Batty Boys

The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight
There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright
There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky
And a killer's on the bloodshot streets
Oh and down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising
Oh I swear I saw a young boy
Down in the gutter
He was starting to foam in the heat
(Bat Out Of Hell - Jim Steinman)

So starts the album Bat Out Of Hell (1977). Meat Loaf's astonishingly powerful voice and persona were perfect for Jim Steinman's epic songs and Wagnerian Phil Spector-like production with Todd Rundgren. An album of its time perhaps but a classic in the same manner as Dark Side Of The Moon.

Drugs, touring and a loss of voice meant that Meat couldn't sing on the follow up album and Jim brought out Bad For Good (1981) under his own name. When Meat finally got himself together he released another collection of Steinman songs as Deadringer (1981). A succession of naff to OK quality Meat loaf albums then followed, the highlights of which were the odd few Steinman songs he could lay his hands on. These songs had already been recorded by other people.

Finally in 1993, after years of legal delays and stubborness, our two heroes came together again for the official sequel Bat Of Hell II: Back Into Hell. Another monumental slab of operatic rock, featuring much of the original cast... but sadly not quite so good.

Meat has upped his solo game since Bat II, most notably on Welcome to the Neighborhood. So is there really any need for this?


At first glance I thought, 'yay! Jim and Meat together again!' and it certainly looks the part with the tacky sub-Richard Corben cover... but on closer inspection I'm starting to worry. First I hear that Brian May is playing on it (Noooo!) and now it appears that Jim's only connection with the album is that three of his old songs are being covered. It's not really Bat III then is it? Hopefully it has Steinman's blessing. Still, what the hell (groan), I'll be buying it. There could be some of the old magic awaiting us Lost Boys and Golden Girls.

The Monster will be let loose on October 23rd. It can be preordered now from Amazon

UPDATE: Legal Action - Meat sues Jim!
Bat III may not fly after all.