Review Summary: Here's an appropriate review just in time for Halloween....
40 million records of it have been sold. About 200,000 are now sold per year. 14 million of these were sold in USA. It went 22 times platinum in Australia. In the UK it stayed on the charts so long that it was still on when part 2 rolled around in 1993. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg….
It’s pretty much a household fact about how massive Bat Out Of Hell was. And there’s a good reason too: for once in his life, Marvin Lee Aday rocked. HARD.
I mean check out the utterly epic title track. After a quick blast from the guitar, you’re treated to a speedy wave on the piano carrying on until just under 2 minutes in. We switch to a ballad style as Meat Loaf’s vocals begin and you get to see how nutty Jim Steinman’s lyrics are [“Sirens are screaming and the fires are howling, we’re down in the valley tonight”.] Then we shoot back into sincere craziness with the chorus and the famous refrain of “Like a bat out of hell I’ll be gone when the morning comes”. After a short interlude on the organ, we quickly go back to the ballad melody, only faster and heavier. Back-up singers join in, before a rapid quick-fire guitar solo blasts the album into a more than certain 5 star rating. 5 and a half minutes signals the return of the chorus, before we slow down with a thumping beat, which moves back into the organ ballad style. A motorcycle and quick snare drums blast us back into the piano rock section. We change key twice and the vocal style changes to slightly more bouncy, before more guitar and piano solos, and we change key to slow down completely. Meat Loaf’s vocals still have it. Guitars and drums come squealing back in at the 8 minute mark, before we are treated with some sheer yelling from Meat Loaf before we calm down entirely. Some back-up singers come in and we end the song on a very, VERY high note.
That’s the best track right then and there. I could end the review here, but there’s still more epic numbers. After an intense intro, You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth jumps straight in with a pretty poppy beat, backed up with sleigh bells and what seems like a brass section. This really shouldn’t have worked but did. Meanwhile, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad is an absolute delight of a ballad, with sweet lyrics [Don’t be sad, ‘cos two out of three ain’t bad] and a sweet orchestra supporting Meat Loaf and his instruments. The other major highlight is his duet with Mick Jones’ girlfriend Ellen Foley: Paradise By The Dashboard Light. Set to a swinging beat, it tells the epic story of two lovers and their escapades. Throw in a pretty cool baseball announcement in the middle and angry screams from Ellen and you’ve got the second best song on the album.
The rest of the stuff here isn't as good but they're still cool. All Revved Up With No Place To Go is a nice song with plenty of horns, though they do get a bit irritating at times, and Heaven Can Wait and For Crying Out Loud are pretty good ballads, but sadly don’t really get off the ground the way Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad did.
Despite that, Bat Out Of Hell is an unbelievably AWESOME album, even just for the title track. Buy now, but be warned: it’s the only real classic Meat Loaf has….
Recommended Downloads – Bat Out Of Hell, You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad, Paradise By The Dashboard Light
