# In Memoriam Meat Loaf



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Just noticed Rogerx posting the news in the roll of honours thread, but I think he deserves a thread.

I was knocked over when Bat out of Hell came out, and I still rank this highly in my all-time favourite albums list (certainly top 20). After that, I lost interest, but this album makes him one of the greats for me. Rest in peace. Here is my favourite song of his:


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> Just noticed Rogerx posting the news in the roll of honours thread, but I think he deserves a thread.
> 
> I was knocked over when Bat out of Hell came out, and I still rank this highly in my all-time favourite albums list (certainly top 20). After that, I lost interest, but this album makes him one of the greats for me. Rest in peace. Here is my favourite song of his:


For me, the ultimate guilty pleasure album. Almost all of the tracks are on my workout playlists, and I pedal that march harder when they pop up.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

From wiki: 
Bat Out of Hell is one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold over 43 million copies worldwide. As of June 2019, it has spent 522 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, the second longest chart run by a studio album.

Over ten years in the charts - for crying out loud!


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## Marc (Jun 15, 2007)




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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Meat Loaf Legacy - 1995 Pavarotti and Meat Loaf , great fun watching


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## ando (Apr 18, 2021)

Not a fan but I respect his work. R.I.P.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Art Rock said:


> From wiki:
> _Bat Out of Hell_ is one of the best-selling albums of all time, having sold over 43 million copies worldwide. As of June 2019, it has spent 522 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, the second longest chart run by a studio album.
> 
> Over ten years in the charts - for crying out loud!


Upon hearing of Meatloaf's demise I dug out my 1977 vinyl record _Bat Out of Hell_ and gave it a spin. I ended up repeat playing my favorite song on the disc, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and, at some point, taking out the guitar and playing along. The chords were not challenging: A, C#mn, D, E, F#mn, G, E7, D7.... I suspect that they _would have been_, for me, back in 1977 when I first got the album and heard the song. I don't recall ever attempting to play it before.

All of the songs on the album were written by Jim Steinman who died April 19, 2021. I believe his passing came about with less fanfare than Meatloaf has received, which is kind of a shame. I wonder if Meatloaf would be the known name it is had it not been for the handful of Steinman songs on _Bat Out of Hell_. Steinman's work also extended to musical theater, an area of personal interest. And I am familiar, as well, with Meatloaf the actor; he was skilled in the art. I've often considered his singing performances to be an extension of his theatrical side; there was a dramatic presentation befitting a man of the stage to his vocal performances. I appreciate Meatloaf's talent.

I'm not sure he and I could ever have been great friends, though.

_Bat Out of Hell_ was produced, engineered, and mixed by Todd Rundgren, who also helped Steinman with arrangements. Rundgren is another talent for whom I hold high respect.

I was a bit surprised to see (and hear) how good a condition my vinyl copy of _Bat Out of Hell _was in after more than 40 years on my record shelf. I've played it on and off over the years, but not enough to destroy the pristine condition of the grooves, which played silently and with striking fidelity for an album of that era. I suspect that I wore down the grooves a bit with my most recent spin in memory of the album's main performer. But I don't regret any damage done to the disc. It is certainly a disc worth hearing, well recorded and grounded in the unique talents of Steinman, Rundgren, and Michael Lee Aday.


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## Gargamel (Jan 5, 2020)

Never listened to Meat Loaf before in my life. I thought he was a rapper, actor, something. Quite an amusing tune.


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