Jim Steinman
Bad For Good

THE REVIEW

"Bad For Good" was supposed to be the second album by Meat Loaf, the designated heir of that marvelous and timeless blockbuster "Bat Out Of Hell", but fate had other plans: due to vocal problems of the flamboyant but unruly and unstable singer Jim Steinman, the brilliant composer and songwriter behind that fusion of rock-opera and AOR that made "Bat Out Of Hell" great, decided to keep the songs for himself, stepping into the spotlight and releasing the album under his own name. As a singer, good old Jim is a notch below Marvin Lee Aday, lacking his charisma, but he manages splendidly: he has a pleasant, clear voice, well-tuned and incisive in just the right way, and his compositions bring out the best in it, making "Bad For Good" a perfect manifesto of the unmistakable style of the New York musician.

As it should be, the cover is splendidly garish, and the musical content is entirely a worthy continuation of the Steinman tradition: bombastic, hyperproduced rock, sumptuously arranged combined with a distinctly pop attitude, carefree, nonchalant and "take it easy", almost caricature-like; because this is rock according to Jim Steinman’s creed: fun, color, a cheeky bravado but also quality, attention to detail and, ultimately, great music. The grand, "Wagnerian" rides that made the fortune of Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler are abundantly present in this album, starting with "Bad For Good" which is the archetype of the perfect Steinman anthem: epic and grandiose despite a relatively simple structure, characterized by a nice opening riff and a loaded and engaging melody, but that's not all: there's also the more intricate "Stark Raving Love", whose choruses and initial piano line will be used in Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero", the midtempo "Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through", enriched by a pleasant and unexpected sax solo, a lively and overwhelming "Out Of The Frying Pan (And Into The Fire)", epic and full of tempo changes, perfect heir to "Paradise From The Dashboard Light" and finally "Dance In My Pants", entrusted to the vibrant voice of Karla DeVito, perfect for a musical.

The offering is undeniably rich, enticing, and appetizing, yet "Bat Out Of Hell" remains an unattainable peak: "Bad For Good" indeed lacks in its tracklist power ballads on par with the legendary 1977 album, except for the dreamy and almost fairy-like "Lost Boys And Golden Girls", which highlights Steinman's piano skills as well as his excellent vocal talents. "Surf's Up" is overly syrupy and conventional, making one miss Meat Loaf's gritty timbre that could have added something more to the piece, and the concluding "Left In The Dark" though appreciated for its sophistication, fails to fully convince: the fusion between the rock and orchestral components does not quite come together, and the song ends up circling aimlessly for its eight-minute duration, failing to hit the mark like the analogous "For Crying Out Loud".

Despite these flaws, and after all, "Bat Out Of Hell" is an album that happens only once in a lifetime, even for someone like Jim Steinman, "Bad For Good" deserves its due, and it's no coincidence that many of the songs on this album would later be taken up by Mr. Meat Loaf, without ever reaching the level and momentum of the original compositions; maybe it’s better this way, maybe it’s for the best that "Bad For Good" remained associated with Jim Steinman’s name: after all, "Love And Death And An American Guitar" is its constitutional statute, the very essence of his message.