Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell
 

with all this talk about how Hang Cool Teddy Bear is the "best since BOOH", I was wondering what people thought about BOOHII?

I mean Bat 2 doesnt get discussed here as a whole very often and I was wondering what everyone thought of this masterpiece.

i wanna see who here actually HCTB is better then this work of art.

I personally believe its the perfect album. No weak songs. No songs I skip. Its just the definition of what a Meat Loaf album is supposed to be. In my mind it exceeds the original in all honesty.

Bat 2 is an exceptional album and as far as I'm concerned it is just as good as Bat 1. I'm not overly keen on the excessive Bova-ness, I don't like the techno instrumental in GGGTH and I think Lemon is a bit slow and drawn out. Those minor niggles aside, this is one of the greatest albums of all time.

Although the songs from Bat 1 are amazing most of them sound better live. For the majority of the Bat 2 songs, as good as Meat is live, he's never managed to better the album tracks.

I do have one question though: What exactly is Ms Loud singing at the end of Anything For Love? It's supposed to be 'I know the territory, I've been around' but it sounds more like, 'I know the terrors are wrapped around.' :confused:

That's what it is! One of the greatest albums ever! I especially love the arrangements. Except maybe for the dominant background choires that can be a little annoying in the long run and Objects could probably be half as long if the chorus wasn't repeated a thousand times - but hey, it's Steinman. He's just a crazy genius. :)) I love little details like that piano jingle on Frying Pan. When the album came out, I didn't know anybody who didn't own and love it.

Not the worst but not in my top 3; I only really found myself liking it after hearing the live version on MSO dvd

you talking about Frying Pan? or the album as a whole?

Up there with Bat..Hell. Steinman took the reins as producer and no doubt some of the best music he's ever recorded. Some old songs got revisted, e.g Out Of The Frying Pan. And I'm glad they did. Some great vocal deliveries by Meat, even though Jim edited alot of it piece by piece. I agree with Evil One about the Bova synthesizer bits. I wished that Lost Boys was like HeavenCanWait. A piano and vocal would have sufficed. But at the end of the day, its a spectacular album and deserved the awards it received. Having Mr. Bay to direct the music videos was a good choice too!

:up:

The. Best.

I have to call it, for me Bat II is the definitive Meat Loaf album. Personally, for me, it blows Bat I out of the water. If there's one truly classic album I own, it's Bat II. I thought that when it came out in 93, and I think the same thing now. It just blows me away.

Doode.

Gonna have to echo what's already been said, it's probably my favourite Meat Loaf album and one of if not the best album I own.

Bat 2 is my favourite Meat album and I consider it the best album of all time personally. AFL was THE song that introduced me to Meat Loaf, and I remember getting chills listening to it. Bat 2 has everything; epic ballads, hardcore rockers and bizzare spoken word peices. Love it! Steinman is a genious and Meat personifies the character of each song beautifully.

I notice the 5 people who prefer Hang Cool Teddy Bear haven't revealed themselves in the thread so far.

Although all the songs on Bat 2 are amazing, I would have prefered Bad For Good or Original Sin instead of GGGTH.

Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell is probably the most played of all my albums put together.. Don't know why :shrug: it just is :cool: !!

Got to say that surprises man, I think Good Girls is right up there - always been one of my favourites.

I am one of the 5. Don't get me wrong, Bat 2 is a fabulous album with some classic tracks.

But a few things make me prefer HCTB:

1. I always felt that if Bat2 was all original music it would have been even better. And yes, I know there are some "rereleases" on HCTB, but Bat 2 to me sounds like an album of 2 halves - amazingly lavish and lovingly prepared new stuff, and then other stuff picked and done more quickly to get the album out. Eg ELTEE and OOTFP are (to me) very similar songs, which I always thought meant OOTFP was picked to speed the release up. Again, I love both tracks, but I think this approach made the album overall slightly less cohesive. HCTB has a concept that flows through all the songs and manages to make it a brilliantly cohesive album, despite, or perhaps because of, all the different styles of music on it.

2. On Bat 2, there are several tracks I tend to skip (and always have done). RARD, LBAGG, GGGTH, IJWQ. Certainly not bad songs, but they just don't grip me. Don't skip any on HCTB.

3. On Bat 2, Meat's voice often seems to get lost in the mix on a few of the songs. On HCTB (like on Bat 1) he is 100% up front the vast majority of the time, just where I like him.

4. Meat's voice on HCTB. To me, it seems to have so much more emotion and power. Perhaps again this is more noticable as he is right up front, but his vocals just blow me away.

5. HCTB is a fresh new sound - a perfect blend of modern and retro rock. To me, Bat 2 was just a touch too nostalgic, a little too safe, and didn't really move the sound on much. HCTB is balls out daring, and I love it even more for that.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love Bat 2, it's an astonishingly good record. It's just that HCTB for me edges it for the reasons I list above.

Can't agree with you there, man; I think Meat's vocals are the centre of the record. :)

I really like Good Girls Go To Heaven, but I much prefer the live versions because I'm not a fan of the electro-pop instrumental on the album. Always makes the song sound a bit dated to me.

Why shuold I have to reveal my vote?

anyways, I think bat II is great, but HCTB, meat sounds so alive and fresh. There are no skippable songs for me.

Mine too.

I just love the lyrics- I really relate to them, in some fashion. :saint:

Eh? :wtf:

See above =p

Oh, ok :doh: Must sleep now.

No worries, man :cool:

totally... only that album STILL blows me away... im still finding guitar parts i never knew were there all those years ago...

I'd say that Bat Out Of Hell II was a definate favourite of mine. Don't get me wrong I love HCTB but it's not one I listen to as much as Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out Of Hell II. I've loved the songs on both Bat albums since I began to like Meat Loaf's music.

I wouldn't say there was a single song on the album I don't listen to but my favourites are 'Everything Louder Than Everything Else' and 'Objects In The Rear View Mirror'.

Bat II is my third favorite Meat album (behind Bat I and Dead Ringer), but it has my all time favorite Steinman song on it, Objects, so it's obviously a masterpiece.