Bad for Good

Jim Steinman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 26, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000025IQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,494 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AS BAD AND GOOD AS BAT OUT OF HELL, May 26, 2003

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bad for Good (Audio CD)

Meat Loaf's collaborator Jim Steinman attempted here to equal the incomparable Bat Out Of Hell and he nearly succeeded. It's a mighty impressive album with the same grand rock orchestration as Bat and although Steinman's voice isn't quite as vast and melodramatic as Meat Loaf's, he certainly gives it all he's got. The result is a magnificent rock classic with grand passionate songs like the title track, flowing rock ballads like Lost Boys And Golden Girls, the hilarious spoken Love And Death And An American Guitar with its rock clichés and the straightforward rock drive of Stark Raving Love that reprises some lyrics from the title track. Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Fire is a brooding number with nervous guitar and sparkling touches of piano, whilst Surf's Up is a more gentle ballad where his voice soars on the loveliest lyrical imagery. The tempo speeds up dramatically for Dance In My Pants, a buzz of a party song in the form a conversation between a female vocal and Steinman, very much like Bat Out Of Hell's Paradise By The Dashboard Light with solo and duet parts, rolling piano, nervous drumming, soaring vocals and a killer melody line. The passionate ballad Left In The Dark, a tale of regret and betrayal with a spoken intro and exit, concludes this blockbuster of an album on a rather mournful note. Albums like Bat Out Of Hell only comes around once in a lifetime but as for overall sound this is as near a carbon copy as is possible, without being a clone. Having said that, the songs are all hook-laden, gripping pieces of rock `n roll mini-operattas. Now if Meat Loaf were to record this album in its entirety, the results would be more than interesting.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I know that I'll be Bad For Good, April 13, 2004

By 

Braeden P. Jeffery (Melbourne, VIC Aus) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad for Good (Audio CD)

Who says you need the voice of a gargantuan could-have-been opera singer to produce first class rock-opera. Recorded after Meat Loaf stormed out of the studio, this - Jim Steinman's only solo album - is one of the best LPs of it's kind ever. A more than worthy follow up to "Bat Out Of Hell".

And, keeping in the tradition of 1977's classic, this album contains no shortage of massive rock tracks. "Out Of The Frying Pan (And Into The Fire)" and "Stark Raving Love" are two superb examples. The former was later covered by Meat Loaf on "Bat II" but Steinman's version definitely seperates itself with his own style and polish.
"Dance In My Pants" is, in many regards, "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights part 2" - or, more accurately, the prequel to "Dead Ringer For Love", with Karla De Vitto and Jim trading witty barbs amongst thunderous power chords.
Speaking of which, power chords rate a mention in "Love and Death of an American Guitar", which to this day is one of my favourite Steinman texts. A story of murdering a boy with a guitar, this is one of those monologues that is so deadly serious but amazingly humorous that you'll be torn until you collapse into laughter after the last line.
"The Storm" is an orchestral rollercoaster ride, a true impression of a storm at sea musically, and easy to hear in a movie score or something. Somehow, this track blends perfectly into this album.
Despite the masses of rock, this LP also sees Steinman acknowledge his brilliant skill at writing ballads - "Lost Boys and Golden Girls" is brilliant, raw and emotional, and one of the best tracks in the Steinman catalogue. "Surf's Up" is a song that must be heard to be believed, but "Left In The Dark" is where the album goes truly dark - the chilling opening and closing monologues (sadly missing from the Meat Loaf remake on "Welcome To The Neighbourhood") complement the song perfectly, and Steinman's brilliant, pained vocals make this a cut that you will never forget.

Alongside "Left In The Dark", "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" and "Bad For Good" itself can boast themselves as the best tracks on this album. "Rock and Roll Dreams" is an immortal classic, and, though not the most famous Steinman composition of all time in a mainstream sense, it is widely acknowledged by his fans as one of his best works. Though Meat did it better in 1993, everyone should hear the 1981 original at least once, as it is amazingly powerful.
Where "Left In The Dark" is the ultimate Steinman ballad in many respects, "Bad For Good" is up there as his ultimate textbook rock track. Loud guitar sections balanced with a central piano line (and the brilliant "For the good of/Godspeed" section is amazing), this is the way rock music should be.

Jim didn't need Meat to be brilliant. Though his voice is hardly the equal of the massive Texan, it doesn't need to be. As "Bad For Good" proves, he can do just fine on his own.

SONGS OF NOTE: Bad For Good, Left In The Dark, Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A True Successor To "Bat", January 26, 2000

By 

Brent Evans (Rockhampton, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad for Good (Audio CD)

Jim Steinman's music has always been about power and passion on an almost operatic scale.He likes to tell stories within his songs;and while he may not have a trained voice like Meatloaf's,Steinman knows how to let the theatrics shine through in his singing.BAD FOR GOOD came about simply because Jim had a load of great material,and Meatloaf wasn't available.This is the ultimate Steinman production:thunderous rock,sweeping orchestra,and background harmonies crashing against it all like waves against a cliff face.Dazzling in it's beauty, frightening in it's power.This album stands the test of time,and yet I can't help thinking that Steinman was never happy with the finished product.The proof of this are the re-recorded versions of many of these songs by Steinman and Meatloaf on BAT OUT OF HELL II.