the absolute WORST interview ever done.

[Wario]

http://www.jimsteinman.com/neverland2.htm


After reading this REPULSIVE article from 1981, read it for yourself its appalling what Jim says of Meat.

I get it, they work well together and jims the best songwriter ever, but Jim comes off VERY harsh towards Meat.
"No, Meat's 'Bat' persona is totally created, he's really 'Hi Y'all'. It was my idea to put him in this black tux, give him a handkerchief...I had two images for him - one was of Siegfried the Dragon-slayer, the other image was like a really horny Falstaff.

He came up with the tux idea?
Excuse me, MEAT was wearing tuxedos since Meatloaf soul and the Flying Circus days!

"He auditioned for a musical I'd written for the New York Shakespeare Festival; he'd mostly sung blues and gospel before, but he was in 'Hair', although that's not real rock 'n roll. But he'd never sung material like mine, and I just took him aside and convinced him that he would be amazing singing this kind of music with this huge operatic voice. It wasn't hard to talk him into it because in that musical he had one song that I wrote for him and used, and no-one had ever really applauded for him up to then, and I remember the first time he cried about it, he was so amazed."

WHAT.


"Because his voice, without singing those songs, would just be a blasting voice, I mean, you can hear him on Ted Nugent's 'Free For All' and it's not impressive at all.

That hurt.


"So 'Bad For Good' is definitely written, conceived and produced as 'Bat Out Of Hell Pt. 2', just that I'm singing it.
"Meat's new record, which I wrote and produced as well, is different - it's less heroic, less epic."

Ya sure less heroic? That tracklist trumps BFG's!

"I decided that most of the qualities in 'Bat' apart from Meat's voice were my qualities more than his - I mean Meat doesn't know who Wagner is, he's really just an innocent southern kid from Dallas. And he'd never even sung rock 'n roll when I met him."

No meat embodies jim's lyrics, actually teh songs are more meat's then Jims.

This was one fo the WORST interviews ive ever read and the first time doing so. Im stunned Jim said this stuff

[Evil One]

Jim was simply hyping his album. No different than Meat saying that Nikki Syxx outwrote Jim.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by Evil One

Jim was simply hyping his album. No different than Meat saying that Nikki Syxx outwrote Jim.

a lot of personal attacks tho

[CarylB]

Originally Posted by Evil One

No different than Meat saying that Nikki Syxx outwrote Jim.

Except Meat has explained until he's blue in the face that he did not say that and was mis-quoted

[Wario]

Originally Posted by CarylB

Except Meat has explained until he's blue in the face that he did not say that and was mis-quoted

I can see that

[CarylB]

Originally Posted by Wario

Excuse me, MEAT was wearing tuxedos since Meatloaf soul and the Flying Circus days!

And his friend Armand Coullet gave him the red scarf to mop sweat .. I take the point that Steinman was hyping an album, but to seize ownership of everything about Meat is a bit much imo .. for eg Meat may not understand Wagner .. but neither I suspect do many of the fans who have been swept away by his performances over the years. That Meat as an actor creates a character for each song and delivers it with such passion is what makes those songs come to such life for many people. No-one would deny Jim wrote some amazing music and lyrics .. but in my view they are considerably enhanced by a unique contribution from Meat, and one that is all his own.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by CarylB

And his friend Armand Coullet gave him the red scarf to mop sweat .. I take the point that Steinman was hyping an album, but to seize ownership of everything about Meat is a bit much imo .. for eg Meat may not understand Wagner .. but neither I suspect do many of the fans who have been swept away by his performances over the years. That Meat as an actor creates a character for each song and delivers it with such passion is what makes those songs come to such life for many people. No-one would deny Jim wrote some amazing music and lyrics .. but in my view they are considerably enhanced by a unique contribution from Meat, and one that is all his own.

Agreed The only jim said that has any realisim is that meat is indeed very "hey y'all!" All my favorite recordings he says that least once

[stretch37]

Honestly, Steinman has always come across to me as a cynic, while Meat is an optimist.

I wouldn't go so far as to say Steinman is a jerk to Meat, because Steinman probably feels Meat is a 'jerk' to him at times. They have very different personalities, polar opposites.....But somewhere in there, they see eye to eye, and they feel for each other deeply. One of my best friends and I have a similar relationship....Email works well :P

[Elijah's way]

I can't believe someone would dig this bs up after 35 years of being buried in the past where it belongs. I refuse to read that interview. What's the saying? Let the sleeping dogs lie?

[AndrewG]

Think I read all that claptrap when I just started to go on the internet back in 1998 when Wario was playing with He-man and plastic dinosaurs. And even then it was old stuff to be taken with a pinch of salt.

But I do agree with Stretch that Jim is mostly a cynic and Meat an optimist. That was quite evident during the Rock n Roll hall of writers fame speech thing. Meat is far more emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve. Jim is not really.

There have been times when Jim wrote some cool stuff on his blog about his music and he even reacted to some things his fans wrote. I remember pointing out how awesome I thought the lyric "Looks like it's gonna be a dark one tonight" was and he appreciating that. Then he went back to moaning about politics etc. It's a shame but for a lot of people the media and the internet is a complete distraction and just gets in the way of creating and appreciating things I think... I'm making my living out of it but it can be a big time waster. You will get more pleasure out of reading a good novel than these interviews I think. No offence.

[Evil Ernie]

I think that it comes across worse in print. Jim is a very animated interview and full of exaggerations.

I agree with most of what he says. Not sure about the stage dress, but I can definitely see him being a huge influence on Meat Loafs stage persona. I also didn't find the Ted Nugent album to be very impressive compared to his other work either.

BFG is definitely more 'heroic' and 'epic' than DR, which I find more subdued. One is not definitely better than the other, even though I generally prefer BFG.

Also, if I recall, Jim was pretty pissed off at ML at this point. In regards to him being a diva, drugs, alcohol, losing his voice, etc... So an interview like this might have been expected.

No meat embodies jim's lyrics, actually teh songs are more meat's then Jims.

NO... those songs are Jim's. No one else's.

Meat is lucky that Jim let him sing his songs, and Jim is lucky that Meat was WILLING to sing his songs when everyone thought they were a joke.

But those songs are Jim's... PEROID.

[rockfenris2005]

Just a general comment: The thing that keeps frustrating me is that both Meat and Jim have done some great stuff over the years together AND apart. I really believe that. Jim didn't do "Rocky Horror" and the various movies. Meat is part of one of the most successful movies and rock musicals of all time. And Jim wasn't. There are some great Steinman vocals on non-Meat songs. Steve Barton on the OCR for "Tanz der Vampire" is right up there with Meat on Bat and Bat 2 for me. I think Steve singing "Gott ist Tot" and "Die Unstillbare Gier" is as great as Meat singing "Bad for good" in 1988. Holly is amazing on "Tonight is what it means to be young". Rory's vocals on "Making love out of nothing at all" and "Vaults of Heaven" demos are sublime. Rory has this angelic choir-like tone to his vocal which goes so well with those Jim songs that he's done. Elaine is awesome on "All coming back" and "Braver". Gina Taylor is awesome on "Safe sex" and "The future...". Karla and Ellen have some amazing moments as well. Ellen's version of "Heaven can wait" from Neverland is sublime and her recent version at 54 Below.

Sorry... better start a new paragraph, haha...

I could go on. Marcus Lovett on "Whistle down the wind" is another. Bonnie amazes me on any of the songs that she did with Jim. I know that Meat doing the songs theatrically and embodying them on stage is pretty rare, but all the same. Holly totally rules on "Tonight..." Kyle's version of "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste" is a brilliant contrast to Meat and Bonnie. I love Celine's vocal on "All coming back" as well.

