Bat Out Of Hell - MEAT LOAF*****

Bat Out Of Hell/You Took The Words Out Of My Mouth/Heaven Can Wait/All Revved Up With No Place To Go/Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad/Paradise By The Dashboard Light/For Crying Out Loud

The explosive Bat Out Of Hell combined powerful vocalist Meat Loaf with the stunning songwriting talents of Jim Steinman. A measure of its popular appeal is that it remained in the UK album charts for over a decade. Was this the best rock album of the 1970s? (US:14 UK:9)

“It is so well-written and performed that even the grimmest heart should be warmed listening to this. It may be overly theatrical, over the top, fun, but in a way, it is also serious.”

“This is a quintessential album, not only of my lifetime, but of generations before and after me. It certainly made Meat Loaf's career, and though he had successes after this, they could never live up to what he achieved with this.”

“Make no mistake about it; this is a behemoth of an album, created by a group of people for whom the word subtlety had absolutely no meaning. It's Jim Steinman's album more than anyone else's, of course. His lyrics are blunt, obvious, and scrape heights of emotion rarely rivalled by anyone.”

“The most excessive rock album I've ever heard, and the ultimate expression of youthful drama. The title track is a masterpiece, both musically as well as the story.”

“This is one of those albums that is impossible to rate and impossible to challenge, because it exists in a space and time of its own, one that I’m sure will be repeated at some future date when the cosmic ripples hit the other side of the universe and wash back over this tiny blue planet once again, where we’ll be treated to something equally intense and over the top.”

“Bat Out Of Hell is ridiculous and way over the top. There's absolutely no reason it should be as good and universally enjoyed as it is. Despite everyone's best efforts to catch lightning in a bottle twice, it has never been duplicated.”

“Bat Out Of Hell is by far my favourite song of all times and I listen to it several times a week. It's both sensitive and powerful at the same time, making it very varied.”