Meat Loaf: Welcome To The Neighborhood (1995)

Inside my copy of a Meat Loaf CD Sampler from 1995, there is the following piece of info: "From the forthcoming Meat Loaf album Escape From Hell: Welcome To The Neighborhood", and yet the title on release was just "Welcome To The Neighborhood", or depending where you were living it was spelled "Neighbourhood". What gives?

Let's go back a couple of years, touching again on the enormous success of Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman's "Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell". As I said in my last review, "it was one of the finest comebacks in the history of rock and roll." "I'd do Anything for Love" had roared up the charts to Number 1 in 28 countries worldwide, (amusing bit of trivia in case you didn't already know: it was knocked off the Number 1 spot in the UK by Mr. Blobby), there had been three more singles, "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are", and "Life is a Lemon and I Want my Money Back", although this was only ever released as a promo. The tour was a phenomenal experience, Meat would come out onstage like some great character from a movie or comic book, and just watching back the live version of "Anything for Love" on the "Bat out of Hell II Picture Show" video is chilling. Jim had appeared on the concert too, which was the last time he and Meat would perform together live.

What in the world would happen next??? Naturally, the conversation on a lot of people's lips must have been, would they make a "Bat out of Hell III"? There was even a page in the tour program that mentions a "Bat out of Hell III: The Final at Bat" in passing, but this was probably some kind of joke. I can remember myself, before the days of the internet, writing into the Meat Loaf US Fan Club and asking them would there be a part three? They sent me back a leaflet offering me to join up with their club, and the front cover was a black and white silhouetted version of the "Bat II" cover art, really cool.

In an interview from 1994, when Meat and Jim were chatting about "Bat II", Jim was asked this same question. He sort of laughed, from what I recall, and said something to the effect of, well he didn't think there could be, but there could be a soundtrack of songs from both of the albums, along with some new ones, for a project Jim was working on which would be a movie called "Bat out of Hell 2100", based on his ongoing opus Neverland. Who knew what could happen between then and another Meat/Steinman collaboration? Perhaps they would grace us with one final act in their vastly awesome discography together as musicians.

Come October 1996 after the release of the album, according to a story with Larry McShane, Jim had advised Meat to go in a completely different direction, probably one of the things that leads us to "Welcome to the Neighborhood", the album that almost was "Escape from Hell". I still haven't answered though, what gives?

Well, it turns out that the record company wanted Meat Loaf to release the album as "Escape from Hell", to tie it in with the success of "Bat II", but Meat was standing his ground. He told everyone, look out because there is going to be a fight, because *he* thought the album should be called "Welcome to the Neighborhood". He didn't want to tie it in with "Escape from Hell", because it was something different, and it didn't fit the narrative that he was going for this time around. Unfortunately, I don't have these articles available to me right now, but it's something he talks about at the end of his "To Hell and Back" autobiography from 1999, and if you're able to find some of these articles, please let me know.

The album was going to be a concept album, basically, about a man's first date, as shown through the opening song "Where the Rubber Meets the Road", and it would end with his death, in the song "Where Angels Sing". This time around, Jim wouldn't be involved with the project, although two of his songs "Original Sin" and "Left in the Dark" would be used. "Original Sin" had been the title song from Jim's wondrous 1989 album for Pandora's Box, while "Left in the Dark" had come from "Bad for Good" and had been produced by Jim in a 1984 version with Barbra Streisand. Paul and Sarah from "Bad Attitude" would return with "Where the Rubber Meets the Road", while Sarah would work on a version of the classic Aussie pop song "Good Times", which was transformed into the single "Runnin' for the Red Light (I Gotta Life)". Among the line up of songs would be a version of Tom Waits classic "Martha", which is a stunner.

Meanwhile hit songwriter Diane Warren would be contributing two of the singles, "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" and "Not a Dry Eye in the House", among one other song "If This is the Last Kiss (Let's Make it Last All Night)". As much as I enjoy these, especially in the context of the album, one can't help but wonder what Meat would have done with something like "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" instead, because I think that song is ten times better than the ones she released here. Picture it, with Meat singing with Patti. I am 99.9% certain that it would have been insanely awesome.

