Customer Reviews

Welcome to the Neighborhood

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here we are with a post-Bat II Meat Loaf album that isn't Bat Out Of Hell III, so it is basically asking the question - is `Bat Out Of Hell' the only thing that makes Meat Loaf music sell?
The answer, according to the charts at least, is no. Welcome To The Neighbourhood is not a Bat Out Of Hell album - in fact, only two songs on it are written by Jim Steinman, the architect of Bat Out Of Hell I and II, but this is - regardless - one of Meat's best LPs of all time.

The double record or single CD album kicks off with Where The Rubber Meets The Road. This is a brilliant track written by Paul Jacobs and Sarah Durkee, who Meat Loaf fans may recognise as the minds behind the 1984/85 hits Modern Girl and Piece Of The Action, as well as the majority of the album Bad Attitude. It's a brilliantly written song which is somewhat tongue-in-cheek and definitely controversial - the way Meat Loaf music so has the potential to be.

I'd Lie For You (And That's The Truth) took the UK charts by storm - this beautiful ballad by Dianne Warren is a great duet which really shows off female singer Patti Russo's talent. She is also showcased elsewhere on the album. This single went no.2.

If you liked the `Bat Out Of Hell' albums, then the next track should be right up your alley. Original Sin is by Jim Steinman and was originally released in 1989 on the album of the same name by female quartet `Pandora's Box'. This short-lived group had some great songs on their one and only album, and Original Sin is definitely one that is worth of recognition.

Simple little ditty 45 Seconds Of Ecstasy is a bit of a let down after the spectacular song that precedes it, but if you are disappointed by it, then don't worry - the track that follows will inspire you to continue on with the album anyway. Running For The Red Light, written by a variety of composers including Meat Loaf himself, is a brilliant rock track that is comparable to classics like Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries and, particularly, All Revved Up With No Place To Go.

Keyboarder Jeff Bova wrote the instrumental Fiesta and it is featured here, played entirely on keyboard and keyboard programming - supposedly. I'm not sure I believe that, but you never know nowadays.

One thing no Meat Loaf album could possibly be without is a moving ballad of some kind. Well, this one's packed with them. The culmination of the first half of the album is Jim Steinman's classic Left In The Dark. Though Steinman did it a lot better on the 1981 album Bad For Good, it is very well performed here by Meat, although it critically lacks the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, which is possibly what made the Steinman original so good in the first place.

Dianne Warren's second contribution to the album comes in the form of Not A Dry Eye In The House, the second single and a ballad of epic proportions, not that different from I'd Lie For You, in fact. The video clip to this song was filmed in a historically maintained London theatre and looks absolutely brilliant.

To show that not only females can sing duets, Meat Loaf teams up with songwriter Sammy Hagar to perform Hagar's brilliant Amnesty Is Granted, a great rock track that keeps the spirit of the album up between ballads. It is followed immediately by If This Is The Last Kiss (Let's Make It Last All Night), which is basically I'd Lie For You chapter II, as it is not only by Dianne Warren, but it is also a Patti Russo duet and is basically the same content matter.

Martha is a classical ballad which has been brilliantly rendered by Meat and the Neverland Express, as it is undeniably a great song, but it is perhaps one of the lesser tracks on an album packed to overflowing with great songs.

All good Meat Loaf records need a nice, calming track to close them out, and there have been some great ones in there - For Crying Out Loud, Everything Is Permitted, Fallen Angel, Sailor To A Siren, Rock 'n' Roll Hero and Lost Boys And Golden Girls - so whatever got the job of closing out Welcome To The Neighbourhood would want to be something pretty special. And it is - Where Angels Sing is a track on comparable grounds with For Crying Out Loud which is the best piano ballad of all time, so that's really saying something.

So there's no Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad, and a distinct lack of I'd Do Anything For Love (Although this time around, Meat will Lie For You), but who cares? Meat Loaf had quite a successful career through the `80s with other composers, and he has continued that glorious tradition here. A must have album.

I loved it from start to finish!

This album is a rollercoaster ride through a 1940's neighbourhood, based on the true detective novels. The story of someone's life. Except the someone is you, the listener. From the opening car chase extravaganza "Where The Rubber Meets The Road" to the carnaval street party and the intimate moments afterwards in "Left In The Dark". Ron Nevisons sweeping production is captivating, although its still even more fun if you use the album in your own situation.

Two Steinman tracks, "Original Sin" and "Left In The Dark". Only slightly dissapointing song is "Runnin For The Red Light" but Meat Loafs vocal, as extraordinary as its ever been, will blast you out of the mundane.

There are more bonus's. Patti Russo duets with Meat. Her voice does wonders in every situation. Even when you open the sleeve notes you are presented with fascinating and marvellous images.

