Meatloaf

[MightyTiger]

The acoustics at the MCG are such that very few acts will ever sound good there. The only thing that works is very very simple music like the Stones or AC/DC where there is a lot of space between the notes.

Having said that, let me say this:

A few posters with not so much music knowledge seem to think Meatloaf's songs are vocally as difficult as a standard rock tune. They are not, they are far far harder to perform than a normal tune.

But AFL should have been aware that Meatloaf has probably sung the tunes from Bat Out of Hell well only when recording the album. Every piece of live footage I have seen of him he has never been able to perform at the standard that is on the record.

Also some serious underrating of Meatloaf here, Bat Out of Hell is one of the biggest albums of all time, like it or not. Aint no B grade act.

Thus concludes random observations.

Yeah well, Meatloaf aint got shit on this Rock Album.

 

[Kim Hagdorn]

I've always thought that his music is lame rubbish, don't care how many records that he has sold.

 

[Pessimistic]

The acoustics at the MCG are such that very few acts will ever sound good there. The only thing that works is very very simple music like the Stones or AC/DC where there is a lot of space between the notes.

Having said that, let me say this:

A few posters with not so much music knowledge seem to think Meatloaf's songs are vocally as difficult as a standard rock tune. They are not, they are far far harder to perform than a normal tune.

But AFL should have been aware that Meatloaf has probably sung the tunes from Bat Out of Hell well only when recording the album. Every piece of live footage I have seen of him he has never been able to perform at the standard that is on the record.

Also some serious underrating of Meatloaf here, Bat Out of Hell is one of the biggest albums of all time, like it or not. Aint no B grade act.

Thus concludes random observations.

agreed. Lionel shows that classic disco pop goes down well.
Boney M, Village people. mamma mia cast etc

My kids have been ribbing me for weeks over Meat Loaf. My answer is "get back to me whan Glee have done him, that does it for most kids"

 

[Pessimistic]

Pretty spot-on there, except that in 2011, calling him a "B grade" act would be generous, what he dished up at the Grand Final wasn't even remotely adequate. There is no way his voice was that shot in the 80s (or even 90s).

Theres a youtube clip dated 82 which says otherwise

 

[Paranoid]

Jack White and Insane Clown Posse.

 

[PortBrillance]

butt smellers

 

[Shinboner Schem]

Hmmm, who might the AFL "revive" next year....

Billy Ray?

 

[barmy44]

In fairness to Meatloaf, those saying he didn't have a great voice in the past are crazy. Whether you rate his music or not (I don't), suggesting John Lennon, Jeff Buckley (hugely overrated, massacred Cohen's Hallelujah), etc, had a better voice is just ignorant. He didn't always make the most of it, and his song selection certainly left a lot to be desired, but he could SING.

To hear him singing ordinary songs in a shattered voice that was once their saving grace was a bit sad, really. Kind of like when Britney got fat.

john lennon could sing anything and make you believe it. the guy has a magic that someone with a larger vocal range (purely in terms of octaves) cannot hope to match.

lennon has a far wider musical range, and a certain magic that a dime a dozen singer (tens of thousands of people worldwide can sing like meatloaf, check out the adelaide uni jazz conservatorium, for instance, or the berkley school of music, or even f***ing idol). the guy has a technical voice, but come on. not even close to as many can do what lennon did. when meatloaf sang, it was a technical singer singing standard rock. when lennon sang it was art. no comparison.

bob dylan is another great singer, far better than meatloaf. singing isnt just the notes you hit, it how you hit them.

jeff buckley overrated? that guy had a wider vocal range, could sing in any style you care to mention, from music hall, to opera, to folk, to metal, and do it well.

meatloaf had a technical voice, sure, but when all things are considered you could substitute his voice for any other person with a big voice, and it would be the same. dylan, cooke, buckley, lennon etc had that something that could never be replaced.

EDIT: not saying meatloaf cannot sing, im saying he doesnt have one of those rare voices the others have. technical ability means nought if thats what you rely on. listen to michael angelo batio play a guitar. technically, almost unmatchable. but that is all that is special about what he does.