And so "Welcome to the Neighborhood" was released, this time with Ron Nevison producing, and cover art which was distinctly different from "Bat II" but still in the same epic vein we had come to expect, the grim image of a young woman in distress, standing against a peeling green backdrop, with a sinister shadow floating along the wall like the penultimate scenes of "Nosferatu". When you opened the lyrics, nearly every song had a piece of art to go with it. It was all inspired by 1930s and 40s film posters, some of which had been adapted into the artwork for the lyrics, as well as things like Detective books and magazines. It was a knockout. Once again, the Meat Loaf design team had delivered the goods.

Now let's have a look at the songs... while we bear in mind that this whole thing is supposed to be a storyline about this person.

"Where the Rubber Meets the Road"---the crickets at the start, setting up the atmosphere, just perfect. The number pulls you straight in, from soft piano to rock. This is one of the coolest songs on here.

"I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)"---firstly, the clip is a masterpiece of music film, and if you haven't seen it, you have to drop everything right now and watch it. Despite comparisons to "Anything for Love", I do enjoy this song, and especially when I put it into context with the rest of the album. It's all part of the movie.

"Original Sin"---if you've never heard this song before, it is a killer, but now you've got to listen to the original from Pandora's Box, because to me that sweeps this one away. That one turns this whole thing into widescreen and 3D, and 4D, and 5D, where you go flying straight through the screen and down the side of a cliff where you land onto an inflatable sofa in the middle of a lake of red wine.

"45 Seconds of Ecstasy"---firstly, this is not 45 seconds long, secondly it rocks. Well, it doesn't literally rock... but you know what I mean.

"Runnin' for the Red Light (I Gotta Life)"---Meat could have done a great version of "Good Times" too, but it was probably all to do with the narrative of the album. This does distract me sometimes, but I like it.

"Fiesta de Las Almas Perdidas"---musician and keyboardist Jeff Bova returns after his thrilling work on "Bat II" with his own instrumental. I've heard people say they just don't get this track, or "45 Seconds of Ecstasy", but I'm too busy dancing along to care.

"Left in the Dark"---I feel like it's unfair of me to compare this and "Original Sin" to their original versions in this review, when by themselves these are some really fine versions. The thing is though, when Meat sang this live onstage it was so awesome it was frightening. Why couldn't the album have done that too? But please don't get me wrong, this is still great.

"Not a Dry Eye in the House"---beautiful song about a relationship ending, I have always liked this.

"Amnesty is Granted"---this is my favourite rocker on here!!! Damn!!! It's a shame he didn't keep it in his setlist longer. It would have given him a bit of a break for a while, and then we would have gotten more live versions, so everyone would have been happy. Oh well.

"If This is the Last Kiss (Let's Make it Last all Night)"---so we come to that point in the album, where we're moving toward the ending of this guy's life. If I had to pick a least favourite song on here, it would probably be this. It just didn't capture me as much as the other songs Diane wrote.

"Martha"---again, this is a total stunner, and from what I understand Meat had wanted to record this song for a long time. I'm so glad that he did it here. It may not have been as powerful in the 80s. I would pay money just to see him sing this one song live, and nothing else. I don't even know if he's sung it live before.

"Where Angels Sing"---and so this album comes to a moving, emotional finish, and so it would seem for the next eight years, Meat Loaf's discography as well. It was also the last time singer Rory Dodd would perform on a Meat Loaf album. It was an ending for both of these reasons.

Had Meat have left it here, well it would have been well and truly justified in my opinion. He had given us enough. He'd probably given us enough as early as "Bat out of Hell". Personally, I'm *very* glad he gave us more, and as I continue with these reviews, I will gradually take us up to the eventual realization of a "Bat out of Hell III", and another collaboration with Jim.

Is that all for "Welcome to the Neighbourhood" then? Well, you need to check out the B sides "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'", which according to one article was actually going to be the original opening for the album, "Come Together" and "Let it Be", Meat and the band's live Beatles covers, and luckily for us they are all available on the 2011 Collector's Edition.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan.