sucked with awful songs. The closest I ever heard was an attempt to imitate Steinman by "Katrina" of "Katrina and the Waves" fame with a blatant borrowing of "Dead Ringer" with inferior lyrics.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by Sarge

I noticed Queen references in the music (and some Led Zep) but I still have to find Tom Petty.

I haven't noticed a Petty influence on HCTB either, but I do hear it in "Forty Days"; it sounds very much to me like "Mary Jane's Last Dance"

Originally Posted by Sarge

...I can't imagine Meat picking up an acoustic guitar and just play and sing a song on his own in front of a large audience (I'd really like to see that, though).

So would I.

Originally Posted by loaferman61

I have only seen Bruce live on DVD, he has a great band and great songs, he works hard on stage. For me at the end of the day Meat is better as a vocalist obviously and as a showman in total command of the stage. This takes nothing away from Bruce who is great in his own right.

Of course, you are entitled to your own opinion, but if you've only seen Bruce live on DVD, how is that a fair comparison? To use an oft-used maxim around here, you really have to be there. To say Bruce works hard is an understatement, and I've never seen him have anything but total command of the stage, as you put it. To say that Meat is the better vocalist isn't obvious to me, sorry. Nothing against the NLE either, because they are a fantastic band, but they're not E Street. I don't think Meat can change the setlist on the fly and have them go with it- Bruce can, and does. Again, not a criticism, as most bands don't do that. I have seen both artists live on a number of occasions, and, while I know this won't be popular, I'll be at Bruce's show with Sarge.

[JennaG]

Is there a reason that Meat and Bruce Springsteen seem to be compared quite frequntely on this forum? As someone who doesn't care for Bruce Springsteen and never listens to his music, I don't really know why there is that comparison?

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by Skybird14

Is there a reason that Meat and Bruce Springsteen seem to be compared quite frequntely on this forum? As someone who doesn't care for Bruce Springsteen and never listens to his music, I don't really know why there is that comparison?

I agree with this, I don't find them to be that similar at all. Meat has always been a bit of darkhorse in the industry where Springsteen has always been a saint In the eyes of the media.

I. Have seen bruce live and I just don't get it. Decent show but I have always found meat to be much more entertaining.

[nikox1]

i have seen both live, and they are amazing!! you can compare alot of things i guess? it all depends on the view of the person seeing it. julie in the mirror = you said you dont see Meat as a better vocalist, nor did you say bruce was better than Meat. it depends on your view of course what sound you like? but with Meats power and range he would be regarded a better singer imo, well if you view it from a technical view point, Meat is a better singer?

[MarkS]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

Nothing against the NLE either, because they are a fantastic band, but they're not E Street. I don't think Meat can change the setlist on the fly and have them go with it- Bruce can, and does. Again, not a criticism, as most bands don't do that. I have seen both artists live on a number of occasions, and, while I know this won't be popular, I'll be at Bruce's show with Sarge.

I disagree with this. I have seen and heard Meat throw in random songs and go off on a tangent with random bits on a number of occasions. So i think that the NLE could do an on the fly setlist change no problem.

As for your last statement, thats just one less person that i have to fight for the front row seats

[Smithie]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

To say that Meat is the better vocalist isn't obvious to me, sorry. Nothing against the NLE either, because they are a fantastic band, but they're not E Street. I don't think Meat can change the setlist on the fly and have them go with it- Bruce can, and does. Again, not a criticism, as most bands don't do that.

On the contrary, they changed the setlist on the Storytellers tour each night. One night, someone wanted to hear It Just Won't Quit. The band listened to the song once on headphones and did an amazing job. They performed an incredible version of What You See Is What You Get on the fly too.

I agree that they are very different artists and bands, so it's impossible for me to compare.

[Sarge]

How about creating a separate thread instead? The "off topic" posts were actually triggered by an interesting question that was raised by Paul himself.

Originally Posted by Metal Loaf

I wonder if other Artists pull from MEAT LOAF? I wonder if they're in the studio saying things like THIS HAS TO SOUND LIKE MEAT LOAF IN 1977?

I agree that some posts might detract from the actual topic of this thread and that the discussion is in danger of derailing but calling them "pollution" is a bit harsh. They are non-offensive and reflect what members of this forum think about Meat Loaf's work. I also think that deleting posts is unfair to the people who bothered to spent time on writing them. Maybe this thread is not the right spot for them but they should have a place on this forum, in my opinion. Smithie, for example, posted something about the Storytellers Tour I didn't know of until now.

