Ranking All the Meat Loaf Studio Albums
Meat Loaf is an American artist who both acts and sings. Over the course of his career, he has released 12 studio albums. Moreover, Meat Loaf has managed to sell more than 80 million records on a worldwide basis, which are enough to make him one of the best-selling artists of all-time.
12. Hell in a Handbasket
Hell in a Handbasket was released at around the time that Meat Loaf was on Celebrity Apprentice. As such, it contains “Stand in the Storm,” which is a charity single recorded with some of his fellow participants on the show. Speaking bluntly, the song isn’t the best, featuring a number of styles that failed to mix together well. Similarly, the rest of the release had their own issues.
11. Braver Than We Are
At the time, there was a fair amount of enthusiasm for Braver Than We Are because of the announcement that it would see Meat Loaf working with long-time collaborator Jim Steinman. In practice, the content consisted of covers as well as songs from Steinman’s earlier projects. On top of that, Braver Than We Are made it very clear that Meat Loaf’s voice is not what it once was.
10. Couldn’t Have Said It Better
Meat Loaf is famous for having had an on-again, off-again working relationship with Jim Steinman when the latter was still alive. Couldn’t Have Said It Better was made during one of those off-again periods. Unfortunately, while its writers made an attempt to emulate Steinman’s style, their results were surface-deep.
9. Blind Before I Stop
The 1980s were often a time of experimentation for Meat Loaf, who seemed to have felt a strong need to keep up with the times. He did get a couple of good releases out of that. However, Blind Before I Stop wasn’t one of them.
8. Midnight at the Lost and Found
Speaking of which, Midnight at the Lost and Found is another good example of Meat Loaf’s lackluster results in the 1980s. Amusingly, he was apparently offered both “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” for the studio album by Jim Steinman but missed out on those hits because his record company refused to pay for them. In hindsight, that was not the best move to say the least.
7. Welcome to the Neighborhood
Welcome to the Neighborhood was a concept album that described the changing nature of a relationship over time. It had some great songs such as “I’d Lie for You (And That’s the Truth).” Unfortunately, the rest of Welcome to the Neighborhood was neither particularly good nor particularly bad, meaning that it was rather forgettable.
6. Bat Out of Hell III
Bat Out of Hell III is infamous for having been created during a dispute between Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman. The former claimed that the latter was in bad health while the latter’s manager stated that the dispute was caused something else altogether. Eventually, there was a legal battle over the use of the name, though the two sides did settle in the end. Music-wise, the release included a number of Steinman songs even though Steinman himself wasn’t involved in its making. As such, there are people who don’t quite consider Bat Out of Hell III a true successor to its two predecessors. Still, the studio album was decent enough on the whole.
5. Deadringer
Deadringer is like a lot of Meat Loaf’s releases in that it is often overshadowed by Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II. However, it is a formidable contender in its own right, featuring a fair amount of quintessential Meat Loaf.
4. Bad Attitude
Bad Attitude was created around the peak of glam metal. As such, it should come as no surprise to learn that Meat Loaf tried to incorporate some of those influences into his own music. The result was one of his hardest-rocking releases. Moreover, it is interesting to note that Meat Loaf managed that without sounding derivative, thus making this particular studio album something worth remembering.
3. Hang Cool Teddy Bear
Hang Cool Teddy Bear was another concept album. In short, it was about a soldier lying wounded on the battlefield. However, he didn’t see his life flashing before his eyes. Instead, he saw a number of possible futures. Regardless, Meat Loaf seemed to have gone all-out for Hang Cool Teddy Bear, with the result that it is one of his most bombastic releases. Something that speaks volumes considering the general tone of his music. Fortunately, Hang Cool Teddy Bear is more than just empty sound and fury, meaning that it merits its position towards the top of this list.
2. Bat Out of Hell II
The incredible success of Bat Out of Hell meant that there was enormous pressure on Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman to make a follow-up. Unfortunately, their efforts ran into a number of serious problems. For example, there was the time when someone stole their new lyric book after breaking into their dressing rooms. Similarly, there was how Meat Loaf lost his voice at one point. As such, when Bat Out of Hell II actually started being made in the early 1990s, it was something of a joke in the music industry. Well, the release of the studio album silenced all doubters because it sold more than 14 million copies, which was well-deserved.
1. Bat Out of Hell
Naturally, Bat Out of Hell occupies the number one position on this list. After all, it has sold more than 50 million copies on a worldwide basis, which are enough to make it one of the most successful studio albums to ever see the light of day. Even now, it holds up well. For that matter, it isn’t unreasonable to think that Bat Out of Hell will one day be considered one of the best releases to have come from the 1970s as a whole.
