Very good, but not quite great
by pipermacbean on 10/29/24Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center - Red BankRating: 4 out of 5First off, I think performing Meat Loaf's 'Bat Out of Hell' in its entirety (along with other songs from his catalog) is a great idea, and Remember Jones pulls it off with wonderful aplomb... dramatic, energetic and just enough irreverence, without being over the top flamboyant. My issue is with the band. While they were all seemingly capable musicians, there wasn't any dynamic range in their sound... it was as if they all said "let's all just play at the same level and leave it at that". As a result the music just seemed flat... I wasn't excited or drawn in by the music at all... it was just blah. Throughout the whole performance I kept waiting for some part of the music to grab me (I am well acquainted with the album, having been 17 when it came out and buying it on LP). When a guitar part or piano or other keyboards should have been pushed forward it just stayed the same... boring. Don't get me wrong, I love this album, and I think Remember Jones and his back-up singers did a great job (the guy can plain old SING!), but like the title of my review, it was good but not great, because the band was flat.