Entertainment

Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Meat Loaf – Braver Than We Are (2016)

In light of his recent passing, the JAR will do something for the first time. We’re going to take a look at Meat Loaf’s last album where he reconciled with Jim Steinman and felt more like a goodbye to the Bat Out of Hell series, and now, to us as well. Take a look!

Published

3 years ago

January 23, 2022

Andrew Balaz

In light of his recent passing, the JAR will do something for the first time. We’re going to take a look at Meat Loaf’s last album where he reconciled with Jim Steinman and felt more like a goodbye to the Bat Out of Hell series, and now, to us as well. Take a look!

So this one strikes a little closer to home than some. Meat Loaf was a big musical presence in my life, his singing style is something I’ve adapted/worked with for my own and he rarely had a terrible album (hey Blind Before I Stop is just super 80s and unexpected, but not awful). I managed to see him in concert in Atlantic City during the Bases Loaded Tour in 2006. Damn that was 16 years ago…I’m old.

ANYWAY – most of us should know Meat Loaf either from his own music, acting or of course being Eddie in Rocky Horror Picture Show (the combo platter of music and acting). Now we may not ever know what happened to Saturday night, but let’s see how Meat said goodbye to Bat and to all of us.

Artist: Meat Loaf
Album: Braver Than We Are (2016)
Label: 429 Records
Total Track Time: 74:33

Who Needs the Young starts with an old 50s bandstand kind of swing, but much slower to get across the perspective of old people ragging on the young. So you already can feel the tongue in cheek approach winding up. The vocal delivery is more akin to theater, where every time there’s a short coming of age, there’s a small drop in the beat to insult the young. “My eyes aren’t what they used to be, Blind them!” type of commentary. So it’s really amusing in the vaudeville approach, which we haven’t heard in some time, so it’s very evident Steinman has more say in this album than Bat out of Hell 3 (though I did enjoy that album). Going All the Way is Just the Start (A Song in 6 Movements) we see a lot of history here. The song sounds very Bat out of Hell era and Karla Devito and Ellen Foley are featured on this album. The amusing thing here is there used to be tension between Ellen and Karla. Ellen was the original vocalist that recorded Paradise by the Dashboard Light with Meat, but Karla was the touring singer and in the video. So many people attribute the original vocals to Karla. The fact they all come together for this epic 11+ minute number is just history coming full circle with a beautiful Steinman arrangement. Also given the title, mentions of sins and flesh, plus the album title comes out of the lyrics in this song, it definitely feels like an interesting variation on the Paradise story with all of the “original” people involved. It’s masterfully artistic.

Speaking in Tongues opens with light piano and a gospel choir. This features singer Stacy Michelle who even 6 years later there isn’t a ton of information on her. But it’s a very stripped down, almost hymnal approach until you really break down the lyrics are about desire. Observe the lyrics; “It’s time to start a fire, And I know we’ll make it good, We’re overflowing with desire, You got the spark, I got the wood”. So even with older age, Steinman’s ability to approach raunchy/lewd topics can still come off borderline poetic. Speaking in tongues is much nicer than just flat out saying ‘Oral Sex the Rock Opera’. Loving You’s A Dirty Job (But Somebody’s Gotta Do It) this has Stacy on it again, and we’ve got quite a nice resounding song about persevering through tough times and staying together. These lines kinda get across the whole vibe of the song very well; “There were times when we fought like tigers, There were times we were damn good liars, There were times when we took our chances, There were times we were damn good dancers”. Conceptually seeming dated since many relationships end just because it ‘gets too hard’, but a song like this is pretty wholesome and proves a great mentality that should be more than norm than the exception.

Souvenirs the tempo is slower, but this is a different interpretation of Two out of Three Ain’t Bad. With a great horn section and the tempo slowed down to more of the country western approach Steinman originally went for, it adds new life to the original song and this perspective adjustment. “Step right out you poor little girl, and take your souvenirs”, it’s angry, spiteful and yet still trying to give both sides closure When we get to the fifth verse, it feels almost reflective, like that’s what he wished he said 40 years ago; it also proves as a great way to shift the tone. The feeling of acceptance and understanding is palpable, but still maintaining a small degree of spitefulness is logically petty. Only When I Feel a little interlude getting across a familiar ache of memory. Where things only hurt…when I feel. It’s short, not sweet, but poignant.

