Meat Loaf, "Bat Out of Hell II"

The fifth in a series of albums that I haven't heard in over twenty years ... 

The 90's were unique in that their mythology was often well out of step with the reality, more so I think than any other decade.  Everyone "knows" that the 60's were about Motown, soul, the Beatles and Stones.  And indeed, the charts reflected it.  Prevailing rock mythology hands the end of the decade over to the hippies and psychedelic bands, but the Billboard #1 hits of the time show that novelty songs and one hit wonder bands ("Sugar, Sugar", "In the Year 2525"), as well as jazz and easy listening acts (Hugh Masekela, Herb Alpert, Henry Mancini) were the real winners in those years.  But for the most part, the prevailing rock mythology of the 60's is correct.  

What about the early 90's?  It's true that Nirvana and Pearl Jam sold millions, but Whitney Houston's "The Bodyguard" and Garth Brooks sold millions more.  In 1993, Pearl Jam set a record for first week sales with "Vs", but the biggest rock star in the world was arguably a pudgy forty-something whose hadn't had a hit album since the 70's.  This made no sense even while it was happening, but it did happen.  "Vs" moved more units in the US, but "Bat Out of Hell II" made more of an impact worldwide.  Pearl Jam by that time were refusing to release videos, whereas Meat Loaf had the globe conquering smash hit song and video.  Game, set, and match.   

In a down period for Bruce Springsteen, Meatloaf and Jim Steinman strove to out-Boss the Boss and showed there was plenty of life in kitchen sink drama rock even in the cynical, slacker heavy 90's.  "It Just Won't Quit" borrows generously from Bruce's "Atlantic City", a fact that was lost on when this album was released. 

Any discussion of the album's flaws has to start with two things: it's length, and the character of its protagonist.  The original "Bat Out of Hell", released at the peak of the vinyl, FM-rock heavy era, clocks in a standard (for the time) 46 minutes.  "Bat Out of Hell II", released when vinyl was near its lowest ebb and cassettes were rapidly phasing out, took advantage of the added running time of CD and runs for a bloated 76 minutes.  Six of its eleven tracks run for seven minutes or longer.  Listening to it from start to finish is an endurance test, and unlike the original BOOH, these songs aren't multi-part mini-operas like "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" that are constantly shifting and refocusing the listener's attention.  Songs are stretched out via long intros and outros, through multiple repetitions of chantable choruses and inessential fourth and fifth verses.  There are a notable lack of ballads to mix up the tempos, and the rock numbers mostly churn along at the same mid-tempo pace.  It's never boring, it's just overly long and badly in need of a good editor.  

As for the character of Meat Loaf himself, on the first BOOH he was part naive horny teenager, and part motorcycle junkie in a fur lined apartment undergoing sensitivity training.  Who is he supposed to be on BOOH II?  Is "Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" an attempt to piggyback on 90's slacker culture, or is he an aging rebel revisiting poses from his youth?    Is "Everything Louder Than Everything Else" a rage against the dying embers of rock and roll hedonism, or an anti-war anthem?  Is it trying to be both?  Unfortunately, in trying to modernize the message, many songs come off as cloying and phony.

These are major flaws, and yet in many instances they scarcely matter because of one major ace in the hole:  Meatloaf's impeccable delivery and 100% commitment to his performance.  The full twelve minute version of "I'd Do Anything for Love" might have extraneous bridges and a million forgettable guitar solos, but the intro and outro still give me chills and the quiver in Meatloaf's voice absolutely sells me on the emotion every time.  "Objects in the Rear View Mirror ..." comes closest to the spirit of the original BOOH, a mini-symphony of loss, love, and escape. Next time you're confused about how this stuff managed to co-exist with most of 90's rock, just watch this video back to back with Guns 'N Roses' "November Rain" and you'll understand.