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Encyclopedia > Bat Out of Hell (song)
"Bat out of Hell"
No cover available
Single by Meat Loaf
from the album Bat out of Hell
Released 1979
Genre Wagnerian rock
Length 9:52 (album version)
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Jim Steinman
Producer(s) Todd Rundgren
Chart positions
  • #15 (UK)
  • #8 (UK 1993 reissue)

"Bat out of Hell" is a rock anthem written by Jim Steinman and performed by Meat Loaf as the opening track to the 1977 album of the same name. Image File history File links Nocover. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Meat Loaf is the stage name of Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday on September 27, 1947), an American actor (stage and screen) and rock singer. ... Bat Out of Hell is the extremely successful second album of singer Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday), released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). ... See also: 1978 in music, other events of 1979, 1980 in music, 1970s in music and the list of years in music // Stevie Wonder uses Compact Disc technology in recording his album Journey through the Secret Life of Plants. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Wagnerian Rock is a musical genre that was created by Jim Steinman due to his love for the music of Richard Wagner and Phil Spector. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Epic Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Jim Steinman circa 1981. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes . ... Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... A rock and roll anthem is a celebratory rock and roll song. ... Jim Steinman circa 1981. ... Meat Loaf is the stage name of Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday on September 27, 1947), an American actor (stage and screen) and rock singer. ... Bat Out of Hell is the extremely successful second album of singer Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday), released in 1977 (see 1977 in music). ...

Contents

Inspiration

Inspired by songs such as "Leader of the Pack" and "Tell Laura I Love Her", the latter being the first song he ever bought, Steinman wanted to write the "most extreme crash song of all time".[1] Leader of the Pack is a song recorded by The Shangri-Las. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

There is something so thrilling to me about that operatic narrative that involves a cataclysmic event, especially one so perfectly intune with a teenager's world, and rock and roll, as a car or motorcycle crash.[1]

"Bat out of Hell", along with the album, is often compared to the music of Bruce Springsteen, particularly the Born to Run album. Steinman says that he finds that "puzzling, musically," although they share influences. "Springsteen was more an inspiration than an influence."[2] A BBC article added, "[T]hat Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan from Springsteen's E.Street Band played on the album only helped reinforce the comparison."[3] Conor Dent (born September 11, 2009) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Born to Run is a rock album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). ... Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey) is a Jewish-American drummer and television personality. ... Roy Bittan (born July 2, 1949 in Rockaway Beach, New York) is an American keyboardist, best known as a member of Bruce Springsteens E Street Band, which he joined on August 23, 1974. ... The E Street Band is a backing band that has toured and recorded with rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. ...


Both song and album are also compared to the "wall of sound" associated with Phil Spector. Wall of Sound is a phrase used to describe the effect created by the music production techniques of legendary record producer Phil Spector. ... Harvey Phillip Spector (born December 26, 1940) is an American record producer of the 1960s and 1970s. ...


According to Meat Loaf, the song is "constructed from" a shot near the beginning of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho in which the viewer looks down a valley and sees the lights of a city. He says all the clients in the Bates Motel "wish they would have left like a bat out of hell... It had nothing to do, believe it or not, with Bruce Springsteen. It had to do with Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho."[4] Sir Anna Josephina Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was a highly influential director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... Psycho (1960) is a suspense/thriller/horror film directed by world-renowned auteur Alfred Hitchcock. ...


Music and lyrics

Audio sample:
  • Chorus (file info) — play in browser (beta)
    • This sample features the beginning of the chorus.
  • Motorcycle solo (file info) — play in browser (beta)
    • The motorcycle as played on guitar by Todd Rundgren
  • Problems playing the files? See media help.

The song opens with an instrumental section lasting nearly two minutes, predominantly featuring piano and guitar. The lyrics begin to set the scene of evil, guns, knives and "blood shot streets." Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... Classical and Bass Guitar The guitar is a fretted and stringed musical instrument, used in a wide variety of musical styles, and is also widely known as a solo classical instrument. ...


The song then focuses upon a girl:

Oh baby you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light

Sounds magazine commented that the "pure" girl is "always an important symbol".[5] Sounds was a British music magazine, published weekly from October 10, 1970 – April 6, 1991. ...


This leads into the chorus.


