Meat Loaf, Wembley Arena

No doubt that the big man pleased the crowd last night. The arena was full of the faithful, singing along as instructed. Lotta love out there - a lot of it quite young love as well amongst all the old rockers. Despite occasionally failing to make it all the way to the high notes Meat put on a Hell of a show. the kitch inflatables were priceless... Not bad for an old bike with some seriously rough miles on the clock.

To me Meat is at the top of his consderable game on this tour, singing better than he has in years. His vocals are amazing and confident, and I heard no "out of tune" notes .. his final "dashboard liiiight" at the end of the second verse of Paradise was delivered at he top of his range faultlessly .. and Paradise is meant to be pantomime :) That's the joy and spectacle of a Meat Loaf show. He moves round the stage with an energy that would defeat many much younger performers .. Meat always gives it his all, and this time he and a superb band are having fun with fresh new arrangements, and Meat clearly delights in their skill. (It's PAUL Crook btw). I've rarely seen Meat and his band have such fun, and I've not missed a tour since 1978. Still packed with emotion .. never confuse passion with struggle or trying too hard, he wrings every last drop of emotion in every song, and last night delighted an audience which spanned the age groups with a brilliant blend of classics and fresh new songs from his new album which is imo his masterpiece .. Meat finally unleashed to go wherever his musical creativity wants to run .. and that's some distance! Yes, it was a hell of a show .. and a supercharged bike that has the Meat of yester-year slam dunking a hands down winner!!

Great article Russ.