Meat Loaf is the most versatile singer/actor working today and I would feel equally thrilled watching him perform live or going with him to lunch and a football game. This cd differs from "Bat Out Of Hell" in that it is missing two songs from that one (Heaven Can Wait and For Crying out Loud) but it has 5 other songs (Read 'Em and Weep, Dead Ringer For Love, Midnight At The Lost & Found, I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us and Razor's Edge). All are great songs, but of course the ones by J. Steinman are some of the best rock songs of all time.

I guess that is why "Bat out of Hell" has done so well. If it was reissued today with a little publicity, It would go into the top 10 again.

"Paradise By The Dashboard Light" is comparable to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" both in style and composition and both songs belong in anyone's top 10 all time rock songs.

It is rumored that "Bat Out of Hell III" is in the works and I certainly hope so as I would love to buy a new cd the same time everyone else is buying it instead of 20 years later.

this album rocks it has some doubles but overall it is great. Try driving at night in summer with the windows (or even better the roof) down with this blaring out the stereo at full volume. FANTASTIC !!

Looking for a place to start your Meat Loaf collection? This is it. Though no-one should be without "Bat Out Of Hell", and this omits the best track from that album ("For Crying Out Loud"), it is nevertheless an ideal place to kick off your quest for Meat Loaf greatness. The five "Bat Out Of Hell" tracks that make up the majority of the album are, predominantly, the rock classics, with "Heaven Can Wait" and "For Crying Out Loud" having missed the cut. Regardless, I don't think anyone can turn down an album that contains "Bat", "Hot Summer Night", "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad", "All Revved Up" and "Paradise By The Dashboard Light".
The non-"Bat" tracks, however, are where the album really starts to show Meat's true brilliance. From "Dead Ringer" comes not only the title track but also the hit singles "Read 'em And Weep" and "I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us". The latter in particular is a true highlight, a seven-minute spectacular that rips along in a brilliant combination of piano and bass.
Contributions from Meat's third and final album with Epic are also present - "Midnight At The Lost And Found" and "Razor's Edge" are both familiar to Meat Loaf fans, and are in fact two of his best tracks in general. Though "Midnight" is a hugely underrated LP, the songs from it are top notch.

I originally got the vinyl version of this, and other than a slightly different arrangement, it also contained the brilliant "Modern Girl". This track really SHOULD have appeared on the CD as well (if you read the back cover closely, you'll see that it was meant to), but it made way for "Lost Love". This track was the b-side to the 12" version of "If You Really Want To" (First single from "Midnight") and is brilliant. Though not as good as "Modern Girl", it is definitely one of Meat's better efforts and it's criminal that it missed out on an appearance on "Midnight".

All up - if you're looking to start your Meat Loaf collection, this is the ideal album with which to do it. Grab "Rock 'n' Roll Hero" while you're at it for his best stuff with Arista and you've got the ultimate combination.

SONGS OF NOTE: Dead Ringer For Love, Midnight At The Lost And Found, You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

HITS OUT OF HELL, ROCK AND ROLL HERO & THE VERY BEST are the Best of all the Meat Loaf albums - ALL the Meat Loaf albums!
But one thing - PARADISE is not the last song on HITS OUT OF HELL That credit goes to LOST LOVE (a song by unknown) which has mysteriously never been on any Meat Loaf album...
I reckon it's an outtake from MIDNIGHT... but why?!
If you find HITS make sure the last song is LOST LOVE
Because that is the reason why the album's worth buying!
Whoever's selling these shoddy versions of HITS with PARADISE as the last song should be made to pay!

This is Bat Out of Hell repackaged. No weak tracks. A cool, campy rock opera concept album about a man who goes to hell for his sins. Updated from the oruginalo Methodist inspired version for more of a gothic opera a lka Rocky Horror. More sensitive than Bat II. I like it a lot. My favorite album.