Summary:Produced by Anthrax's Paul Crook, the 13th full-length release from the singer-songwriter/actor sees the return of songs written by Jim Steinman.
Braver Than We Are is the best thing either has done in decades, addressing as it does both Meat Loaf's less powerful voice and [Jim] Steinman's enormous back catalogue. [Oct 2016, p.109]
While it's true that their [Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman] reunion on Braver Than We Are could never change the world like Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out Of Hell II, it is a bewilderingly brilliant album. [17 Sep 2016, p.53]
Braver Than We Are isn't Bat Out of Hell (but what else is?) and it isn't even Bat Out of Hell II, but it's a hell of a lot better than the Steinman-unapproved Bat Out of Hell III. These are the types of songs Meat Loaf is meant to be singing, written by the only man able to fully harness his unique talents for the greater good.
Steinman’s sonic fingerprints are all over the album--the furiously arpeggiating piano riffs (one “borrowed” from Randy Newman), the brusque guitars, the Wagnerian pomp--though it is Loaf’s stagey delivery, with that juddering vibrato, which dominates songs.
I love it better than bat out of hell 3 and and his hang cool teddy bear or his unforgettable hell in a handbasket albums this album ranksI love it better than bat out of hell 3 and and his hang cool teddy bear or his unforgettable hell in a handbasket albums this album ranks up there with bat out of hell 1 and 2 as one of the best albums of meat loaf's career with Jim Steinman making the songs I love it. Thanks meat loaf and jim Steinman.…Expand
All of the music and pagentry we have come to expect from Jim Steinman, The incredible music, some great mixes of old and new, and it isAll of the music and pagentry we have come to expect from Jim Steinman, The incredible music, some great mixes of old and new, and it is gratifying. Meatloaf's voice has seemed to have lost some his punch, but the feeling he puts into the lines, at 68, its a wizened man who delivers. "Train of Love" finds him at his crescendo on this album, as if he's building up to it, track by track. "Speaking in Tongues" he is back to old form and is complemented by Stacy Michelle's soaring vocals. "Going all the way" is spectacular, it is this albums Paradise by the Dashboard Lights. "More" is a great pounding song, great keys on it! "Only when I feel" reminds of Trans Siberian Orchestra. "Souvenirs" is an awesome sax-centric song, reminds me of late 70's classic songs! "Loving You is a Dirty Job" is very well put together, Stacy Michelle is a great singer! I could see her doing more of Steinman's work!
Always been a fan, I'm liking it more and more as I play it over and over!…Expand
I also have to completely agree with ZorroAK. Pretty much everything he said applies to me. I Have been a huge ML/Steinman fan since '93 whenI also have to completely agree with ZorroAK. Pretty much everything he said applies to me. I Have been a huge ML/Steinman fan since '93 when I first heard Rock'n'Roll Dreams Come Through (surprisingly not Anything For Love,). I was ten. It was love at first sight and yes, when I got older, my preferences moved somewhere different genres but Meat/Steinman is always my go to music. But this album, as sad I am to say it, should have never existed. Meat's voice has been done for a decade now (at least). I would love him to just retire, he set the bar too high already but the voice that I loved is gone. I truly wished he had realized it as well. Also, the production without Steinman or Rundgren is definitely more miss than hit...
P.S.: I'm pretty sure this album was not made for money, I cannot imagine both Meat and Jim are lacking in that area. It's just friends getting back together and doing something for their fans but unfortunately, it backfired. At least for me. I'll 5 out of 10 only for, well, more Steinman songs being out there.…Expand
Based purely on Steinman's songs, the score would be much higher. What lets it down - as other reviews say - is Meat's singing. Quite often -Based purely on Steinman's songs, the score would be much higher. What lets it down - as other reviews say - is Meat's singing. Quite often - even in the star track "Going all the way" - he's an octave below where you think he should be. I guess it's age and life and all the vocal excesses catching up with him, but it makes him sound like someone joining in on a pub karaoke where the song is too high so they sing it lower. Just doesn't sound right. That said, it's the closest we'll get to hearing Meat and the old gang perform these songs so it's a collector or super fans piece. If it's the voice you want then stick to the older records.…Expand
I agree with ZorroAK's other negative review... I don't know what album the others are listening to, but mediocre songs and Meat Loaf'sI agree with ZorroAK's other negative review... I don't know what album the others are listening to, but mediocre songs and Meat Loaf's inability (sadly) to sing any longer, should have doomed this album to one of those 'unreleased' albums that some artists are rumored to have. It is a sad cap to his career. Assuming this is the new permanent state of his voice, he should have retired prior to this album.…Expand
I'm completely puzzled by any review that goes beyond 5 out of 10 - which is the highest score I could comprehend with heavily rose-tintedI'm completely puzzled by any review that goes beyond 5 out of 10 - which is the highest score I could comprehend with heavily rose-tinted glasses. That the songs are mostly leftovers that were written in the seventies isn't the problem. That many of them have been interpreted before in much better versions isn't the problem. That the arrangements are hit and miss isn't the problem. That Who Needs The Young is probably the worst lead-in to an album I've ever had the displeasure of not being able to avoid listening to isn't the problem.
The problem is Meat Loaf. Have you ever witnessed the tragedy that was the 2011 AFL Grand Final performance? (Look it up on YouTube, it's there in all its tragic glory.) That was an event of dire portent, and five years later his voice hasn't exactly improved. In fact, it's completely ruined. Meat Loaf can't carry a tune if his life depended on it, he whines and moans and wheezes his way through the album with a voice in such a bad condition that I'm absolutely baffled as to why no one seems to have said to him, "Hey, buddy. You DO know that you don't have any business in front of a microphone anymore, don't you? Just let it go and retire in dignity."
I'm not here to senselessly bash an artist I don't like. I've been a Meat Loaf/Steinman fan since the early eighties, and if they had resolved their differences ten years ago and done this album then, this might have been something. (Granted, there's a lot of total failures on this album, but I would've loved to hear Going All The Way Is Just The Start in Meat Loaf's glory days.) But Meat Loaf's voice is destroyed beyond repair. No one expects him to hit the notes he was able to hit as a young man, no one expects him to display the range he once had. But if there ever was a case in which autotune would've been a blessing, it's this one. Even though he leaves the heavy lifting to Karla DeVito, Ellen Foley and Stacy Michelle - who are doing a fine job and upstage him at every turn, by the way -, he can't even negotiate the easy to sing lines, let alone the hard ones. He's actually really hard to listen to, it's a crying shame.
Clearly he needed the money, and coping with his failing health surely doesn't come cheap. But this man doesn't belong on the stage or in a recording studio anymore. He should've retired with some dignity. That this is his last collaboration with Steinman AND his last album is truly saddening.…Expand
