MEAT LOAF BAT OUT OF HELL RTI HQ-180G LP KEVIN GRAY MASTERED NM/VG+ LONG OOP

$

135

Please see all my AUDIOPHILE lisstings, I combine ship.
Media Condition:  Near Mint (NM or M-)  A nearly perfect record. The record should show no obvious signs of wear. 
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+) 
Ultrasonic machine cleaned and put in new Mofi inner. Used item from our shop shelves. Sleeve is in great condition (has the tiniest bit of shelf wear - looks more like NM-). Record is SUPER clean and shiny. Has “Last” sticker inside front sleeve to indicate most recent cleaning solution used (they can be removed but we want to let the buyer decide to take them off). Beautiful copy!
180g Audiophile Vinyl Mastered by Joe Reagoso & Kevin Gray From Original Cleveland International Records/Epic Records Tapes!  

Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell album will forever be one of rock and roll music’s most enduring masterpieces. Sung and performed by Meat Loaf, composed by Jim Steinman and produced by Todd Rundgren, this 1977 forty times plus platinum classic will stand always as one of the most successful albums in recording history.

With its rock opera anthems like the ultimate power ballad "Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad", the theatrical "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" and of course the stellar heavy metal title track "Bat Out Of Hell", Meat Loaf delivered his entire persona powerfully into each and every Jim Steinman masterpiece.

The who’s who list of musicians is second to none, with of course Todd Rundgren and Utopia, Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Edgar Winter, Ellen Foley, Jim Steinman, and even The New York Philharmonic!

It is with much honor and respect that Friday Music announces this 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl Limited Edition release of the captivating Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf. To celebrate its thirty third year anniversary, it is being released in a super limited run gatefold cover with all of the lyrics and graphics as you remember them.

Mastered impeccably from the Original Cleveland International Records/Epic Records tapes by Joe Reagoso and Kevin Gray at AcousTech/ RTI, this limited edition album will be one of the most anticipated releases of this year. Absolutely one of the finest sounding albums in our lifetime, this will be one of your favorite audiophile treasures for many years. ROCK ON!

"Meat Loaf's megaselling, megabombastic breakthrough was written by pianist Jim Steinman, who'd intended the material for a new version of Peter Pan. This is one of rock's most theatrical, grandiose records, yet Loaf brings real emotion to "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." -Rolling Stone

Features:
• Limited Edition
• 180g Audiophile Vinyl
• Mastered from original Cleveland International Records/Epic Records Tapes
• Mastered by Joe Reagoso & Kevin Gray AcousTech/ RTI
• Gatefold jacket

Selections:
1. Bat Out of Hell
2. You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth
3. Heaven Can Wait
4. All Revved Up With No Place To Go
5. Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
6. Paradise By the Dashboard Light
7. For Crying Out Loud

Although credited as a solo album by Meat Loaf, the blockbuster album Bat Out of Hell was actually forged through a collaboration of three people – Meat Loaf (born Marvin Lee Aday), songwriter Jim Steinman and producer/guitarist Todd Rundgren. This album would go into the stratosphere sales-wise, certified platinum fourteen times over and currently ranked ninth all-time in worldwide sales. However, these gentlemen may have been the only three to believe in this project during its early years. By the time of its release in late 1977, the album had been worked on for over five years but it had been rejected by every major Label (and quite a few minor labels as well). The project was finally picked up by tiny Cleveland International Records, not so much by musical merit but more so when owner Steve Popovich heard the witty dialogue which precedes the song “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)” (see video below).

Meat Loaf met Steinman shortly after releasing his soul-influenced debut album Stoney & Meatloaf in 1971. Both were deeply interested theatrical music as Meat Loaf had starred in several Broadway plays and the film, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Steinmen had composed for several productions including a sci-fi update of Peter Pan called Neverland, which was a pre-cursor to Bat Out of Hell. Writing for the album started as early as 1972, with the songs fully developed by the end of 1974, when Meat Loaf decided to leave the theatre to concentrate on this project. In 1975, the dual performed a live audition for Todd Rundgren, an avant garde performer and producer, who was impressed that the music did not fit any rock conventions or sub-genres to date. However, this was a double-edged sword as they had immense difficulty finding a record company willing to sign them. According to Meat Loaf’s autobiography, the band spent two and a half years auditioning the record and being rejected. One of the most brutal rejections came from CBS head Clive Davis, who first dismissed Meat Loaf by saying “actors don’t make records” before turning his ire towards Steinman’s songwriting;

