Label: RCA Records (U.S.), 07863 55451-2
Style: Rock, Pop Rock
Country: Dallas, Texas, U.S. (September 27, 1947 - January 20, 2022)
Time: 40:08
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 256 Mb
Charts: Aus #42, Ger #24, Swe #36, UK #8, US #74.
A change of labels can often bring about a resurrection and so it was here. Well, at least a step in the right direction, at any rate. Meat collects a couple of old Steinman tunes and writes half a dozen more with two collaborators. We're still stuck in the 80s sound-wise, even more so than last time out, although it's clear to all but the cloth-earthed than a lot more effort has gone into 'Bad Attitude' than 'Midnight At The Lost And Found'. In short, it's an eighties take on the Steinman/Bat style. It's not wholly successful of course, yet for close to forty minutes it feels like Meat Loaf has produced something worthwhile again. 'Modern Girl' might just be the single best example of 80s Meat Loaf, it rocks, it's got massed vocals and massed emotions. It stirs and even has a nifty electric guitar solo half way through. What's not to like? Well, Steinman's 'Nowhere Fast' has thin, eighties bass and try as he might, Loaf can't rescue it from the production constraits. Shame, as it's quite a nifty, rockin' tune. 'Surfs Up' first appeared on Steinman's 'Bad For Good' album. Meat's vocals are truly impressive here although i've problems with the arrangement. It sounds cluttered, clunky and whoever recorded Loaf's vocals should have thought differently about mixing his voice before making him sound like he'd lost ten stone in weight.
Six songs from the album were written by Sarah Durkee & Paul Jacobs, two hacks who at least managed to write songs that evoked the Steinman style, something critics felt was lacking from the 'Midnight' album. 'Piece Of The Action' was released as a single yet failed to chart. Funny thing is, i've a real soft spot for this tune. It's so eighties and those eighties drums are so bombastic and booming that one can't help but grin. John Parr wrote or co-wrote two songs, both best forgotten. Hey, in this day and age we can program them out and pretend they never existed. Well, 'Cheatin' In Your Dreams' is just so generic, hollywood type nonsense. 'Sailor To A Siren' by Durkee & Jacobs is far better and funnily enough sounds like it was mixed and produced differently. That's part of the problem 'Bad Attitude' faces, there doesn't seem to have been an overall vision, or if there was it was a vision that got diluted somewhere along the way. 'Bad Attitude' is ultimatly a guilty pleasure if you like both mid-eighties pop and if you like Meat Loaf.
(adriandenning.co.uk/meatloaf.html)
01. Bad Attitude (04:57)
02. Modern Girl (04:27)
03. Nowhere Fast (05:12)
04. Surf's Up (04:45)
05. Piece Of The Action (04:01)
06. Jumpin' The Gun (03:13)
07. Sailor To A Siren (05:05)
08. Don't Leave Your Mark On Me (04:07)
09. Cheatin' In Your Dreams (04:15)
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