This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Along with one of the weirdest names in show biz, Meat Loaf has had one of the weirdest careers: Cast member of Hair and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, operatic rock star, dramatic actor and, most recently, author. Which makes him perfect for the TV concert series Storytellers, in which performers talk about their songs and career between numbers.
Not surprisingly, Meat doesn’t disappoint, offering up tales of his early days — meeting collaborator Jim Steinman, auditioning for perplexed record executives, recording his iconic and career-defining Bat Out Of Hell album — amid crisp versions of Paradise By The Dashboard Light and Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad. Heck, he even explains what “that” is in I’ll Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That). The only thing he doesn’t do is discuss his Rocky Horror days. Then again, his old boss, chrome-domed Rocky creator Richard O’Brien, isn’t dwelling in the past either. At least, not his own past. The former Riff Raff does a time warp back to the torch song era on Absolute O’Brien, jazzily crooning love ballads in front of a backdrop of smooth pop wallpaper. Of course, O’Brien is a long way from your average tunesmith — these demonically demented ditties have all the smooth malevolence of lounge numbers from hell, with lines like “Maybe I’m a demon, maybe I’m just dreamin’.” And as he suavely intones, “Let me be your incubus of love,” the words rocky horrorshow can’t help but spring to mind.