More while many may recognize this as a Sisters of Mercy cover, the song was co-written by Steinman. And much like we saw on Bat out of Hell 3 Steinman isn’t beyond giving Meat songs that he wrote for others (or even for Meat that the weird vocal issue period caused him to be unable to sing) as a cover/re-imagining. The heaviness of the song is akin to Monster is Loose from Bat 3. It’s a powerfully greedy and demanding song. Does it feel slightly out of place, in a vacuum, yes; if you look at how this seems to have taken the approach of finishing the Bat series, than it fits right in with the third album, so it’s actually a nice way to acknowledge it since the third album has many mixed feelings from longtime Meat Loaf fans. Godz the theatrical/vaudeville is very apparent in this song, but the way Meat’s voice is mixed in the songs is a little off-putting. Due to how prominent it is even with the backing vocals, instrumentation and cannon noises, it really shows the wear of age. Not the strongest song on the album thus far, but not unlistenable.

Skull of Your Country this is another situation of an older song that Steinman played around with. If I remember correctly this was the original version of Total Eclipse of the Heart. Since Steinman co-wrote Eclipse, they share the,”turn around bright eyes” reprise. But I’m fairly sure that I remember reading that Steinman thought Skull was too dark for what Bonnie Tyler was going for, so he used parts of Skull in Total Eclipse for something more radio friendly. And this is dark, not a bad song, extremely political, but also more generalizing about the direction of the country. Train of Love if the title didn’t get across the teenage horniness this line should get across the point, “You gotta give me a piece of your pie, Cause I been knocking on your window, I been knocking on your door, And I been trying to get myself inside”. It’s a fun Meat Loaf/Steinman song, so there’s no issue there. The vocals do leave a little to be desired (Meat was what, like 67/68 when he recorded these) so given the train on the tracks concept, you’d expect a little more…virility. And these lacks a little in totally driving the song home.

For What it’s Worth is a Buffalo Springfield cover. Given the fact this album came out in 2016, it was a fairly topical cover in a way with people’s opinions being divisive. Also the official album ended at Train of Love but this is the Japanese release with a few bonus tracks. Prize Fight Lover was written during the Hang Cool Teddy Bear era of Meat Loaf (2010) and it has a lot of original Bat elements. It’s lighter, referred to California wind and grabbing the throttle. The guitar isn’t as roaring, but the general progression feels a lot like a Bat Out of Hell homage, which is very appropriate on this album. This song would’ve definitely helped Teddy Bear, since that album was a one of Meat’s more lacking albums in his career. This brings back a lot of great feelings and imagery of Bat Out of Hell. I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) – Orchestral now if you don’t know this song, you must be 13. This revived Meat Loaf’s career in 1993 and made Bat a series to be heralded and looked forward to. This orchestral version has Imedla May doing the female vocals. You can hear this was recorded in Meat’s older years since the orchestral arrangements adds the power his voice has lost with age. It’s still a great rendition, and people still argue over what “that” is nearly 30 years later.

This is a wonderful swan song to Meat’s career, the Bat series that built him and the album art has Jim and Meat walking off. We see a great melding of the trilogy, interesting re-imaginings of Steinman songs that were famous from others or adjusted from the original concept. A great trip down memory lane, with a few reminders that age catches everyone which causes a few hiccups in delivery, but it almost adds to the gimmick. The fact the last few songs are where things started to unravel the most, helps along that idea of saying good bye and everyone gets old and it’s the end of the road.

If you enjoy Meat Loaf’s music, you will really enjoy this album. Trying to remember to be as objective as possible and not heavily biased, it’s a flawed album. But that shouldn’t discredit the fact that it is a beautiful love letter, with even deeper emotion now since he’s gone.

Final Judgment: 7.65/10

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Entertainment

Mitchell’s Hyrule Puro-Resu News Report! (5/9/25)

June will be electric!

Published

1 day ago

May 9, 2025

Steven Mitchell

Prepare for the most electrifying even of the HPW calendar!

While the stage is set for Blood & Thunder 4 and the HPW World Trios Championships, HPW must also address the return of KAGE!

Thundra Plateau is ready.