[stretch37]

Originally Posted by Sarge

How about creating a separate thread instead? The "off topic" posts were actually triggered by an interesting question that was raised by Paul himself.



I agree that some posts might detract from the actual topic of this thread and that the discussion is in danger of derailing but calling them "pollution" is a bit harsh. They are non-offensive and reflect what members of this forum think about Meat Loaf's work. I also think that deleting posts is unfair to the people who bothered to spent time on writing them. Maybe this thread is not the right spot for them but they should have a place on this forum, in my opinion. Smithie, for example, posted something about the Storytellers Tour I didn't know of until now.

yeah, could we move the Bruce conversation to a different thread? Agreed that this thread should be strictly kept to Q/A because Paul probably has limited time and having to weed through tons of stuff detracts from answering more questions :)

I actually was enjoying the Bruce discussion, I'm a huge fans of both Meat and Bruce and think they each bring something different to the table, but also have a lot in common.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

A couple of people expressed an interest in continuing this discussion, and there were a few posts I wanted to respond to, so I started a new thread here. Perhaps the mods will decide to move the other posts here as well.

Originally Posted by nikox1

i have seen both live, and they are amazing!! you can compare alot of things i guess? it all depends on the view of the person seeing it. julie in the mirror = you said you dont see Meat as a better vocalist, nor did you say bruce was better than Meat. it depends on your view of course what sound you like? but with Meats power and range he would be regarded a better singer imo, well if you view it from a technical view point, Meat is a better singer?

This is not a simple question to answer, IMO, and you are of course correct when you say a great deal depends on what sound you like. I'd also say that if we were having this discussion 18-20 years ago, my answer might well have been different; however, we'll talk about now.

First off, Bruce and Meat have very different voices- always have. Both have changed over the years. Bruce's voice isn't one that might be called a "pretty" voice, and there's plenty of people who are of the opinion that he can't sing. I think many people base this primarily on a song like "Born in the USA", where he's practically shouting, and which, quite honestly, I'm not all that fond of. If you dig deeper into the catalog, however, and especially once you start looking at live performances, you get a different picture. In some of the slow songs, especially, he sounds particularly good, IMO:

"Something in the Night" 1976:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfZby9CN8E

Now, I think we'd all agree that there's many components to what makes a good musical performance of any kind, and "technical perfection" isn't as important as being able to convey emotion, and Bruce could always do that in spades:

"The Promise" (Live- solo piano) Seattle, 1978: (one of my very favorites)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCXcsTq_H9g

"You're Missing"- (solo piano) 2002 (IMO, one of the most heartbreaking songs ever)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb1...?search_algo=1

Over the years, I think Bruce's technique has actually gotten better, in that he's learned to use his voice better. Bruce has always had loads of power- still does; what he may not have as much as Meat is range, from the highs to the lows. However, he has developed a falsetto at some point, which I don't think he could do early on. What he also does very effectively is to create an "atmosphere", by which he's doing anything from a whisper, such as in the end of "Jungleland" (to draw you in, IMO) up to a scream. Some of my favorite vocals of his, chronologically:

"Real World"- (solo piano) 1990
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_PxWw_g_pE

"I Wish I Were Blind" 1993
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqxNg_rb350

"The River" 2000 (End of the song is a good example of the falsetto)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGHqeYNe_1g

"Incident on 57th Street" (solo piano) 2002
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6SG9GtgMU

"Nothing Man"- (solo piano) 2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XCv...eature=related

"Adam Raised a Cain" 2011 (not to mention killer guitar solo, and I was there) )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MxfDkUHySI

"Youngstown" 2012- I was truly amazed (I was there) at how long he could hold the word "Toooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwn"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liAsh...D63BB54CCCDB16

If you'll notice, there are no "hits" on this list (except maybe "The River", and this is a different arrangement from the album version), and nothing from the "Born in the USA" era.

Now, to get back to Meat. In terms of power, I'd say he has no lead. In terms of range, sure, I'll give it to him. Now, does this automatically (i.e. "obviously") make him "technically" a better singer? I'm going to say no.The talent/ voice one is given is just the beginning; to quote Eric Clapton, "It's in the way that you use it".

One can also argue on key/ off key, in time/ out of time, isolated notes hit on pitch- it's all irrelevant, IMO, if the end result isn't pleasing to the listener. So, if you ask me who I would rather listen to, I'm going to be totally honest and say that I don't really like the way Meat sounds live these days (on record, it's not bad). Bruce, on the other hand, I enjoy listening to very much. It is what it is.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by Burkeaholic

Meat has always been a bit of darkhorse in the industry where Springsteen has always been a saint In the eyes of the media.

