''The Very Best of Meat Loaf'' is a 1998 album spanning the first 21 years of

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

's recording career. Although not reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom, it was certified double platinum there in 2013. The album features many of Meat Loaf's best-known songs as well as a few from his lesser known albums of the 1980s. Besides hits like "

Paradise by the Dashboard Light "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was released in 1977 on the album ''Bat Out of Hell'', with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. An uncommonly long song for a single, it has bec ...

" and " I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", ''The Very Best of Meat Loaf'' contains three new tracks. Two of those are written by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

and Jim Steinman and are adapted from their musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''; both of these tracks were produced by Steinman. The third new track, "

Is Nothing Sacred "Is Nothing Sacred" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Don Black. Jim Steinman composed the music while Don Black wrote the lyrics to this ballad. The song was originally recorded for the 1995 album '' Welcome to the Neighbourhood''.Welcome ...

" is written by Steinman and lyricist Don Black, and produced by

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his second and third f ...

(the single version of this song is a duet with

Patti Russo Patricia Russo (May 20, 1964) is an American singer and songwriter. She is perhaps best known as Meat Loaf's former female lead vocalist, as she toured the world with his band Neverland Express between 1993 and 2013. Since then, she has embarked ...

, whereas the album version is a solo song by Meat Loaf. The single version would later appear on the VH1 Storytellers CD). Both '' Bat Out of Hell'' and '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' are prominently featured with five tracks from the first and four from the second. The album did not feature any songs from his 1986 album ''

Blind Before I Stop ''Blind Before I Stop'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Meat Loaf, released in September 1986. The album was produced in Germany by Frank Farian and was the first to fully embrace the '80s sound. Critics were concerned about the album ...

''. The album was re-released in 2003 with the same tracks in a different order, and did so again in 2011 with the original order but now under the title ''The Essential Meat Loaf''. Following an appearance on

VH1 Storytellers ''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network. In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...

in 1999 (which was released as an album and a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

), Meat Loaf's next studio album was the 2003 album, '' Couldn't Have Said It Better''.

Track listing

Original 1998 release

Disc 1

Disc 2

2003 re-release

*Disc one #"Bat Out of Hell" #"Dead Ringer for Love" #"Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" #"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" #"I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" #"Modern Girl" #"Midnight at the Lost and Found" #"Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" #"Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back" (remix) *Disc two #"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" #"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" #"Heaven Can Wait" #"Not a Dry Eye in the House" #"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" #"A Kiss Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" #"Is Nothing Sacred" #"Home by Now/No Matter What" #"Nocturnal Pleasure"

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Very Best Of Meat Loaf, The Meat Loaf albums 1998 compilation albums Albums with cover art by Michael Whelan Virgin Records compilation albums Sony Music compilation albums