Songs
While Steinman's fans acclaim it as his biggest musical success, about 70% of the musical score written by Steinman was recycled from his earlier projects, mainly from his less-known shows like The Dream Engine and The Confidence Man (co-written with Ray Errol Fox), although it also features music from his widely known records like "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (remade as "Totale Finsternis"), the melody, but not the lyric, from a Bat Out Of Hell II song called "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" (remade as "Die unstillbare Gier") and "Original Sin", originally written for Pandora's Box album of the same name and later sung by "Meat Loaf" in Welcome to the Neighborhood (parts of which were remade as "Gott Ist Tot" and "Einladung Zum Ball").
Asked at one point to explain this phenomenon, particularly with regard to the re-use of "Total Eclipse," Steinman explained, "That was an accident almost. I'm surprised it stayed in. in Vienna, I had only a month and a half to write this whole show and we needed a big love duet... But with 'Total Eclipse of the Heart,' I was trying to come up with a love song and I remembered I actually wrote that to be a vampire love song. Its original title was 'Vampires in Love' because I was working on a musical of Nosferatu, the other great vampire story. If anyone listens to the lyrics, they're really like vampire lines. It's all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love's place in dark. And so I figured 'Who's ever going to know; it's Vienna!' And then it was just hard to take it out."
Asked about the impact of previously heard songs, especially "Total Eclipse," on the show's popularity in Europe, Steinman replied, "Well, the reaction, at least in Europe, was great. They recognized it, but then it seems - if it's done well - to take on a different personality."
Read more about this topic: Dance Of The Vampires
Famous quotes containing the word songs:
“The militancy of men, through all the centuries, has drenched the world with blood, and for these deeds of horror and destruction men have been rewarded with monuments, with great songs and epics. The militancy of women has harmed no human life save the lives of those who fought the battle of righteousness. Time alone will reveal what reward will be allotted to women.”
—Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928)
“We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage
And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die,
We Poets of the proud old lineage
Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why,”
—James Elroy Flecker (1884–1919)