Bat Out Of Hell 3 came a decade too early. This should be it. The first two Bat albums consisted of Jim Steinman songs. The third broke that tradition. Braver, the title of which comes from a song I’ll get to shortly, takes it back. Every song is composed by Steinman, though they’re not really new. Most were performed years ago by other singers, the oldest going back to the 1970s. That makes this a Meat Loaf cover set.
Listen for an epic entitled Going All The Way Is Just The Start, a quote of which also titles the album. It’s one of the best songs Meat Loaf has ever sang and Jim Steinman has ever composed. Why it doesn’t Start the set like the similarly majestic Anything For Love did on Bat 2 is a mystery to me. Godz, a quirky military anthem, is fun, but Going All The Way is in a class by itself. Everything else here pales in comparison.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016