 

[barmy44]

Anyone who is a michael Jackson fans should be banned from commenting

Meatloaf is up there with most of those you mentioned ..and way ahead of half of the others .

being a kid shouldn't define your musical understanding ..but it does give you shit taste in music .

im not a michael jackson fan, but damn that guy was talented. weird, but talented.

he was doing things at 9 meatloaf has never been able to do.

but each to their own, i guess. depends what youre after, really. cant account for personal taste, but meatloaf is not a legend of popular music like those others are.

basically, anyone who is reduced to playing a 12 minute grand final slot cant be that great. any muso worth their name wouldnt touch that, even if they were still alive... that kind of thing is not what the legends of music do. its like judging x-factor or idol.

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

im not a michael jackson fan, but damn that guy was talented. weird, but talented.

he was doing things at 9 meatloaf has never been able to do.

but each to their own, i guess. depends what youre after, really. cant account for personal taste, but meatloaf is not a legend of popular music like those others are.

basically, anyone who is reduced to playing a 12 minute grand final slot cant be that great. any muso worth their name wouldnt touch that, even if they were still alive... that kind of thing is not what the legends of music do. its like judging x-factor or idol.

I guess his music doesn't fit the demographic of the BigFooty poster (Male, Age 18-45) His superbowl performance was the only performance in Superbowl history to rate higher than the actual match itself, the guy was walking ratings.

He was 43 during this performance, his last official one actually in 2002, and he was bloody brilliant, the crowd is in the palm of his hand. Genius.

[youtube]7rlHK0h20gw[/youtube]

 

[barmy44]

One of the best singers to ever take the stage ...but i guess a kid wouldn't know this .

being a kid shouldn't define your musical understanding ..but it does give you shit taste in music .

so which is it? i just cant let this slide, cause music is something i care about a lot...

meatloaf can sing, but he is a B grade rock singer compared to true singers like the ones i listed.

put him in a room with an acoustic guitar and his voice wouldnt carry like the others. he needed the bombast and production his records had, to even approach what the others could do stripped back. a talented singer, but not an artist like the others, maybe sans MJ, who was a great performer, maybe not an artist.

 

[barmy44]

He was 43 during this performance, his last official one actually in 2002, and he was bloody brilliant, the crowd is in the palm of his hand. Genius.

unfortunately, cant watch the video cause im in a tute...

there is a great video on youtube of him at 8 or 9 singing and dancing. pure natural talent.

freddie mercury was the same. crazy talent, and could hold 90,000 people in the palm of his hand. pure charisma.

 

[Kram]

Meatloaf had a better voice than John Lennon, now I've heard everything..

 

[barmy44]

Meatloaf had a better voice than John Lennon, now I've heard everything..

and you heard it here first. bigfooty is quite a place

anyway, you just summed up what id been trying to say in 3 separate and lengthy posts in one sentence... thanks!

 

[stugots]

Violent Femmes still alive?

 

[MacMum]

Watching that clip of MJ was very emotional....we sure did lose a genius


Pftt!!....Who the hell is Meatloaf when you see a real master at work!!

 

[Grizzly_82]

Watching that clip of MJ was very emotional....we sure did lose a genius


Pftt!!....Who the hell is Meatloaf when you see a real master at work!!

At least the kiddies are safe, funny how that's overlooked when he died

 

[Sprout]

I guess his music doesn't fit the demographic of the BigFooty poster (Male, Age 18-45) His superbowl performance was the only performance in Superbowl history to rate higher than the actual match itself, the guy was walking ratings.

He was 43 during this performance, his last official one actually in 2002, and he was bloody brilliant, the crowd is in the palm of his hand. Genius.

I'm not a fan of his entire catalogue but Off The Wall is a brilliant album.

 

[Pessimistic]

Funny jackson got mentioned because when meat loaf came on the scsne bck in the UK it was a wlcome change from what seemed like wall to wall beejees michael jackson etc.

So for us nostalgi-tragics itts us also reliving a phenomeneon, a short one which came, exploded and died - he didnt really endure on like a lot of the legends mentioned here.

Thers no mistaking the impact, at the time.

Mind you i also rate the spce girls as an influential band, so you may all disagree

 

[Starburns_]

basically, anyone who is reduced to playing a 12 minute grand final slot cant be that great. any muso worth their name wouldnt touch that, even if they were still alive... that kind of thing is not what the legends of music do. its like judging x-factor or idol.