“You don’t know how to write a song! Have you ever listened to pop music? Have you ever heard any rock-and-roll music? You should go downstairs when you leave here and buy some rock-and-roll records…”

The group had reached a verbal deal with RCA Records and started recording the album in late 1975 at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY. However, the RCA deal fell through during production and Rundgren essentially footed the bill for recording himself. And this was no small bill as the album includes contributions by sixteen rock musicians and singers as well as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Some of these backing musicians include members of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band as well as Rundgren’s backing band, Utopia.

Steinman, who wrote every song and gave the album its title and artwork, had wanted equal billing with Meat Loaf on the album’s title, but was out-voted by record execs who felt that Meat Loaf alone was a more marketable, with the unorthadox, “Songs by Jim Steinmen” sub-heading appearing on the album’s cover. Even after the album was finally released in October 1977, it took awhile to catch on In the U.S. Ironically, it was after a CBS Records convention where Meat Loaf performed a song for that label’s top artist Billy Joel, that the album finally got some mainstream momentum.

Although Bat Out of Hell is generally high caliber throughout, it is quite uneven in musical flow, especially when you compare the dynamic and climatic opening title song and the slow moving closer “For Crying Out Loud”, a relationship-oriented song which spends about seven of its eight and a half minutes with a very simple and subdued arrangement.

Steinman has described “Bat Out of Hell” as “feverish, strong, romantic, vibrant, and rebellious”. He stated that his goal was to write “the ultimate car or motorcycle crash song”. It starts with a rapid and frantic piano backed by tribal drums before breaking into a calmer section with thick, dimensional guitar overtones. After about a two minute overture, the song proper commences with Meat Loaf singing the vivid lyrics. Steinman was extremely ambitious with this song and constantly suggested new parts to enhance the song, many of which were rejected by Rundgren. However, Steinman insisted on a motorcycle effect in the song and an exasperated Rundgren finally grabbed a guitar, set some custom controls and mimicked a Motorcycle effect in one take. Another great moment comes at the very end when Meatloaf’s intense and sustained vocals dissolves into a calm and subdued outro with a female chorus and synthesized strings.

In between the colossal epics that bookend the album are five excellently crafted, pop-oriented songs which maintain the dramatic overall feel of the theme. “Heaven Can Wait” is ballad which showcases Meat Loaf’s voice more than any other song, accompanied only by piano and a light orchestral arrangement by Ken Ascher. Converesly, “All Revved Up with No Place to Go” is a thumping rocker driven by the bass of Kasim Sulton and featuring saxophone by Edgar Winter. Although it is shortest song in duration on the album, it still feels kind of epic due to the interesting arrangement of the mid-section made up of short vignettes and a section with a breathless rant by Meat Loaf to close the song and first side.

After the unique intro, spoken by Steinman and Marcia McClain, “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)” settles into a classic, do-wop style rock song with a very catchy hook. Another radio-friendly track is the ballad “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”. This melancholy love song counter-balances the more theatrical music perfectly, while still maintaining an edge with the slightly satirical title. The song was written near the end of the album’s production and was reportedly influenced by the success of the Eagles’ soft rock approach in the late seventies. The single version of the song edited out the controversial lyric “There ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box” and reached #11 on the Billboardcharts, the group’s highest-charting single.

“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” is either the most brilliant or the lamest song on the album. This duet features Ellen Foleysharing lead vocals and tells a hilarious story of teenage desire leading to permanent misery in three or four distinct sections. On one hand, the song is brilliantly produced, including a “play-by-play” section by New York Yankee announcer Phil Rizzuto, a couple of perfectly blended duet sections, and a Caribbean-influenced “Let Me Sleep On It” section. On the other hand, the song has grown to be the over-played caricature of Meat Loaf and this famous album.