Meat Loaf is running free again. Good news for all those longing for the passionate, overblown and rather sentimental approach that has been delivered on the past two Bats out of hell.
This time only 7 of the 14 tracks come from the treasure chest of Jim Steinman. The rest are written by Desmond Child and his many little helpers. Desmond also produced the album. If you want more info on the reason for Steinman's absence as well as specific info on where his songs have appeared before then check out
Hell_III:_The_Monster_Is_Loose">this Wikipedia article.
This mismatch of songwriters in no way helps the album. It is fragmented, uneven and lacks the flow that characterized especially the first Bat out of hell. It also lacks the humor. Where the album succeeds is in the songs themselves. They are strong enough to stand on their own and make the album varied and enjoyable. This is an album that is less than the sum of its parts, but that is still enough to merit an investment. It is overall a great an highly enjoyable album.
The songs have meat enough to warrant many digestions. Only
If it ain't broke break it and
The future ain't what it used to be get stuck in the old windpipe and come back up as less fortunate dishes. Musically
If it ain't broke break it lacks the attitude that the lyrics exhibit. The song is a mess and doesn't convince at all.
The future ain't what it used to be is a long winded, drawn out "epic". It is sadly an epic bore.
Being a rather huge Steinman fan I'm sad to say that some of the Steinman penned songs on this album just ain't what they used to be. Especially these two songs lack the soul that his songs usually have. Or perhaps the right way to express it would be: the performances of these songs fail to bring out the soul they may have.
Opening the album,
The Monster is loose, Co-written by
Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx and ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist
John 5 is a rather weak song. The modern touch fails to impress and the song is, well, too loose. Cutting a couple of minutes of its playing time would have helped. The dowtuned guitar and effects make the song sound angry and confused, as if it was spat out of hell and now running aimlessly around looking for a new home.
Ok, on to the real fillet o' meat.
A trilogy of love songs caught my attention right away.
Blind as a bat had me at the first transition to the chorus where
Meat Loaf sings
"They're coming down cause I believe". The builld-up and transition from verse to chorus is perfectly put together.
Cry over me, the only song written by Diane Warren, is laid back, relaxed and tender. It gets caught up in self pity and succesfully brings out these emotions of confusion and desperation.
A personal favorite is
What about love, even if the beginning piano melody sounds strangely familiar. Can anyone place that? The way the song builds towards its climax is tempered by a finely composed path, across a bridge and then slowly climbing with the two vocalists interacting beautifully and Eric Bazillian's melodic guitar solo mounting the final peak.
For an example of the sentimental value I mentioned at the beginning of the review check out these two verses from the song:
[Boy:]
I can't forget the feeling of your sweat upon my skin
And the trembling of your body
on the day you let me in
That happens once, only once in a lifetime
[Girl:]
On a summernight surrendered
with nothing to loose
You were scared and so was I
when I gave myself to you
It happens once, only once in a lifetime
Meat Loaf and Patti Russo deliver this in a way that's completely convincing and provide a pathway for a daydream to unfold or a long lost memory to come back and haunt you.
These three songs go through the eternal circle of Love and innocence, Loss and hurt, Hope and faith, each song delivering a strong emotional impact and together they form a special unity.
Alive could have been a
Bon Jovi song with a little tweaking. It has an upbeat tempo, a strong drive and a wonderful chorus that always gets me in a good mood. The only thing that annoys me is the weird drum sound this track has.
If god could talk has a nice transition at 0:29 which reminds me of Savatage's "This isn't what we meant" from Dead Winter Dead. Funnily enough the same transition happens there at pretty much the same moment. There are in fact a few moments on the album where I'm reminded of something in between Savatage's albums with Zak Stevens and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Seize the night is pure Jim Steinman. That means pompous and bombastic by design, rousing and emotionally involving by nature and in no way original in execution. It is just a great song!
After I shook off the Celine Dion memory,
It's all coming back to me now has turned out to be a much better version. This version has turned into a full blown duet between the big guy and Marion Raven. It gives the song a much greater impact and a certain tenderness that was not there before. Now I'm looking forward to hearing the Pandora's Box orignal, a project produced and penned by Jim Steinman back in 1989.
Bad For Good first saw the light of day back in 1981 on Jim Steinman's superb solo album of the same name. This version does not quite match the original. It lacks the rawness and the fire that burnt in the Steinman version. It's too polished here, but still a great song. Brian May's distinct guitar is used in the opening moments to create a strong symphonic feel. The choir in the original just felt better and I actually prefer Jim's voice.
In the land of the pigs the butcher is king sounds like it has been taken out of a bigger musical of some kind.
Steve Vai appears here to add some heavy and aggressive guitar enthusiasm.
At first I thought that
Cry to heaven was a sissy goodnight song that shouldn't have been included as a closer to the trilogy. It ends the album on a sleepy note when it should have ended with a bang. But after reading the lyrics and giving it a few more listens I now see it as a nice and fitting conclusion. It captures a certain essence, even if
Meat Loaf's final note is kinda shrill.
Bat out of
Hell III is no disappointment. It concludes the trilogy with a batch of great songs and a few minor let downs. It is a big album with lots of music to chew through. I recommend you check out if you dig the taste.
Written by
Steen Friday, February 9, 2007
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