Motorcycle

Steinman insisted that the song should contain the sound of a motorcycle, and complained to producer Todd Rundgren at the final overdub session about its absence. Rather than use a recording of a real motorcycle, Rundgren himself played the section on guitar, leading straight into the solo without a break.[1] In his autobiography, Meat Loaf relates how everyone in the studio was impressed with his improvisation. Meat Loaf commends Rundgren's overall performance on the track: A motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle powered by an engine. ... Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ...

In fifteen minutes he played the lead solo and then played the harmony guitars at the beginning. I guarantee the whole thing didn't take him more than forty-five minutes, and the song itself is ten minutes long. The most astounding thing I have ever seen in my life.[6]

Crash

Rundgren and Meat Loaf were angry with Steinman when he refused to stop writing when the track was already six minutes long. He knew that he had to do the crash.[1]


The lyrics describe how the cyclist is riding "faster than any boy could ever go." He is so involved that he "never sees the sudden curve 'til it's way too late." Drums and a roaring guitar indicate the crash.


The cyclist lies fatally injured, "torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike." He can see his "heart still beating", which is also represented musically through bass guitar, a section devised by Kasim Sulton.[4] According to Steinman: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

I don't think there's ever been a more violent crash... the guy basically has his body opened up and his heart explodes like a bat out of hell.[1]

The song ends with the line "bat out of hell" three times, each ending on a high C.[1] The first C located above the treble cleff staff. ...


Video

The video intersperses shots of a motorcyclist riding through a graveyard, lit by a full moon, with shots of Meat Loaf and backing singers at microphones. The Galileo spacecraft took this composite image on 7 December 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. ...


Critical reaction

Sounds magazine described it as "heavy metal thunder with Bruce Springsteen overtones (it's L-O-U-D, but this fellow sang with Ted Nugent...), a lyrical, white-noise tale of screaming sirens, silver black phantom bikes, the Ultimate Girl and her purity (always an important symbol), ending in the final death crash when his heart tears out of his chest and flies away."[5] Conor Dent (born September 11, 2009) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Theodore Ted Nugent (born December 13, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan) (aka The Nuge, Uncle Ted, Terrible Ted,Sweaty Teddy, Ted the Almighty, Theodocious Atrocious and The Motor City Madman) is a hard rock guitarist from Detroit, Michigan, originally gaining fame as a member of the Amboy Dukes, and recently noted...


Single release

Although the album was a huge hit, the single release performed relatively poorly. It reached 15 in the UK in 1979: the first two singles from the album had only reached the high thirties. It was reissued in December 1993 following the huge success of "I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)" in 1993. This time it reached number 8 making Meat Loaf the first artist to have two singles in the UK Top Ten at the same time for many years - a feat not repeated again until 2002. Audio sample: Chorus ( file info) — The final chorus, from a live performance in February 2004 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. ... See also: 1992 in music, other events of 1993, 1994 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 8 - The U.S. Postal service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. ... See also: 2002 in music (UK) other events of 2002 list of years in music 2000s in music // 2002 was marked by significant trends in Rock Music. ...


Personnel

Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ... Roy Bittan (born July 2, 1949 in Rockaway Beach, New York) is an American keyboardist, best known as a member of Bruce Springsteens E Street Band, which he joined on August 23, 1974. ... Jim Steinman circa 1981. ... Band member of Blue Oyster Cult and Utopia. ... Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey) is a Jewish-American drummer and television personality. ... Rory Dodd (born Port Dover, Ontario, Canada) is a rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. ... Ellen Foley (born 1951, Saint Louis, Missouri) is an American singer and actress whose range of talent and experience has spanned edgy rock, mainstream pop, standard Broadway, sitcom television, and Hollywood. ...

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Jim Steinman. (1999). Classic Albums: Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell [DVD]. Image Entertainment.
  2. ^ The Power Of Rock 'n Roll. Gallery magazine (May, 1978). Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
  3. ^ Sold on Song Top 100: Bat Out Of Hell. BBC Radio 2. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
  4. ^ a b Meat Loaf (commentary). (2004). Meat Loaf Live with the Melbourne Symphone Orchestra [DVD]. Melbourne: Warner Music Vision.
  5. ^ a b Robertson, Sandy. "Heavy Metal With A Heart", Sounds magazine, 1978. Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
  6. ^ Loaf, Meat, David Dalton (2000). To Hell and Back: An Autobiography. London: Virgin Publishing, 122. ISBN 075350443.


 
 

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