Labels:text | screenshot | font OCR: AM/FM MEAT LOAF: "BAT OUT OF HELL II" (BACK INTO HELL) Virgin CDV2710 7243 8 39067 27 1993 Tracks: 11 Playing time: 75:44 AM/FM Rating (0-10): 4 AM/FM Remember that really big fat guy who came up with one of the biggest selling rock albums ever, "Bat Out Of Hell"? You probably don't - it's about 10 years ago. The album was really good - it was *bordering on* heavy-rock, but it wasn't heavy, it was more *intense*, really. Meat Loaf (God only knows why he calls himself something that silly) had a really powerful, yet at the same time soft and clean voice. The songs were quite original, and they were excellently arranged and produced. No one has heard anything from Mr. Loaf since then; until now. I think I know why the money he made on the that album some ten years ago, are finally all gone! I can't see any other reason why Meat Loaf should show up again 10 years later to release "Bat Out Of Hell II". You might argue that the need for a creative output made him release another album, but you're only fooling yourself. Where has that creativity been for the past ten years? Naah, there's ONE reason for this kind of "comeback": No more money! The fact that he chose the title "Bat Out Of Hell II" just puts more weight to my arguments. I'm sure Mr. Meat will make enough money on this new album release to last for another 10 years or so. People who liked the first album will be lining up to get their hands on this one - I admit I was one of them. Many of them, though, will be dreadfully disappointed. I was definitely one of them. This has to be the most repetitive album I've ever heard. Not only are all the songs almost identical in style and content (with one exception, more about that later), each of the songs are pulled out to the ridiculous - the chorus theme is repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated until you think you're going MAD; then you get a little breakdown or something (which has also been repeated about 5 times already), whereas whereas the chorus is once again repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated... Siiiiiiighhh....! Now that the CD-age is well matured, it is more and more usual to release longer and longer albums. The average album now lasts for about an hour - as opposed to the usual 40-45 minutes a few years ago. Basically, I think it's great that we get longer albums - it opens up for a stronger theme in an album, it makes it possible for people to release longer and more atmospheric tracks, and well well - it gives us more music for our money! Unfortunately; not the way Meat Loaf is doing it. Meat Loaf's idea of making a long album is quite simple: He just repeats the same things about 20 times more in each song. This album is well over an hour and 15 minutes long, yet, it contains only enough music to cover half an hour - *maybe*. The opening track of the CD is called "I Would Do Anything For Love", and it is really a standard pop/rock-song, which I would normally give about 3.5 - 4 minutes. That leaves room for 3 verses, one or two solos, a few breaks, and of course, the obligatory 8 or so repeats of the chorus. That would make this song about 4 minutes long, I suppose. However, the song is more than *12* minutes long! See what I mean? The last 8 minutes are only annoying and stressing. Over and over and over and over and over and over again, we get the same chorus in and out. Just for fun, I counted the number of times Meat Loaf sings the words "I would do anything for love, I would do anything for love, I would do anything for love, but I won't do that" in the song. 33. It might not sound so bad when you only hear this number, but I swear, when you're listening to the song; it seems like 3300! Another thing: Have you ever noticed how some* singers insist on laying their *complete*, naked, hurting, crying soul into every* little word they sing? I mean, one thing is to build up the song, putting more and more feeling into the words as the song comes closer to it's climax, BUT: When I singer *starts off* a song with something like "Well, I looked out the window this morning, and saw a car coming up the street", and they sing it like they're literally *crying*, *sweating* and *bleeding* out every word from the deepest depths of their painful souls, that makes me just shake my head in disgust. Michael Bolton is probably the WORST of all these "soul-bleeders". And, When he sings about changing his socks, it sounds as though he's singing about taking his own life. Bonnie Tyler and Tina Turner are good runners-up. I'm afraid, so is Meat Loaf. Yes, Meat Loaf is a soul-bleeder, up there with the worst of them... (Sheesh!) The lyrics too, are POOR, to say the least. Here's a typical outtake from the CD: - "And you know it's true, and that's a fact, And there'll never be no turning back"... What can I say? Clichês? That's would be an understatement, I'm afraid... The album pretty much goes on like this. ALL the songs are extremely long and *extremely extremely* repetitive. There's ONE track, which I think lifts the album from the pits, and that's the track "Life is a lemon, and I want my money back". This piece is probably the most "rocked" one on the CD, and it got my foot stomping the beat, while I listened with great interest to the band's work. Half-funky, half-heavy rock, with powerful vocals and a much fresher approach than any of the other tracks. This one raised the AM/FM-rating from 2* to *4*. Without this track, the CD would have been given a clean rating of 2 - *garbage*. Reviewed by Bjºrn A. Lynne AM/FM
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