Meat Loaf - Welcome to the Neighborhood

Meatloaf - Dianne Warren Unleashes Her Hit Making Wrath Upon Meat

After the surprising success of the Bat II album, Meatloaf was back on top playing to huge crowds around the world. For his follow-up album Meat would move away from the Bat concept and also sever most his ties to Jim Steinman (who only writes two songs on this disc). In Steinman's place are several collaborators including cliché ridden hit maker Diane Warren and Sammy Hagar among others. The result is a very average Meatloaf album. Nothing here is horrible, but there is not a lot that stands out either. The albums single I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth) is almost a remake of I Would Do Anything For Love from the Bat II album. It is ok, but we have been down this road before with Meat. Other tracks seem to go over equally uneven ground. I like the song Amnesty Is Granted which is presented as a duet with Sammy Hager. Hager would go on to record this song himself as well, but I like the version here better. If This Is The Last Kiss is typical Dianne Warren mush, but the vocal duet between Meat and Patti Russo brings this one to a much higher level than it would normally be. Where The Rubber Meets The Road is a decent rocker too as is the ballad Not A Dry Eye In The House. One thing that becomes apparent on this disc are the first hints of deterioration in Meatloaf's voice. There are songs on here (especially Martha) that sound like he is completely off key and this somewhat detracts from what is kind of a cool song. Meat's voice is not what it used to be unfortunately. In the end this album is an ok slice of Meatloaf, but does not rank up with his best. October 8, 2007

Meat Loaf Leftovers You'll Savor!

Welcome to the Neighborhood sounds more like Bat Out of Hell than Bat Out of Hell II or III. This is simply a great album. Give it one listen and you'll be hooked on nearly every song. I don't think I've ever felt that way about any other album before. It usually takes repeated listens to fall in love with an album's lesser-known cuts. Not this time. This is vintage Meat Loaf. If you haven't bought Bat Out of Hell III yet, do yourself a favor and skip it... and buy Welcome to the Neighborhood instead. August 31, 2007

great album

i would rate meatloaf albums in this order=bat out of hell one and two are the best followed by bat three,than welcome to the neighborhood,than chsib.his eighties albums did not do much for me at all.i think this is a great album and liked every song.unlike another reviewer i thought his voice is excellent.if you are a meatloaf fan you will love this album.where angels sing is a beautiful song ranking up with heaven can wait. December 24, 2006

Meat is the man!

Great album by a great singer!Most songs are grade A!Meats voice is amazing.These songs are more ballads and rock songs than opera.if stienmans name was slapped on the album this would have been even more popular. November 6, 2006

Welcome to the Neighborhood

This is great album.Of course not better than Bat I and II. But it belongs to the group of his best records. Even it was able to enter top 20 in the USA( I think 17th place and was platinum for almost million sold coppies)and it is not so usual.And for the rest of the world it was big success( in the UK reached 2nd place).The song I'd lie for you is amazing and Original sin too. Meat is really able to make a great album without Jim Steinman( wrote only two songs).

I really recomend this album. October 29, 2006

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