Now listen carefully, there may well be carping critics telling you that this isn’t worth your while, but they’re wrong and Meat Loaf is right – this is his most important, and also one of his best, albums in a long time. Overblown, dramatic and with a wonderfully wry sense of humour this is a fantastic rock ‘n’ roll epic packed with memorable tunes and exciting moments.
Let’s get it out of the way – the title… as Meat Loaf himself says, he wants you to look at it and think “…what?” grabbing your attention from the off, and it succeeds. Happily, the content of the album is much the same – opening track ‘Peace on earth’ is a massive sounding track with Meat Loaf on top form roaring out “I don’t want peace on earth, I just want to go home”– a far cry from roaring motorcycles and Bats out of hell, but then this is a conceptual piece based around the story of a young soldier who, upon being wounded, has flash forwards to the life he could lead if he survives. ‘Living on the outside’ is a trad-rock inflected track complete with backing vocals, towering guitars and Meat’s majestic voice ringing out with a clarity that few singers half his age can match. It’s a great track that brims with energy and joie de vivre. ‘Los Angeles Loser’ you may already be familiar with. A comical track with a great vocal, a strangely bluesy edge and a fabulous video it is a far more conventional choice for first single than Meat Loaf has traditionally chosen (stack this up against ‘I’d do anything for love’ and you’ll see what I mean!) but it works because it is far outside of Meat’s traditional pastures.
‘If I can’t have you’ is much more typical meat material, and it works well but it’s perhaps my least favourite track on the album. ‘Love is not real’ has a hint of early Aerosmith about it with its boogie riff and taut drum beat. It’s great fun and the chorus sounds satisfyingly huge. ‘Like a rose’ (featuring Jack Black who reminds us that he has a great voice as well as comic talent) is an acoustic blast which hints at the Beastie Boys before unleashing a massive mid-section complete with heavy guitars and over-the-top solos. ‘Song of madness’ is gloriously heavy, with a pounding riff that Bat Out of hell III hinted at with tracks like ‘The monster is loose’ but sadly failed to follow up as concisely as here. ‘Did you ever love somebody?’ is rather less inspiring, a teary ballad which, while immaculately recorded, is overwrought and needlessly emotive. Happily ‘California isn’t big enough’ is more fun, a breezy track which does indeed recall California with its sun-dappled guitar before it launches into the chorus which sees Meat breaking out into full-lunged rock God mode over a pounding rock backdrop. ‘Running away from me’ is strikingly modern sounding, with synth flourishes and laid-back drumming before the theatrical ending which could just as easily come from a musical as it does from the world of rock. ‘Let’s be in love’ strangely recalls Queen which kind of works, but not a swell as you imagine its creators imagined. ‘if it rains’ is upbeat, with a nice groove while closing track ‘Elvis in Vegas’ sees the album out on a high.
In the final analysis this is one of Meat Loaf’s best works since Bat Out Of Hell 2. It is powerful and it is a pleasure to hear him firing the big numbers out with all the passion and conviction which we’ve come to love about him over the years. If this album has a flaw it is just too long. There is at least one tear-jerking ballad too many and you occasionally yearn for more of the balls-to-the-wall rock of tracks like ‘Song of madness’. That said, this is still a great return to form from a performer who has done more than most in the service of rock and roll and who can rest assured that his latest release stands tall amidst a back catalogue sprinkled with astonishing moments. Well worth a listen, even for those of you not previously convinced by Meat Loaf’s work, as this is a classy, modern sounding rock and roll epic.
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