Paul Sexton celebrates the raucously camp and over-the-top 1977 long-player
Bat out of Hell. The 46-minute collaborative effort between singer Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday) and producer/arranger Jim Steinman peaked at number nine in the UK charts and 14 in the USA, but had staying power to match its seismically theatrical gestures, and now ranks as one of the top-selling albums ever.
Defining cuts include You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth, Two out of Three Ain't Bad, Paradise by the Dashboard Light and the title track. Discussing the LP's merits are Meat Loaf and producers Todd Rundgren and Desmond Child.
The album spawned two sequels, the second of which is released this month. Producer Paul Sexton
How the Bat took wing: page 119