Again, this is more just a general comment, but the thing that I sometimes feel, sometimes *wish* would be more recognized (or maybe I'm just imagining this? I'm not sure), is that both Jim and Meat have done excellent things, brilliant things together AND apart. Of course I love when they work together. I'm really looking forward to the next album. But do you know how many times I've listened to "Tanz" over the years? That album may well be THE ultimate experience as a Steinman fan, and how much do I love Meat? You might call me a "closeted fan" of BBIS. Hell, I don't even think you SHOULD be a closeted fan. Why do people pick on this album? Haha, I love it. It's because we compare it to the other stuff maybe? I love the remixes from the singles. Absolutely love them.

[Evil Ernie]

Originally Posted by rockfenris2005

Just a general comment: The thing that keeps frustrating me is that both Meat and Jim have done some great stuff over the years together AND apart. I really believe that. Jim didn't do "Rocky Horror" and the various movies. Meat is part of one of the most successful movies and rock musicals of all time. And Jim wasn't. There are some great Steinman vocals on non-Meat songs. Steve Barton on the OCR for "Tanz der Vampire" is right up there with Meat on Bat and Bat 2 for me. I think Steve singing "Gott ist Tot" and "Die Unstillbare Gier" is as great as Meat singing "Bad for good" in 1988. Holly is amazing on "Tonight is what it means to be young". Rory's vocals on "Making love out of nothing at all" and "Vaults of Heaven" demos are sublime. Rory has this angelic choir-like tone to his vocal which goes so well with those Jim songs that he's done. Elaine is awesome on "All coming back" and "Braver". Gina Taylor is awesome on "Safe sex" and "The future...". Karla and Ellen have some amazing moments as well. Ellen's version of "Heaven can wait" from Neverland is sublime and her recent version at 54 Below.

Sorry... better start a new paragraph, haha...

I could go on. Marcus Lovett on "Whistle down the wind" is another. Bonnie amazes me on any of the songs that she did with Jim. I know that Meat doing the songs theatrically and embodying them on stage is pretty rare, but all the same. Holly totally rules on "Tonight..." Kyle's version of "A kiss is a terrible thing to waste" is a brilliant contrast to Meat and Bonnie. I love Celine's vocal on "All coming back" as well.

Again, this is more just a general comment, but the thing that I sometimes feel, sometimes *wish* would be more recognized (or maybe I'm just imagining this? I'm not sure), is that both Jim and Meat have done excellent things, brilliant things together AND apart. Of course I love when they work together. I'm really looking forward to the next album. But do you know how many times I've listened to "Tanz" over the years? That album may well be THE ultimate experience as a Steinman fan, and how much do I love Meat? You might call me a "closeted fan" of BBIS. Hell, I don't even think you SHOULD be a closeted fan. Why do people pick on this album? Haha, I love it. It's because we compare it to the other stuff maybe? I love the remixes from the singles. Absolutely love them.

I feel as though I could have written this.

Rory has a gentle, relaxing tone and an excellent range. I'm a huge fan of his.

And YES, I think that Tanz is the ULTIMATE Steinman album. Even though he didn't write the lyrics, and I generally think his lyrics are his most distinctive signature. That whole production in German showed how much of a musical genius he is. He re-used many songs (as usual), but he somehow still made it all sound incredibly fresh.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by Evil Ernie

I think that it comes across worse in print. Jim is a very animated interview and full of exaggerations.

I agree with most of what he says. Not sure about the stage dress, but I can definitely see him being a huge influence on Meat Loafs stage persona. I also didn't find the Ted Nugent album to be very impressive compared to his other work either.

BFG is definitely more 'heroic' and 'epic' than DR, which I find more subdued. One is not definitely better than the other, even though I generally prefer BFG.

Also, if I recall, Jim was pretty pissed off at ML at this point. In regards to him being a diva, drugs, alcohol, losing his voice, etc... So an interview like this might have been expected.



NO... those songs are Jim's. No one else's.

Meat is lucky that Jim let him sing his songs, and Jim is lucky that Meat was WILLING to sing his songs when everyone thought they were a joke.