Superb!! I love it to bits, and believe that even if it did sell as much as Bat out Of Hell, Welcome To The Neighbourhood would still be under-rated.

Let's face it, Jim Steinman is the main driving force behind Meat Loaf. Jim Steinman+Meat Loaf=unstoppable. Jim Steinman-Meatloaf=still doing good. Meat Loaf-JimSteinman=average to mediocre. Without Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf flat out looses a great chunk of the intensity he has while working with Steinman. Surprizingly, Original Sin, one of the few Steinman songs on here, was one of the bigger dissapointments. He didn't have anywhere near the energy of Pandora's Box or even Taylor Dayne while doing this song. That in no way means the album was all bad. I'd Lie For You in particular is just as good as many of Meat's other songs. Where The Rubber Meets the Road, Runnin For the Red Light and Not a Dry Eye are all very well done and worth the album cost in themselves. Other songs: Left in the Dark (another Steinman dissapointment), Martha (ugh), and Where Angels Sing are better off skipped. It's an over all mediocre album with a bare minimum of good songs to actually make it worth picking up.

I bought this CD at a music store today when I went there to sell a large collection of CDs and as they were going through my collection I had time to browse around their store. Being a huge Meatloaf fan this CD caught my eye as the price was a mere $2.99. I'd heard of this CD but never bothered to buy it or listen to it before. Frankly, I didn't think this CD would be that good because it's more obscure compared to some of his other work. I've always loved Meatloaf's ballads as opposed to his more 'hard rock' songs. Meatloaf sings ballads in such a tender, heartfelt way that you can't help but be moved by them. This CD has its share of ballads and the track list is an impressive 12. My personal favorites are: 'Left In The Dark', 'Not A Dry Eye In The House', 'Martha', & 'Where Angels Sing'. If you're a Meatloaf fan this CD is a MUST HAVE. It's a budget priced CD when purchased new and you can get it super cheap if you buy it used (I've seen it as low as 4 cents online). Also, with the exception of tracks 4 & 6 all of the songs are fairly long (track 7 at 7:11 being the longest). I highly recommend it!

When I first saw this album and saw the words "Songs by Jim Steinman" missing from it, my first thought was, "uh-oh"! But with the help of two Steinman songs (Original Sin and Alone in the Dark) and three Dianne Warren songs (I'd Lie For You, Not A Dry Eye in The House, and If This is The Last Kiss), it has a great deal of talent supporting it.

One reviewer commented that Diane Warren is no Jim Steinman, which is true, but she is still very talented. Meat Loaf does need Steinman, but he does have some life without him!

The best songs are of course the 5 songs by Steinman and Warren I listed above, two of which appeared on his Very Best Of" album in 1998. Sammy Haggar's "Amnesty is Granted" is far from great, but is interesting. This album reminds me much of Meat's 1984 album, "Bad Attitude, which is his only other good album that is not entirely the creation of Steinman.

These two works prove that over the years Meatloaf has grown as an artist and has perhaps even learned from Steinman! ALL IN ALL, A GOOD SOLID ALBUM THAT IS A MUST FOR ALL MEATLOAF, STEINMAN, AND WARREN FANS. One thing overlooked on about this album is the successful teamwork of Steinman and Warren, even though it is indirect since neither produces it.

I would like to see Jim Steinman and Dianne Warren work together on a future Meatloaf album with more titles written by each and produced by Steinman.

The title to this review says it all. The music is great. All the composers involved try to stay in the signature Steinman sound, yet they all have their individual differences. The problem with this album does not lie with the producers, composers or instrumentalists, it lies with Meat himself. It almost sounds painful to hear him try and sing. His voice is not what it used to be. His age shows especially as you listen to songs, such as Martha and Where Angels Sing, as he gasps for air and can barely squeak out many of the higher parts. Operatic, thunderous voice, not here folks. If you want a newer album of his that is good, buy Couldn't Have Said it Better. Totally different voice.

3.5 stars. The sentimental joy of Bat Out of Hell I and II are not quite here in this release. Diane Warren has a strong piece MeatLoaf with "I'd Lie for You" and Jim returns for a couple good tracks here as well. I was hoping for a monumental follow-up to Bat II here (hard to do) but had to settle for a little less. There are some great tracks with superb performances on this record including the aforementioned however just not much else besdies them.

