Bat Out Of Hell

Love a bit of meatloaf!

Så det är här The Ark snott allt från.

You probably hated this album. I already had most of it saved. Bombastic 70s rock at its overwrought finest. Amazing piano. Love it.

I don't like the "musical" production.

This album kind of reminded me of a Queen-esque formula that combines a Broadway feel with some great hard rock. Meat Loaf ain't no Freddie Mercury, but he does have some pipes. As I said for the Queen albums, this isn't necessarily music I would keep in my personal rotation, but I can absolutely appreciate it for what it is.

It's like listening to a rock musical. But a good one.

Demasiado largo. Un 3, por pesao. Tiene dos megahits: -I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That): NO me gusta -Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through: SÍ me gusta

Totally overblown boogie rock, as expected. Musical theater. Don't hate it, but will not listen.

Awesome. Had it playing on a cross country drive. I’d forgotten how many bangers there were on the album.

Absolute top album. Every song tells a story and I'm a sucker for rock operas. "Bat Out of Hell," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," and"You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth" are amazing.

My first album suggestion. Right off the bat (haha) I can't think of any Meat Loaf songs other than I'd Do Anything For Love that I know of...and his Rocky Horror Picture Show appearance. I should say the album cover is very quintessential 70's-80's rock, and I love it, but it does evoke more metal than rock-opera vibes. After listening to this all the way through, I can definitely see the musical theatre direction with Steinman. It's always a little weird to hear grown men sing about teenage love, but regardless of lyrical content, the musicality is strong, I love the piano and strong vocals, particularly in the opening and closing tracks, making this a pretty well rounded album. I found myself getting a bit bored and tired with the songs in between, but when the album ended, I did wish there was a bit more. Just that the more had similar vibes to the first and last songs. Being that this is the first album recommended to me on here, I am curious how the rest of this journey will go. I can see this being a favorite of cis white guys from this era or who were raised on it from their parents. Not a knock against anyone, it just definitely has those vibes, haha. Added to playlist: Bat Out of Hell, For Crying Out Loud Thought about adding You Took The Words Right Out of my Mouth, and Paradise by the Dashboard Light, but ultimately decided against it. Rest in peace, MeatLoaf

Incredible sound for the time in which the album was made

Surprisingly good album with three solid hits and a good supporting cast of songs.

Amazing album cover! Not a fan of Meat Loaf.

Over the top, campy, musical theatery proggy rock n roll. It’s really well done and I feel like I should like it more but idk.

Really theater-y. Technically a lot better than some stuff on this list but too theater-y for me. It’s like queen but not as good

I did not know what to expect and I LOVED this.

A wild ride of an album. This is exactly the kind of music that I hoped for in this list: something that I haven't paid attention to before, catches me off guard, is wonderfully unique, and technically well-made.

It helped a little to pretend like I was listening to the soundtrack from a cheesy musical

So cool. Don’t know if I would have ever thought to listen to an album over singles but I’m glad I did. It’s just so strange. Loved it.

Love Steinman. OTT rock clichés ftw.

I get that the melodrama is kind of the point, but that doesn't make this any good to listen to. I'll always prefer to remember him as Robert Paulson, anyway.

I don't know how to feel about this. How can you not be into a rock opera. The second half of Paradise by the Dashboard Light is hilarious - the idea of agreeing to love someone to the end of time (after sleeping on the question and answering in the morning) then promptly praying for the end of time to hurry up and arrive is comedic gold.

Difficile pour moi de mettre une note moyenne à un classique du rock comme celui-ci, et pourtant... Il y a des albums qui vieillissent mal et Bat Out Of Hell fait partie de ceux-ci. Peut-être que ce ressenti est présent si on ne s'est pas familiarisé avec plus tôt. Peut-être que c'est ce qui fait que je suis totalement passée à côté et que si j'avais découvert plus tôt j'aurais été plus tolérante ? Mais aujourd'hui le mièvre l'aura emporté sur les guitares électriques. Trop kitsch, trop mielleux, trop geignard, trop... ! (ça ne m'empêche pas d'y avoir trouvé un petit je-ne-sais-quoi de Rocky Horror Picture Show qui m'a absolument ravie - Pensées pour Eddie !)

Dashboard, 2 out of 3 and Words right out of my mouth are all pretty good but Meatloaf’s schtick gets old real fast…to me anyway. Not a bad album by any stretch, but definitely not great.

I have never understood the broad appeal for Meat Loaf. Perhaps it is because his music taps a similar campy vein to what I understand to be present in Rocky Horror Picture Show. In any case, this is an album I have never had any intention of listening to, yet here we are... Four songs in this is everything that I expected. Super flamboyant / campy production and compositions that feel overstuffed and theatrical at their core. There is some fine instrumental work in here to be sure, but I am not into the aesthetic. This one gets 2 stars only because Paradise by the Dashboard Light is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Album by bitch tits. Definitely an interesting album. Was more like a ballad story style album. Bat out of hell was probably my favorite of the songs. Not my usual genre. 2.5 stars for me.

Holy hell, if the rest of the album can match "Bat Out of Hell" then this has all the makings of a 5 star album. I was expecting some garbage punk with a name like Meat Loaf. Loving the keys, the sax, and the vocals; both lead singer and chorus. All Revved Up with No Place to Go scratched that same itch from the intro song. I have definitely heard Paradise before. Settled into a 4 by the end of this one.

Don't know if there has ever been an album where the cover art and the music are on completely different ends of the spectrum. If I didn't already know Meatloaf I would fully be expecting a thrash metal album here. Starts off with a bang with the title song which is always fun to listen to in moderation. The piano game is real strong throughout the whole album. It almost feels like things get a bit too over dramatic on this album, not sure if that makes sense in writing but I am not sure how else to describe it. Paradise By the Dashboard Light is another song that is really fun to sing along to, but would never purposely listen to it more than like once or twice a year. Also didn't know it was by Meatloaf. Some parts were really good, but mostly it was an ok album. I'd say mid to high 3

Bob has bitch tits. Was hoping for more out of this but it ended up being a bit too "rockera" for me. Some songs just sounded like a worse Elton John.

