Bat Out Of Hell III

Meat Loaf

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 2006)
• Original Release Date: October 31, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B000FQ4M58
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (169 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,091 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The long-awaited third record in the Bat Out of Hell trilogy, The Monster Is Loose, wears bombast, pretension, and pyrotechnics proudly on its album sleeve and across the bulging disc's 14 tracks. More a pop orchestral mishmash than a well-defined rock opus, Bat III is dark, seemingly hopeless at times, and über dramatic. Oddly enough, that's also its saving grace. Meat Loaf and company create a great escape into the realm of grand theatricality, with a bunch of radio-friendly rock tunes that sound 20 years old, and several lyrically memorable AOR ballads to sustain it all the way to Broadway. With collaborator (and occasional defendant in Meat Loaf lawsuits) Jim Steinman, producers Desmond Child and Todd Rundgren, the Meat man consistently has the big sound booming and his despair and his rage on to the point that listeners may feel his pain a little too often. Bat III ain't for sissies. Balanced by the powerful female voices of Marion Raven, Patti Russo, and Jennifer Hudson; along with guest musicians and songwriting help from Steve Vai, Marilyn Manson's John 5, Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx, Queen's Brian May, and others; Meat Loaf's Monster has roared the unlikely rock star back to life like a bat out of Baghdad. --Martin Keller

More Classic Rock

Bob Seger - Greatest Hits	The Wall (Deluxe Packaging Digitally Remastered)	Very Best of Jethro Tull

Product Description

Bat Out of Hell III is Meat Loaf’s long-awaited 3rd installment of the most successful rock music series of all time, with the two previous albums selling a total of 45 million copies around the world. Bat Out of Hell, released in 1977 and produced by Todd Rundgren, is the third best-selling album of all time, with 30 million copies sold worldwide, featuring such Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman standards as "Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad," "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" and the show-stopping "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights."

The Steinman-produced Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which came out in 1993, has sold more than 15 million, with the classic "I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)," earning Meat Loaf a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance.

Bat Out of Hell III continues the epic story in grand fashion, with contributions once again from Steinman and Rundgren, and produced by hitmaker Desmond Child. Bat Out of Hell III marks the triumphant return of the Bat Out of Hell saga, completing this remarkable trilogy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than I was expecting., November 3, 2006

By	Kevin H. Dudley (Roanoke, VA (USA)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'll be completely up front and say that I was expecting a complete tee total disaster with this album.

Being a huge fan of the 1st two Bat Out of Hell albums, I was especially worried back when I found out that genius songwriter Jim Steinman wasn't going to be involved at all in the production/arranging of this album like he had been on Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (which is my personal favorite of the 3). Of course, everyone knows that Steinman also wrote all of the tracks on the 1st two Bat albums all by himself anyway with genius Todd Rundgren producing the 1st release..

Sure, 7 of his tracks were going to be covered the Meat Loaf on this release but the rest were going to be written/co-written by producer Desmond Child who is known more for being the type of producer who just resurrects aging artists' careers.

But lo and hehold, when I wound up picking up the 3rd Bat CD and it turned out to actually be a really strong album.

Is it as good as the 1st 2? The answer is a simple no. Without Steinman's guiding hand, the album just lacks that theatrical thread that permeates the previous 2 Bat albums.

But viewed simply as a collection of songs, the album succeeds in really strong fashion. It is easily much stronger than Meat Loaf's 2003 release "Couldn't have said it Better" and 1995's "Welcome to the Neighborhood."

As to be expected, the album's strongest points are the 7 Steinman penned tracks (4 of which have already been recorded by other artists). But the big surprise is how well the Desmond Child penned tracks blend in and stand up almost as strong.

The album's biggest weak point is the title track "The Monster is Loose". Co-written by Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx and ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, this track finds Meat Loaf doing his best to sing over a pretty bad nu-metal sounding track.

But once you get past that, things start really looking up. In fact, the 2nd track "Blind as a Bat" by Desmond Child is one of the best things that Meat Loaf has done.

In fact, he has probably never sounded better than he does on this album. There's a couple of tracks that don't quite work as well as they should, and he also has 3 duets with female vocalists on this release as well instead of just one like on the previous Bat albums. They could have maybe pared the duets down on this a bit. Also, some of the songs lack a bit of the overwrought orchestrations that Steinman gave to the 2nd Bat album. Desmond Child does his best though and the album does have one of the best sounding mixes around.

But overall, this CD is a really good listen and a must have for fans of Meat Loaf. It does stand up well to the 1st two Bat albums and musically sounds right at home with those 2 other classic releases.

Now let's see if Meat and Jim can reconcile their differences and do a 4th Bat album with Jim at the helm!

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still batty over Meat Loaf, October 31, 2006

By	Amanda Richards "Modest to the extreme" (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's all coming back to me now - it's been nearly thirty years since Bat Out of Hell, and thirteen years since Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, but Meat Loaf's unique vocals and style remain the same after all this time.

Despite an initial falling out with Jim Steinman, the two were able to reach a compromise, and seven songs on the album were in fact written by Steinman (albeit for other projects). Another song was written by Diane Warren, the rest by Desmond Child, with a little help from Nikki Sixx, John "5" Lowery, James Michael and others.

For the first single, Meat Loaf reaches back into the past and resurrects "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" featuring Marion Raven, but the ones that got to me were "Alive"; "Bad For Good" with the unmistakable guitar of Brian May of Queen; the seven minute extravaganza of the title track; "Cry Over Me" written by Diane Warren; the operatic "In the Land of the Pig, The Butcher is King" with its little "Phantom of the Opera" bit; "If God Could Talk"; "What About Love" featuring Patti Russo, and "The Future Ain't What It Used to Be" with Jennifer Hudson of American Idol fame.

It's vintage Meat Loaf, and you shouldn't miss the opportunity to complete the trilogy - make it Meat Loaf on the menu tonight.




Amanda Richards, October 31, 2006

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Monster Knows How to Rock, October 31, 2006

By	Bryan Weber (San Angelo, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a second generation Meatloaf fan, and when I heard that this album was coming out, I looked forward to it with much anticipation. I am pleased to report that I was not disappointed.

The title track, The Monster is Loose, pulls you in nicely, and lets you know what you're in for.

It's All Coming Back to Me is a powerful duet with Marion Raven, and the song sounds superior to the original version done by Celine Dion.

Bad For Good combines Meatloaf's tremendous and powerful voice with the unique and unmistakeable guitar stylings of Brian May, and it's a match made in Heaven.

In the Land of the Pig, The Butcher is King is a powerful song that sounds very much in place on this collection, and sounds like it would have been right at home with any of the Bat Out of Hell trilogy.

Monstro, though short, certainly is a dark, haunting inspiration.

Alive and If God Could Talk fit together perfectly, and are classic Meatloaf in their tone and execution.

What About Love is another stunning duet, this time with Patti Russo, and it is certainly reminiscent of the previous two albums, especially the earlier song, I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That).

Seize the Night is easily the longest track on the album, and it has an operatic feel to it. It's magnificent in its scope, and the music and singing evoke a great deal of powerful emotions in the listener.

The Future Ain't What it Used to be is a powerful duet with Jennifer Hudson, and it is perfectly at home on this album.

All in all, a spectacular album, and just what Meatloaf fans have come to expect.