But those songs are Jim's... PEROID.

You are so wrong on so many levels but I'll digress with one statement:

Jim would be nowhere without Meat. Meats the ONLY MAN that can sing his stuff. Not Rory, not Rob Evan, not Air Supply. Meat owns it all and would own it all if he was given making love or whatever demos Rory recorded.

Rory's a good backing vocalist, nothing more. He has now power, no energy. BFG sounds like a bootleg of bat out of hell outtakes

Jim can't ding, Rory can't lead, meat is the only person who can bring Kim's words to life with male hormones.

I'm sorry but jim was lucky to meet the voice, cause meat sure as hell would've still had a great career. Jim, he'd still be writing plays that would never see the light of day past workshops he's a genius but he's not good for buisness

I'm sorry but I love Jim, but he's not the puppeteer. He's the songwriter and that's all. Meats non Jim work is a testament to that

Meat and Jim are two different entities, and the more optimistic, charasmatic, and emotional powerhouse always outweighs a stubborn genius

[Meat Loaf_fan]

Originally Posted by Wario

Jim would be nowhere without Meat. Meats the ONLY MAN that can sing his stuff. Not Rory, not Rob Evan, not Air Supply ...

"Making Love ..." from Air Supply is good ... You should remember that there are fantastic versions of Jim's songs done by: Barbra Streisand Left In The Dark (although I prefer Meat's version ), Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse Of The Heart (and many other songs), Taylor Dayne Original Sin (in fact - this is the only song from Jim, that I prefer another artist version).

Originally Posted by Wario

I'm sorry but jim was lucky to meet the voice, cause meat sure as hell would've still had a great career. Jim, he'd still be writing plays that would never see the light of day past workshops he's a genius but he's not good for buisness

Of course - Meat is the best singer that was in the road of Jim (except Taylor Dayne and her version of "Original Sin" ), but ... no one will ever know what would be with Meat without Jim ... of course if he meets Paul Jacobs in early 80's, or other great songwriter, then his career had its boost, but ... there is "if".

Originally Posted by Wario

Meat and Jim are two different entities, and the more optimistic, charasmatic, and emotional powerhouse always outweighs a stubborn genius

I agree.

[proctorloaf]

I think that we need to put this interview in context. Both performers were exhausted after a gruelling 2/3 year tour to promote Bat. Jim had gone off the road to write the next record and when it was delivered Meat wasn't wiling or able to sing the album. Despite the fact that he has since performed most of the songs on the record, at the time he thought that it was a Bat copy and he didn't like it. There was much resentment to this, all the money an effort gone into making the record was wasted AND Jim was contracted to write Meat's follow up, so I can understand why at the time Jim was like 'I made you so I'll break you'. Both men have equal call to ownership of the songs. Like Elvis, Meat sells a song. When he sings a song, he owns it, no matter who writes it. Jim needs a singer who can own a song and that is why Meat is the perfect singer for him. Meat in turn needs songs and character who he can embody so Jim is perfect for him. It took 10 years to heal the wounds of BFG. But when the dust settled we got Bat II. If we hadn't had that anger, those fights and this interview, we might never had Anything For Love, Objects or Life is a Lemon. Even at approaching 70, these two guys need their heads knocking together

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Wario

... and the more optimistic, charasmatic, and emotional powerhouse always outweighs a stubborn genius

Can't believe people are falling for this competition nonsense again.
Total waste of time as I said above.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by Meat Loaf_fan

"Making Love ..." from Air Supply is good ... You should remember that there are fantastic versions of Jim's songs done by: Barbra Streisand Left In The Dark (although I prefer Meat's version ), Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse Of The Heart (and many other songs), Taylor Dayne Original Sin (in fact - this is the only song from Jim, that I prefer another artist version).



Of course - Meat is the best singer that was in the road of Jim (except Taylor Dayne and her version of "Original Sin" ), but ... no one will ever know what would be with Meat without Jim ... of course if he meets Paul Jacobs in early 80's, or other great songwriter, then his career had its boost, but ... there is "if".



