Dead Ringer is the second studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf, released on September 4, 1981. It is the second of four albums written entirely by Jim Steinman.[2] The album cover was designed by comic book artist and horror illustrator Bernie Wrightson.
Album background
Steinman started to work on Bad for Good, the album that was supposed to be the follow-up to 1977's Bat Out of Hell, in 1978. During that time, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion had caused Meat Loaf to lose his voice.[2] Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on Bad for Good himself, and write a new album for Meat Loaf. This album was Dead Ringer, which was later released in 1981, after the release of Bad for Good.
After playing the role of Travis Redfish in the movie Roadie, Meat Loaf got his voice back, got off drugs, played softball, and started to work on his new album in 1980.[citation needed] Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to a new, re-recorded version of "More Than You Deserve" (which Meat Loaf had sung in the musical with the same name) and a reworked monologue, formed the album Dead Ringer. The album was produced by Meat Loaf and Stephan Galfas, with backing tracks produced by Jimmy Iovine and Steinman.
The tour for this album also marked the beginning of Meat Loaf's long-running collaboration with pianist Paul Jacobs, as both sideman and songwriter.
Reception
Dead Ringer was considered both a commercial and critical disappointment after the worldwide success of Meat Loaf's debut album Bat Out of Hell. Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone called the album a "cast-iron drag" and chastised Meat Loaf for his "alarmingly awful" vocals.[4]
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
