The Listening Booth : Bat Out Of Hell

This seminal album of my youth is presented out of sequence, simply because the Rock Opera that unwound in my head while listening to it over and over again in 8th grade went in this order. Broadway, I'm open to discussions.

Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf (1977)

1.) Bat Out of Hell

     The curtain rises on a lonely stretch of road in the American West. The sun shines orange as it rises, focusing its attention on a lone rider. He is our hero, Jimmy Mann, and he is everything right and wrong with the American teenager. As he drives his silver black phantom bike, he sings of his life: all that he has done and all that he wishes he could do. This mostly involves living life like the eternal rebel: A series of sensory simulations with no repercussions or second thoughts. As the song reaches its climax, we see Jimmy swerve to miss an oncoming car and crash down an embankment. Before he loses consciousness, he has a vision of his own death, and he seems fine with it, almost proud.

     Fortunately, Sarah Knowles was behind the wheel of the car that caused Jim's accident. She rushes down the embankment to his aid, alerts the authorities and sees him to safety in the back of an ambulance. Jim wakes from his blackout long enough to see her face as the doors close. He is instantly in love.

2.) Heaven Can Wait 

     Scene two opens in a hospital bed, where Jim delivers this soliloquy of unabashed love. We see through side action that Sarah attends the same high school as Jim and while walking the halls, her mind returns to Jim again and again. They are in the same boat of unabashed attraction. Sarah is a brilliant student, Jim a bad boy. This union seems imperfect, but we hope for the best after hearing their heartfelt professions of love.

3.) You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) 

     Jim recovers quickly, only missing a week's worth of classes. Juniors at the same school, Jim and Sarah have never run in the same circles.This minor detail doesn't stop him from asking her to a retro double feature at the Drive-In the weekend after school lets out for the Summer. As a fictional film plays on the big screen (preferably mentioning wolves and red roses in its dialogue) Jim leans over to explain how he hasn't had Sarah off his mind since the accident, but she cuts him off with a kiss. A montage takes place that leads us through the summer. We see their love grow as the season ends leading us to their Senior year. We see their first Christmas, Sarah's acceptance to College, and her purchasing of her Prom Dress.

    We then land in the Knowles' living room, where an intense fight is taking place. Sarah's parents desperately want their daughter to leave Jim behind as she starts her new life of higher education. They don't see him as anyone who will ever accomplish anything besides jail time, and they somehow convince her that not ending it now would destroy her dream of being a writer.

    Tearfully, after a last night of passion, Sarah breaks up with Jimmy, to the chorus of "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad."

4.) All Revved Up But No Place To Go 

    After the breakup, Jim is crushed and goes back to his old ways pre-accident. In a drunken fog one night, he gathers the desire to make Sarah sorry and asks a local preacher's daughter, Becky Sharpe, to take Sarah's place as his prom date. Amazingly, she says yes.

    At prom, Sarah, who is dateless, leaves in tears after watching Jim and Becky crowned King and Queen. As the dance ends, Jim suggests they drive out to the lake for some fresh air.

5.) Paradise by The Dashboard Light - 

     This part unfolds just like the song, which is in itself one of the best arguments for abstinence pop music has ever told.

     Time passes quickly. Graduation comes and goes, Sarah goes off to college still carrying Jim in her heart, and Jim and Becky get married a year later. Jim gets a job at a local auto shop and Becky attends a local technical college.

6.) Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad 

     But Sarah never leaves his mind. Four years pass, until one night on the local news it is reported that Sarah Knowles has received a paid internship at Rolling Stone Magazine after graduating top of her class with a degree in journalism. The world stops as a single spot captures Jim's moment of clarity: He didn't fight hard enough for this love, he simply gave up and in the end, betrayed her. The spot rises back to full lights, and Jim asks Becky for a divorce to the words of this song.

7.) For Crying Out Loud 

     Jim wanders the streets of his hometown, searching for anything to tell him what to do. As if by serendipity, he passes a Greyhound station offering an $80.00 one-way ride to New York City. Oddly enough, it's exactly what he has in his pocket. He turns to us, the audience that has followed his story through some of the best songs a teenager ever encounters, songs that speak to our raging hormones, our tortured hearts, sung by a man whose voice we never heard the like of in our generation's crooners. Jim sings through the chords of Micahel Aday, whom some football coach would name Meat Loaf. Meat Loaf's voice and Jim Steinamn's words explain to us that love can hurt as well as heal. Yet, who are we to fight it? Love owns us. We knew it was a losing battle the second this track gave us chills.
Also, true love just might be the greatest thing we ever encounter. We may have to leave everything we've ever known and follow it to the big city, but in the end, isn't that exciting as hell? Especially since we know it's our destiny.

   As the strings and drums swell in Wagnerian ecstasy, Jimmy boards the bus. As it rolls ever so slowly off the stage, the final two minutes of the song float across the fourth wall and into our souls. The curtain begins its descent. Jimmy raises his voice to Valhalla one last time, and the first act comes to an end.

    I never wrote a synopsis of the second act. I could never decide if I wanted to go the "Oklahoma" or the "Miss Saigon" route with the tale. However, one thing was certain: regardless of it's placement as the first track on the sequel disc, " I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" was a second act climax piece to end all... well, you catch my drift!