Old Enough to Forget

File under: TLDR Note to the reader. First sorry, second not really, but I am sorry I don't have the ability to edit. Oh happy Valentine's day.  To celebrate let's take a gander at Meat Loaf's 1977 Bat Out of Hell. Over forty three million people disagree with me but for decades I thought this album was, and continues to be, one giant disappointment. I'll be the first to admit that despite decades of baggage the overwhelming power of nostalgia managed to erode even the hardest of convictions and I found that Bat Out of Hell was one of those albums I wanted to have in my collection, but I wasn't looking all that hard. It was an album I knew more about than I actually knew about. So at this moment in time I'm still holding firm on my long held opinion. But before I get into things, it's time for some meanderambling blurbage ... I remember seeing the cover when I was a kid and thinking it was the single greatest cover I had ever seen. What wonders were to b...

When Bruce Springsteen dropped Born in the U.S.A. in 1984 I was turning 21. It was a victory of sorts against the forces of Michael Jackson's Thriller that was somehow still managing to pull singles a couple years after it came out. Here was Bruce, just being The Boss and somehow his newly acquired biceps and a catchy song and video for "Dancing in the Dark" (I can't explain why I hear The Cars "Moving in Stereo" in my head when I think of this song) propelled him and the album into the upper stratosphere going 17 times platinum in the U.S.A. and selling over 30 million world wide. That's a hell of a feat for an essentially average album with some good songs, but it wasn't something I lost my shit over when I heard the songs on the radio.  Truth is I was never really a big fan. Sure I kind liked "Born to Run" but his music felt old . Yeah, I know this borders on blasphemy, but like I said, it was a very good album - I'm still moved when...

Oh, look what the dollar bin puked up. Bonnie Tyler's 1983 Jim Steinman produced and directed mega over the top opus Faster Than The Speed Of Night . I brought the album home which was in surprisingly good shape, and even the liner was decent. This would be fun. Everything about this release screamed cheese, especially the cover. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate nod to Steve Martin, but it sure does look like she's got an arrow through her head. Was she letting us know she was a wild and crazy guy? Of course you'd have had to live under a rock not to have heard "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and I will admit I like the song. Heck after almost forty years the song is part of the fabric of pop culture. Still, I was expecting very little from the rest of the album and was prepared for a lot of bloated filler. The first cut is a cover song, an interesting (in a good way) interpretation of John Fogerty's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" If you're g...