Wrestling is Life, but life has its stormy weather. The rain is going to be hot in June, but will the reign continue through the Summer? The Dark Forces may have failed to take the Undisputed Triforce World Championship from Zelda, but they still have the World Trios Championships. Harlequin, Lupay & Glutko will step inside the double ring, double cage to defend their gold. On one side, Arrow Club’s special combination of Fin Balure, Torbevito & Bad Croc Scaly. On the other, a new combination of its own in Cia, Lana & Midna.

Speaking of Cia, Lana & Midna…

The three of them are together, dressed in workout attire, in what appears to be a dance studio. This is a collaboration stream for Midna and Lana as they’re both big presences on the internet, aka “influencers.” Lana and Midna wave and say hi, and they give introductions, including Cia, who is reluctant to be standing there. Cia doesn’t know why they need to do this. Lana says they have to improve their teamwork. They may have won against Los Taros Locos, but it was really sketchy there for a second. Midna adds that doing a dance routine together is great for their timing and coordination.

Cia says she didn’t mean that, she meant having to stream it! Oh, well obviously, combining Midna’s viewing audience with Lana’s, and HPW’s overall, this makes huge numbers! So? And huge money…! Cia raises her eyebrow and says, “Oh really?” The trio sets up, and Lana says obviously they first have to learn the steps. Midna brings up, “Wait, what song are we dancing to?” Oh, good point. Lana was thinking something from Lulu. Cia asks, “Lulu? From the Indigo-Go’s?” Midna says Lulu’s got a great solo album. Lana agrees! That’s so great that they like the same music. Cia isn’t as familiar with her solo stuff, so she’ll rely on them for this.

Lana suggests they go with Energetic Me. For one, it has the most energy, duh. And it still has a dance vibe, which is the whole point. Midna says she might’ve gone with Royal Discotheque or Ten Outta Ten, but she sees Lana’s point. Lana shows them the dance moves she has in mind. Left arm up, bent at the elbow, and the hand up against the side of the chest. Then they switch so the right arm goes up to mirror that position while the left hand goes back to the hip. Maybe add a little hip pop as that happens. Do that a couple times, and then turn to the right. This puts the left hand on the back of the hip, right hand on the back of the neck for a sexy pose.

Then you turn to flip it the other way, then do a 360 with a big neck whipping, hair flipping move. Then finish with feet apart and double V’s up by the eyes, maybe with a wink. Cia says, “Yeah, okay…” while Midna says, “I like it!” Midna says she’ll set up in the middle. Cia asks why Midna is in the middle, and Midna says it’s symmetry. She’s the tallest, Cia and Lana are about the same, it makes sense. Yeah, but it also means Midna is the center of attention. Well, that’s just coincidental. Lana says it doesn’t matter, the point is them doing it all in synch. Cia sighs and says, “Fine.” Midna is in the middle, Cia is on her right, and the music plays.

Left arm, right arm, left arm, right arm, pose to the right, pose to the left, 360 spin and neck whip, then double V. Midna nailed it, but Cia was lagging. Cia defends she was not, but Lana says it’s alright, they’ll just keep trying. They run through it a couple more times, they do tighten it up, and all three feel really good about how that went.

The Dark Forces are watching.

They aren’t impressed by the “little dance party.” Harlequin says the Faces of Evil are way better anyway. Especially with the classics like the Thriller dance and Macarena. Zant says, “The Macarena? Pfft, and people think I’m a dork…” Harlequin says, “Don’t you dare mock the Macarena!” Harlequin changes tabs on the computer and starts playing the song! After the introduction, he lifts his right arm up flat, then his left. Then he turns the right hand up, the left hand up, puts his right hand on his left shoulder, left hand on right shoulder, then moves right hand up behind his head, and then his left.

Now his arms crisscross, right hand on left hip and left hand on right hip, to then switch so right hand on right hip and left hand on left hip. And of course, he swivels his hips in one big circle to go with “HEY~ Macarena! AIGHT!” Zant rolls his eyes while Harlequin keeps going, jumping 90 degrees to his left. Ganon walks in, Ghirahim following behind, and he tells Harlequin to “turn that crap off.” Harlequin pouts but he does as told. Ganon seethes as he takes a seat in his big arm chair. “Needless to say… Wrestling is Life didn’t go how I’d hoped. What was Kage even doing there?! Did either of you have any idea he was going to betray us?!”

