Meat Loaf is one of those longstanding names in the music realm that, regardless of what he puts out, will always maintain a legion of fans. With this in mind, he can go in two directions: one, he can release the same album repeatedly packed with neat rock-opera tracks that everyone would likely love through familiarity; or, two, he can try something a little different. Cue: his new release ‘Hell In A Handbasket’ that dabbles with the latter approach.
Produced by his live guitarist Paul Crook, the album features some quirky collaborations, certainly assuring fans that Meat Loaf is willing to experiment a little, even this far into his career. ‘Blue Sky/Mad Mad World/The Good God is a Woman and She Don’t Like Ugly’ – aside from the bemusing song title – really shoves so many elements into one track that it jolts the fluidity of the album. Eloquently introducing a piano ballad, it cranks up to a more bluesy-rock vibe and then cuts to complete silence for a split second before Public Enemy’s Chuck D takes the reins for a rap that doesn’t quite fit. Should this has overlapped at least one element of Meat Loaf’s sound, it wouldn’t have seemed quite so out of place. While many would criticise the use of rap on the album, you should be more critical of those who doesn’t push the boundaries. The criticism isn’t him toying with the genre, it’s more how he slots it into his own sound.
‘Stand In The Storm’ is another collaboration offered, featuring Lil Jon. While in anticipation of another rap interlude, it appears that it should be a smoother transition but it still doesn’t quite run fluidly to the listener. There’s a very evident disconnect between Meat Loaf and his collaborators; the transition back to Meat Loaf is always smoother however the rap segments do separate themselves from the rest of the song prominently.
While a few tracks really do seem to miss the mark by being relatively underwhelming, ‘Party Of One’ recaptures the rock ‘n’ roll we’d expect from the man with a much more melodic and attacking release. Teaming a pacy rock sound with orchestral backing, this is one of the most redeeming features of the album. ‘Live Or Die’ is another relatively solid track; not quite as harsh as the aforementioned number, but it’s a good track. ‘All Of Me’ and ‘The Giving Tree’ are also hold their own on this release.
Overall, the record is a tad underwhelming. Some tracks are really, really good but aren’t enough to register the whole album as fantastic. Meat Loaf made a good choice to experiment with sounds and genres, but could have been a bit more careful on the execution of it. ‘Hell In A Handbasket’ is good, but there’s too many little things to nitpick at that make it miss the target of being great.
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Produced by his live guitarist Paul Crook, the album features some quirky collaborations, certainly assuring fans that Meat Loaf is willing to experiment a little, even this far into his career. ‘Blue Sky/Mad Mad World/The Good God is a Woman and She Don’t Like Ugly’ – aside from the bemusing song title – really shoves so many elements into one track that it jolts the fluidity of the album. Eloquently introducing a piano ballad, it cranks up to a more bluesy-rock vibe and then cuts to complete silence for a split second before Public Enemy’s Chuck D takes the reins for a rap that doesn’t quite fit. Should this has overlapped at least one element of Meat Loaf’s sound, it wouldn’t have seemed quite so out of place. While many would criticise the use of rap on the album, you should be more critical of those who doesn’t push the boundaries. The criticism isn’t him toying with the genre, it’s more how he slots it into his own sound. 
