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| re: Classic Rock Ranks Meat's Albums From Best To Worst | |
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Ali 06:50 pm UTC 09/16/16 |
| In reply to: | Classic Rock Ranks Meat's Albums From Best To Worst - steven_stuart 11:03 pm UTC 09/13/16 |
| Is this guy listening to the same albums as the rest of us? I think he might be storing his CDs in the wrong cases. It's easily done if you put them back in a hurry... Ax > 1. Bat Out of Hell (1977) > > The combination of whacked-out songwriter Jim Steinman’s > horny pocket symphonies and Meat Loaf’s leather-lunged > operatic howl was unstoppable and untoppable. The hits > will continue to resonate for the next thousand years. > Your children’s children’s children will know all the > words to Paradise By the Dashboard Light and Two of Three > Ain’t Bad, I’m sure of it. Bat was created in a long-gone > world where rock'n'roll gods stomped the Earth and no one > stomped heavier than Meat Loaf. The term ‘classic rock’ > was practically invented for this record. > > 2. Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell (1993) > > If the success of Bat seemed unlikely in ’77, what hope > (in hell) would Bat II have during the height of > “alt-rock”? The last thing anybody in 1993 wanted was to > hear some bullshit album from creaky old dinosaurs like > Meat and Steinman. And yet, seemingly out of nowhere, the > constantly feuding duo pulled it together and created > their second-greatest album, a collection of truly > breathtaking rock'n'roll grandeur including the most > beautifully absurd and almost grotesquely over-inflated > power-ballad perhaps of all time, I’d Do Anything for Love > (But I won’t Do That). The rest of the album is just as > nuts. What a comeback. > > 3. Hang Cool Teddybear (2010) > > Another concept album. Each song on the album represents > the dreams of a wounded soldier. Or something like that. > Meat really went all-in on this one. No Steinman but > instead of hiring murky background songwriters, Meat hired > high-impact types like Justin Hawkins, Jon Bon Jovi, > Desmond Child, and Foxy Shazam’s Eric Nally and peppered > the album with cameos from Brian May, Steve Vai, and Jack > Black, among others. The result is a flash-fire of fevered > visions colliding in an audacious, ramshackle, wonderfully > ridiculous collection of bombastic theatre-rock that > really needs to be heard to be believed. This might be > Meat’s most ambitious – and most over-the-top – album. And > obviously, that’s saying something. > > 4. Deadringer (1981) > > In 1980, Meat was nursing his tour-ruined vocal cords and > starring in low-budget comedy Roadie. His partner, Jim > Steinman, recorded Bad for Good, the follow-up to Bat, > without him. But while working on that album, he wrote > this one. When Meat’s voice kicked back in, he bashed out > this fine return-to-form. More low-key and less concept-y > than Bat, it nonetheless satisfies the itch for epic, > Wagnerian rock'n'roll and is anchored by three strong > singles, Read ‘Em And Weep, I’m Gonna Lover Her For The > Both Of Us, and the title track, a duet with Cher. Like a > lot of his non-Bat albums, this one got sorta lost in the > shuffle, but it’s one of his best. > > 5. Bat Out of Hell III (2006) > > The title is sorta disingenuous. Steinman and Meat were in > a legal battle over ownership of the BOH phrase, so > Steinman relinquished production to the slightly less > bombastic Desmond Child. Most of the songs were written by > Steinman, but not as a continuation of the Bat theme > (whatever that is). Still, it’s a solid collection of > Meat-jams with another monster power-ballad (It’s All > Coming Back to Me Know) and a zingy metallic opener, The > Monster Is Loose, written by Nikki Sixx and John 5. > > 6. Stoney and Meatloaf (1971) > > Proof that pre-Steinman Meat was just as theatrical and > pleasantly overblown as post, this minor gem was concocted > while Meat and Shaun “Stoney” Murphy were both cast > members in hippie musical Hair. Signed to Motown’s > short-lived rock subsidiary Rare Earth Records, S&M is > very much in line with Motown’s vision, a frothy stew of > brass and thunder, full bluesy R&B and sexed-up > gospel-rock. The highlight, in title alone even, is opener > (I’d Love to Be) As Heavy As Jesus, which has to be the > most Meat Loaf-y phrase of all time. The album was > re-released with a shuffled tracklist and the ugliest > cover imaginable in ’78 to capitalise on Meat’s ascent. > > 7. Bad Attitude (1984) > > Created during the relentless glam metal wave of the > mid-80s, this is meat’s hardest-rocking album. Featuring > guitars by Bruce Kulick (Kiss) and a duet with Roger > Daltrey on the title track, Bad Attitudewas Meat’s attempt > to keep up with the kids. And for the most part, he did. > > > 8. Welcome to the Neighbourhood (1995) > > Two years after the massive success of Bat II, Meat > offered up this relationship-gone-awry concept record, and > while it failed to produce any real hits of note, it went > platinum anyway. Seven-minute single I’d Lie For You (And > That’s the Truth) is primo to-the-limits Loaf, but a lot > of the album is otherwise forgettable. > > 9. Midnight at the Lost and Found (1983) > > Another album created during a rift between Meat and > Steinman, Midnight features a crack studio band that > included Rick Derringer and Skynyrd guitarist Gary > Rossington, but the songs (many co-written by Meat > himself) are weak and lack the pomp and circumstance of > classic Meat Loaf. To make matters worse, two of the songs > Steinman originally slated for the album and sold to other > performers became massive hits. Both Air Supply’s Making > Love (Out of Nothing at All) and Bonnie Tyler’s Total > Eclipse of the Heart would have been on Midnight had the > fellas not been feuding. > > 10. Couldn't Have Said It Better (2003) > > Wherein Meat goes it alone, eschewing any Steinman songs > completely and employing a handful of writers (including > Nikki Sixx) to create tepid soundalikes. Meat was riding > high on sold-out greatest hits tours at this point and > wanted to create some new classics to add to the > repertoire. It did not happen here. > > 11. Blind Before I Stop (1986) > > Desperate to find some niche to survive the 80’s, an > on-the-ropes Meat teamed up with Milli Vanilli producer > Frank Farian to create a pastel-coloured collection of > synth blasts and funky bass pops. Oof. > > 12. Hell In A Handbasket (2011) > > At the time Meat was making this record, he was the > belligerent star of Celebrity Apprentice and during the > course of that season he recorded a charity single with > some of his “all-star” teammates, Sugar Ray’s Mark > McGrath, country singer John Rich (Big & Rich) and rapper > Lil’ Jon. It’s featured here. It’s called Sand in the > Storm and it’s a terrible mish-mash of clashing styles. > Elsewhere Public Enemy’s Chuck D shows up for a rap cameo, > and Meat butchers California Dreamin’ for what seems like > an hour. None of this would even be that bad if his voice > held up, but he was already struggling to hit notes. And > with no Steinman on deck, Meat utilizes a handful of > songwriters who have no idea what do with him. Just a > mess. > > 13. Braver Than We Are (2016) > > Let's just get this mess out of the way first. While it is > being touted as Meat's first Steinman-dominated album in a > decade, it should be noted that most of it is decades-old > scraps from abandoned musicals, as well as songs > previously flopped by Bonnie Tyler and Sisters of Mercy. > Compounding the tired material is Meat's increasingly weak > voice, currently a squeaky shadow of its former grandeur. > It's bad, man. Of course, everybody's still on Meat's > side, blah-blah-blah, but if you get through it all in one > sitting you are definitely braver than I am. > | |
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