The Very Best of Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 24, 1998)
• Original Release Date: November 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000DHR9
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,919 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classics Repackaged with 3 new songs, October 20, 2000

By	Brett D. Cullum (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This album is pretty much a career retrospective on Meat Loaf, and the choices of songs are obviously the hits. You get a lot off both BAT OUT OF HELLs, and some selected tracks off the other albums. Interestingly there is an alternative mix of "Life is a Lemon", and it makes that song sound better! Not that anything was wrong with the original, but it's nice to hear it redone and re-vamped a little. There are only three new songs which makes the package a little pricey if you are a fan and own the other CDs. "Home By Now/No Matter What" and "A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste" are both from Jim Steinman's collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Weber -- the ill-fated "WHISTLE DOWN THE ROAD". Meat Loaf proves that he probably could have saved the show with a LOT of emotion put into the tracks. Meat Loaf seems to work the best with Jim, and seems like anytime either of them forgets that you get something like these tracks to remind you. The third new song is "Is Nothing Sacred", and it is a straight-forward song that seems like a nice B-side. It's a catchy tune that fits right in with the rest of the material. There is a text feature on the CD, so anybody with the right CD player should see the titles of the songs pop up on their display (a neat feature). Also if you are a sound freak... this is the best way to get a remastered version of your BAT OUT OF HELL favorites. Those tracks are digitally remastered, so they have never sounded clearer and they record to tape better than previous issues of that album. My only beef is I'm a fan, and I've heard all of this before except the remix and the three new songs. How long do we have to wait for a CD with all-new material? Meat Loaf is a great artist, and I hope he decides to go back in the studio very soon. Until then we can use this CD to recall his glory days -- past and present!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but missing a ton of stuff, November 12, 2002

By	darkpower (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This is the best of Meat Loaf, all right. From Bat Out Of Hell to Midnight At The Lost And Found (off of the "horrible" album that "only" got about four hits off of it) to Modern Girl to Objects In The Rear View Mirror to Not A Dry Eye In The House,crammed onto two CDs along with three new songs, especially the two best ones Meat has done yet, Is Nothing Sacred and A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste. You won't be disappointed by the quality of songs that Meat's got on here.

However, you WILL be disappointed at the quanity. With only 9 tracks per CD, Meat has alot of stuff missing from this collection. Although it doesn't hurt my score any, some of the many missing from this that could've been included in this greatest hits CD inlcudes:
BAT OUT OF HELL: All Revved Up With No Place To Go, For Crying Out Loud
DEAD RINGER: Peel Out, Read Em And Weep, I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us
MIDNIGHT AT THE LOST AND FOUND: Razor's Edge, The Promised Land, If You Really Want To
BLIND BEFORE I STOP: Blind Before I Stop, Getting Away With Murder, Rock N' Roll Mercenaries
BAT OUT OF HELL II: Everything Louder Than Everything Else
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Original Sin, Amnesty Is Granted

See what I mean? Meat has just too many hits and good songs to be crammed onto just 18 (total) tracks. A box set would've been better.

With all of these songs, it is hard to say that Meat never had a good career music wise. Even at his worst, Meat still was able to be better than other artist's BEST works, and do it in style.

Now, let's see if the success of the two jewels of this Best Of CD carries us into the upcoming Testify album, which is slated for a 2003 drop, and alsready tainted to be Meat's best work yet (even Meat is impressed with Testify, and he isn't too easy to impress). This is a wonderful compilation to hold us over until then.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what the label says, July 31, 2000

By	Stephen M. Sturgeon (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is definitely an album that no Meat Loaf fan should be without. It has hits like the #1 smash "I'd Do Anything For Love," "I'd Lie For You And That's the Truth," and "Midnight at the Lost and Found." It also has several songs that you can't get on other albums such as "Home By Now/No Matter What" and "A Kiss Is a Terrible Thing to Waste," among others. Each of the new songs have lyrics written by Jim Steinman, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and sung by (of course) Meat Loaf. With such a trio, no one can doubt that they have something special. Final words: If your a Meat Loaf fan, you've got to get this one. I you haven't really heared much from him, this is the album to start with.