Meat Loaf’s 90s renaissance, sparked by the monstrous success of Bat Out Of Hell II, continued with 1995’s Welcome To The Neighbourhood, reissued here with bonus tracks plus a live CD and DVD. Whereas BOOHII reunited Meat with songwriter/producer/mastermind Jim Steinman, the follow-up attempted to recapture the magic of their collaborations with a slightly hackneyed set of songs that veers perilously close to pastiche.
The obvious example is the hit single I’d Lie For You (And That’s The Truth), a virtual rewrite of I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That). That said, the benefit is that Welcome To The Neighbourhood plays to Meat Loaf’s strengths – his OTT sense of cartoonish drama, not to mention his powerful bellow. The downside is exemplified by the bonus tracks, specifically two Beatles covers and Oh What A Beautiful Morning(!), which collapse under the weight of Meat’s performance. Disc Two – live greatest hits, essentially with Meat in good voice throughout – is better and the DVD (promo videos, TOTP appearances and an interview) make this value for money for Meat feasters.