Interessante. Musical. Dinâmico. Lembra um pouco Queen.

great example of what 1001 albums can provide. Another strong 3

cool musically but not for me, though I do love a good meat loaf

awful added to playlist: bat out of hell

Meat Loaf hatte ich früher gar nicht auf dem Schirm. Sehr bombastisch.

Overblown.

Paradise by the dashboard lights is a gem.

Rock opera!

I was not expecting this album to be this good.

That was something

Didn't go into this expecting to enjoy it but I really got into the theatricality of it all. Good fun.

Better than I expected. Theatrical but fun

Honestly not what I expected. I really only knew Meat Loaf from "I'll do anything for love". It was a little circus(y) sounding but honestly not bad. Few songs but only 7 tracks. For some reason I was expecting a 2 hour album. I guess I had Meal Loaf wrong. Not bad. First half of album was more fun. Then it got sad and self loathing and not so good. Then some disco which was nice. Then it got sad again and fizzled out. I'm give the album 1 and a quart thumbs up. Out of 3 thumbs. Spotify kept wanting to switch over to the Rolling Stones. Kind of asking "Hey, isn't this better? What are you doing?". Anyway, pretty decent album. Better than I thought Meat Loaf would be.

Heard it a million times

This is an album I've been aware of for several decades, and I've heard most of the songs on this album, but I've never actually listened to it until now. I can understand why this album was so big in its heyday. It's a bunch of songs about young love, but written from the perspective of someone looking back on those days. The music is big and features a lot of instruments, which matches Meat Loaf's powerful voice well. The album really comes together as more than the sum of its parts. It's reputation is well deserved 4/5

His vocal range is pretty impressive. The style of music and instrumentation remind me of Bruce Springsteen. The skits are a little weird. “Paradise by the dashboard light” was a banger.

5 stars!! Meat Loaf was a powerful singer and I really enjoy his music.

This album was inescapable during my senior year of high school, and freshman year of college. Almost every song was on the radio, or being played at campus parties... This album was especially popular with the college ladies, I "inherited" my copy when I got married. This is a very well done album. The songs are solid, Meat sings well. Most of the songs have good hooks. But it really comes off like a soundtrack to a Broadway show. If you read the history, that's by design, but not really a style prefer. Really big sound, over the top stylings, subtle as a brick to the face. And I never quite got the popularity. Not surprised that it was popular, but that it was SO popular. Estimated to have sold 40 million units worldwide. "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" was the huge hit, and is basically an 8 1/2 minute song to set up to dumb joke. Spoiler: the song recounts the "will she or won't she" struggle as a young man tries to "go all the way" with his date. Complete with a drawn out baseball analogy about reaching first base, second base, etc. She finally demands he vow to love her till the end of time, and he eventually agrees in order to succeed at reaching "home". So now he's praying for the end of time. Get it? You know, to end his time with her?? ha-ha-ha. If that's too subtle, there's 2 out of 3, where Meat sings: "I want you, I need you, but there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you. So don't be sad, 'cause 2 out of 3 ain't bad". They's a nice message for the ladies. I don't really mean to gripe, it's a solid album, I own it (via my wife) and listen to it occasionally. I'll give it a 3/5.

Some fun rock, some lame power ballads, and genuinely funny lines. Kind of a mixed bag.

Ridiculous and the songs are too long, but lots of energy and enjoyable.

Was fun, but all over the place.

Ridiculous, incredible, ludicrous, amazing, insane, brilliant.

A fairly good album. Really nothing too stand out or special, but not offensive. 2.5/5 -> 3/5.

These are epic power ballads

C Bat Out Of Hell 3 You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) 3 Heaven Can Wait 3 All Revved Up With No Place To Go 3 Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad 2 Paradise By The Dash Board Light 1 For Crying Out Loud 3 This was pretty boring, but for some reason I expected screamy rock.

So long since I had listened to this band, good music to hear once but not my style anymore

Iconic

Epic over the top rock…. With some nice ballads…. First time notice Two out of Three ain’t bad…..

Kult der Ende 70er... lang lang ist es her, die Stimme erkennt man sofort, hymnenartikes Stakkato und gute Rockmusik, einfach gut

Solid

Meat Loaf - turning it all the way up to 11, 7 years before Spinal Tap

a masterclass in operatic rock melodrama!

Over the top theatrical rock fun.

Mellancamp, Springsteen. It’s as if a karaoke version of common 80s rock hits existed and a moderately talented singer gave his rendition. Just doesn’t hit me as anything necessary to play again. I respect the ambitious song structure and composition. Just kinda meh.

Can’t say I knew many of the songs. Bat Out of Hell has a long intro before the lyrics come in, but lots of cool piano parts. My two faves from the album are Bat Out of Hell and Paradise By the Dashboard Light. Oh, and are those horns in All Revved Up with No Place to Go??!

Love this album. Sad he’s crazy. “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “Bat out of Hell” are my favorites. Definitely more power ballads than I associate with meatloaf!

A product of its time, and has some trite lyrical ideas that seemed like they were very important to the songwriters, but a career and to some extent genre defining record just the same. Paradise by the Dashboard Light is an all time classic and I enjoyed the album cuts more than I expected.

Guilty pleasure rock opera. Campy but fun. I have vivid memories of throwing bullpen sessions in college with this playing over the loudspeakers of our gym. Weird. But a fun time.

Meat Loaf may be singing here, but rest assured this is all Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf is merely the conduit these song chose to make their way into our world.

