The first several times that I listened to The Circle, I had the nagging feeling that the song ‘Fast Cars’ reminded me of another song, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. After awhile, I just put it out of my mind. It wasn’t hard to do, since I really don’t like ‘Fast Cars’ at all.
Today I happened to be listening to Bat Out of Hell II, and it finally hit me. The song that I was thinking of was ‘Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are’. The overall theme–cars as a metaphor for life–is identical, and some of the sound of the songs are the same, especially in the verses, where Meat Loaf tones it down into a more regretful tone and keyboards play a big part in both songs.
It also explains a lot about why I had such a heavy dislike of ‘Fast Cars’. At some subconscious level, I think I was comparing it to Objects, and it didn’t compare well. The Meat Loaf song handles the metaphor in a far more delicate and sensitive manner, whereas the Bon Jovi song kind of beats it to death. ‘Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are’, on the other hand, deftly weaves the automobile narrative through the stories of the verses and builds it up naturally straight into the chorus where it comes to fruition.
Also, Meat Loaf stays true to his own style in Objects–even if I didn’t know who had recorded it, I could have identified it in just one listening. ‘Fast Cars’, on the other hand, could have been recorded by any of the many interchangeable mediocre rock bands that are around right now. Nothing about this sounds distinctly Bon Jovi, other than Jon’s occasional raspy moment in the verses.
It’s true that the Meat Loaf song is far darker than the Bon Jovi one. That’s appropriate, as the rest of The Circle is structured to deliver a hopeful message. However, it’s somehow strange that the darker song is the one that delivers the bigger, stronger chorus, with a far bigger hook. ‘Fast Cars’ never delivers the punch in the same way that Objects does. Never mind the fact that one of the biggest shaping influences of the Bon Jovi style–Richie Sambora’s guitar skills–are almost completely absent from ‘Fast Cars’.
Some might argue that Meat Loaf’s style is emblematic of what Bon Jovi used to be, and I’m living in the past. But if that’s the case, and Bon Jovi has “matured”, why is it that the lyrics that Jim Steinman wrote for Meat Loaf handle the same metaphor with far more subtlety and elegance?