Stark raving love (Jim Steinman) (LP 3958)

Jim Steinman  Bad For Good  (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1981) ****  

Genre: Rock, pop

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dance in My Pants

Gear costume: Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through (included with the album as a single)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Where would Meatloaf be without Jim Steinman? It would be Meatloaf who? And yet this solo album is also nowhere near as successful without Meatloaf on vocals.

Jim writes these operatic style songs - heavy on heroic myth and melodrama, that were used on Bat Out of Hell and subsequent Meatloaf albums (the successful ones). Many of the Bad For Good songs were later done by Meat.

Done here they are better than demos but Jim can't sell a song like Meatloaf can so I end up heading back to Deadringer or the Bat Out of Hell albums more often than Bad For Good.

Dance in My Pants is my chosen track because it recasts Paradise by the Dashboard Light to a dance routine rather than baseball and it's a barrel of laughs.

Where do they all belong? This was his only solo album but his oversized grand songs do turn up most notably on Meatloaf albums, plus Bonnie Tyler's albums.

Two out of three ain't bad (Meat Loaf) (LP 3197 - 3200)

Meat Loaf  Bat Out Of Hell (CD and Vinyl, Epic Records, 1977) *****  

Meat Loaf  Dead Ringer (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1981) *****  

Meat Loaf  Bat Out Of Hell II (CD, Virgin Records, 1993) *****  

Meat Loaf  Welcome To The Neighbourhood (CD, Virgin Records, 1995) *** 

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records (Vinyl), The Warehouse for the CDs

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dead Ringer For Love

Gear costume: I'll Kill You If You Don't Come Back (Dead Ringer), I'd Lie For You And That's The Truth (Welcome...), I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) (BOOH II). 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: My introduction to Meaf Loaf came in 1976 and Ted Nugent's Free For All album. Meat Loaf was the vocalist on the majority of songs and I made note of his abilities, plus his name was hard to forget. Then he does Bat Out Of Hell and the world went nuts! Now I became aware of another name - Jim Steinman. 1977 maan! Star Wars AND Bat Out Of Hell. What a year!!

Jim Steinman is a genius at creating big mythic rock songs with bizarre, self-deprecating lyrics. These guys are having fun with words and music and it's infectious as all get out.

Not much to say about Bat Out Of Hell except it went off in 1977 and just grew and grew. His next album took a few more years to come out because of health issues but it was still dwarfed by Bat. Dead Ringer is a second album with Jim Steinman providing the songs, and an underappreciated classic. I love it!

Bat Out Of Hell II emerged after a few albums didn't have the x factor of the Steinman/Meat Loaf factor and, whaddyaknow - huge success again. That's because it stays true to the original bombastic approach.

Welcome To The Neighbourhood (interesting non-American spelling) has its moments (a few Steinman songs) but has some misses as well. Why does he attempt Tom Wait's Martha?? It just doesn't fit IMHO.

Where do they all belong? Beware the Meat Loaf catalogue - he can be out of this world great (those three albums above), okay in parts (Welcome To The Neighbourhood) or else it can be not so good. 

Jim Steinman's Bad For Good, and Ted's Free For All to come. 

Every golden nugget coming like a gift of the gods (Jim Steinman) #384

Jim Steinman Storm/ Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through (Epic, EX 7524, 1981)

Jim is, of course, the genius behind Meatloaf's greatest moments (Bat Out Of Hell and Deadringer -those are all Jim's songs).

The follow up to the mega successful Bat was put on hold because of Meatloaf's health issues. Jim decided to record the songs himself and they were released as Bad For Good. A terrific album!

This single was actually part of the Bad For Good package. That explains why Storm is the A side. It's a prologue for the album - as such it kind of sets the epic scene (btw - how appropriate that this comes out on the Epic label!!).

Epic because it's a full on Wagnerian rip tear bust instrumental!

Hidden gem: The B side went on to become a hit for Meatloaf. Here it is intended to be the epilogue to the album. It works too. Jim's rock and roll dreams had really come through and this was another crafty pop song from the maestro.

The theatricality is superbly recreated in this barking mad video. Overblown with nothing left to the imagination (the guitar as phallic symbol? Check!). Enjoy!