No es, en absoluto, uno de los mejores discos de la historia. Ni siquiera es uno de los mejores entre los publicados en el productivo 1977 (Talking Heads, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Television, Bowie, Elvis Costello, Bob Marley, Fleetwood Mac, The Jam, Suicide Mink Deville, Kraftwerk, The Modern Lovers, Bee Gees...). Sin embargo es un disco excepcional como obra extempórea y completa que abarca portada, concepto teatral y puesta en escena. Un universo en sí mismo. Las canciones son lírica y musicalmente atemporales, al margen de la evidente influencia de Springsteen, Spector, y todo el mundo de musicales (del que vienen algunos de sus mejores temas, entre ellos el inicial). Ahora bien, se trata de una obra que no conviene escuchar más de una o dos veces por década. Es preferible ocupar el tiempo en otros discos más disfrutables.

3.4

Sometimes I feel quite disconnected to the rest of culture. This was in the charts for some insanely long period and I have no idea why? There is nothing on it that’s really stand out and it’s quirky enough not to be middle of the road. enough to be a coffee table album. Was it just the cover?

I enjoy Meat Loaf for the OTT camp nature of the whole thing but can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's rock n roll for musical theatre goers which is a niche that's pretty much all his own. Most of the tracks go on a bit long for me but I enjoyed it

Late 70s excess. Also is this where Jack black got his voice.

Fun one. I think I like part two better but overall this is a solid album. 3/5

Yeah go on then....

Cute rock ballad, not really my style tho

Campy fun.

Gaudy and over the top in a fun way

Always a great album to go back to

LIVE FROM NEW YORK ITSSSSS SATURDAY NIGHT!! that was a pretty tasteless joke, sorry [revs electric meat slicer]

Love love love this album… went thru 3 of them in college!!

Welcome to my teens! This album was a sorely needed break from disco.

Not a bad song on this

How was this so good? I’ve never once (knowingly) heard a Meat Loaf song, so I had certain expectations of what he’d sound like. But this is not what I was expecting at all. It’s so much better! In many of the top reviews, people seem to be saying that this album is overproduced. But that doesn’t bother me. In fact, I tend to enjoy overproduction! I very well may listen to this album again. 8.5/10 Top 5: 1. Bat Out of Hell 2. For Crying Out Loud 3. You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth 4. Heaven Can Wait 5. Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

I didnt mind it, some fun hits in it. Just not too big into the old rock operas I suppose. I cannot see myself getting into Meatloaf though haha

can't listen

3/5 Now don’t be sad, ‘cause 3 out of 5 ain’t bad.

Avausraita ihan ok - siihen se sit jäiki

Great Album!

Bombastic indeed. A variation on Springsteen-style NJ rock

I didn’t know any of these songs. I kept waiting for “Anything For Love,” but that’s a later album. Also, this guy reminds me so much of Jack Black that I couldn’t take it seriously. Some of his songs are meant to be taken lightly, but not all. Entertaining listen.

Meat loaf does exactly what he needs to do. Just a fun listen

A very 70s odyssey, almost insufferably campy and dramatic… emphasis on the almost. A fun and entertaining ride chock full of great vocals. Best song: Paradise by the Dashboard Light

This is a great album for a certain kind of person that I'm not. Big, bombastic and heavy on the cheese. For Crying Out Loud is pretty fun ender though.

Meatloaf is so funny because he basically sings musical theater songs about fucking, but then the album art is like a panel from demon superhero comic.

not for me

I liked the piano play with the rock. Songs were okay, not sure I would choose to listen to this full album again though.

I didn’t like the Dashboard by whatever. I see why people dislike and like him. I honestly don’t care. I will sit on top of the fence and not move.

So I had never heard of Meat Loaf til now so my expectations were entirely based upon the album cover so I was expecting like thrash metal. I was quite wrong and I am oh so happy I was. I really, really liked this. It was like a mashup of Journey and Queen. He does an incredible job with the power ballads. On track 6 the little baseball commentary is perfect for that song and was a great touch and a great way to add some humor into it. I loved the opening song the title matched the feel and the intensity of the song, so well done. Really liked this a lot (again I'm quite surprised). Very swag only complaint I have is that spoken word stuff at the beginning of track 2 was kinda weird but I can ignore that because the rest of the album is so good.

if campy-big, musical theater type sounds are your thing.....here ya go. he's a talented musician, just not my style

5/10 not terrible but not great

You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth All Revved Up with Nowhere to Go Paradise By the Dashboard Light For Crying Out Loud I can tell it’s good quality and well put together. I’m honestly just not a fan.

I prefer his later work

Masterpiece. It’s the album that defined a generation. Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman created a concept album that is difficult to emulate.

It’s definitely a fun album. Hard to have a bad time listening to this one. Don’t think I’m gonna come back to listen to it tho. Rating: 3.0

Nothing that really catches my ear... the rock compositions are rather forgetable

One of the many instances in which I need to separate the artist from the art. Some of Meat Loaf's opinions and views were pretty awful in the years leading up to his death, but I recognize that can be said of many, many artists, not just in rock music but also in film, television, etc. Anyway, that dilemma is not anything I can solve here or elsewhere, I'm afraid. On we go. Music-wise, this album was so huge in my preteen and early teen years, and I still find it entertaining, fun, and of course, nostalgia-inducing. It's high energy, over-the-top, and so skillfully done.

I respect the ambition to create this, but don't enjoy listening to it

Considered giving this a 5 as it's pretty enjoyable and has some classic tracks. In the end I just don't really want to listen to it repeatedly or frequently

If you embrace the Camp this is super fun. Wall of sound with musical theatre lyrics.

Bangers.

Theatrical and fun. Because it's the soundtrack of a play it naturally works as an album.

Bit theatrical for my taste, but good fun none-the-less. Favourite tracks: Bat Out of Hell, You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night), Great Boleros of Fire.

7/10

Good stuff nut not really a fan.

Horny boomer cringe. Play it loud!

way better than I thought it would be. really 3.5 stars but i'll roud up for the fun.

If a 14 year old boy after a breakup with his first gf was magically put into a full grown man’s body overnight and made an album it’d be this

Already knew Bat out of Hell but not the other tracks. Aforementioned track is awesome but everyone knows that. I kind of liked the ‘punchline’ at the end of Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Album remains filed as Dad music to me. Extra star for Bat out of Hell being epic though

Not really my thing, was waiting for it to end

would

ist in meiner Sammlung und immer gern gehört. Einfach große klasse!!!

