Meat Loaf -  Bat Out of Hell: The Original Tour
Eagle Vision
www.eaglerockent.com

Rating: C

The German television show Rockpalast caught a young Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman coming through town and filmed the concert for broadcast.  How could they have known that in 1978 they were filming a legendary concert for an album that would become one of the best selling worldwide releases of all time?  They didn't know it at all.  It was dumb luck.  Now, Meat's fans can see the big man in all of his glory, bouncing, shouting and sweating (oh the sweating) onstage during the most epic part of his career. 

The show was filmed at the Stadthalle Offenback and captures the excitement and uniqueness that is a Meat Loaf concert.  Many in the crowd are mesmerized watching the show unfold before their very eyes.  "Bat Out of Hell," "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" and "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" are all blasted out by the band.  Seeing
Meat alongside vocalist Karla DeVito and songwriter and pianist Jim Steinman is indeed historic.  Also of note is that the guitarist on this tour were brother Bruce and Bob Kulick, who both went on to huge careers with Kiss and other bands.  Steinman and Meat were captured backstage for a rare interview as well.  Both men have drastically changed over the years and while the interviewer leaves a lot to be desired, seeing two men un-jaded, at this point, by the music industry, answer questions is interesting to say the least.

The main issue with the release is the sound and video quality.  The sound is very much akin to a soundboard recording.  The levels are not right on the guitars and Meat seems to be singing without any reverb in the mix.  The video quality is very 1978 as well.  German's were not as advanced at that stage as the rest of the modern music world when it came to recording live
shows.  That said, if you are a fan of Meat Loaf then this is obviously a 'must own.'  If you are an audiophile then this one might drive you nuts. Still, fans of the big man should check this one out to see how the legend began. 

By Jeb Wright