For Meat Loaf records, this is one of his best. I rank Meat Loaf records.
Bat Out of Hell II
Bat I
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Bad Attitude
Dead Ringer
Blind While I Sleep
Midnight at the Lost and Found

Have not listened to Couuldve Said It Better

Considering that I've spent the past several years listening to the absolute intensity of "Bat Out of Hell II", this CD didn't quite blow me away. However, I soon realized how great it was when I compared it to most everything else that's done by everyone else other than Meat Loaf. This CD is a prime example of material you listen to all day, and also stuff you'll always skip over after only listening to it twice (if more than once). To elaborate what exacly I mean, I'll have to break this CD down fully. Hell, there's only 12 tracks.

The songs "Martha" and "Where Angels Sing" are examples that you only listen to a couple of times and never again. While not generally bad, they just don't seem to deliver enough emotion, nor do they seem to try to emit the emotion that we listeners want to feel. We listen to Meat Loaf whenever we want to feel the power of love, or strong portrayals of lust, frustration or sadness; we just don't like Meat Loaf singing about sentimentality very much. However, "Fiesta De Las Almas Perdidas" and "45 Seconds of Ecstasy" are the examples of songs you only hear once in your life simply because they are awful songs. You can tell that they would be considering Meat Loaf isn't in either one.

Going up a decent notch are the few examples of songs that are neither awful or great. They're IMO "Original Sin" and "Amnesty is Granted". I listen to those songs occasionally, for they are quite decent songs, but both deliver a nice amount of emotion and leave the listener pleading for more. "Original Sin" is a really heavily done song, just stangely not done quite right; maybe because the metaphor that Steinman was stating was unclear. And what's the big problem with "Amnesty is Granted" is that it opens with THE MOST INCREDIBLE guitar riff ever, but the rest of the song is quite lacking in comparison. Another that seems to fit in the middle would be "Running for the Red Light", but I feel that it's because it's a totally loose style, totally void of heavy emotion, but is still fun to listen to.

"Left In the Dark" is a nice song, full of emotion, and clever lyrics. Like in the old "Bat Out of Hell" song, you mainly hear the same lyrics a couple of times, but unlike the old Meat Loaf classic, no new lyrics come in later, and you notice the second time that the lyrics are the exact same. At least the music increases in intensity beautifully, but that's the main reason for liking this song. "Not a Dry Eye" and "Where the Rubber Meets the Road" are another notch up in the right direction, and always cool to listen to. Both feature the right amounts and portrayal styles of emotion.

However, "If This is the Last Kiss" and "I'd Lie for You and That's the Truth" really steal the show. The only problems with them is that "If This Is Our Last Kiss" is that it is less than five minutes, and "I'd Lie for You and That's the Truth" is a bit ackward because Meat Loaf generally portrays love as a very painful thing of heartbreak, but here it's righteous praise.

However, maybe this did take a long time, but at least I think I covered it well. If you want another mind blowing thing from Meat Loaf, this isn't quite it, but if you just want nic amounts of emotion and rock music, look no further.

Actually I quite like this album. There are a couple of real clunkers (eg. "Runnin' For the Red Light"), but parts of it really soar. Strangely, the two recycled Steinman songs are the least interesting on the album. (I actually prefer Steinman's own version of "Left In The Dark".) The Sammy Hagar song is a lot of fun, with a late-Elvis feel, and if Meat was ever gonna do a Tom Waits song, well, "Martha" (a longing for lost young love) is the one. Not a classic, but a solid album nevertheless.

Meat Loaf's problem isn't that he puts out hugely successful albums impossible to top such as the two Bat albums, his problem is that he tried to top BOTH of them with barely any help from Jim Steinman, the man who made it all happen.

With Dead Ringer(The little known second album in 1981), Steinman was forced to write the material in 6 weeks and wasn't even allowed to produce. With Welcome to the Neighborhood, Meat tries to give off the image that he really DOES have his OWN identity, and he isn't just Jim Steinman's creation. Sadly, he is Jim Steinman's creation, and you just shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you like he has done so often.

Some tracks are actually quite good. The opener, When the Rubber Meets the Road, is easily the best song on the album. 'Runnin for the Red Light' is a great basic rocker (despite openly copying the Easybeat's 'Good Times'), and Sammy Hagar's 'Amnesty is Granted' does well. However, the songs that openly try and clone Steinman's style are inexcusable.

Diane Warren is NOT Jim Steinman. This is quite evident on her three songs. Ick. Even the Steinman songs on the album (Original Sin and Left in the Dark) are rendered far, far inferior to the original McCoy thanks to one Ron Nevison. The Loaf completley misinterprets LitD, (for the version we were supposed to hear, pick up Steinman's Bad for Good) and Original Sin lacks any trace of the all-out power it had on the little-known Steinman project 'Pandora's Box'.

All in all, WTTN is a good album, but a subpar Meat Loaf album. Not an essential buy for this man's catalogue by any means, but it's certainly not his worst effort either. He just needs to recognize that he needs Steinman, and all will be well.