This is the first album so far that I already loved and choose to listen to occasionally. There's nothing like it, and nothing I say can convey the joy it brings me.

Well you can't say Loaf didn't bring the energy, but it sounds like some horny reject kidnapped the E-Street Band and made them make a musical theater album for some reason. I'll probably never listen to this album on purpose again. RIP to Loaf tho. Gotta appreciate the passion. Seemed like a fun guy and that personality counts for a lot and clearly resonated with enough people. Shoutout to Jim Steinman who wrote the whole damn album.

The youtube of bat out of hell misses the whole intro. I never realized that there was a naked guy on the motorcycle. I really like this album. every song on it is great.

Feels like a watching a musical. Very entertaining. Bruce Springsteen and Billy joel vibes, same era so makes sense. Great balance with softer and harder sounds, but did get slightly repetitive. I would LOVE to see a Styx album soon. Lot of these are oldies good but cheesy.

Loved it

Huge fan of this album. Only thing keeping me from 5 stars is the fact that it's hard for me to get thru some of the songs in one go (they get a lil repetitive). But damn bat out of hell, PBTDL, you took the words right out of my mouth, just bangers on bangers here.

I know it’s not the critical darling, but this album is fucking fun. I would’ve loved to see this live in concert. It’s straight up musical theater. There’s dialogue, humor, scenes, etc. and the fact that a guy like Meat Loaf can become a rock star gives hope to us all.

1st song: Picturing Jason Segal from Forgetting Sarah Marshall as the lead singer. wtf is this wolf shit This is the cheesiest pop rock laser opera ever. It’s terrible but I love it. I don’t know if I can finish this Ooh funkiness in paradise by the dashboard light. Back to cheese. God damn. Cheesier than fondue I did it. I finished the album. That was painful

Felt like a play.

Tesko je biti objektivan prema nekome s tako dobrim imenom, ali i album je bio bas fora. Bar dovoljno da cu ga spamati danas opet.

Mildly interesting.

Theatrical

If I ever have to hear this album again it will be too soon. Pomp musical rock drama is awful, pretentious nonsense.

I most associate Meat Loaf with Rocky Horror. Very easy album to get through due to the short play time, listened 3x. Juxtaposition of dive bar biker metal and love ballads. Paradise by the Dashboard Light had me dying, an anthem for couples in desperate need of therapy, true romance 😹. Easy listen.

Overblown, pompous pop-rock. What's not to like?

Good ol' Meatloaf. First time I've ever listened to the whole Album and Paradise by the Dashboard lights was hilarious. His music is too dramatic for me but it was really well done.

Demasiado largo. Un 3, por pesao. Tiene dos megahits: -I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That): NO me gusta -Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through: SÍ me gusta.

Reminds me of being in the car with my parents in the early 90’s. The album peaks at the title track, then is more of the same ‘rock opera’ format that starts to grate on you after a while. I guess it came out in 1977, so maybe it was groundbreaking then, but really not my kinda thing.

2024-02-28...

Never mind the purpled prose and tortured metaphors, this is good stuff. The big guy can really sing, the studio band is terrific, and the wry bit of story is sure to make you smile at yourself. Shades of Queen....

Meat loaf bat out of hell

I had a traumatic karaoke experience where I was forced into listening to the entirety of two white peoples in hawiiaian shirts singing paradise by the dashboard light. I’ve protested listening to meat loaf ever since and no I didn’t listen to this album but I can imagine it’s a two.

Hard to follow right after Illinois. But this album had an average song length of almost 7 minutes. Thats way too crazy. As I was listening to the last song I thought to myself, “Ok that was a pleasant ending, seemed shorter than some of the other songs though.” When I looked at the time there was still 5 and a half minutes left. Insane. I found it hard to stay engaged. Conceptually it was interesting with each song seeming to have multiple parts/acts, but it just wasn’t entertaining enough to carry it.

The whole operatic rock thing was never really for me, but there were still parts where I was thinking this was a great album. There were even more moments where I was wanting the song to just be over already. I also could do without the couple bits of dialogue added in. All that said, the musical ability and skill is evident and the ballads were excellent. I don’t know how I feel about this one. I don’t think it’s a two but I don’t know that I can justify a three. I’ll sleep on it and decide in the morning.

This is a major nostalgia album for me. My mom used to play this all the time, and I've been listening to it for as long as I can remember. This album is full of fun piano rock ballads performed with so much energy. Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman make for an awesome duo. If you've ever listened to a Meat Loaf album after those two broke up, you'll know that the sound by Meat Loaf and song writing by Steinman are both crucial to their success. "Bat Out of Hell", "Two out of Three Ain't Bad", and "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" are all iconic. I can see how some people might get bored by the repetitive nature of a 9 minute long song, but that's also part of their epicness. This album is epic, iconic, but a little repetitive. That's ok though, because two out of three ain't bad.

7/10 - 3/5 Title track is awesome, a little too long. The rest of the album is similar to the most mid Billy Joel/Elton John (if he wore a biker jacket) experience imaginable.

