Definitive Collection, The

Despite its title, Definitive Collection by Meat Loaf contains tracks drawn from only the first three of the six studio albums he had released by 1995: Bat Out of Hell (1977), Dead Ringer (1981), and Midnight at the Lost and Found (1983), all recorded for the Cleveland International imprint of Epic Records. The 75-minute disc includes five of the seven tracks from Bat Out of Hell, among them the hits "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth," and "Bat Out of Hell"; six of the eight tracks from Dead Ringer, among them the hits "I'm Gonna Love Her for Both of Us" and "Dead Ringer for Love"; and four of the ten tracks from Midnight at the Lost and Found, among them the hits "If You Really Want To" and "Midnight at the Lost and Found." The disc concludes with "I Love You So I Told You a Lie," a track from Ted Nugent's 1976 album Free-for-All on which Meat Loaf sings lead vocals. In addition, the package includes an extra 35-minute CD that contains the four Bat Out of Hell songs contained on Meat Loaf's 1987 concert recording Live (aka Live at Wembley). Thus, all of the singer's 1977-1983 U.S. and U.K. hits are included, along with some key album tracks. ~ William Ruhlmann|