Artist: Meat Loaf
Album: Bat Out Of Hell
Label: Cleveland International (US) / Epic (UK)
Released: 21 October 1977
UK Top 100 Albums: 9
US Billboard 200: 14
Produced: Todd Rundgren
File Under: Overblown rock classic.
🎧 Listening Status
I’m a Bat Out of Hell virgin!
Sure, I know the big hitters — who doesn’t? But this is the first time I’ve given the whole album my undivided attention. Full volume. No distractions. Just me, Meat Loaf, and the madness.
Out of step with the disco and punk scenes of its day, this album defied the odds to become a worldwide juggernaut. But is it actually any good? Let’s find out.
🔎 Background
Bat Out of Hell was born from Neverland, Jim Steinman’s rock musical take on Peter Pan. It wasn’t an easy birth — critics were baffled, and it struggled to find a label. But slowly, word spread.
With Todd Rundgren producing and Meat Loaf belting every note like his life depended on it, the record carved out its own place in music history — a bombastic behemoth that somehow just works.
More than 43 million sales later, it’s still the biggest-selling album of all time in Australia.
Right, let’s get on with the job in hand!
▶️ Track by Track
1. Bat Out of Hell
Well, of course I’m very familiar with this. Not sure if I’ve ever heard the full-length album version though. In any case…
The piano crashes in. The drums thunder. The guitars soar. It’s ridiculous — and brilliant.
What an entrance! Like a grand dame taking to the stage at panto. Spell-blinding.
This is rock ‘n’ roll theatre turned up to 11. Meat Loaf’s vocal is a force of nature, and Rundgren’s guitar work is sublime. Chaos and control, all in one.
2. You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
The spoken-word intro is pure camp — and it totally works.
This track is 50’s pop on steroids, bursting with energy, harmonies, handclaps, and joy.
Totally infectious.
3. Heaven Can Wait
Where Mr Meat goes into ballad mode. An album track. Yes, this is very pleasing on the ear.
A rare quiet moment. Piano, strings, and Meat Loaf stripped back.
There’s vulnerability here — a tenderness in the vocal that shows another side to the operatic frontman. Beautifully done.
4. All Revved Up with No Place to Go
Full throttle pub rock with horns, sass, and no brakes.
There’s a Springsteen-esque swagger to the arrangement, but it’s delivered with Meat Loaf’s dramatic punch. Relentless fun.
Love the title, so in tune with the time!
5. Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad
You know it. You’ve heard it. But in the context of the album, it lands even harder.
Heartache and honesty wrapped in a ballad that builds slowly and finishes big.
Slick, layered, lush.
6. Paradise by the Dashboard Light
The centrepiece — and an epic in every sense.
A funk groove. A hilarious baseball metaphor. Ellen Foley’s iconic duet.
It’s part musical, part soap opera, and entirely unforgettable. This is Meat Loaf at his theatrical best.
7. For Crying Out Loud
Back to piano introspection — until it explodes into a climactic finale of strings, brass, and emotion.
A fitting end to a wild ride. Gloriously excessive.
💭 Closing Thoughts
So… is Bat Out of Hell as good as people say?
I’d say yes. It’s a fantastic listening experience.
A perfect storm of wild ambition, raw talent, and zero restraint — this album should’ve flopped. But instead, it became a classic.
Theatrical? Yes. Overblown? Definitely. Timeless? Weirdly… yes.
Meat Loaf never topped this — but honestly, how could he?
🏍️ Sleeve Notes – Bat Out of Hell (1977)
1️⃣ Rundgren took the risk
Both Andy Johns and Jimmy Iovine turned down the chance to produce Bat Out of Hell — too weird, too theatrical, too much. Enter Todd Rundgren, who thought it was a parody and agreed to produce it anyway. His gamble paid off: he helped shape one of the most iconic rock operas of all time.
2️⃣ Australia’s all-time best-seller 🇦🇺
As of 2025, Bat Out of Hell holds the crown as the best-selling album in Australian history, certified a staggering 26× Platinum. That’s over 1.8 million copies — not bad for a record nobody wanted at first.
3️⃣ Just one UK show on the original tour
Despite its epic sound and global success, the original 1977–78 tour of Bat Out of Hell featured just one UK gig: Hammersmith Odeon, 6 July 1978. A single night for a now-legendary album — blink and you’d have missed it.
The Listening Log 
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