Retro Spins: Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell

 

He was big. He was beefy. He was Meat Loafy. Nothing about the portly man screamed rock and roll sex symbol. But, there he was. With powerful voice as his ammo, Meat Loaf stormed the stages across America to become one of rock and roll's greatest rockers of the 70's.

His journey began in 1968, when he formed his first band, Meat Loaf Soul. During this era, he would open for the likes of Van Morrison, The Who, Grateful Dead, and The Stooges. However, it was when he joined the stage performance of Hair, that people started to take him a bit more notice. It was with this success that Motown invited him to record with Shaun "Stoney" Murphy. This led to his first album, Stoney and Meat Loaf, released in 1971.

The album was unsuccessful, despite a string of tours with the likes of Alice Cooper, Bob Seger, and Rare Earth, and Meat Loaf would return to the stage, eventually rejoining the cast of Hair on Broadway. It was during one of his auditions for More Than You Deserve that the singer would meet his soon to be longtime collaborator, Jim Steinman.

In 1974, Meat Loaf joined the L.A. Roxy cast of Rocky Horror Picture Show, where he played the role of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. The success of the musical led to the filming of the now cult classic film, where he reprises his role of Eddie.

Since 1972, Steinman and Meat Loaf had been working on what would become Bat Out Of Hell. However, his theater life often kept him busy, and it wasn't until the tail end of 1974 that he would commit and concentrate fully on the music. Despite this, fate would intervene once again. This time calling him back to the stage as the understudy of John Belushi for the show, Lampoon. It was here that Meat Loaf would meet Ellen Foley. She would later join the two on Bat Out Of Hell to sing the female vocals for Paradise By The Dashboard and Bat Out Of Hell, the song.

Though they tried repeatedly to get a record deal, both Steinman and Meat Loaf were met with rejection after rejection. It wasn't until Cleveland International Records took a chance on the duo that the album was finally released, and from there obliterated the world from orbit. Bat Out Of Hell has sold an estimated forty-three million copies, and remains the most successful album in Meat Loaf's catalog.

With success flowing, Steinman went to work on the follow up album, Bad For Good. Unfortunately, it wouldn't end up coming to fruition. A combination of exhaustion, hard drug abuse, and continued touring resulted in Meat Loaf loosing his voice. With no singer, but continuous pressure from the label, Steinman opted to record the album himself. It failed as a solo album.

It wouldn't be until 1981 that Meat Loaf would release a follow up album, Dead Ringer. Unfortunately, due to the time that had surpassed, people seemed to have forgotten about the singer, and while it was met with mild success, it paled in comparison to his debut. Noteworthy is the title track, Dead Ringer For Love, which features Cher.

Meat Loaf and Steinman would start feuding amongst each other, leading to lawsuits both parties would file against the other. This led to the singer, who was still contractually obligated to provide an album, looking for new writers. This mishmash of sources would lead to his third studio release, Midnight At The Lost And Found.

With his obligation to Cleveland International complete, Meat Loaf left for England with a new recording agreement with Arista. With two tracks previously written by Steinman in hand, these formed his fourth album, Bad Attitude. However, sales continued to diminish for the singer. His fifth album, 1986's Blind Before I Stop, only contributed to lower sales, which Meat Loaf blames the production for.

Though he continued to tour, Meat Loaf seemingly fell off the radar of the rock scene. But, as we all know, the world loves a comeback story, and that was what would happen in 1993. Steinman and Meat Loaf had come back together late in 1990, and began working on what would become Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell. It was labeled a joke by many in the music industry, but not to MCA. They released the record on September 14, 1993, and watched it's lead single, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) soar to number one in twenty-eight countries.

While his subsequent albums were met with mild success, time once again played a factor, and each one saw less and less sales. Meat Loaf has released six additional albums between 1995 and 2016, but sadly seems to have been forgotten again. He announced in 2020 that he was going to head back to the recording booth to lay down a new album, and Braver Than We Are was actually released just last week, on September 21st. Sadly, Jim Steinman passed away in April of 2021 from kidney failure.

Well, today we remember Jim Steinman by going back to that classic album that put both he and Meat Loaf of the map. 1977's Bat Out Of Hell!

Right off the bat (out of hell) the album smashes you in the face with powerful rock. Hard hitting drums, shredding guitars, and an equally powerful piano and bass. It's title track is here to deliver, and it's not wasting any time. It lays the groundwork for Steinman to craft lengthy songs that manage to never get boring. This is without a doubt helped by Meat Loafs dynamic vocals.

Things mellow down quickly from there, but not in a bad way. You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth and Heaven Can Wait show his ability to gracefully sing ballads, before getting a little more aggressive and funky with All Revved Up With Nowhere To Go.

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad delivers another soothing ballad before jumping into the albums iconic piece, Paradise By The Dashboard. It's another example of Steinman's ability to weave together a story through innuendos and hints of humor. The album wraps up with the soothing melody, For Crying Out Loud. It's a perfect end to the record.

Hearing this album makes me think of how amazing it would be if Meat Loaf were to re-record all of the tracks from Bad For Good. Just to hear it how it was intended would be so awesome. Am I a fan of Meat Loaf? Well, let's just say that after hearing this, I'm on the right path to becoming one.

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