Dead Ringer - Meat Loaf

MEAT LOAF - DEAD RINGER
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Marvin Lee Aday (AKA Meat Loaf) is most well known for his Bat out of Hell albums, two of the biggest selling records of all time much to the surprise of the critics at the time.

After the release of the smash hit album Bat out of Hell, Meat released this album, in 1981, although it never reached the high sales figures of the previous hit, it still sells to this ...
...first started making music in the mid 60's, where he performed with various bands, but he never really made the mark with any of them.

So he took to working with theater musicals instead, doing both 'hair' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar'.
In 1973 Meat got his first taste of working with Jim Steinman, and the rest is pretty much history.

As with the previous Bat out of hell record, Jim wrote all the songs for this ... more

MEAT LOAF - DEAD RINGER
-----------------------

Marvin Lee Aday (AKA Meat Loaf) is most well known for his Bat out of Hell albums, two of the biggest selling records of all time much to the surprise of the critics at the time.

After the release of the smash hit album Bat out of Hell, Meat released this album, in 1981, although it never reached the high sales figures of the previous hit, it still sells to this day and is a massive album.

Meat first started making music in the mid 60's, where he performed with various bands, but he never really made the mark with any of them.

So he took to working with theater musicals instead, doing both 'hair' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar'.
In 1973 Meat got his first taste of working with Jim Steinman, and the rest is pretty much history.

As with the previous Bat out of hell record, Jim wrote all the songs for this collection, and his style runs through them just as well as it did the original.

Jim Steinman really is Meats best collaborator, the only person that has really got the best out of Meats fantastic vocals.

But the same can be said the other way round, Jim has never been as good without Meat's vocal power, although he has worked with such people as Boyzone, on the hit 'No Matter What', celene Dion and Bonnie Tyler.

THE ALBUM
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The album is eight songs long, and clocks in at an amazing 42 minutes, with most songs being about 6 minutes long.

--TRACK ONE--
--PEEL OUT--

The opening song kicks us in just as any MeatLoaf album should, with a guitar that sounds like a devilish motorbike.
Then its straight into the epic rock opera pop that we know and love.

With the intro an whole minute long we are sat at the edge of our seats waiting for Meats first appearance as vocals on this album, and when he kicks in it doesn't disappoint, although his vocals seem a little less powerful than on the classic Bat album, they still show the pure talent.

The music is like a rock orchestra, with a lot of guitar and drums, but also having the feel of an Italian opera.

--TRACK TWO--
--IM GONNA LOVE HER FOR BOTH OF US--

This song gives Meat his first chance to really let his voice go, with some sections showing lots of emotion and some just showing his ability to sing even when screaming at the top of his lungs.

Musically this is hard to describe, as its a pop opera type song, which features lots of backing vocals and different instruments.
The main instrument of any notice is the guitar, which really holds the tune together.
You also get a bit of piano and a great bassline.

Jim Steinman is a brilliant artist at making music that is very powerful, but at the same time sounds just like background music, leaving the main parts for the singer.

--TRACK THREE--
--MORE THAN YOU DESERVE--

This is one of the first songs Meat and Jim did together, from way back in 1974, and its a beautiful sounding piano driven ballad.
The lyrics are about someone having an affair with the singers wife, the lyrics are both funny and sad at the same time, which really adds to the songs draw.

Vocally this is another showcase for Meats stunning vocal power, with some sections where he shows so much emotion it almost makes you cry.
Musically it is very well written, although its basically a piano led song there are some guitars that join the fray later on which are all placed in the proper places.

--TRACK FOUR--
--ILL KILL YOU IF YOU DONT COME BACK--

This opens with a brilliant crunchy guitar riff, and is probably the most rocking track on the album, it soon gives way to the keyboards, and Meats vocals.

Here you get Meat at his absolute best, with some examples to modern day singers.
The chorus is one of the best in modern history, and must rate in my top ten.

The musically one of the best Meat tunes to date, with more crunchy guitars and crashing drums than usual, this is very catchy and enjoyable.

The After the chorus there is a second chorus which speeds up even more than the original and adds to the overall sound.

Just when you think the song is going to finish, it changes completely and becomes a slow piano led ballad, and shows Steinman's skill at mixing two different styles of music into one seamless piece of music.

--TRACK FIVE--
--READ EM AND WEEP--

Another piano led ballad, and also one of Meats most famous songs.
This shows Meats vocals to their full potential,with a rich sound and lots of emotion all through the song.

The chorus comes in with a memorable guitar line, some crashing drums and some brilliant lyrics.

This song is the perfect example of how a good pop song should be done.

--TRACK SIX--
--NOCTURNAL PLEASURE--

This is a spoken word piece by Jim Steinman.

Jim likes to add his own little spoken word poems to each album he does, and they always fit so that the next song kicks in really well, this is no exception.

--TRACK SEVEN--
--DEAD RINGER FOR LOVE--

This kicks in brilliantly after the spoken word piece by Jim.
One of Meats most famous songs, this is a duet with superstar Cher, and although its one of his most famous, I wouldn't say one of his best.

Although a very catchy number which has a very rock and roll feel to it, it doesn't show his voice to the standard that fans are used to.

Still a good song though, but would have probably been better if meat had been able to really sing on it!

--TRACK EIGHT--
--EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED--

This is back to what Meats best at, slow piano led ballads, if anyone was ever made for this style of music it was Meat Loaf, with his powerful vocal style, which no-one to this day has ever been able to compare with.

The music for this is very simple with a basic piano piece playing just behind the vocals and some orchestral music just a bit more pushed back in the tune.

A great end to the album, although you do feel like there could have been more songs!

OVERALL
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A great album, which is a worthy sequel to bat out of hell, well worth the money.

You can usually find this for around five pounds, so it is quite a good buy at that price, and with songs of this quality you wont be disappointed.

Thanks for reading

Kyle.

Ps the title is regarding the last meat loaf album review that I wrote for 'Rock n Roll Hero', check it out if your a fan. 

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