Customer Reviews

Bad for Good

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Unless someone likes Jim Steinman's very distinctive songwriting, he/she will definetely find this album very bad indeed. That's because this 1981 release, the proposed follow-up to 1977's Steinman-penned superhit "Bat Out Of Hell" - but without Meat Loaf's vocals, is the composer's most over-the-top effort. Nevertheless, it boasts rich musical imagination, bold, bone-crushing lyrics and an energy only the best rock records have. The selection of songs on the album varies from angry, straight-rock anthems (the title track) to lyrical ballads (SURF'S UP), from satyrical '50s-like songs (DANCE IN MY PANTS) to orchestral masterpieces (THE STORM). Add to that one of the best radio songs of all time (ROCK & ROLL DREAMS COME THROUGH) and you have an idea of how out-of-this-world a Steinman record can be. Concerning the vocals, Steinman surely lacks Meat Loaf's capabilities. Still, a performance in a Steinman song has a lot of "acting" involved (apart from the singing). In this area, Steinman pulls it off remarkably well and his performance adds to the emotional "roughness"of the album.

"Bad For Good" preaches to Jim Steinman's choir. Anyone who thinks Steinman writes over-blown or over-long songs will only have that point reaffirmed on this record. But, if you LOVE the fact that Steinman writes over-blown and over-long songs, "Bad" is a worthy and well-written follow-up to "Bat Out of Hell." Most of the songs are enjoyable ("Dance in My Pants" perhaps a simplistic exception) and Steinman performs with vigor, if nothing else.

Jim's not Meat Loaf. The legendary songwriter's a decent singer but not a patch on his partner. Particularly during the ballad "Left in the Dark" Jim's voice is not up to the song. That's unfortunate.

But "Bad For Good" is a better album than it got credit for and it's a better album that Jim Steinman is a singer. It should be played loud and often and be lined up with Steinman's other efforts as an important piece of a very interesting and successful puzzle.

I was skeptical about purchasing this CD due to the other comments about Jim's singing ability. However, I found his voice above average and of a quality very pleasing to listen to. The songs are classic Steinman, very moving and very catching. I've spent the last few days with these songs flowing through my head and can't help but start singing every once in a while. I am very pleased that I bought this CD and will listen to it very often in the coming years. A definite good buy!

Meat Loaf's follow-up album to Bat 1 that never happened; Bad for Good is the only offical recording you'll ever hear of maestro Jim Steinman Himself singing. Even though the only reason he took up vocals was so the songs he wrote wouldn't be wasted, Steinman gives it his all, even though his voice isn't as technically skilled as Meat's is (was). Admittedly, the vocals take some getting used to. Steinman didn't change a note to better suit him, perfering to keep the true nature of the songs intact, and sometimes this hurts him, he doesn't have Meat's range or power in the high registers. However, his voice has every bit of emotion, if not more, that Meat Loaf demonstrated on Bat 1. In Left in the Dark (backed by a full orchestra with chilling spoken intro and epilogue, only to later be ruined by Meat 15 years later) there's no mistaking the pain and emotion in his voice. Out of the Frying Pan is superior to the Bat II version, and Jim gives backup singer Rory Dodd a shot at lead vocals on Lost Boys and Golden Girls, Surf's Up, and Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through (Even though you have to have a great ear to tell the difference). Stark Raving Love, although a merely average song by Steinman standards, contains one of the best guitar duels EVER at the end (it extends the song by a good three minutes), courtesy of Todd Rundgren and Davey Johnstone. Dance in my Pants is a fun duet with the amazingly skilled Karla Devito. Also featured is an orchestral interlude (almost 5 minutes) composed entirely by Steinman. The production of this album is sonically identical to Bat 1, and one can only imagine how great it would be if Meat sung it. Jim Steinman's voice takes a little getting used to but fans of his music won't give a damn. This album is fantastic, bar none, and even BETTER than Bat out of Hell in some aspects. It's hard to find but every bit worth the effort.

Loved and adored this album in '81 when it was released, still do today! Steinman a genius, all the tracks bring both tears of joy and sadness when I recall the happy days i spent listening to them. Now nearly 40, never grew up! hope there are a few more sad old souls out there who treasure these good memories!

Ever since I discovered Meat just a year ago, I have become obsessed with listening to his music. I own just about every Meat Loaf CD and decided I should branch out and see what Steinman can do alone. Trust me, if you're a hard core Meat Loaf fan, I'm sure you'll love this CD just as much as I do. Before I bought the CD I read some of the other reviews who said Jim didn't have as great of a voice as Meat and that they hated "Dance in my Pants." Personally, I think Steinman has a great voice, and even when he stretches to get the high notes it gives the song a lot of character. And despite the rather "nasty" title, "Dance in my Pants" is a great song! (it sounds a bit like "Paradise.") In fact, every single song on this album is a true Steinman classic, and my personal favorite is "Stark Raving Love", but all of them are great, even the ones he put on Meat's Bat II. It's a shame Jim didn't put out any more single albums, because this one sure is great! As he says in "Rock and Roll Dreams come Through", "someone must have blessed us when he gave us those songs"--and that someone is definitely Jim Steinman!

This album has an interesting back story...most people know Steinman as the songwriter behind all the songs on Meat Loaf's original "Bat out of Hell" album, and many of his subsequent recordings. Once you are familiar with Steinman's style, his songs are unmistakable. The material on "Bad for Good" was written during the same period as "Bat Out of Hell", and this was intended as a follow-up album for Meat Loaf (note the similar artistic feel and the fire-and-ice dichotomy of the two album covers). Several reviewers here have stated that Steinman recorded this album to get more recognition, or because he and Meat Loaf had a falling-out, or that Meat Loaf was simply not available. It's true that Steinman and Meat Loaf did and still do have some serious creative and business differences and the two were estranged from each other for awhile, but during a behind the music type interview Meat Loaf stated that his non-appearance on this album was due to a stress-induced episode of psychosomatic laryngitis that lasted for over a year. He couldn't sing and could barely speak. Steinman worked around him as long as possible, laying down all the background tracks and recording the vocals in his own voice, intending to replace them with Meat Loaf's vocals when his voice returned, but finally he couldn't wait any longer (he had been spending money on the album but making nothing) and made the decision to release it with his own vocals. It promptly tanked; Steinman's voice, while not unpleasant, lacks the range, power, and vocal control his own music demands, and not enough people recognized his name to sell the album without Meat Loaf's name to draw them. Later releases of the songs on "Bad for Good" almost all carry the same background tracks and have Meat Loaf's vocals plugged in as originally planned. Also noteworthy is the first appearance of Steinman's performance art style reading of his poem "Love and Death and An American Guitar"; the same recording showed up later on a Meat Loaf album with only slightly enhanced background sounds.

Despite his many critics, Steinman's songwriting has a solid fan base, even though at times he takes himself way too seriously. He strings words together in a lyrical and memorable fashion, but he tends to repeat phrases he likes until he runs them into the ground, and some of his songs are so stupid that you just want to hunt him down and slap him (Dance in My Pants is a perfect example on this album). Overall, if you like his style you'll enjoy this rough-cut album; if you aren't a fan of Steinman's music, you won't like him any better in his own voice. FYI if you do like Steinman, also check out the soundtrack album for the film "Streets of Fire"; Steinman wrote several tracks and you'll find phrases and ideas he gleaned from this earlier work in those songs.