Jim Steinman knew how to write a damn pop song. Bat Out of Hell (the song and the album) is a crushing, pompous, opera-rock adventure. The album cover is also a perfect representation of what you get across the 46 minutes and change of musicianship on BOOH. The older I get, the more I appreciate this album and the story behind its creation. Meatloaf and Steinman were a dynamic duo. Still very listenable with the exception of the last song that I find boring, but not off-putting. Interesting factoids from Wikipedia: *The album was developed from a musical, Neverland, a futuristic rock version of Peter Pan, which Steinman wrote for a workshop in 1974. *Paradise By the Dashboard Light is divided into four parts--Part 1: Paradise, Part 2: Baseball broadcast, Part 3: "Stop Right There!", Part 4: Praying for the end of time *In early live performances of (Paradise by the Dashboard Light), Part 4 was followed by a spoken-word epilogue in which the two characters, presumably having been married for a number of years, argued about what to keep after the couple's divorce. The argument was cut short by the female shouting "...And I'll keep the baby!", which left Meat Loaf's character, previously unaware of the pregnancy, speechless; immediately after, he ended the argument by screaming incoherently at her. The exchange was repeated with different female vocalists, in different versions and with different endings, in most of Meat Loaf's subsequent live tours and remained in the set until his death, when it was still occasionally performed by Meat Loaf and his featured vocalist Patti Russo. *Bat Out of Hell has sold over 43 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. *Steinman and Meat Loaf had difficulty finding a record company willing to sign them. According to Meat Loaf's autobiography, the band spent most of 1975 writing and recording material, and two and a half years auditioning the record and being rejected. *[Record company exec] Steve Popovich reportedly listened to the (spoken word) intro to [You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth] and it became a key factor of his accepting Bat Out of Hell for Cleveland International Records. *Phil Rizzuto's baseball play-by-play call for "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" was recorded in 1976 at The Hit Factory in New York City by Rundgren, Meat Loaf, and Steinman. As an Italian Catholic, Rizzuto publicly maintained he was unaware that his contribution would be equated with sex in the finished song. However, Meat Loaf asserts that Rizzuto claimed ignorance only to stifle criticism and was fully aware of the context of what he was recording. *Steinman had wanted equal billing with Meat Loaf on the album's title; he wanted it to be called "Jim Steinman presents..." or "Jim and Meat", or vice versa. For marketing reasons, the record company wished to make 'Meat Loaf' the recognizable name. As a compromise, the words "Songs by Jim Steinman" appear relatively prominently on the cover. The singer believes that this was probably the beginning of their "ambivalent relationship." *The album launched the career of Steinman, who would later begin producing his records as well; he was specifically sought by Bonnie Tyler on the basis of his work and production styles on the album to revitalize her career and produce an album specifically modeled on the productions of Phil Spector. ... Aside from Tyler, he composed and produced songs for musicians such as Air Supply, Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, the Sisters of Mercy, and Celine Dion. Standouts: Bat Out of Hell, You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night), Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, Paradise By the Dashboard Light

Growing up, seeing the album cover of this made me think I was getting was Black Sabbath was but instead what I got was Jefferson Starship. 🥇Paradise By the Dashboard 🥈 Bat out of Hell 🥉You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth

Meat Loaf is just as good as its food counter part. I definitely got behind it a lot more on the second listen, still just not my cup of tea. This is probably Tim Allen’s favorite album

5/5 AGAIN I AM ON A ROLL BOYS. This is the first 5 where I was not familiar with the artist at all but I love meatloaf( irony) This is giving Broadway and show tunes and the beat switch on Paradise by the dashboard is so much fun. What a rollercoaster from the album art I was sure I would not like this but the saxophone usage and the piano and the singing and the story omg I can not get enough of this. Rock and roll and blues and jazzy. All revved up with no place to go. It is so Campy and cheesy. I want more fun and interesting music like this stop giving us depressed stuff for 5 minutes. This is be a classic and on my CD wall soon!

Fun enough. It’s got that broadway rock thing where the songcraft is immaculate but its a showtune despite all the rock and roll trappings.

Bat Out of Hell is a nostalgia-inducing masterpiece that takes me on a journey back to carefree childhood days. Seeing it live is an experience filled with joy and excitement, rekindling fond memories with every mention. The album's grand production and boogie-woogie piano inject a sense of energy and playfulness that is simply infectious. However, it's the poignant baseball commentary on paradise that truly elevates this album to greatness. Through powerful lyrics and captivating melodies, it explores themes of love, longing, and the human pursuit of happiness. Each track leaves a lasting impression, challenging listeners to reflect on their own perceptions of fulfilment. Bat Out of Hell is a superb album that stands the test of time. NUMBER OF BANGERS - 7 STAND OUT TRACK - Paradise by the Dashboard Light

Took me a few sittings to get through this beast. First one was while I was flying back from holiday and was going over Madrid, second one was whilst vacuuming and finally while making breakfast. Quite an overwhelming piece of work. I’m not sure I’ll be revisiting it but can deffo appreciate the work that must have gone into writing this goofy opera. FairPlay meatloaf for those pipes. I liked the 3 out of 4 song and the one where they’re gonna bang but she wants him to tel him he loves him first. Think I saw a video of them playing that on the old grey whistle test and it was fun at

Reminds me of that puppet vampire rock opera in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2.2 Pretty much as commercial as music can get.

Hopefully this doesn't bring on another Springsteen conversation. I do not like meatloaf. All his songs are 80% too long too.

Outrageous

Super fun album. Really enjoy the guitar throughout, and Meat Loaf has a great voice.

This is some weird combo of Elton John, Queen, Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac. There were moments of that combo I liked and moments I hated.

Just not digging it.

Well, that was... a lot. Mr. Loaf seems to be the least shouty thing about this entire production. But I get why it's sold so much.

Definite 5 star album. I've listened to this one a lot. Owned it on vinyl for years. I'll probably never willingly listen to this album again.

Awesome album art! Interesting mix of rock songs and sappy love songs. Great use of piano throughout. Bat out of Hell (nearly 10 minutes) Two out of Three Ain't Bad Paradise by the Dashboard Light (8.5 minutes)

Progressive glam rock, very impressive rock opera

Theatrical, over the top, songs are very long too. However, a couple of them were lovely. Interesting arrangements. Would listen again in moderation.

OMG this is so bad. I hate Meat Loaf so much. If I never hear another ML song ever again it will be too soon. How to I give this (-) points? I assume this is something that you would have to have grown up with to even consider as something worth listening to again. Please 1001 Albums Generator, do not feed me anymore of this trash.

Always loved this album, but it’s a crazy mix of hard hitting bangers and love song anthems that changes the tempo too drastically and doesn’t maintain the energy or vibe to get a 5.

