Album Review: Bad For Good by Jim Steinman

You may not know songwriter Jim Steinman’s name, but you know his music. "I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)," "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights," "Total Eclipse Of The Heart." Bat Out Of Hell is the number two selling album of all time and the only top ten album written completely by one person. His most successful collaboration has been with Meat Loaf, but he has also worked with Bonnie Tyler, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and many more.

After the success of Bat Out Of Hell, Meat Loaf and Steinman were working together on a follow-up. Meat Loaf lost his voice, and Steinman himself recorded the album. Many of the tracks on this album would be rerecorded later by Meat Loaf and other artists.

I love Jim Steinman’s work. His Wagnerian rock sound is so powerful, and his lyrics spellbounding. But while he’s a great songwriter, he isn't a great singer. I don’t really fault him. He doesn’t have a bad voice. Softer songs, like "Surf’s Up,” demonstrate this. It is just that his voice doesn’t match his songs. Steinman’s powerful songs require powerful voices, like Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler’s. His music needs the Wagnerian operatic vocals to convey the power of his songs. Bad For Good delivers the rock, but not the Wagner. At least, not vocally.

This album has grown on me the more I listen to it. Not all songs have been rerecorded, so this is the only place to find them. "Dance In My Pants" recalls the "duet of the sexes" of "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights" and is a fun, and funny, song. The title track is my favorite. "Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through" is a testament to the power of music

I'd recommend the Meat Loaf versions of the songs on this album, but if you like Steinman’s music, check this one out.

Album Review: The Best! ~Updated Morning Musume~

Remixes and cover versions of classic songs can be a double-edged sword. It’s exciting to hear a new take and compare it to the original. On the other hand, why bother changing a classic? It was with this mindset that I was a little hesitant about Morning Musume’s latest album The Best! ~Updated Morning Musume~.

Morning Musume has an ever-changing line-up, constantly adding and losing members. Two and half years is the longest the group has had a steady streak. This approach means there is always fresh blood coming to the group. It is exciting to meet the new members (Ikuta Erina, Suzuki Kanon), but it also sad when you lose your favorite members (Kamei Eri, Ishikawa Rika). The point of the updated album was to redo their classic songs in the modern style, a dance/electronica mix, with the most current generation of Morning Musume. 

Upon a first listen, I wasn’t impressed with the album. But the more I listened, the more I liked the new versions. Classics like Love Machine and The Peace!have gotten make-overs without really losing the energy that makes them such great songs. The slower songs Aruiteru and I Wish, don’t quite fit the new sound but are interesting. That Tsunku can take his songs, some almost 15 years old, and make them fresh and exciting is a testament to his music prowess. It is nice hearing the new members singing the old songs and seeing what they bring to the table. 

My biggest disappointment with the album is not the updated songs themselves but the song selection. The album consists of 13 updated songs, one new single, and one album-only song. The majority of the newest incarnation of Morning Musume debuted with the single Maji Desu Ka Ska. Six of the thirteen songs came after that single and featured the majority of the newest members. I would have liked to have seen all the updated song be ones that didn’t feature the newest members when it first debuted. There are quite a few they could have chosen; I would have loved to have heard new versions ofFurusato (another slow song that would have balanced the other songs’s faster pace), Resonant Blue, and even a new version of Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari. That song is a ‘members introduction’ song, telling about everyone in the group. With so many new members, an updated version would have been great. There are still so many others like As For One Day and Shabondama. The six songs after Maji Desu Ka Ska are already so similar in style to the updated classics that I really wondered why they were chosen.

This is not their best (no pun intended) album but it does grow on you. While I would have preferred more old classics son choices, they did pick some good ones and the new sound is interesting. I recommend it.

Thanks for reading.