I agree.

I did say only MAN. The woman he's had sing his songs were perfect for their respective tracks sans IJWQ and Good Girls

[Evil Ernie]

I'm

Originally Posted by Wario

You are so wrong on so many levels but I'll digress with one statement:

Jim would be nowhere without Meat. Meats the ONLY MAN that can sing his stuff. Not Rory, not Rob Evan, not Air Supply. Meat owns it all and would own it all if he was given making love or whatever demos Rory recorded.

Rory's a good backing vocalist, nothing more. He has now power, no energy. BFG sounds like a bootleg of bat out of hell outtakes

Jim can't ding, Rory can't lead, meat is the only person who can bring Kim's words to life with male hormones.

I'm sorry but jim was lucky to meet the voice, cause meat sure as hell would've still had a great career. Jim, he'd still be writing plays that would never see the light of day past workshops he's a genius but he's not good for buisness

I'm sorry but I love Jim, but he's not the puppeteer. He's the songwriter and that's all. Meats non Jim work is a testament to that

Meat and Jim are two different entities, and the more optimistic, charasmatic, and emotional powerhouse always outweighs a stubborn genius

You're literally insane. I have to stop responding to your threads.

[loaferman61]

Originally Posted by Wario

Jim can't ding,

I'm sure that makes him very sad. They have pills for that now, maybe Jim has no television.

[Wario]

Originally Posted by Evil Ernie

You're literally insane. I have to stop responding to your threads.

its nothing personal Ernie, we just have different viewpoints.

[loaferman61]

To me what matters is that when Meat and Jim want to make a record together I as the listener am in for a treat. What somebody said 25 and 30 years ago I don't care too much about. Some great music, films, and etc. have been made with all types of behind the scenes issues and egos. Jim and Todd have always been like they told Meat to sing then go sit in a corner and wait, whether true or not a legitimate masterpiece was the result.

The fact that Jim and Meat are so different is probably why the collaboration works as well as it does

[Wario]

How many people did I piss off with this? sorry

EDIT: oh my....

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Wario

Jim can't ding...

But does he have a dong?

[rockfenris2005]

Originally Posted by Evil Ernie

I feel as though I could have written this.

Rory has a gentle, relaxing tone and an excellent range. I'm a huge fan of his.

And YES, I think that Tanz is the ULTIMATE Steinman album. Even though he didn't write the lyrics, and I generally think his lyrics are his most distinctive signature. That whole production in German showed how much of a musical genius he is. He re-used many songs (as usual), but he somehow still made it all sound incredibly fresh.

So many wonderful things came together on that show. I'm not surprised that it's been called the "most successful musical from continental Europe" or whatever the line was. You had Jim's brilliant music - and honestly the recycling doesn't really bother me (acronym for "Total eclipse of the heart" is TEOTH btw which could almost be TEETH--->Fangs--->Vampires. It FEELS like a vampire song to me). You had Steve's awesome orchestrations, Polanski's direction, Dudley's fantastic designs, Sue Blane from "Rocky Horror" on costumes, VanStone's lighting, Steve as Count Von Krolock with Cornelia and Aris as Alfred and Sarah. It all just felt... so right to me. It reminds me of "The Phantom of the Opera" really which was another show I feel where all of the elements really came together really well (although I know, OK, "The music of the night" hadn't been a massive Number 1 a decade before.)

That score just feels so right. The whole shows does. And it would have been really interesting to see what the next step would have been for Jim, with "Batman". I love listening to "Evita" after "JCS". It shows the next step for Andrew and Tim. Even "Vespers" from "Batman" makes me think of "Requiem for Evita" too. Anyway...

Just want to say again, I think both Meat and Jim have done amazing things, both together and apart. And I say, let's celebrate that.

PS. I think this might have been responsible for my dream last night of me singing "Die Unstillbare Gier" haha. I really gave it everything. Wow lol.