Both Mcartney and Springsteen have played the superbowl in the past decade, I know it's not the same thing, but surely these kind of events must have a certain appeal to performers.

 

[Donners]

Theres a youtube clip dated 82 which says otherwise

And I'd Do Anything for Love is pretty clear evidence his voice was still exceptional in 1991.

Even at his peak, he was not a great live singer because:

1) His songs are too intense to be able to perform at the same level as a studio.
2) He has a lot of health issues and always has
3) He had a really hectic schedule and worked far too many shows. Jim Steinman once said that he should have had the schedule of an opera singer, which is only a few days a week, but instead he was performing five or more days a week.


Now, of course, his voice is simply shot, so he sounds bad live and in the studio unless covered by backing singers and a lot of polishing of the audio.

 

[BarneyBent]

john lennon could sing anything and make you believe it. the guy has a magic that someone with a larger vocal range (purely in terms of octaves) cannot hope to match.

lennon has a far wider musical range, and a certain magic that a dime a dozen singer (tens of thousands of people worldwide can sing like meatloaf, check out the adelaide uni jazz conservatorium, for instance, or the berkley school of music, or even f***ing idol). the guy has a technical voice, but come on. not even close to as many can do what lennon did. when meatloaf sang, it was a technical singer singing standard rock. when lennon sang it was art. no comparison.

bob dylan is another great singer, far better than meatloaf. singing isnt just the notes you hit, it how you hit them.

jeff buckley overrated? that guy had a wider vocal range, could sing in any style you care to mention, from music hall, to opera, to folk, to metal, and do it well.

meatloaf had a technical voice, sure, but when all things are considered you could substitute his voice for any other person with a big voice, and it would be the same. dylan, cooke, buckley, lennon etc had that something that could never be replaced.

EDIT: not saying meatloaf cannot sing, im saying he doesnt have one of those rare voices the others have. technical ability means nought if thats what you rely on. listen to michael angelo batio play a guitar. technically, almost unmatchable. but that is all that is special about what he does.

I think we have differing definitions of "good voice". Believe me, I'd listen to Lennon, Dylan, etc over Meatloaf any day. But it's not their voice that made them stand out, it's how they used it. Meatloaf didn't get the best out of his voice, but boy did he have one.

That said, you're still understating Meatloaf's voice massively. He wasn't just a big voice, he was a GIGANTIC voice, and he executed cheesy, bombastic, rock songs to perfection. Take Meatloaf's voice away from Meatloaf, and the production (exceptional, btw), musicianship (also exceptional), etc, mean nothing. The songs are rubbish, but Meatloaf's voice makes them.... "good" isn't the right word, but "special".

And Jeff Buckley is massively overrated. Paper thin, sickly sweet voice. No character, and the most superficial of emotional undertones. Pretty much pitch perfect, sure, but I've never felt anything but my skin crawling when listening to him. At least Meatloaf can blow you away with the sheer power of his voice.

 

[Aussie_Roo]

My kids have been ribbing me for weeks over Meat Loaf. My answer is "get back to me whan Glee have done him, that does it for most kids"

Now that's a sign we're getting old.

 

[Ando727]

And I'd Do Anything for Love is pretty clear evidence his voice was still exceptional in 1991.

It only proves he could assemble a track out of bits and pieces in a studio 20 years ago. When he performed that song live on Hey, Hey it's Saturday as the world premiere of the single, he completely stuffed it up. He actually had to stop and start again. He made up some crap about feeling too nervous, but he was actually losing it. His live voice was no good and hasn't been since the 70's.

 

[stugots]

It only proves he could assemble a track out of bits and pieces in a studio 20 years ago. When he performed that song live on Hey, Hey it's Saturday as the world premiere of the single, he completely stuffed it up. He actually had to stop and start again. He made up some crap about feeling too nervous, but he was actually losing it. His live voice was no good and hasn't been since the 70's.

sadly I do remember that - sad for the fact I was home watching Hey, Hey on a Sat night, not sad for Meatloaf, but I did feel for the fat bastard that night, every performers worst nightmare I suppose