Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell [Bonus Tracks]

There is no other album like Bat Out of Hell, unless you want to count the sequel. This is Grand Guignol pop -- epic, gothic, operatic, and silly, and it's appealing because of all of this. Jim Steinman was a composer without peer, simply because nobody else wanted to make mini-epics like this. And there never could have been a singer more suited for his compositions than Meat Loaf, a singer partial to bombast, albeit shaded bombast. The compositions are staggeringly ridiculous, yet Meat Loaf finds the emotional core in each song, bringing true heartbreak to "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and sly humor to "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." There's no discounting the production of Todd Rundgren, either, who gives Steinman's self-styled grandiosity a production that's staggeringly big but never overwhelming and always alluring. While the sentiments are deliberately adolescent and filled with jokes and exaggerated clichés, there's real (albeit silly) wit behind these compositions, not just in the lyrics but in the music, which is a savvy blend of oldies pastiche, show tunes, prog rock, Springsteen-esque narratives, and blistering hard rock (thereby sounding a bit like an extension of Rocky Horror Picture Show, which brought Meat Loaf to the national stage). It may be easy to dismiss this as ridiculous, but there's real style and craft here and its kitsch is intentional. It may elevate adolescent passion to operatic dimensions, and that's certainly silly, but it's hard not to marvel at the skill behind this grandly silly, irresistible album. [A 2001 bonus-track edition of Bat Out of Hell included previously unreleased live material: an epic, 11-minute version of the title track and its intro "Great Boleros of Fire."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Amy Herot Reissue Producer Arthur Levy Liner Notes Charlie Conrad Consultant Cheryl Hardwick Piano Ed Lee Design, Illustrations Ed Sprague Engineer, Recorder Edgar Winter Saxophone Ellen Foley Vocals (Background), Vocals Frank Laffitte Photography Gene Orloff Concert Master Jim Steinman Cover Art Concept, Keyboards, Writer, Arranger, Percussion Jimmy Iovine Remixing, Recorder, Engineer Joe Brescio Mastering John Jansen Remixing, Engineer, Recorder John Wilcox Drums Jon Wilcox Drums Kasim Sulton Vocals (Background), Vocals, Bass Kenny Ascher String Arrangements Mark Thomas Engineer, Recorder Marvin Lee Aday Vocals (Background), Percussion, Vocals Max Weinberg Drums Meat Loaf Vocals New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestration Roger Powell Synthesizer Rory Dodd Vocals (Background), Vocals Roy Bittan Keyboards, Piano Scott Hull Mastering Stephen Saper Engineer Steve Margoshes Orchestral Arrangements, Piano, Arranger Todd Rundgren Mixing, Arranger, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Engineer, Percussion, Keyboards