Overwrought, bombastic and tragically kitsch - what is not to love?

This is a weird one. There are a lot of positives, but at the same time, I'm like... this is Meatloaf, and I don't particularly want to like meatloaf. Here is the thing, a lot of the stuff i like on this album, sounds like Born to Run, but not as good as Born to Run. So like a worse Born to Run, but its a 5 star album so being similar to that is good. The songs are long, but i don't find that to be a negative at all. There's only 7 songs, but i feel like they've been worked on so long and so hard that they are improved to an extent that they can't be made any better. I think in terms of best song, You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth is the highlight and Paradise By The Dashboard Light is probably the worst song, still decent but just a bit kind of a mash up of loads of different stuff that doesn't really go together, sounds a little like Rocky Horror Show. I think it's probably a mid 3, I dont know that I'd ever listen to it again, but it is good. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on. There have been a lot of albums that have been a lot worse. But after it's third listen today, we'll leave it there

I grew up listening to this album. So fun to relisten. I like how the album looks so much more intense than the actual music. I like all these songs.

Every new track it sounds more like a musical. The opener is like the overture, with several musical motifs leading into an eight-minute title track. I was surprised to find Jim Steinman didn't also write musicals - you can hear the entire thing taking place on a stage with exposition and characters, etc. I get that it's an important album, but despite growing up listening to Andrew Lloyd Weber and other Broadway hits collections, I wouldn't ever put this on to vibe to.

mega

Das Cover hat irgendwie mehr evilness versprochen. Ja, es ist nicht schlecht, aber ich fands einfach super cheesy. Knapp noch 3 mit 2,6...

Pretty fun songs, not my fav style but defs talented musicians

Feels very self indulgent. All the songs are far too long and it is all a bit boring.

Country rock vibes, even though I thought this would be metal Couple of good songs but bad otherwise

Never listened to him before - felt a bit like a novelty record but was ok

Solid rock album, title song was v good

Incredibly awesome

Day 3 - Bat Out Of Hell (1977) Having given "Surfer Rosa," my previous album, 2 stars, I nearly cried when I saw "Bat Out Of Hell," seemingly a metal album. Nonetheless, Marvin Lee Aday, or Meat Loaf, is written as "one of the best selling music artists in history," and known for his "his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows." Can't lie, I'm impressed. Excited to give "Bat Out Of Hell" a spin, it seems promising. ── ࣪˖ ࣪ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ── To start off, "Bat Out Of Hell" is very extravagant and operatic with an Elton-style piano introduction and a shredding guitar. Marvin and Jim Steinman, the composer, really outdid themselves. The song finally slows down as the vocals commence; Marvin has a surprisingly strong and rich voice. From the title and cover, I expected the album to be a lot more heavy, slurred and incomprehensible. The debut track already cements how theatrical, over-the-top and impactful the album is going to be. "Bat Out Of Hell" is nine minutes of pure eargasm: fun and futuristic, a rollercoaster of emotions. "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth" is strangely theatrical: it starts off with a dialogue, "On a hot's summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? Yes." Although the dialogue may seem silly at first, I've a feeling that it's a metaphor for something much, much darker. My theory is cemented as Marvin hisses, "I bet you say that to all boys." The song is incredibly solid and fun as well. "Heaven Can Wait" is a shorter, but more gentle and serene ballad whilst "All Revved Up with No Place to Go" springs back into Marvin's original, loud and pretentious sound. I'm a little disappointed at all the negative reception on the album. Seriously, people need to relax a bit. "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and "For Crying Out Loud" are more driven symphonic ballads. Overall, the album is a genuine rollercoaster, it has something for everybody. I'm surprised I haven't heard of this album sooner, honestly. The key takeaway is to not judge an album from it's cover! I would've never discovered this fun gem had I skipped the album, would I? :>

Second album on here that I own. Incredibly bombastic and utterly over the top but so expertly done you just have to love it. Favorite track "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" but all tracks are excellent. Would like to give it 6 stars but unfortunately not possible.

Original, theatrical

Lots of wild things on this one, starting with the biggest one which is that this is apparently like the 6th highest selling album of all time. This is really pretty wild to me, I know my old music knowledge isn't the best (which is why I'm doing this album thing), but this album seems to have basically no staying power compared to the other stuff on the best selling list. I really had no idea what I was getting into here. I'm going to fully admit that my perception of Meatloaf (knowing nothing about his music) was not particularly positive. I remember him from some lame commercials and had read some things about him being a right-wing nut in his old age. Then apparently he said people wearing masks on planes were Nazis or something, and then he (probably) died of Covid in 2022. I kind of assumed this was just going to be some hard metal thing from a bad dude that I would hate, especially given the album art. We try to separate the art from the artist here though, so I tried to keep an open mind. Turns out this is a whole theatrical rock-opera production. Half of this could be a Broadway production, it's totally over-the-top. The lyrics are pretty cheesy (honestly the whole production is pretty cheesy), but it's definitely a dramatic. I generally am into the glam-rock type music, but this one just wasn't generally working for me. It felt like Queen at times, Elton John at times, others at times, and in every case it just seemed like a worse version. It's not bad, and the drama of it makes it a fairly enjoyable listen at least, but I just can't believe this sold as well as it did. "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" is like four different songs smashed together (plus a baseball announcer in the middle) and it's probably the most interesting song on here. Honestly one gripe I have is that all the songs are so long, they just never end (47 minutes for 7 songs). It's fine as a full album together, but I just don't see myself listening to this much on a one-off basis. I will say something nice about Meatloaf, he can definitely sing and keep the energy up. He was probably fun to see live in his prime. I'm probably still over-indexing on my initial perception of him, but my overall take of this is just "fine". I think the popularity of this one might be a bit of a moment in time thing that I can't quite capture today. Maybe I'll come back to this sometime and feel differently though. Favorite song: Paradise By the Dashboard Light Other: Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, Bat Out of Hell 2/16/24

It's like Bruce Springsteen playing Queen songs with Elton John. Made well, but not my taste. Favorite song: You took the words right out of my mouth

Huge album when it came out. I remember trying to figure out what the heck it was when I first heard it. Rock? Yes. Broadway? Yes. Top 40? Yes. Sappy cry at home on a Friday night alone? Yes. I still leave “Dashboard” on when it comes on the radio. Mostly waiting for Scooter’s part.

