Bat Out of Hell
is the debut
studio album
by American
Rock singer
and composer
Jim Steinman.
The album was developed
from the musical
Neverland.
Neverland
is a futuristic
rock version of
Peter Pan
which Steinman wrote
for a
workshop in 1974.
It was recorded during
1975–1976
at various studios,
including
Bearsville Studios
in Woodstock, New York.
The album was
produced by
Todd Rundgren,
and released in
October 1977
by Cleveland
International/Epic Records.
Bat Out of Hell
spawned two
Meat Loaf
sequel albums:
Bat Out of Hell II:
Back into Hell
(1993)
and
Bat Out of Hell III:
The Monster Is Loose
(2006).
Bat Out of Hell
has sold over
43 million
copies worldwide,
making it one of
the best-selling albums
of all time.
It is certified
14× platinum
by the
Recording Industry
Association of America
(RIAA).
It is the
best-selling album
in Australia,
having been certified
26× platinum
by the
Australian Recording
Industry Association
(ARIA).
As of June 2019,
it has spent
522 weeks
in the
UK Albums Chart,
the fourth
longest chart run
by a studio album.
In 2012,
Rolling Stone
ranked it at
number 343
on its list
of the
500 Greatest Albums
of All Time.
ONLY 343 ?
When I was Younger
Everyone Had This Album ...
The Tape Was In
Everyone's Car,
How It Is Not Higher
on The List
is beyond me
LOVE THE ALBUM !!!
Pre-production
The album was
developed from a musical,
Neverland;
the play is a
futuristic
rock version of
Peter Pan
which Steinman
wrote for a workshop
in 1974,
and performed at
the Kennedy Center
Music Theatre Lab
in 1977.
Steinman
songs were
"exceptional"
and Steinman
began to develop them
as part of a
seven-song set
they wanted to
record as an album.
The three songs were
"Bat Out of Hell",
"Heaven Can Wait"
and
"The Formation of the Pack",
which was
later retitled
"All Revved Up with No Place to Go".
Bat Out of Hell
is often compared to
the music of
Bruce Springsteen,
particularly the album
Born to Run.
Steinman says he
finds that
"puzzling, musically",
although they
share influences;
"Springsteen was more
an inspiration
than an influence."
A BBC article added
"that Max Weinberg
and
Roy Bittan
from Springsteen's
E Street Band
played on
the album
only helped reinforce
the comparison."
Steinman and Meat Loaf
had difficulty finding
a record company
willing to sign them.
According to Meat Loaf's
autobiography,
the band spent most
of 1975 writing
and
recording material,
and two and a half years
auditioning the record
and being rejected.
Manager
David Sonenberg
jokes that new
record companies
were being created
just so the album
could be rejected.
They performed
the album live
in 1976,
with Steinman on piano,
Meat Loaf singing,
and sometimes
Ellen Foley
joining them for
"Paradise".
Steinman says
that it was a
"medley of the most
brutal rejections
you could imagine.
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