Meat Loaf: Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald Rating: * *)

Looking increasingly like a tubby Harvey Keitel, Mr Loaf delivers what he says will be his final album. Pity then he didn't have dramatic Jim Steinman songs aboard rather than this generic Meat-material, but at least it allowed Nikki Sixx, Dianne Warren and others to write in Steinman's overwrought style.

Unfortunately their material is let down by the rote 80s guitar-rock backing which lacks the kitschy intensity of Meat's finest and heavily orchestrated moments. The opener sounds like a Queen offcut welded to a parody of Paradise By the Dashboard Light's dialogue (Patti Russo does the girlie part) and later poodle-rock guitars come in.

So the fault here is not enough overblown arrangements and theatricality. There's too many Meat cliches (despite the gospel-styled Testify) and too much restraint — if you can believe that word would ever apply to Meat Loaf, and that's despite a bombastic version of Dylan's gentle Forever Young. Meat will be much missed, but not for this album.

Label: Universal