Meat LoafBat Out Of Hell - LiveReview

In 1976, when Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman were recording the seven epic songs with Todd Rundgren that would eventually turn out to be the Bat Out Of Hell album, they toyed with the notion of using an orchestra to bring the songs to life. Due to budget and sceduling constraints, however, the idea never came to fruition and they had to make do with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

When the finished album hit the shelves in 1977 the impact was immense. Spending a massive 395 weeks in the UK chart alone and shifting an unbelievable 30 million units worldwide it would have seemed as though recording the album with an orchestra was only around the corner.

Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, that corner turned out to be 27 years large. In fact, in Meat's more than thirty year recording career it seems unfathomable that he never actually recorded with any orchestra. Thankfully though, earlier this year he put that ghost to rest and hooked up with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and recorded Bat Out Of Hell in its full entirety under the guidance of conductor Keith Levenson.

From the opening sequence of the title track you can just see Meat throwing bricks at his head, for these songs just scream out orchestral accompaniment. And from the off the 'tra are cookin' with their highlights being the disco break of 'Paradise by The Dashboard Light' and the beautiful arrangement of 'For Crying Out Loud'.

The 'rock band' too are in great shape. The bass playing on 'All Revved Up With No Place To Go' must have turned a fair few of the virtuosos' heads. But the stealer of the show has to be the main man himself. The Loaf's singing is awesome throughout.

So you can forget your Tommy's and your Rocky Horror's. This is proper Rock Opera and Meat is a real character who is almost larger than life, but with the extra tracks I can't help but wonder, 'What Meat? You'd do anything for love but what? What is it you won't do?'

Cormac Heron