Bat Out of Hell...or Back Into Hell?

[RadioMaster]

The long time this forum exists that probably has been done before. If it´s so, then this thread is for all the newbies like me:cool:

Which one is better?

Bat Out Of Hell or Back Into Hell

To be correct, I´m talking about the albums, not the songs!:))

The Idea came to me, because so many people say that BOOH is one of the best albums ever, but IMO Bat2 is better!

The songs are much more emotional, the bandwith of the emotions is larger, the songs are much more powerful too.

What do you think?

[Bohemian]

Yes I prefer Bat 2. The small bits are smaller and the big bits are bigger, arrangement wise and production wise... and composition wise as well.

It's kinda nice to have Bat 2 as the definitively huge monument of Bat sitting in the middle being orbited by two, in my opinion, less monolithic statements in Bat 1 and 3.

Having said that, the fact that Meat has taken a direction on this album that strays much farther from Jim than the direction of Bat 1 and 2 places this album as a nice bookend of Meat's discography first and foremost much more than as a sequel to Bat 2, for me.

My only beef with Bat 3 now is that Paul Jacobs and Sarah Durkee aren't involved at all, it would have been cool to have this album as a sort of whirlwind of all of Meat's major composers from over the years.

[needmoremeat]

I guess I could say Bat II as well. That was the album I fell in love with first, and it has AFL on it, which was the first song of which I knew the whole title and artist, at six years old that was quite an achievement for me! The only negative thing for me on that album is that the woman on AFL is from my neighbouring city, with whom there is an intense rivalry!:lol: Although it is nice to have someone from my region on such a successful song. Never mind, a guy from my city has been in a movie with Meat!:mrgreen:
I find the songs more epic and have more grandeur and refinement about them. The songs, and Michael Whelan's artwork in the CD booklet seems to put the songs into another medium. They remind me of Tolkien in that they're long, over the top, groundbreaking, fantastical, have a unique style, and that people have to 'get' it to be able to understand and like them. It feels to me as if Steinman and Tolkien are both so poetic and imaginative in the language and words that they use, and it shines through constantly. A lot of my childhood was driving to the Lake District (a lovely countryside with natural beauty) with Bat II blasting through the speakers of the car as we drove along at 60-70mph through the English countryside and scenery. I really enjoyed those times! I actually looked forward more to the journey than getting to the destination!:lmao:

[mariella]

I prefer Bat Out Of Hell (1) without the slightest doubt!
This is where history was made...and it has both FCOL and Heaven can Wait on it...
Interesting to see how people feel different about the albums, nice topic, Radio!

love,
Mariella

[daveake]

I prefer Bat Out Of Hell (1) without the slightest doubt!
This is where history was made...and it has both FCOL and Heaven can Wait on it...
Interesting to see how people feel different about the albums, nice topic, Radio!

love,
Mariella

Can't believe there's a choice! Bat 1 without even a vague chance of a mere glimpse of a shadow of a doubt.

Well that's my opinion anyway :)

I wonder how many of the Bat II voters heard that first ... in my (limited) experience it's been those young enough not to have heard Bat 1 when it came out that will tend to vote for Bat II.

Dave

[yemabef]

For me, Bat 1's a record of seven straight classics perfectly sung and produced, while Bat 2's a little inconsistent by comparison in terms of song quality and Meat's vocals (don't stone me) lack some of the magic and strength from Bat 1.

The first 3 tracks on Bat 2 plus Objects and Everything Louder (my favourite on the album; that and RNR Dreams sound like they could have been lifted straight from Bat 1 both stylistically and in terms of quality) are on par with Bat 1, but then there's a few like It Just Won't Quit (though nice guitar work), Good Girls (bleh, eighties hangover...), Lost Boys (really good, but a little simple) and (just my opinion) Frying Pan that are good songs without reaching Bat 1-level by a fair margin. I say Frying Pan while acknowledging the lyrics are fantastic of course, just isn't that strong a song musically in my opinion even though it's still damn good. So my vote goes for the original album. But Bat 2's still fantastic - happen to be listening to it right now in fact ;)

Oh and just to add something, I'm quite excited by Bat III's new direction; listening to Pigs from Stern's show sounds like they've captured some of the type of intensity that you can hear in Meat's early live stuff in a way I haven't heard from his studio recordings before (I prefer the live version of Bat on the 25th anniversary edition to the original myself, just the raw emotion heightens the impact of the song). So to be honest, listening to the snippets from the EPK, I anticipate having a tough choice for second in the 'trilogy' come November if a similar poll runs again because this new stuff sounds awesome.

