Couldn't Have Said It Better
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Could't Have Said It Better | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Meat Loaf | ||
| Released | September 23, 2003 | |
| Recorded | 2001 - 2003 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 55:23 | |
| Label | Polydor, Sanctuary (US) | |
| Producer(s) | Tony Flores, James Michael, Peter Mokran | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Meat Loaf chronology | ||
| VH1: Storytellers (1999) |
Couldn't Have Said It Better (2003) |
Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (2004) |
Couldn't Have Said It Better is a 2003 album by Meat Loaf.
Only for the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman (not counting the bonus tracks). Although Meat Loaf claimed that Couldn't Have Said It Better was "the most perfect album [he] did since Bat Out Of Hell", it wasn't quite as successful.
Three singles were released, "Did I Say That", "Couldn't Have Said It Better" and "Man Of Steel", all with little chart impact. Most of this was caused by extremely poor promotion on behalf of the record company and few actual singles being distributed, especially in the UK - his biggest market. The videos also had low budgets, in stark contrast to his 1990s videos.
However, the album was a minor success worldwide and reached #4 in the UK charts. There were many writers for the album including Diane Warren and James Michael. Diane Warren has written for Meat Loaf in the past and had some very big hits. James Michael had never written for Meat Loaf before and it was only his songs that were released as singles from the album.
Contents |
[edit] Tour
The album was accompanied by a sell out world tour which was used to promote the album and some of Meat Loaf's biggest hits. On November 17, 2003, during a performance at London's Wembley Arena he collapsed with what was later diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The following week he underwent a surgical procedure intended to correct the problem. As a result, Meat Loaf's insurance agency did not allow him to perform for any longer than 1hr 45mins.
Meat Loaf finished his tour and came back two years later for his 'Hair of the Dog That Bit You' world tour, which was a sell out for over 160 concerts. As well as singing all the classics, he sang a cover version of the hit single "Black Betty." During this tour Meat Loaf also sang one of the songs from his upcoming album 'Bat Out of Hell III' called 'Only When I Feel.' He mentioned that this was not one of the most critical songs on the album, and it has since been removed from that album's track listing. Meat Loaf said that this could be his last 'world' tour, and when he came to promote Bat Out of Hell III, he would be doing less than a fifth of the concerts he did on this tour.
[edit] Couldn't Have Said It Better
Several versions of the album have been released, some with bonus-material. Also, the color of the album cover is different in the UK (blue) from the other territories (red).
[edit] Track listing
- Chapter One
- Couldn't Have Said It Better - 7.03 (James Michael / Nikki Sixx)
- Did I Say That? - 6.02 (Michael)
- Why Isn't That Enough? - 4.00 (Jo Davidson)
- Love You Out Loud - 4.10 (Michael / Sixx)
- Man Of Steel / Intermezzo - 6.10 (Michael / Sixx) / (Peter Mokran)
- Chapter Two
- Testify - 4.56 (Kevin Griffin)
- Tear Me Down - 3.37 (Stephen Trask)
- You're Right, I Was Wrong - 3.44 (Diane Warren)
- Because Of You - 3.54 (Rick Jude / Steve Balsamo)
- Do It! - 2.36 (Billy Rankin)
- Forever Young - 5.05 (Bob Dylan)
- Mercury Blues (hidden track) - 3.42 (KC Douglas / Robert L Geddins)
- Bat Out Of Hell (live bonus track) (UK Edition only) - 11.25 (Jim Steinman)
Arranged by Todd Rundgren
Mixed by Peter Mokran
[edit] Personnel
- Meat Loaf — vocals
- Michael Hart Thompson — guitar
- Tim Pierce — guitar
- Peter Mokran — guitar, synthesizer, drum programming
- Kasim Sulton — bass, backing vocals
- Mark Alexander — piano
- Tom Brislin — piano
- Aaron Zigman — piano
- Kenny Aronoff — drums
- John Miceli — drums
- Luis Conte — percussion
- Dan Higgins — penny whistle
- Stephen Erdody — cello
- Tony Flores — poetry
- Pearl Aday — female lead vocals on "Man of Steel," backing vocals
- Patti Russo — female lead vocals on "Couldn't Have Said it Better," backing vocals
- Tanja Reichert — spoken intro on "Man of Steel"
- Giselda Vatcky — spoken breakdown on "Tear Me Down"
- Maxi Anderson — vocals
- Alexandra Brown — vocals
- Lynn Davis — vocals
- James Michael — vocals
- Todd Rundgren — vocals
- Rose Stone — vocals
- Eric Troyer — vocals
[edit] Australian Edition Bonus Special Live CD
The Australian release of Couldn't Have Said It Better included a live bonus disc, compiled by Meat Loaf, including 6 live tracks from the American leg of the 2003 world tour.
[edit] Track listing
- Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back - 6.47 (Steinman)
- Tear Me Down - 4.00 (Trask)
- Love You Out Loud - 4.34 (Michael / Sixx)
- I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) - 10.32 (Steinman)
- Couldn't Have Said It Better - 8.18 (Michael / Sixx)
- Bat Out Of Hell - 11.47 (Steinman)
[edit] Personnel
Musical Director/Producer: Kasim Sulton
- Meat Loaf — vocals, guitar
- Paul Crook — lead guitars
- Randy Flowers — guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
- Kasim Sulton — bass, backing vocals
- Mark Alexander — keyboards, backing vocals
- John Miceli — drums
- Patti Russo — vocals
- Renee Cologne — vocals
[edit] Special Edition Bonus CD
The special editions of the UK and international releases included a bonus disc containing two video clips and a MP3 file from Meat Loaf's 1999 VH1 Storytellers DVD and CD, and the promotional video for Did I Say That.
- I'd Do Anything For Love (video from Meat Loaf Storytellers DVD) - 8.04 (Steinman)
- A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste (video from Meat Loaf Storytellers DVD) - 5.24 (Andrew Lloyd Webber / Steinman)
- Did I Say That (video) - 4.46 (Michael)
- Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad (Meat Loaf Storytellers DVD, MP3 file) - 4.47 (Steinman)