Every teenage boy’s favorite rock opera. Still a fantastic album. 4.5 stars.

This album did not age well for me.

It was good, didn't really love it. More power of a power ballad for men, not a bad thing just not my thing.

Very theatrical, insane voice, you can tell he's really feeling it

Knew way more songs than I thought. Huge variety of influences on the songs. A solid record, other than for crying out loud (meh, weak song to end on).

Meeeeatloaffffff. That guy can sing, but there's only so much meatloaf I can deal with in one sitting.

Ok

good production quality. I tend to like rock opera

This is just fun.

Haven’t heard it in a while. Wanted to hate it. Like a Broadway play/ Grease III??but lightning in a bottle. Todd Rungren produces an album that sells 40m copies A well packaged effort but maybe too much of a package. Voice is great and musicians are great. Why am I still writing about meatloaf

This album brings back great memories. Was a big part of my high school sound track. Every party, car and radio had one of these songs playing at some point. Great combo Meat & Jim.

Classic. Theatrical rock with Meatloaf belting it out. Interesting arrangements and backup vocals

Liked it better than I thought I would. So this is Meat Loaf.

His name is Robert Paulson

This albums sounds like a mesh between Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and Queen. Some of the songs like paradise by the dashboard light are so over the top and dramatic. It makes for a great listen all the way through. 3.67

One of my all-time faves. Epic, rock opera with lyrics you will never forget and wish you penned....

Shorter than I thought it would be. Solid rock opera.

Muy buen disco. Espectacular la voz y las guitarras. Una pena que se haya oído demasiado.

Great musician

A banger of the highest order.

Very fun. I love rock operas.

Pretentious. Sooo pretentious it’s perfect

Very wild ride on the bat out of hell. Expected a metal album from the cover, then was treated to a performance theatrical performance like an American version of Queen. The Guns n' Roses like moaning session in the middle of it really tied everything together.

Meat Loaf is what Bruce Springsteen would’ve sounded like had he gone to Broadway sooner. Or if he cared about making an absolute hit record in the late ‘70s. You’d never guess it from the pulp fantasy art cover (or maybe you would?!), but this is a really fun album, aware of its own silliness. It’s in on its own joke, and that’s why it works—like all good bits, it takes the humor as seriously as it takes the music. Of course, Meat Loaf is more than the iconic front man: it’s about Jim Steinman’s songs (I mean, he’s on the album cover’s marquee!); it’s about co-vocalist/love interest/antagonist Ellen Foley; and it’s about Todd Rundgren’s unapologetically bombastic production. The cliché-adjacent song titles hint at classic tunes, and they manage the most surprising magic trick of the whole record—they deliver on what they promise. The twin standout tracks, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” could’ve been titles ripped from the ‘50s, and they sort of are, only with an updated ‘70s Rock sensibility. The only complaint is that you have to wade through most of the record to get to them, but when you do, they pack such a satisfying one-two punch that you’re just happy to be there. Meat Loaf exploded onto the scene like the titular Bat Out of Hell, and he put in some acting work, but this is his deserved platinum-covered legacy. He’d have one more monster hit, returning to that well for a Part II and giving us one more instant classic single. Rest in Power ballads, Meat Loaf.

Forgot about this one! Love this album.

Love this album, so powerful from start to finish. I think I heard it for the first time a year ago, and it only seemed better this time.

Weird music, weird guy. I didn’t make it very far through this and have 0 interest in continuing or finishing. My time is too valuable for this.

This was my first time listening to Meat Loaf and I expected a much harder rock from the album cover. I enjoyed it. I had always heard that people made fun of meat loaf and now I am not sure why. These are solid tracks that make me thing of Rock Love Ballads. Overall super enjoyable. 4 stars

Excellent. Kinda silly, but the arrangements are great and super fun.

Enjoyed it a lot actually .Especially the middle of the record,the three track run from "You took the words right of my mouth" which is a classic to "Heaven can wait" to "All revved up with no place to go" to "Two out of three Ain't bad" which was by far my favourite

Man, it's bombastic and operatic. Really enjoy the seriousness with which they take it.

All american cool people's high school musical

Naw son. Don’t need this. The best part is the baseball play-by-play.

A Meat Loaf master piece. Strong lyrics, fierce vocals.

First song was one of the most awesome listening experiences I've had in a while. A classic rock ballad. The rest was enjoyable to listen to, and reminded me of listening to classic rock with my dad when I was a boy. Good album, I'll definitely listen again.

I had a different experience with this album. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but instead I didn't understand it. All the songs were a very lopsided love story. It didn't have any emotional tweaks that were there when I was younger. I think I outgrew this one.

4-

Nett

He’s had some range! Liked it better than I thought I would.

Fun unique album. Great!

If you’re in the market for a cheesy, over-the-top, yet well-made caricature of Born to Run, look no further.

Awesome album!

It's not bad and I do understand that people like it, but this is not for me.

What did people do at wedding parties before 1977?

I love this album. It's stupid, ridiculous, unhinged, overdramatic, and brilliant all at once. The theatric element is overdone to the point where the cheesiness and unnecessary horns and whistles end up being unironically fantastic. It's like operatic-soft-metal, with just the right level of kitschiness to convert the haters. The instrumentation is on point, and the melodies are fun and relistenable. Maybe the most shallowly important element that pushes this to five stars for me is its utter confidence to be loud and nonsensical.

A good meatloaf album with a lot of his popular songs that I enjoyed.

