Opinion | ‘Bat Out of Hell’ turns 45: Every song on Meat Loaf’s seminal rock album, ranked

Unless you were really into classical music or on a Broadway kick at the time, it might have been hard to get your head around Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” in 1977. It was like nothing else, a marriage of blazing guitar riffs sounding like angry motorcycles, angsty lyrics capturing young love and Americana, and a heavyweight voice that could effortlessly go from a gentle whisper to brute force and back.

With seven songs written by the late Jim Steinman, “Bat Out of Hell” has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and become a seminal rock album, even if it doesn’t get the same respect as the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” or others of the era. There was always magic in the dynamic duo of Meat Loaf and Steinman — revisited again in the 1993 hit “sequel” “Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell” — but the original “Bat” was truly an operatic tour de force.

First developed for a futuristic “Peter Pan” show called “Neverland,” the epic tunes (three of them clock in at eight-plus minutes) tell relatable stories of teen romance, sexual discovery and growing up, often with the energy of a fire-breathing hot rod. Elements of fantasy pervade the album, from the rocketing chopper and demonic winged creature on the cover to the music contained within. (Both Steinman and Meat Loaf — who starred in “Hair” as well as famously in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — had a penchant for musical theatre, and the songs all appear in “Bat Out of Hell: The Musical,” which bowed in 2017.)

To celebrate the album’s 45th anniversary this week, we’re ranking every track on “Bat Out of Hell” (but trust us, there’s no weak link in the bunch):

7. ‘You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)’

A Big Bad Wolf-inspired spoken-word opening leads into a hand-clapping homage to Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound.” Meat Loaf, who died in January at age 74, passionately takes on the role of a young man “just about to say I love you” who’s overcome by the object of his affections.

6. ‘Heaven Can Wait’

The touching, angelic piano-and-string ballad finds Meat Loaf at his most genteel, reflecting on a relationship that gave him a “taste of paradise” and stating he’d rather skip the hereafter and stick around on Earth with his true love: “If the Lord should come for me before I wake / I wouldn’t want to go / If I can’t see your face.”

5. ‘All Revved Up With No Place to Go’

The hormones are at full blast in this saxophone-powered stomper about a lonely all-American dude out on Saturday night looking for love in primal fashion and finding his “dream come true” on the main drag. And the lyrics “I was a varsity tackle and a hell of a block / When I played the guitar I made the canyons rock” are a fun combo of Meat Loaf’s football days and his musical pursuits.

4. ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad’

Name-checking a Coupe de Ville and Cracker Jack, the biggest “Bat” single was this soft-rock hit that dials down the over-the-top melodrama that fills most of the album — though the singer is “crying icicles instead of tears.” He’s looking back on the girl who got away, even though their love was a one-way street.

3. ‘For Crying Out Loud’

Of all the dynamic tracks, this song truly runs the gamut, from a yearning, sweeping hymn of devotion (“Oh, give me just another moment / To see the light of the day”) to a loud and boisterous orchestral declaration of endearment that brings the monumental album to a thoughtful conclusion.

2. ‘Bat Out of Hell’

The glorious opening title track kicks off with a scorching instrumental overture followed by a driving rocker where Meat Loaf hits the road on his silver Black Phantom motorbike and proclaims to his lady, “You know I want to be damned / Dancing through the night with you.” There’s a resigned understanding that this love might be doomed but, darn it, Meat Loaf’s in for it anyway.

1. ‘Paradise By the Dashboard Light’

The magnificent duet between Meat Loaf and backup singer Ellen Foley has become a staple at karaoke bars and wedding receptions but, like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it’s also a pop anthem that works on an ingenious level. A love-song symphony in three movements, “Paradise” tells the tale of a teen boy and girl who meet by the lakeside and engage in a sexual encounter (with double-entendre play-by-play by Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto) until she pulls out one heck of an ultimatum before they “go all the way.”

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