Zant and Ghirahim are a bit flustered. Zant isn’t even sure Kage was part of The Dark Forces at the time Ganon took ownership. He’d kinda gone rogue at some point, didn’t he? Ghirahim agrees, it didn’t seem like he was even aligned with Cia and the others. All the more reason for Kage to keep his nose out of Ganon’s business! If Kage cared about the Dark Forces, then he would’ve helped them fight back at HyruleMania, or any time since. Kage clearly just wants the title, same as Ganon, so he’s a dead man walking. Speaking of that… Where’s Kevin? He came back in April, why isn’t he here?

Somewhere dark and spooky…

Heavy footsteps can be heard echoing as Kevin Gibdo moves down the hallway. He speaks with a low, airy voice, “Majora… Your madness… spread like wildfire… You thought by setting me ablaze… I would crumble into ash… You were wrong! Instead, I have been purified…! Purged of flaws and weaknesses… I now come forth… as gold!” There’s a light at the end of the hall, and Kevin enters a grand hall, with treasure gleaming in the light. At the center is the sarcophagus. Kevin walks up to it, opens it, and then his burnt and tattered bandages fall away before he steps inside. The sarcophagus closes, then the eyes on it begin to glow… Then the entire thing glows!

The glowing becomes a shining light, and that shining becomes so bright that nothing can be seen. It is clear things between Kevin and Majora are not over. Will the Masked Monster even stand a chance once the Gibdo of All Gibdos is restored to full strength?

Back to the Dark Forces…

Shabonne says, “I’m sure Kevin is just fine doing whatever Gibdos do on their time off.” Tali says, “What matters is what I’m about to do to that tiny little weasel with the Goddess Championship. If The Dark Forces is gonna have all the gold, then I need to squash her like a bug and take that title off of whatever’s left!” Ganon nods and says he likes the initiative. Tali will start on her own Triple Crown as the Dark Forces will make Hyrule Pro-Wrestling their kingdom! The group cheers while raising a toast! And then Harlequin gets Glutko and Lupay to join in on the Macarena, to which Ganon groans and facepalms.

And so, the ThunderStruck card is set!

The double ring, double cage will rattle with Blood & Thunder as the HPW World Trios Championships are on the line! The Gerudo Ace looks to settle a grudge with the Hero’s Shadow! And now, the Million Rupee Championship and HPW Goddess Championships will also be on the line! Will the Dark Forces absolutely dominate the Summer? Be ready to endure the heat on Friday, June 20th!

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

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THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Bandwagon Nerds

Bandwagon Nerds #287: Filling A Void

The Nerds review Thunderbolts*, check out the latest trailers, and celebrate Star Wars Day as only they can!

Published

5 days ago

May 5, 2025

PC Tunney

The Bandwagon is stripped down this week as Dave and PC Tunney helm the ship for a big week in the Nerdosphere. Naturally, we are covering Thunderbolts as Dave, Tunney (and the rest of the Bandwagon, for that matter) all saw the latest entry into the MCU. What was the consensus, and did the longest post-credit scene in MCU history push the Universe in the right direction? In other MCU News, we discovered why Hawkeye had no second season. From there, the guys head into the Trailer Park to look at the latest, including a sizzle reel for Netflix’s TUDUM event, Dwayne “The Rock ” Johnson’s latest movie, The Smashing Machine, and a very creepy look at Weapons. GTA 6 got delayed, again….but could that be a blessing in disguise? But this Episode was recorded on Star Wars Day, and to commemorate the event, Dave tries his best to convince Tunney to watch Andor, while Tunney tells Dave what he likes most about one of the most successful franchises of all time. All that, plus Dave tells you why The Last of Us is the best show anywhere on TV. Dave & Tunney cover a lot of ground in an action-packed episode of BWN, so make sure you tune in!

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PROWRESTLINGTEES.COM/TheChairshot – Makes a GREAT GIFT!!!

About Bandwagon Nerds

Join Patrick O’Dowd, David Ungar, PC Tunney, Rey Cash, and DPP as they keep everyone up on all things nerd and maybe add some new nerds along the way. It’s the Bandwagon Nerds Podcast!