Retro Spins: Meat Loaf: Bat Out Of Hell II - Back Into Hell

I can't believe it's been seven years of Retro Spins here at The Toy Box. I've talked about a ton of 80's albums during the past six years, and while I will continue to do so for quite some time longer, I think it's also time to advance the calendar a bit. This year, let's also dive into the 90's. You'll still find a post on an 80's album every Tuesday, but I'm going to also try to do one based on a 90's album every Friday. Because I have a somewhat low tolerance for that particular era, let's see how far we get before I just can't take it anymore.

If you couldn't tell from my prior sentence, admittedly, I'm not a big fan, but I have a fair share of albums from artists who were still on my radar during those first few years of the new decade. As such, you probably won't see much here beyond 1996 / 1997. That was about when I finally threw my hands up with music and said, "I'm done." You also won't find a lot of obscure stuff within these posts because I really didn't "experiment" much with 90's music. In fact, you probably won't find much beyond what was frequently on the radio, or from bands who transitioned, successfully or otherwise, to the 90's.

So let's dive in, and see where this goes.

Meat Loaf hadn't released an album since his 1986 Blind Before I Stop. If I'm being honest, he'd even longer since been irrelevant to mainstream music. To date, his highlight had been his 1977 debut Bat Out Of Hell, and from there, sales of his albums continued to drop rapidly.

When 1993 arrived, the world was big into the grunge scene. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and others were mainstay on radio stations, and it seemed the world of music had changed forever. Because of this, it was not only odd to hear the rumblings of the obscure Meat Loaf making a comeback. Yet, it happened - In a big way.

The lead single, I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) not only represented everything grunge wasn't, but it pushed all of those musicians out of the way as the track shot straight to the number one spot on the charts in twenty-eight countries, and stayed there in the USA for five consecutive weeks.

It would be a disrespect to not mention Jim Steinman, the writer and producer of all the tracks on the album. Steinman has long since been a collaborator with Meat Loaf, providing the material for his first album, Bat Out Of Hell. However, as they continued to work together in the 80's, Steinman and Meat Loaf distanced more and more, eventually suing each other over musical squabbles. While Steinman stayed very active in the world of music, Bat Out Of Hell II, still feels like as much of a comeback for him as Meat Loaf.

The album launches off the pad with tracks, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back and Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through. Unfortunately, it then slams on the brakes for a bit. Tracks become slower paced, very ballad like and honestly fell into background noise for me.


Things do eventually pick back up, but not before a very odd spoken track entitled, Wasted Youth. When I heard this, I truly felt like the entire album had been derailed. Then the rockin' track, Everything Louder Than Everything Else kicked in, and I was back into it.

The average running time of tracks is seven to ten minutes, which gives you a lot of bang for your buck. I suppose that value is only there if you're enjoying the album though. Overall, I did. It definitely got me interested in hearing a bit more of Meat Loaf's later stuff, which isn't something I would normally say. Typically, I would go backwards into the 70's and 80's.

Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell is a well earned comeback for Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman. It stands out from the typical sound of the 90's, and it's got a lot of good tracks to offer. I definitely recommend this one to everyone.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: Meat Loaf - Dead Ringer

My introduction to Meat Loaf was a special one for me. I was at my uncle's house with my dad, during one of our just me and him trips across the country. It was on this particular visit that my uncle said to my dad, "Do you like Meat Loaf?" He quickly corrected himself to say, "The singer," less my dad be mistaken for the food. My dad responded that he really didn't know much about him, and therefore, was not.

This answer appeared unacceptable to my uncle, who immediately dusted off his copy of Bat Out Of Hell and fired up Paradise By The Dashboard Light. My uncle laughed with glee during the announcer portion of the song, amused by the whole thing. However, for my dad, something much different was happening in his head. He was getting hooked in a big way.

When we returned home, my dad made it a point to get himself a copy of the album, and from there, his collection grew. I remember helping contribute to this by picking him up Midnight At The Lost And Found and Bad Attitude. Meat Loaf just became his thing. He would sit at his computer and listen to the various albums.

While I paid this little attention, the impact it had on my life, memory wise, was strong enough that when I found all of Meat Loaf's albums at the dollar table during a trip to Timonium, I picked them up. Not because I necessarily knew any of the songs. Rather, because I wanted to have that connection with that memory.

Today, I thought I would pull one of those albums out and have a listen, and it felt appropriate to start with his first entry into the 80's, Dead Ringer. It was okay. I didn't necessarily hear tunes that blew me away. However, I heard some which definitely stood out among the rest. I'll Kill You If You Don't Come Back, Read Em' And Weep and the title track, Dead Ringer - which is a snazzy duet with Cher.

Meat Loaf has his own style and sound, and you can definitely tell when you're hearing his music. This makes it all the more intriguing to hear his tracks because they sound familiar, like they belong together. That's something a lot of artists miss the boat on a lot - They try to cram too many styles into one album, and the whole thing feels lost when that happens. Not the case at all with Dead Ringer.

At the end of the day, I'm no major fan of Meat Loaf, but I can say his album was enjoyable.

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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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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.