Pics or it didn't happen!

In all seriousness, I have seen several posts stating something to this effect on this board, and I've asked for some actual examples, and yet no one seems to have given any. So, got any?

Originally Posted by Burkeaholic

I. Have seen bruce live and I just don't get it. Decent show but I have always found meat to be much more entertaining.

Fair enough- most people either get it, or they don't.

Originally Posted by Burkeaholic

As for your last statement, thats just one less person that i have to fight for the front row seats

That's cool- I guess I also have one less person to worry about competing with for a spot in the pit.

The last time I had a front row seat at a Meat Loaf show, not only did I not have to fight for it, I didn't even have to pay for it.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by Smithie

On the contrary, they changed the setlist on the Storytellers tour each night. One night, someone wanted to hear It Just Won't Quit. The band listened to the song once on headphones and did an amazing job. They performed an incredible version of What You See Is What You Get on the fly too.

Interesting- I wasn't aware of that. Again, most bands don't do anything like that. It requires a lot of experience on the part of the band members to make it happen.

The last tour, and beginning the tour before that, Bruce started taking requests from the audience every night via signs that people would bring. Over time, it went from requests for Bruce's songs, to requests for sometimes obscure cover songs, and took on a "stump the band" kind of quality. Admittedly, some of the songs were rehearsed beforehand, but others were indeed spontaneous. It added a really fun dimension to the show. The last tour, they played close to 200 different songs, over 85 shows.

That's not to say that Bruce doesn't shake up the setlists on his own anyway, especially near the end of the tour.

[JennaG]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

That's cool- I guess I also have one less person to worry about competing with for a spot in the pit.

The last time I had a front row seat at a Meat Loaf show, not only did I not have to fight for it, I didn't even have to pay for it.

I wouldn't go to a Bruce Springsteen concert unless I was paid to be there so you're welcome to your spot in the pit.

Can you tell me why there appear to be so many comparisons of Bruce Springsteen and Meat on this board?

[RSG]

Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinbeg on drums for both Bruce as well as Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf. And though I only hear it a little bit, it has been said over the years that some Steinman compositions are inspired by some of Bruce's compositions.

[Mr. Happy]

Originally Posted by RSG

I only hear it a little bit, it has been said over the years that some Steinman compositions are inspired by some of Bruce's compositions.

The music for the verse of Took the Words is very similar to the verse of "Jungleland". The chorus of Bat out of Hell is similar to "Thunder Road" in general and the bit just after the bike is very reminiscent of "Night." There could be more, but they're the most obvious ones I've noticed before.

I'm a huge fan of both Springsteen and Meat Loaf, and I don't know if I really have a preference between the two. I find that although Springsteen's voice isn't as 'impressive' as Meat's, the rawness of it makes up for that. Say, for example, the live version of the River that Julie linked in the OP. It's technically nothing special, but the rawness of it captures the intensity of the lyrics and fits it better than a more bombastic voice (like Meat's) would. It's difficult to compare the two voices because they're very different sorts of singers

I love how spontaneous Springsteen is with the setlist, too. Like, when I saw Meat Loaf live, I already knew the setlist (right down to what order it was going to be in) before I even walked in the door. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it's cool to not really know what's coming. It adds to the suspense

To be honest, beside the songs I mentioned above, I don't really see many similarities between the two, and because of that they're sort of hard to compare. Members of the E Street Band have played for Meat before, but yeah. They're two very different entertainers, in my opinion. Both very, very awesome entertainers, but who is the 'better' one is entirely subjective.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by Mr. Happy

I love how spontaneous Springsteen is with the setlist, too. Like, when I saw Meat Loaf live, I already knew the setlist (right down to what order it was going to be in) before I even walked in the door. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it's cool to not really know what's coming. It adds to the suspense

Agree- I love never knowing exactly what I'm going to get- it's like opening a present.

Originally Posted by Skybird14

I wouldn't go to a Bruce Springsteen concert unless I was paid to be there so you're welcome to your spot in the pit.

Excellent- thanks! Now, if only a few thousand more people felt like you, I'd be golden!

Originally Posted by Skybird14

Can you tell me why there appear to be so many comparisons of Bruce Springsteen and Meat on this board?

