Meat Loaf: Bad Attitude (1984)

Up to this point, Meat had performed in the original touring version of "Hair", recorded an album with Motown, acted with the New York Shakespeare Festival in "More Than You Deserve" and Shakespeare's "As You Like It", was an original cast member of the LA and New York versions of "The Rocky Horror Show", as well as the movie which would become one of the greatest cult films of all time, had recorded "Bat out of Hell" which was still reigning on the charts in the UK almost ten years later, had lost his voice on the tour, gone away to make films like "Roadie" and "Americathon" hoping his voice would recuperate, had finally released a follow-up with Jim Steinman called "Dead Ringer", was going through more hell after losing his voice with lawsuits and declaring bankruptcy, and had just put out a new album "Midnight at the Lost and Found", his last with Epic/Cleveland International. What would he do next?

A world tour began, on the back of "Midnight", going through America, Britain, Spain and Portugal, Europe and Scandinavia (thank you very much, Almost Complete Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman Lyric Archive), and the record company released a greatest hits album in June, the famous "Hits out of Hell" which had incorporated (almost) all of the singles from "Bat", "Dead Ringer" and "Midnight", but what next album wise?

Have a look at the article "The Hungry Fighter" from the World Tour '83 program, which you can read here (thanks again, Almost Complete Meat Loaf and Jim) and this will have given you a few ideas: https://mljs.evilnickname.org/meatloaf/tourprograms/worldtour83.html

So it looked like Tom Dowd would be in the picture again, as producer, not to mention Jim getting involved in some capacity, (I can only imagine how fans must have reacted to this), and the new album might be called "Innocence, Dreams, Success or Failure". But then there was another question that remained unanswered, would we see a return of the fantasy cover art of "Bat" and "Dead Ringer"??? Fast forward to...

Meat has signed with Arista Records, run by Clive Davis (who had turned down "Bat out of Hell"), and has been recording in St. John's Wood at Abbey Road, with the band and all sorts of writers and musicians like Roger Daltrey of the Who, Clare Torry who sang on Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky", John Parr who had co-written and performed the UK Number 1 "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" and more. The album that would appear in November 1984, Meat's fifth and his first with Arista, would be called "Bad Attitude" and boy was he back in business.

Firstly, the bulk of the album had been written by songwriters Paul Jacobs and Sarah Durkee who contributed some of the best material Meat had recorded away from Jim, songs like "Modern Girl", "Piece of the Action" and "Bad Attitude". John Parr had contributed "Cheatin' in your Dreams" and a version of his song "Don't Leave your Mark on Me", and even Jim was in on the mix with "Nowhere Fast" (recently released by Fire Inc. on the soundtrack for "Streets of Fire") and "Surf's up" (one of the songs Jim had written for that original follow-up which became his solo album "Bad for Good".) Side note: if you've never heard the Meat Loaf "Nowhere Fast", definitely check it out, because it's not just the song from "Streets of Fire". There are completely different verses, and really only the chorus and pre-chorus are the same, apparently because Meat actually recorded an earlier draft. (A similar thing would happen with Jim's Everly Brothers song "A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste", with different verses in a demo that was recorded by Gina Taylor probably for Pandora's Box.)

Now hmmm, you probably know what I'm thinking here, but what about the cover art??? Yes! Yes! Yes! Fans and music listeners seeing this album in the racks for the first time would have been greeted with the sight of a giant woman (attack of the 50 foot motorbiker chick?) driving over the top of an awesome rubbish dump on the back of a colossal motorcycle with a skull sitting on the front. Holy cow! I remember seeing that image for the first time, years after this album was ever released, and still thinking there was probably only like three or four Meat Loaf albums, and the colour and imagery just jumped out at me. It was all part of the excitement as I waited fourteen weeks for an imported CD from the US (not knowing it was a remixed version of the album, but more on this to come.)

In my estimation, this was a terrific return to form. It wasn't "Bat" and it wasn't "Dead Ringer" either, (there's just something indescribably special about Meat singing a Jim Steinman song), but to me it was his best sounding album in the 80s. It was one of the best looking ones as well. His voice was tip top and the performances on tour must have been amazing, judging by the video that emerged of this tour in 1985 called "Bad Attitude Live" which was only ever released on VHS. The writing was solid. There were some top single choices in "Modern Girl" and "Nowhere Fast", and the music videos, judging by what's available online, were doing a pretty good job promoting the album. Meat was in a good place, and he could only go forward into the future, (Gimme the future with a modern girl!), recording new albums, starring in new films, and leaving the audience aghast every night as he passed through on his epic tours. Would it even be possible that Meat and Jim might reunite for another album? And might they even call this album "Bat out of Hell Part II"...?

