Professor Stewart Thompson
As a professional musician I’ve grown familiar with the sad loss of those I respect within our ranks, especially composers. In my working life time I can name John Joubert, Malcolm Arnold, Ligeti, Maurice Jarre, Berio, Boulez, Hans Werner Henze, George Lloyd and John Barry as just some of those who I grew up listening to who passes away and took with them a part of the musical landscape of my youth. Yet the death of Jim Steinman in early April hit me more personally than any of those ‘classical’ composers I greatly admire.
On a technical level there is much to admire in his work as both a composer and orchestrator. From the simple pared back piano writing in Heaven Can Wait (https://youtu.be/VJKm0KxQ2L4) through to the sheer scope of what is, in my view his most ambitious and intriguing work, the concept album Pandora’s Box (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgTuqYmVDUry21IKPG3dDBLqgKOXl7TrD) his self declared love of Wagner and musical theatre (he was writing musicals while a student) is visible in the sheer theatricality of the music. Add in the raw energy of rock n roll and you have a heady mix. His own view on it was simple
“I was listening to them at the same time,” he said in a 1996 interview. “I would go from Tosca to Little Richard, and they always felt related. Both rock and opera are self-dramatizing. They can be majestic and silly at the same time. I love the fact my own stuff is both silly and ecstatic.” (Hinckley)
However what might be considered is why a composer who frequently write about eternal youth, the darker side of human nature and living in the moment is appropriate for consideration here. Musically speaking there is superficially a disparate mix within his output that seems to have as it’s unifying feature an over the top, ear filling production that takes Phil Spectors renowned Wall of sound (See Quinn, 2019 for a detailed look at this iconic production technique) and pushes every boundary beyond the limits, much as Wagner brushed aside convention in his operatic experiments. Yet not only does this belie the fact that in many of the works there is the best material in the more restrained moments, in some cases songs, others certain passages. However the reality is more nuanced, subtler and more spiritual than often considered.
Yes, I love the amazing production, the fabulous songwriting (no one will ever convince me that It’s All Coming Back to Me Now is not one of popular music’s greatest works), arrangements and orchestrations that match Strauss and Berlioz for sheer bombast and variety. The vocals are in many cases also some of the most iconic on disc. The Bat Out of Hell album features Meatloaf in his prime on every track with Ellen Foley a totally equal partner. Bad For Good combines Steinmans own iconoclastic voice on most tracks but one of the most outstanding vocals features Rory Dodd on Surfs Up. My personal favourite of the Steinman composed albums, Pandora’s Box is a post modernist car crash of rock, poetry, appropriation and quotation in a heady mix that shouldn’t work. Yet it does and explores the concept in a manner worthy of Laurie Anderson. The approach of importing popular material for use with a higher purpose does of course hark back at least as far as Palestrina and in the best of Steinmans work there lies underneath something of a greater depth. There is a questioning of more than the just general impression of youthful passion, memories of teenage nights, angst and regret. Look at the broader picture and the questions Steinman addresses and you find a far more different story.
The underlying subjects he repeatedly engaged with are, without fail relating to human mortality, life lived either without hope of redemption or of damnation brought on by the human condition. There is a constant dichotomy between acceptance of mankind’s inherent sinful nature, bound for eternity to fail and striving to he more than we are. The very core tenet of Christianity, that we are on our own fated to sin is found in nearly every single song of Steinmans and possibly nowhere more overtly than his musical Tanz der Vampires.
The villain in this adaption of Polanski’s film, in a typically over the top Steinman interpretation is Count von Krolock and on the surface he embodies all of the features listed above. However in his primary solo song, Endless Appetite (https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=QcZP9BFL0TI&feature=share) the futility of his existence and the need for something more than a hollow eternity of pleasure arises.Regret for centuries of failing to hold back his animalistic nature, an appreciation of the beauty of innocence, a recognition of man’s lack of self control in the face of desire is confronted head on. Perhaps the most telling lyric is the description of the “split runs through my very soul”. Krolock is in essence a metaphor for mankind when turned loose without an ability to maintain themselves. Like Faust in Gounods once loved opera, Steinman isn’t afraid to admit that mankind is, by its very nature a creature dominated by wild urges which are almost impossible to control. Like the finest of the many works of art exploring mankind the impression is that we are inherently flawed beyond our control yet there is within us, possibly in a nod to that most peculiar branch of Christian belief Gnosis, a spark of something higher. While no one would ever propose that even in his most overtly inspired compositions Steinman was attempting to write sacred music, his passionate belief in something more than we are shines through. It may not be focused or entirely clear in the manner of his belief but then again, is there anyone who can truly say they are sure of exactly what and how they believe? All I can say is that every time I hear his work I not only love it is as a musician but that it’s pretty reassuring that someone who materially had it all is honest enough to keep asking for 50 years about what comes next.
Bibliography
Hinckley, D. Forgive me https://dhinckley.medium.com/father-forgive-me-for-i-liked-some-jim-steinman-records-e6922f59de51
Quinn, S. Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound Masters Thesis
Dr. Stewart Thompson is Head of Sacred Music and Associate Professor of Sacred Music at JHPCU. His research interests include musical theatre and orchestration merging classical techniques with popular arranging. He is currently researching the early years of the Guild of Church Musicians.
He can be reached directly on stewartthompson@pestalzzi.university.