I don't know, but some people do like both artists. Please feel free to bring up anybody else you might want to talk about.

[JennaG]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

I don't know, but some people do like both artists. Please feel free to bring up anybody else you might want to talk about.

I did wonder if it was just a case of people being a fan of them both but I thought it was worth asking in case there was some other reason.

I quite like Neil Diamond myself but I can't really say I've ever really compared him to Meat. They're both so different that I think I'd find it hard to compare them properly.

[AndyK]

I think there's a number of reasons why Meat and Bruce get compared fairly frequently on this forum.

Obviously there a number of members here who are fans of both (myself included).

There's the musical links between the two ... Max and Roy from the ESB played on Bat, and Steinman's BFG and other projects, Roy was involved on Bat II (in fact Meat has creditted Roy with being one fo the key people in making a Bat record) , as well as the fact that soime of the NLE members over the years have had links to Bruce too ... Mark Alexander toured with Bruce's guitarist Little Steven during the Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul era in the late 80's, Ray Anderson has played with Bruce too). In terms of the Bat / Born To Run comparisons, both were recorded in a very similar timeframe and the influences on each other can clearly be heard ... my opinion is that those influences come from the playing of Max and Roy (Roy on piano in particular) rather than either Bruce or Jim/Meat taking influence from each other.

Also from my own point of view a lot of Meat's (especially the Steinman penned material) and Bruce's music deals with the same sort of themes and has the same cinematic storytelling quality. Both their most recent albums have very similar themes albeit approached in completely different styles.

They are two completely different artists on stage though I think, seeing a Bruce and the ESB concert is almost like seeing the worlds best bar band, there's a real party atmosphere on stage and in the crowd, Meat's stage show is slightly different in it's intensity, is more polished almost more like a West End or Broadway production but no less intense and enjoyable.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by Skybird14

I did wonder if it was just a case of people being a fan of them both but I thought it was worth asking in case there was some other reason.

Drat! You've stumbled upon our super-secret plot to take over the internet, one website at a time!

No, Andy pretty much summed it up- I was coming back to post much the same thing.

I saw an interview with Kasim a while ago (I can't find it again, unfortunately), and he said that the start of Bat was basically himself, Max, Roy, and Todd laying down the basic tracks before anything else was added. Interestingly, he also said he didn't really expect the album to do too much, and didn't really think about it until he heard it on the radio in the car one day. When I asked him to autograph my copy, though, he told me he was quite proud of his work on the album.

Anyway, as Andy said, they have shared a number of the same musicians- Steve Van Zandt also played guitar on (and produced, I think) "Amnesty is Granted".

Roy Bittan definitely is a key player (pun not intended, lol) in the sound of both artists' work. An interesting note, though; I find a huge similarity in the piano intro to the "Dead Ringer" version of "More Than You Deserve" and the intro in the full-band version of "The Promise", yet Roy didn't play on that particular track (according to the credits), even though he's on the rest of "Dead Ringer". I find this inconsistency to be quote maddening. I've also tried to do a "Chicken or the egg" analysis between when both songs were recorded, to no avail. (Yes, I realize I'm sounding like Wario now. )

Tangetially, I saw Steinman claim that at one point he was considering being managed by Jon Landau, Bruce's manager. I don't know what became of that. Also, they've (Bruce and Steinman) both worked with Jimmy Iovine.

Originally Posted by AndyK

They are two completely different artists on stage though I think, seeing a Bruce and the ESB concert is almost like seeing the worlds best bar band, there's a real party atmosphere on stage and in the crowd, Meat's stage show is slightly different in it's intensity, is more polished almost more like a West End or Broadway production but no less intense and enjoyable.

The ESB is the world's greatest bar band, IMO; there's nothing quite like them when they are firing on all cylinders. "Little Queenie" into "Twist and Shout" in St. Louis in '08 was just an incredible experience. The thing, though, is that Bruce is also capable of putting in an extremely intense emotional performance as well- for example, "Backstreets" on the Darkness tour (how I WISH I had gotten to see one of those shows in person!). One of the the things I wish he'd do in his current shows is more slow songs, but unfortunately, today's audiences seem to lack the ability to pay attention for longer than a few minutes before they start to get restless.

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

Anyway, as Andy said, they have shared a number of the same musicians- Steve Van Zandt also played guitar on (and produced, I think) "Amnesty is Granted".

And co-wrote according to the credits ... how I managed to forget that connection when it's one of my favourite Meat songs is beyond me!

