52 Weeks of Music - Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf

There are some albums that transcend time and space. Bat Out of Hell is one of those albums.

The album came out in 1977, the year after I was born. It is a heavy rock opera filled with love, sex, and heartache. The lyrics and the anthemic crescendos of the instruments bring the listener into the songwriter's world. You will experience spoken word poetry, and powerful guitar riffs, and Meat Loaf singing at all levels of his amazing range.

My favorite song is by far "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." It's all about teens and sex. In the cloistered world of my churchy upbringing, this was essentially audio erotica. Imagine hearing this at 12 or 13 and not being turned on. Of course, by the time I was hearing it, the album was some 10 or 12 years old, and the world had changed. Sex had become taboo, and this song celebrated it, to the point of flaunting.

This was one of the first CDs that I bought, and then at 16, the long awaited sequel came out, featuring "I Would Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That.)" Suddenly, everyone was into Meat Loaf all over again, but in the finicky world of 1990s radio, the long song was chopped up to fit into time slots and made into some horrible anemic version of its former self.

I think that's why I started going back to CDs only for my music. The radio was manipulative and sanitized, but the albums on CD in the dozens of plastic jewel cases strewn all over my back seat were uncut and vivid.

Of course, Bat Out of Hell is not without its detractors. Jim Steinman actually wrote the songs, and is barely ever given credit. Of course, he still gets the last laugh as he earns a good many royalties off Meat Loaf, and the anthems he wrote for other artists: "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" by Air Supply, "Total Eclipse of the Heart," by Bonnie Tyler, and "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," by Celine Dion, just to name a few.

If you've never heard Bat Out of Hell, I urge you to go out and get it.

Bat Out of Hell on Wikipedia

Album Link on iTunes

52 Weeks of Music. Week 2 Party Doll and Other Favorites, Mary Chapin Carpenter

I had a brief flirtation with Country music during its 1990s heyday. This was the era of Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, and a slew of other superstars. I adored Garth's everything and Reba's glamour and charm, but I absolutely loved everything about Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Her lyrics in her 90s "commercial" hits ranged from boisterous to scolding, running the full gamut of human emotions. I loved "Shut Up and Kiss Me" and "I Feel Lucky." Then she walloped me with "He Thinks He'll Keep Her," and "I Take My Chances."

This album, though it is a compilation, is a good snapshot of her brilliant career. Her next album, Time*Sex*Love* may be a subsequent entry, but this was the first album of hers that I bought, so I wanted to devote some time to it first. All of her major early hits are here, and there are songs I never knew I'd love, like "Stones in the Road," which is actually the title track from one of her older albums.

Though I usually disdain live performances of songs because they just seem so gimmicky, these performances are heartfelt and endearing. "I Take My Chances" is more poignant in this live version, as are many of the other tracks.

I admire her so much as a songwriter and performer. Not many country stars can pull off ballads written by John Lennon and Mick Jagger, but she totally does. In my imagination, she grew up listening to The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, and the Stones, then figured out how to interpret that music in her own life, with her own themes. She's truly gifted, and she's very willing to share her musical gifts with you, the listener.

Do yourself a favor and listen to this album again. If you haven't heard it, or if you already have the songs on other CDs, get this album for the new versions of the older songs. It's transformative, entertaining and endearing. You'll feel lucky to be hearing her music all over again.


Video link on CMT for "He Thinks He'll Keep Her."

Mary Chapin Carpenter on Wikipedia

Album Link on iTunes