MEAT LOAF – Braver Than We Are (2016)

MEAT LOAF, the rock legend who along with songwriter/producer Jim Steinman broke sales records with the classic multi-platinum albums Bat Out of Hell, announces their reunion on the new album “Braver Than We Are” to ne released next September 16.
The project also showcases another reunion with vocalists Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito (from the smash hit ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’) on the epic song and first single ‘Going All The Way’.

Back in the 70s and 80s, Meat Loaf’s collaborations with Jim Steinman were phenomenally popular, with Bat Out Of Hell becoming one of the most influential and iconic rock albums of all time.
But that was looong time ago…
Put simply… Meat Loaf can’t perform like he used to. The man is sixty-eight years old. His last few albums, 2010’s Hang Cool Teddy Bear and 2011’s Hell In A Handbasket have shown a massive drop in vocal quality. He just can’t belt it out like he used to.

And even worse, the song material on this new album is not memorable at all.
Meat Loaf had already recorded nearly every Steinman song of note, which didn’t leave me with optimism that an entire album of material could be found that lived up to expectations.
And since Steinman has not been actively writing for years, we were bound to do one of Steinman’s favorite tricks; cannibalizing his own catalog.

The ten tracks on the album are mostly songs pulled from musicals Steinman has written, and a rehashing of Bonnie Tyler’s hit ‘Loving You Is A Dirty Job’. That is a frightening thought. Musicals are an entirely different world than rock and roll, and are hard mesh successfully.
Despite having heard these songs before, performed in different guises by different singers, these are uniformly slower, flatter versions that suck the life and energy out of them. As example, ‘More’ wasn’t the greatest song when it was written and demoed for a Batman musical, but in this form it’s even less engaging.

We also get a song written for the defunct project The Dream Engine, ‘Speaking In Tongues’, which is utterly embarrassing for everyone involved. And I’m not sure how I can ever listen to ‘Skull Of Your Country’ without being reminded that it was turned into something so much better in “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”.
I understand Steinman recycles, but leaving in the “turn around bright eyes” motif, when it’s already world famous in another song, is a decision that begs me to compare this album to ones that are worlds better.

But the worst part of all is the sad fact that Meat Loaf can no longer do this music justice. His voice has been declining in recent years, and from what I have heard here, he is beyond repair. His voice is not just rough, but it’s small.
The larger than life character of Meat Loaf has been reduced to a singer who can’t keep up with any of the women guesting on these tracks. He is flat out out-sung not only by them, but in places by his own backup singers. It’s shocking how old he sounds, missing notes and lacking any of the power or passion we’ve come to know from him.
The time for retirement sounds like it’s already passed.

As you may know, we only feature here on this blog what we consider really good albums or at least worth checking. Sometime we do exceptions due the stature of the artist… This is one of those cases.
Meat Loaf is a legend, but this new album is really, really poor. I’m afraid that this album is a sad, sorry ending to a truly legendary collaboration.
Judge by yourself.

01. Who Needs The Young
02. Going All The Way Is Just The Start (a song in 6 movements)
03. Speaking In Tongues
04. Loving You’s A Dirty Job (But Somebody’s Gotta Do It)
05. Souvenirs
06. Only When I Feel
07. More
08. Godz
09. Skull Of Your Country
10. Train Of Love

Pre Order:
www.amazon.co.uk/Braver-Than-We-Are-Explicit/dp/B01GVQWS4C
.