[nikox1]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

A couple of people expressed an interest in continuing this discussion, and there were a few posts I wanted to respond to, so I started a new thread here. Perhaps the mods will decide to move the other posts here as well.



This is not a simple question to answer, IMO, and you are of course correct when you say a great deal depends on what sound you like. I'd also say that if we were having this discussion 18-20 years ago, my answer might well have been different; however, we'll talk about now.

First off, Bruce and Meat have very different voices- always have. Both have changed over the years. Bruce's voice isn't one that might be called a "pretty" voice, and there's plenty of people who are of the opinion that he can't sing. I think many people base this primarily on a song like "Born in the USA", where he's practically shouting, and which, quite honestly, I'm not all that fond of. If you dig deeper into the catalog, however, and especially once you start looking at live performances, you get a different picture. In some of the slow songs, especially, he sounds particularly good, IMO:

"Something in the Night" 1976:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfZby9CN8E

Now, I think we'd all agree that there's many components to what makes a good musical performance of any kind, and "technical perfection" isn't as important as being able to convey emotion, and Bruce could always do that in spades:

"The Promise" (Live- solo piano) Seattle, 1978: (one of my very favorites)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCXcsTq_H9g

"You're Missing"- (solo piano) 2002 (IMO, one of the most heartbreaking songs ever)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb1...?search_algo=1

Over the years, I think Bruce's technique has actually gotten better, in that he's learned to use his voice better. Bruce has always had loads of power- still does; what he may not have as much as Meat is range, from the highs to the lows. However, he has developed a falsetto at some point, which I don't think he could do early on. What he also does very effectively is to create an "atmosphere", by which he's doing anything from a whisper, such as in the end of "Jungleland" (to draw you in, IMO) up to a scream. Some of my favorite vocals of his, chronologically:

"Real World"- (solo piano) 1990
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_PxWw_g_pE

"I Wish I Were Blind" 1993
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqxNg_rb350

"The River" 2000 (End of the song is a good example of the falsetto)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGHqeYNe_1g

"Incident on 57th Street" (solo piano) 2002
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb6SG9GtgMU

"Nothing Man"- (solo piano) 2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9XCv...eature=related

"Adam Raised a Cain" 2011 (not to mention killer guitar solo, and I was there) )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MxfDkUHySI

"Youngstown" 2012- I was truly amazed (I was there) at how long he could hold the word "Toooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwn"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liAsh...D63BB54CCCDB16

If you'll notice, there are no "hits" on this list (except maybe "The River", and this is a different arrangement from the album version), and nothing from the "Born in the USA" era.

Now, to get back to Meat. In terms of power, I'd say he has no lead. In terms of range, sure, I'll give it to him. Now, does this automatically (i.e. "obviously") make him "technically" a better singer? I'm going to say no.The talent/ voice one is given is just the beginning; to quote Eric Clapton, "It's in the way that you use it".

One can also argue on key/ off key, in time/ out of time, isolated notes hit on pitch- it's all irrelevant, IMO, if the end result isn't pleasing to the listener. So, if you ask me who I would rather listen to, I'm going to be totally honest and say that I don't really like the way Meat sounds live these days (on record, it's not bad). Bruce, on the other hand, I enjoy listening to very much. It is what it is.

back to the voices, you made some very good points i have to say. but meats power and range are far superior imo. meats songs are harder to sing imo.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by nikox1

back to the voices, you made some very good points i have to say. but meats power and range are far superior imo. meats songs are harder to sing imo.

I don't disagree that Meat's songs are harder to sing. I do disagree on your other point- I think Bruce has a tremendous amount of power behind his voice.

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

I think Bruce has a tremendous amount of power behind his voice.

Yep, I've seen him live and I can confirm that. I think Meat's voice appears more "powerful" to some because of his operatic style, his way of "acting" his songs and because of being a "loud" person in general.

Regarding the claim that Meat Loaf's songs are "harder to sing": I'll agree with that on the day he does a credible rendition of Jungleland.

[nikox1]

[QUOTE=Sarge;570027]Yep, I've seen him live and I can confirm that. I think Meat's voice appears more "powerful" to some because of his operatic style, his way of "acting" his songs and because of being a "loud" person in general.

Regarding the claim that Meat Loaf's songs are "harder to sing": I'll agree with that on the day he does a credible rendition of Jungleland. [/QUOT

Seen both live myself!! Love Bruce, such a talent!! But meat is vocally in a different world!! Same could be said = let Bruce do bat!!