Meat Loaf - Bad Attitude
#288
November 1 1984
Meat Loaf
Bad Attitude
3.25 out of 5
Highlights:
Bad Attitude
Modern Girl
Jumpin' the Gun
Poor Meat.
In Jim Steinman's stead, Marvin Aday hooks up with Sarah Durkee and her husband, Paul Jacobs, for much of this record. She's an ex-National Lampoon actor who...checks notes...won 5 Emmys later for...notes again...yes, for writing songs for Sesame Street.
She's also written for Dora the Explorer, Arthur and Wonder Pets.
He wrote for Sesame Street as well.
All of those shows are excellent and I have sat through many of them when my kids were of that age. An age it felt like might never end.
However, this isn't that. This is Meat "Bat Out of Hell" Loaf.
And, while this really really tries, it's just not there.
Because, as well know by now, the sum of the parts.
The drum machines
I love Jim Steinman's solo record, but that's because I enjoy his songs, two of which are here ("Surf's Up" which fares much better than it did when Jim recorded it and "Nowhere Fast", also pretty darned good and it was originally written for Streets of Fire). I don't know if Durkee's & Jacobs' theater background seemed like a match for Meat's and it wasn't or what it is...let's be honest...it's the alchemy. Steinman + Meat Loaf.
Sum of the parts.
But the bones of what I like about Meat are there on songs like "Jumpin' the Gun" and "Sailor to a Siren".
Who knew that the best Roger Daltrey had to offer in 1984 wasn't his solo record but, rather, his guest appearance on the title track here.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bad-attitude/532850143
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