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Post by jrmugz on Mar 21, 2015 3:49:45 GMT
I'm enjoying the CD and will give a review tomorrow.
Jim
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 6:44:06 GMT
I remember watching TV when I was about ten or so, and being absolutely terrified by this big, sweaty, long haired man gyrating across stage. But enough about Elvis Presley. lol I must admit, I was never much of a fan, but I was fascinated with the image of Mr. Loaf. Okay, my brief review of the album. Bat Out Of Hell : This is so operatic and big sounding. I suppose Loaf could be the Pavarotti of rock! You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth : I liked this song. It's not exactly deep in the lyric department, but it's fun to listen to. Heaven Can Wait : I really thought this sounded a lot like Queen. It's a nice powerful ballad. All Revved up with No Place to Go : Revved up, huh? It sounds like somebody needs a cold shower. Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad : The ubiquitous rock radio staple. Bad grammar aside, I have always admired this song's clever wordplay. Paradise By The Dashboard Light : Another mini-opera song. A funny one, too! For Crying Out Loud : It was long. That's about all I can say.
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Post by jrmugz on Mar 21, 2015 19:00:56 GMT
OK HW, here is my review of Meat Loaf "Bat Out of Hell". Wasn't familiar with any of it until this point, just heard of it my whole life and always found it an interesting album cover when browsing through the record store as a kid.
Based on the title and cover of the album and the appearance of the artist, I was expecting all the songs to be along the lines of: "Gimme motor oil, me drink motor oil and eat car parts, and wear tattoos and leather, and lead Harley Davison gang, and have big harem of slut biker chicks, etc...."
However, on actually playing the album, I see that Meat Loaf is actually a human being. "Wait a minute Jim, Meat Loaf is the group, not Jim Steinman", blah blah blah, yada yada yada. Tell that to Vincent Furnier whose "band" was once known as "Alice Cooper" in the very early 70s, etc.
01. "Bat Out of Hell" - Immediately love this song. A masterpiece. Fantastic. It's got the emotion, the effective guitar, and great chorus and singing. Reminds me of the vintage stuff on EJ's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album. 02. "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" - The E Street Band meets Vincent Price style romance with a nice chorus. 03. "Heaven Can Wait" - This is a really good one, and I like how it resists the temptation to blow up into a big dramatic thing with drums, as it progresses. Nice restraint makes for a great moment. 04. "All Revved Up With No Place to Go" - Reminds me of the sentiment of "Something in the Night" by Bruce Springsteen. I really like the saxaphone, it saves the song from being blah and actually sounds quite nice. 05. "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" - Good stuff, really like this very nice ballad. Immediately appealing. 06. "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" - Well Nancy, guess every album needs a going through the motions meh kind of song to fill up some space, kinda feels like the lame duck end of a second term. 07. "For Crying Out Loud" - Beautiful ballad. Like it. Very nice.
Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Prime Cuts: "Bat Out of Hell", "Heaven Can Wait", "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", "For Crying Out Loud" Bottom Line: Nice introduction to a great artist.
Discovered some other great songs by him like "It's All Coming Back to me Now" (apparently from a "Bat Out of Hell III"?) as I was exploring this album and artist on YouTube!
Thanks again for sharing an album I have heard of my whole life but never got around to exploring. Glad to finally be familiar with the cool stuff on this CD and a very cool artist! Thanks again.
Jim
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Post by Horacewimp on Mar 21, 2015 19:26:58 GMT
Great review Jim, glad you enjoyed it
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Post by jrmugz on Mar 21, 2015 21:28:40 GMT
Great review Jim, glad you enjoyed it Yup, cool pick! Jim
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Post by queenofthehours on Mar 23, 2015 22:08:04 GMT
1. Bat out of hell – It’s always a bit odd to get an almost-ten-minutes track especially in rock (proper rock). The whole arrangement and the track’s lengths give this song a bit of a prog feel I think. In fact just swap the guitar for a Rick Wakeman style keyboard and you’ll see! 2. You took the words right out of my mouth (Hot summer night) – Yep, defiantly proggy. Sort of goth prog. What Meatloaf lacks in Peter Gabriel costumes he makes up for in effort. I like the backing vocals, works very well.
3. Heaven can wait – I like the piano here. Orchestral backing never hurt any song.
4. All revved up with no place to go – Saxophone, piano, good bass this track's got it all.
5. Two out of three aint’ bad – I like this track best I think, it’s rather lovely. It sounds as if it’s in an unusual time signature but I bet it’s just normal 4/4 anyway. Love the strings.
6. Paradise by the dashboard light – A bit of a 1950’s rock n roll sound. Still a long track, still rock-prog for me.
7. For crying out loud – a nice piano song to end on. I like how it builds to a bigger track.
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the album and even more surprised that I managed to be in the company of Mr Loaf for so long. The album feels rather short but that's good - you don't get board; it's just the right length. The only problem I have is that I kept thinking about the Rocky Horror Show - Mr Loaf's film roles have always been memorable.
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Post by unomusette on Mar 31, 2015 20:25:27 GMT
Aha! Did you think I was weaseling out? Sorry it's been so long, had a bit of a sudden round trip of the UK in the last couple of weeks, due to a surprise mini Muse tour. Following five epic moshes in 8 days at the front of the crowd I'm now facing up to my own mortality. (But I'd do it all again, right now ) As I get used to sitting still again I'm catching up on review duties, let's get Bat out of Hell on the road... 1. Bat out of Hell - Never knowingly underselling a song, this is classic Meat. I've heard it so many times and it's still astounding. I love his overwrought bellowing, nobody else could do it better. And the ending is perfect. 2. You took the words right out of my mouth (Hot summer night) - Tee hee, the spoken opening is fab. Wonder how many times it took to do it all the way through without giggling? That's the best part for me, the song itself is quite a standard radio friendly ballad. Maybe again because I've heard it so much. 3. Heaven can wait - Not so familiar with this one. I do prefer hearing him sing the more uptempo numbers. Sounds like something from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Not one of my favourites. 4. All revved up with no place to go - Love a bit of sax so the opening is promising and whenever it comes back it lifts things. Haven't heard it much but it sounds vaguely familiar. Better than Heaven Can Wait but not outstanding compared with the standout tracks on the album. It has a '50's feel to it, makes me think of the songs from the Rocky Horror Show. 5. Two out of three aint’ bad - I've always liked this song despite it being a slowie. The vocal is a lot better to these ears than on Heaven Can Wait. 6. Paradise by the dashboard light - Back to what Meat does best, it's a proper mini rock opera. Ever since seeing him and Karla DeVito do it live on The Old Grey Whistle Test I've had a soft spot for it. She matches him all the way with vocals and overacting, just fab. And full marks for putting up with being mauled like that, go Karla! Easily as good as Bat out of Hell. 7. For crying out loud - Hmm, quiet and tinkly again. It really only grabs me when it starts building up, then it's a proper Steinman production. It would have been good to end with a bang (so to speak, ahem) with Paradise..., but it does bring Bat out of Hell back to mind with its own quiet ending. I'm glad I finally got round to listening to the whole of this album, it was great to revisit the classics which still mostly sound amazing despite their familiarity. I can't believe they had so much trouble finding someone to release it. And there's Meat Loaf himself, larger than life and putting 100% into it, thanks for sharing, Horace!
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