By Jill Diver
Before “Bat Out Of Hell” was released in 1977, Meat Loaf played Eddie the ex-delivery boy in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
The rock-and-roll gig was more successful. “Bat Out of Hell” sold 40 million copies. And it lasted longer, too: Meatloaf is still recording and touring, currently promoting his new album, “Hang Cool Teddy Bear.”
The once super-substantial singer with a knack for a mouthful of lyrics makes a stop at the Meadowbrook Cellular U.S. Pavilion on Saturday, July 3.
In a recent phone interview, Meat Loaf refers to himself as a “kid in a candy store” in regards to his new album.
“It’s that good. It deserves people to hear about it and know about it,” says Meat Loaf, who continues to sell 200,000 copies of “Bat Out of Hell” annually.
“I listened to it and I love it. I played ‘Peace On Earth’ in a car while I was on a set and I had the crew and director around the van, and when it was over a person applauded,” he continues. “The record is so strong, so well produced, there is not a single thing I’d change about this record.”
For longtime fans, Meat Loaf promises plenty of his classics in concert, too.
“We start with old stuff and do new stuff,” he says. “If you’re an artist and you can’t do your old hits, they weren’t worth recording in the first place. … There’s a piece in the show where I do one song from every album I ever wrote including a song I wrote when I was 13.”
Heck, he’ll even be giving “Rocky Horror” a nod. It’s a salute to his start as an actor, though Meat Loaf says he has “changed drastically.”
“I’ve learned if you have strong instincts, you still need to know the technique of things,” he says. “I’ve had vocal and acting coaches my whole life, but I’ve never had a director for a rock show.”
That has changed on his current tour.
“I use the abilities I have around me,” Meat Loaf says. “You just want to get better. It’s all about improvement; it’s about making the shows and acting abilities better.”
Committed to the crafting of his music, he says he believes he should put 100 percent into anything worth doing.
“I don’t ever take anything for the money,” he says. “If I’m going to go do it, I’m serious about it.”
This article ran in the NH Lets Go on June 30, 2010.