“It was just dehydrated,” Meat Loaf said about his June 2016 onstage collapse, on a September 12 appearance on Fox & Friends
Meat Loaf’s Braver Than We Are album arrived September 16, 2016, and it continued a busy, headline-grabbing year for the classic rock star. To support the new release, Meat made a slew of TV and radio appearances, including Fox & Friends, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, The Big Interview with Dan Rather, PBS’ Metro Focus, CNBC’s Closing Bell and many more, as well as multiple shows on SiriusXM and The Alan Colmes Show on Fox News Radio.
On his September 13 appearance on The Today Show, Meat revealed: “This is my last record.” When the Today interviewers pressed him for more, he said: “Yeah, I’m positive. I had knee surgery. I used to run onstage and can’t run anymore and it drive me nuts.” The interview ended abruptly when the show credits ran. Whether it means he’s retiring from music altogether was unclear.
You may recall, at a concert performance on June 16 in Edmonton, Canada, the performer collapsed onstage in the middle of his show-stopping song “I’d Do Anything for Love.”
The New York Post was a little premature on Meat Loaf’s condition following his June 16, 2016 onstage collapse
Related: Meat Loaf collapses onstage
The New York Post was a bit premature on pronouncing the man dead.
He talked about the collapse on Fox & Friends earlier today (September 12). “It was just dehydration; no big deal,” said Meat. See the full interview below.
Working closely again with his Bat Out Of Hell collaborator Jim Steinman, the release includes ten songs. The singer had previously touted the long-delayed album in 2014.
The tracks on Braver Than We Are were written by Steinman. While Paul Crook produced the album, Steinman acted as creative consultant throughout the recording process working alongside Crook and Meat Loaf sending suggestions, adding verses and contributing opinions on every aspect.
The first single, “Going All The Way,” features another reunion: Meat Loaf is joined by vocalists Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito, decades after he collaborated with them on the smash hit “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.”
Related: Meat Loaf returns to concert stage
Watch Meat Loaf’s appearance on Fox & Friends on September 12, 2016…
On June 23, Meat Loaf wrote on his Facebook page: “To all of you who really like it , I say thank you very very much , to those who won’t really listen . Nothing new to Jim and I . everyone dismissed Bat for almost 10 months . In fact they hated it . Some still do which is fine . You either hate it or love it . That is the way it should be !! Jim and I are fine with this . This album is great piece of work and Jim and I love the record along with Paul . If we didn’t know one else could like it at all !! We make records we have to Love . AS Jim has said it has our History in the album !! It comes full circle . You will find out when you hear all the songs . Where some very famous lines you know very well came from !! M”
On June 26, Steinman released a statement (at left), which read in part: “Hearing it in its entirety – I can honestly say it’s one of the GREATEST works of ART I’ve ever been involved in! Nothing amazes me more than to end up with a record that, for me, stands with the top ten recordings of ALL TIME!!”
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Braver Than We Are Song Listing:
Who Needs The Young
Going All The Way (Is Just The Start)
Speaking in Tongues
Loving You’s a Dirty Job (But Somebody’s Gotta Do It)
Souvenirs
Only When I Feel
More
Godz
Skull of Your Country
Train of Love
In a career spanning over four decades, Braver Than We Are is Meat Loaf’s fourth album featuring songs exclusively written by Jim Steinman. A painting featuring the two of them together for the first time is on the album cover. Their hugely successful collaborations – 1977’s Bat Out of Hell and 1993’s Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell – together have sold a reported 67 million copies.
The album marks the singer’s first since 2011’s Hell in a Handbasket. It’s his first new recording with Steinman since 1995’s Welcome to the Neighbourhood which contained two Steinman compositions.
“It’s a tribute to Jim Steinman really,” said Meat Loaf. “It’s a tribute to both of us and our work together.”
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationThis article, like many leading up to this album’s release, completely discounts the existence of “Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose,” which incorporated seven Steinman compositions. An artist’s reported dislike for an album is no reason to utterly deny its existence.