Dead ringer

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Dead ringer
Studio album by Meat Loaf

Publication
(s)

4th September 1981

Label (s) Epic

Format (s)

CD, LP

Genre (s)

Hard rock

running time

42:10

production

Stephan Galfas, Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman

chronology
Bat Out of Hell
(1977) 		Dead ringer Midnight at the Lost and Found
(1983)

Dead Ringer (English for: "Doppelganger") is the second studio album by Meat Loaf , which was written entirely by Jim Steinman .

background

In 1979 Steinman began work on Renegade Angel , the album that was intended for Meat Loaf as the successor to the 1977 album Bat Out of Hell . However, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion caused Meat Loaf to suffer from severe voice disorders, and singing an album was out of the question. Since Steinman Meat Loafs didn't want to wait for recovery, he released the album himself in 1981 under the name Bad For Good . After the role of Travis Redfish in the movie Roadie (with cameos of Debbie Harry , Roy Orbison and Hank Williams, Jr. , who did anyway a flop) Meat Loaf's voice recovered, he got off the drugs and played softball . Due to contractual obligations Steinman had to write a second album for Meat Loaf and so Steinman left him some songs that were left over from Bad For Good, as well as More Than You Deserve from the Steinman musical of the same name, for which Meat Loaf was invited to audition and where he was first met Jim Steinman. Steinman didn't have much to do with the album - it was produced by Stephan Galfas and Meat Loaf, only the backing vocals were produced by Jim Steinman and Jimmy Iovine.

4 singles were released from the album Dead Ringer : I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us (# 62 in UK), Dead Ringer for Love (featuring Cher ) only reached number 5 in England after 10 weeks, but was only one smaller overall Hit. The song is a rewritten version of the theme song to Delta House , a TV version of the film Animal House that Steinman wrote with Michael Simmons. Read 'Em and Weep (Barry Manilow covered the song two years later and made it into the UK's top 10 singles charts) and Peel Out came out as further singles .

The album made it to number 1 in England and Sweden and number 10 in Norway, but only to the bottom of the Top 50 Billboard charts.

The tour for this album marked the beginning of a long-term collaboration with pianist Paul Jacobs as a sideman .

Business problems

At that time, manager David Sonenberg left him and Al Dellentash came to manage Meat Loaf's career. The tour they had planned to promote the album was canceled after just one gig as they ran out of the studio's prepaid money. Dellentash convinced Sony Records and CBS Records to pay them more money to produce Dead Ringer . But he promptly spent the money on extravagant furniture for his office and for personnel managers. The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and received some positive reviews, but Dellentash re-edited the film and the result became horrific.

On January 21, 1981, Meat Loaf's then-wife Leslie gave birth to their daughter, Amanda Aday, who is now a television actress. Also in 1981, Meat Loaf switched managers after finding out that Dellentash was stealing his money. He froze the entire assets of Meat Loaf and sued him for breach of contract. Dellentash also spread rumors that Meat Loaf was violent and that he was threatening people with a gun. Meat Loaf ended up bankrupt.

Track list

  1. "Peel Out" - 6:30
  2. "I'm Gonna Love Her For Both Of Us" - 7:09 am
  3. "More Than You Deserve" - ​​7:02 am
  4. "I'll Kill You If You Don't Come Back" - 6:24
  5. "Read 'Em And Weep" - 5:25
  6. "Nocturnal Pleasure" - 0:38
  7. "Dead Ringer For Love" feat. Cher - 4:21
  8. "Everything Is Permitted" - 4:41

Music & lyrics of all songs and monologues: Jim Steinman

Arrangements: Jim Steinman, Roy Bittan, Tom Malone , Alden Shuman, Roy Straigis

occupation

Web links