Meat Loaf- Bat Out of Hell
Last wednesday, I thought it would be funny, interesting, or whatever you wanna call it, to make a broad, random request on facebook for an album to listen to. I promised that no matter what, I would listen to the first album suggested from front to back...
2 minutes later, a friend from high school jokingly suggested Meatloaf's Bat out of Hell(1977) album. So, true to my word I pulled it up on Imeem and pushed play... oh boy... let's see how this goes.
Let me just start by saying that I have an extremely eclectic taste in music. If you were to scroll through my iPod you'd come across such artists as Jay-Z, Al Green, Chrisette Michele, Jadakiss, The Dells, Norah Jones, Sia, Sammy Davis Jr., Jack Johnson, Ace Hood, Kanye West, Gym Class Heroes... you get the point. I'm all over the place, so its not completely surprising that I was so open to listening to this album, but it was very interesting.
Right off the bat I was happy to return to the days of the 7 song album with 6-9 minute tracks. I also found it funny (and slightly nostalgic) to see that a 7 song playlist was split into A&B sides. (sidenote: i've always felt like I should have lived my late-teen/early adult years in the '70s so any trip back to that era is a welcome one). Ok, let me get to the music.
I must admit, Classic Rock Opera (thanks Cole) isn't really my expertise so this review may come off as slightly uneducated but ummm.... who cares, its my blog.
The opening track starts off with the about a 2 minute instrumental segment (i struggled with describing this for a while) that reminded me of the opening sequence to either a WWF Nintendo game or a Monday Night Football game (don't ask...), but that's not a bad thing, it was dope. A few things that stood out to me were the upbeat blend of the keyboard, drums and of course the electric guitar. There's just something about the mood of the late 70's/early 80's music that I've always been drawn too; whether it was Prince and Morris Day, Sister Sledge, or now Meatloaf. They always had full instrumentals and the groove always said "party time" to me. The band mellows out somewhere around the 2 minute mark and in comes Meatloaf... "The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling Way down in the valley tonight"... and for the next 7 minutes Mr. 'Loaf describes exactly why he's like a "Bat out of hell"... Favorite Lines: "Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven, Ill come crawling on back to you" and "And I know that Im damned if I never get out, And maybe Im damned if I do, But with any other beat I got left in my heart, You know Id rather be damned with you"
Overall, this is a great song both lyrically and instrumentally. And I would soon learn that the rest of the album followed in that mold.
My favorite song on the album would have to be "All revved up with no place to go" (originally titled 'The Formation of the Pack'); although, "Bat out of Hell" is a close second. '...Revved Up...' is a trip down memory lane reminiscent of the high school days of a jock/big man on campus with his eyes on a certain young lady; so despite his popularity ('I was a varsity tackle and a hell of a block, When I played my guitar I made the canyons rock') his weekends found him bored and lonely, thinking of the girl of his dreams.
Creep Alert: "Oh, baby, Im a hunter in the dark of the forest
Ive been stalking you and tracking you down".
So... I know i said this is my favorite song (and i dont plan on retract thing that statement); how---ever, I think stalking is unacceptable in all of the 50 nifty United States and the territories, so 'Loaf... that's not ok.
What I do like about this song is the theme of the song and the lyrical quality; moreso, the music is amazing.
Overall, I enjoyed Bat Out of Hell. I think it is a well-structured, complete album worth listening to (and apparently the rest of the music world agrees, as it is the third best-selling album worldwide behind Michael Jackson's Thriller and AC/DC's Back in Black; it also landed at #343 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time list in 2003).
There happen to be 2 follow-up albums in the Bat out of Hell so who knows, I might follow-up with a discussion on those as well... i dunno... . So, borrowing a line from the album in discussion, "Let me sleep on it..."
Creep Alert: "Oh, baby, Im a hunter in the dark of the forest
Ive been stalking you and tracking you down".
So... I know i said this is my favorite song (and i dont plan on retract thing that statement); how---ever, I think stalking is unacceptable in all of the 50 nifty United States and the territories, so 'Loaf... that's not ok.
What I do like about this song is the theme of the song and the lyrical quality; moreso, the music is amazing.
Overall, I enjoyed Bat Out of Hell. I think it is a well-structured, complete album worth listening to (and apparently the rest of the music world agrees, as it is the third best-selling album worldwide behind Michael Jackson's Thriller and AC/DC's Back in Black; it also landed at #343 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time list in 2003).
There happen to be 2 follow-up albums in the Bat out of Hell so who knows, I might follow-up with a discussion on those as well... i dunno... . So, borrowing a line from the album in discussion, "Let me sleep on it..."
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