Something I don’t think I’ve spoken about enough since the release of his eleventh studio album in May is just how much I love Meat Loaf. As that Will Ferrell/Wedding Crashers scene of “Mom! Meat loaf!” echoes in my head, I must verify that I am talking about the man and the legend – the only Texas-born musician I’ve heard of who can call his genre “Wagnerian Rock”, aka Marvin Lee Aday… but I think we all prefer Meat Loaf.
Hang Cool Teddy Bear (who needs a sensical album name) was released on May 11th to almost top the Uk charts, while it only peaked at 27 in America (you Yankee philistines) and it came fully packed with awesomeness. Although, I am totally biased here because I became a lot more appreciative of the record when I found out Jon Bon Jovi had co-written some tunes. But check out the video for the album’s first single – “Los Angeloser” below to see the awesomeness I’m talking about.
Not exceptionally talented, or exceptionally good-looking or really exceptional in any way I can think of right now, Meat Loaf just won’t get pushed off his pedestal of awesomeness. Perhaps because he’s the antithesis of a rockstar in every way one can think of does he manage to pull off being a slightly old dude making a non-sleazy pop-rock video with lithe young girls in.
And there’s a free download off the album – “Prize Fighter Lover” that sounds like my favourite kind of sweeping-gesture-grand-’80s rock (eerily similar vibe to “I would Do Anything For Love”…) Grandiose musical gestures like “Everybody’s got someone they don’t wanna be/you don’t wanna be you/I don’t wanna be me” would fail for anyone else, I expect.
There are a few moments on the record that fail to win us over with a bit of musical schmaltziness, but overall, 29 years after his debut album, Meat Loaf is an all-round musical win and we hope he never stops.
ⓒ athousandguitars.com 2010