[mariella]

Can't believe there's a choice! Bat 1 without even a vague chance of a mere glimpse of a shadow of a doubt.

Well that's my opinion anyway :)

I wonder how many of the Bat II voters heard that first ... in my (limited) experience it's been those young enough not to have heard Bat 1 when it came out that will tend to vote for Bat II.

Dave
I too wondered about just how much impact hearing something for the first time has on a person...I have only discovered Meat Loaf in 2001 so Everything before that period was new to me...(had a Lot of catching up to do lol)

But must say CHSIB is right up there with BatI for me...maybe that has something to do with 'hearing an album for the first time'...after all every opinion/feeling is a personal-experience...it will be interesting to see how many people vote for which album - and when they heard it first, yes!

Love,
Mariella

[L96]

I can't decide between the two. The first song I ever knew as Meat's was Life Is A Lemon, which was the tune playing for my first kiss (I later learnt that's Surf's Up was Meat, which I already knew, but that's a different story). Bat II therefore is the first album I heard of Meat's and the one I fell in love with.

BOOH, on the other hand, I didn't hear until much later. And every song on it except for BOOH irritates me at times. I love them, but am not always in the mood to hear them, because they cut too close to home. That said, same deal with Bat II... it has too many memories attached. I love it, I listen to it often, but I can't replay it over and over, because it takes me places I don't want to go.

I can't decide. BOOH because it was the first, the groundbreaker. NO, Bat II, it has the better songs, AFL, RnRD, ELTEE, WY, LIAL... NO, BOOH, it has BOOH, FCOL, HCW, Paradise, All Revved Up... No, Bat II, it gave me my life soundtrack... NO, BOOH, I play that more often... NO, Bat II, the cover art is better... No, BOOH... You get the drift.

[Hypnobabe]

For me it's got to be Bat I - the first Meat song I ever heard was You Took The Words (Hot Summer Night) on a compilation album, and when I read the credits and saw it came from some album called Bat Out Of Hell, which I'd vaguely heard of before, I decided to get it, and played it practically to death. I love the songs on it, the drama of it, and the humour in the lyrics. I don't think any of the other Bat albums, as great as they are, will ever compare to that first one for me.

[Jeanie]

Being a fan since the beginning, it has to be Bat1 for me. :)) Like someone else said "that album was Rock & Roll history" and it was/still is for that matter.
Since we haven't really heard Bat3 yet(well most of us haven't anyway) I'm not sure where it will end up fitting in the order of what I consider Meat's greatest albums, which for me so far are in order of...

Bat1
CHSIB (wish it had better promo, as I think it could have gone far)
Bat2
WTTN

J. xo

[MeatGrl1]

I love all Meat albums as equals but if I am being completelly honest a sway a little more to Bat II Back Into Hell and I can't explain why but that's not taking away the greatness of Bat Out Of Hell, I think it's amazing too and this probably makes no sense but this is how I feel.
I guess my point is that personally you can't judge his albums because they are always different in content and lyrically and I think that's why everything Meat does is fresh because he strives for a different sound and if something sounds the same or is similar he won't rest until it's in it's own unique style and I can imagine that's pretty tough:cool:!

http://i2.tinypic.com/23lmfld.jpg

[GTB]

Personally I prefer Bat 2 because I just remember being young and seeing the AFL music video and being absolutely mesmorized by it. It was the first song I really felt gripped me, and loads of people around me would sing along to it on the radio.

I was a bit too young to buy the album, so the first Meat Album I actually got was WTTN which I loved. Then I heard Bat 2 and actually heard Bat 1 last. Over all Bat 2 has such an epic feel to it, and I always sense with this album that Meat and Jim knew they were creating magic for the second time and were going to unleash Meat back on the world! Bat 1 is fantastic, but Bat 2 has a darker edge to it IMO which I really appreciate.

I agree Bat 3 is sounding very different from what we've heard...but TMIL, 'Seize The Night', 'Land Of The Pigs', and 'Future Ain't What It Used To Be' are all quite dark songs, so they'll make me happy!

I think a lot to do with an album is how we respond to it emotionally, and I certainly have more of an emotional bond with Bat 2.

GTB