Didn't love it. Was boring and was glad when it ended. No songs really stood out - I already knew bat out of hell, other than that, I can't really remember any of the songs, and I only just finished listening to it. The songs are way too long - album is over an hour and there's only 9 tracks! Might be better live? Might be better as a musical? Not sure! 1*

Sounds a lot less aggressive than it looks. Feels like show music.

Always a fantastic listen.

What's not to like? Meat, Ellen Foley, Runt....fun music....Rocky Horror....get over yourself

Classic: 5/5: Paradise by the Dashboard Light, Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, Heaven Can Wait, Bat Out of Hell, For Crying Out Loud. 4/5: All Revved Up with No Place to Go

4/5

Bombastic but fun. Brought back memories of my high school days.

Mr Loaf fucking kills. All cylinders, all the time.

Banger

Top 10

Operatic, excellent production by Todd Rundgren.

theres definitely some women in their 60s bopping to this

One of my favorites. Great songs highlighted by "Paradise .." which is an all-time classic.

3.5 stars rounded up.

p389. 1977. 5 stars. Bombastic, overproduced rock opera with a genuine sense of humour and cracking tunes. Love it.

is this rock?

To me this feels like Bruce Springsteen for theatre nerds. I don't necessarily think the music is bad but I think this is more of a me issue. A good operatic power ballad is fine but every song feels to hit those notes.

The album cover honestly portrays this album well. The most power ballad album to ever power ballad. Its not hard to see why people look back on this album fondly. Basically every song here could be a single, but the titular track, as well as two outta three and paradise by dashboard light all stood out to me. 3.5 if I could. I'm not gonna put this one in my rotation but its never unwelcome.

Not my cup of tea.

Always loved this album, and have heard it many times. Meat Loaf was a great showman and I think this was his best-ever work.

An epic plate of bodaciousness. Drenched in awesomesauce. That's this album

The first album I ever bought. Musically, Steinman's work is timeless. Lyrically, some of it hasn't aged well, especially Paradise By The Dashboard Lights

Me: wow this sounds like a musical *looks up the wiki Oh Anyways Jim Steinman only produces bangers

This album was a fun ride. I didn't know Mr. Loaf went so hard.

Not a huge fan of Meat Loaf.

Absolute favorite album ever!

Not at all the vibes I was expecting based off the album name and artwork. I was expecting metal and I got 70s Queenesque opera rock. Even though they aren't the vibes I expected, they were good ones. Very high paced. I mostly enjoyed the quick piano progressions paired with the electric guitar. I realized about halfway through the listen that there's actually a love story being told not just a collection of love songs. On the second listen I read the wiki first. Come to learn it's actually a retelling of Peter Pan (never would've came to that conclusion on my own). So on the second listen I payed much closer attention to the storytelling.

Not Jim Steinman's best work.

This album was incredibly popular when I was a kid. I'm still tired of it. The songs have not aged well. I am rapidly losing interest in listening to these albums. Why is there so much cheesy early rock on this list?

Operatic

Like the soundtrack to a musical that didn't exist for another 40 years. Where other rock operas stretched rock music out to the grandiose limits of opera, Meat Loaf instead confines all that is opera into the form of a rock song. Earnest. Bombastic. Ridiculous and refined. Glam as grit. And truly emblematic of those aching teenage years, at least more so than any of the moodiness that you think it's all about at the time.

I've heard a lot of the first Springsteen... I liked it a lot...

I love it. It’s weird, but I love it. Put it on the wall!

Disappointing, I really like ”I would do anything for love” but this is much more mellow.

Not for me

It’s fun jut a bit too musical theater for me. Amazing vocal performances though.

Decent classic rock album, a little too horny. Bat out of hell was my favorite track

Really enjoyed the theatrical nature of the album.

Couldn’t finish it. Too upbeat and pop-y for me to enjoy. Developing an understanding that I like my rock either hard, sad, or camp?

Spotify would not play the last 2 songs.

Hilariously camp panto (Campomime?) A theatre nerd's second-hand idea of what rock n' roll might feel like. There something rural about it. Something virginal. Maybe that's why it's popular? The sort of gear that's quite fun if it pops up on the radio but I'm unlikely to ever seek out. Does it have a sense of irony? I reckon not. Does that matter? 🤷🏻‍♂️

A lot of fun. The cheese factor is high with this one, but he's just so good at it. You just have to lean into it.

I feel like I should hate this but I don't.

Naaah

Good stuff

Liked this one more than I expected to, especially after reading that it was based on a rock opera Peter Pan concept.

So & so Not very impres

Loved this album when I first heard it about 30 years ago and still really like the OTT production

I am sure this is a classic to some but not for me.

Fad

Really great sounds like a really good musical

Guay

Sounded like rock opera. Perhaps I don't understand or get the brilliance but I did not enjoy it.

Rock operas, blijkbaar super nice, maar to be expected

Stop right there! I've got to know right now if you'll love me forever? Nope, baby, baby, don't need to sleep on it ... I love certain tracks on this record until the end of time. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is at the top of that list, along with "Bat Out of Hell." It's too bad we lost The Loaf to COVID. He was certainly an odd rock hero whose music has endured and who was great in "Fight Club" as the guy with breast cancer who coddled Edward Norton between his man boobs. My favorite all-time story of The Loaf was the girl who wrote about him being her softball coach growing up. Just a regular guy who loved hot dogs, baseball, fast cars, frilly shirts and operatic rock.

Not my type but cool

Ótimo vocal Guitarras muito boas

Another album I was already very familiar with. I got big into this album over the pandemic, in all its goofy, overdramatic glory. Every track is a banger. Big, silly, stupid fun.

Classic album.

Aside from the title track, I didn't really connect with this album.

Great album! Favourite song: Two out of Three Aint Bad!

Heard it before, crazy album

Fàcil d'escoltar però no m'enganxa

I mean based on the album cover I was expecting some hard rock and what i got was a kind of rock and roll ballad filled record. I enjoyed it by the end more than I thought but its still just fine

Prime example of Operatic Rock. Slice of time a la Rocky Horror.

Great Album! Tons of Memories!