In 1985, "Bad Attitude" would be released in the US with remixed versions of most of the album's songs, specifically "Bad Attitude", "Modern Girl", "Surf's up", "Piece of the Action", "Cheatin' in your Dreams" and "Sailor to a Siren", and the order of the B side would be slightly readjusted. This is the version I first heard, never actually realizing that there were two releases (but always being aware that some of the songs sounded different.) In response to this, I eventually bought the UK mix as well (22 years after!) which means I'm going to be looking at some of these songs *twice*.

UK mix:

"Bad Attitude" --- Yes, this intro just sucks you in. This is a great sounding band. Meat's vocals are sounding mighty, and that's Roger Daltrey he's singing with at the end. Sometimes it's difficult to tell them apart, but I mean this as a compliment.

"Modern Girl" --- Yes, the big single off the album, and rightly so! It's a pity the music videos on YouTube aren't fully synced up, because it has a cool clip as well, and I just really like this one from the album.

"Nowhere Fast" --- OK, once I heard Jim's version on "Streets of Fire", I just couldn't look back, but then Meat's vocals here are magnificent, and the verses are completely different. The riff later reappears in "Everything Louder than Everything Else" and that's a cool little connection.

"Surf's up" --- Rory's original version on Jim's "Bad for Good" is a masterpiece, and while this one isn't produced by Jim, Meat does a terrific enough job. Rory's has the edge over it for me, however, but if I'd never heard that? Come on!

"Piece of the Action" --- another awesome song from this album, and I especially love the line "Is there any way in hell to light a comet from a single spark?" That is such a fantastic line, and it's a strong rock number that should have been a bigger single.

"Jumpin' the Gun" --- this will have its naysayers I'm sure, but to me it's just a little bit of fun. 

"Cheatin' in your Dreams" --- there was always something about these lyrics I never really picked up on when I first heard this, before eventually realizing there actually seems to be a murder going on in this song. This is a great example of Meat acting, performing his songs and becoming a character. It's this and the following song that make you realize this is all part of one big storyline.

"Don't Leave your Mark on Me" --- and in this song, you realize the guy is on trial for the woman he has murdered. The intro feels like something out of a thriller movie. The whole song has this cinematic vibe about it, a tension running through it. Then you get hit with lines like "Masked illusions stare at me/Point the finger silently/Stand accused as the jury stares/There's a ghost in here somewhere!" Those are some great lyrics.

"Sailor to a Siren" --- "Must have met you/When we were living in another time/Had nothing but the jealous gods to point our way/When men were sailors/And a woman was a rocky shore/Wailing like a siren leading him astray." Again, these lyrics! And it's a rocking cool song, but then the album just seems to finish. I don't feel like it has an ending.

Well, doesn't that mean you just listen to it again? I suppose so, or... but first.

US mix:

"Bad Attitude" --- Meat's vocals have this 80s sounding effect on them in the UK version, but that seems to be gone now, and I think that improves the sound. This version feels larger and more theatrical than the original.

"Modern Girl" --- this and the original are pretty interchangeable for me at this point, both equally as good.

"Surf's Up" --- I really couldn't make up my mind which mix I preferred more. The piano seems to be more prominent in this one. It's this version I've heard the most over the years, but having heard the other one quite a bit lately, I really like that one too.

"Piece of the Action" --- like "Bad Attitude", this just feels larger and more theatrical. I think I prefer this.

"Sailor to a Siren" --- this has now been put after "Jumpin' the Gun" on the album. Those eerie sounds in the beginning are more pronounced than ever. I would have to say I prefer this one, for now.

"Cheatin' in your Dreams" --- this is now the last song, and for some reason it's been mixed to sound much quieter than the original. I thought there was a volume problem with the album, but something has gone wrong here and I'm not sure what. For that reason, I have to go with the UK. I don't remember anything else about this being different? And again, the album just seems to end...

... and then suddenly you get a hold of the B side from the "Modern Girl" single, another Paul and Sarah song which was called "Take a Number", and everything just seems to fit. I have no idea where this would have been positioned on the album, but for me, I usually listen to it afterward and suddenly... Well, whatever the case, you have to check this song out.

There was a 30th anniversary release of this album, but none of the special features that might have been of further interest here. Imagine a remaster, along with a bonus disc of the US remixes, the single B sides "Take a Number", and "Clap your Hands" and "Stand by Me" which Meat had recorded in the sessions for "Rocky Horror Picture Show" remastered as well, along with the extended versions of "Modern Girl", "Nowhere Fast" and "Piece of the Action". I'm not sure why they couldn't have done a release like this, but it would have been a great one for fans. I think this album deserves it.