Meat Loaf

Welcome To The Neighborhood

Come back to our neighborhood , Meat Loaf !

Review Score:

(8/10)
Six years have passed since the 14th of November 1995 , the date this album was released . During this long period of time , Meat Loaf hasn't introduced anything new for the awaiting fans . This fact saddens me quite a bit , for I admire his music so much . I remember waiting eagerly for "Welcome To The Neighborhood" , after I'd come to know and love the two "Bat Out Of Hell" albums .

I also remember that I warned myself not to expect too much , because I knew it was hard to repeat a major success like that the one "Bat II" had accomplished . Nevertheless , as soon as it had hit the stores I was the first to purchase the much awaited product , because I'm still a loyal fan . At first listen , as I expected , it wasn't as catchy as its predecessor , but I wasn't worried , after a few more cycles of listening the good songs just couldn't get out of my head , rerunning for days (and nights) .

I've read some reviews claiming that Meat tried to threepeat his former major successes without Steinman , and failed to achieve it - I disagree ; In the album itself , Steinman himself indeed is not as dominant as before in the writing rubric , conducting only two songs - 'Original Sin' and 'Left In The Dark'. However , that doesn't say anything about the level of the other songs present . Anyway , 'Left In The Dark' is one of the best in the album , very touchy and sad , and I recall that while being a rookie in the army in '96 I was humming this song over and over to 'pass the time' in all the long shifts of guarding ...

As for the other songs - 'Not A Dry Eye in The House' is remarkable, and seems like a natural follow-up to 'Left In The Dark' , even though not written by Steinman . This song together with 'I'd Lie For You' really managed to recapture the magic of the melodramatic, grandiose and philharmonic rock ballads that Meat had created along with Steinman in ,for instance , 'I'd Do Anything For Love'(II) and 'For Crying Out Loud'(I) . Now , if this is not a testimony that Meat can manage without steinman , what is ? At the same breath, 'Martha' and 'Where Angels Sing' caught a glimpse of the more subtle , tender ballads, like 'Lost Boys and Golden Girls' (II) and 'Heaven Can Wait'(I) , representing the gentle side of Meat Loaf, showing how delicate the man can become .

As always , the hard rock songs exist in the shape of 'Where The Rubber Meets The Road' and 'Running For The Red Light', to name the better ones . Altogether, they are acceptable and even audible , but at the same time, represent the weaker part of the album .

All in all , the album worth the money , and I've never regretted buying it . It's a pity Meat's decided to focus his artistic efforts on motion pictures , and to completely neglect his vocal talent . Therefore , I would like to address the admired artist , and say : Meat , if you ever read this , know that my brother and I will be waiting for your new releases , and the sooner - the better . Your star still shines !

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