"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a song written by American composer

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

. It was first featured on Steinman's 1981 solo album '' Bad for Good'', with lead vocals by an uncredited

Rory Dodd Rory Dodd (born Port Dover, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing as the duet voice (the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics) on Bonnie Tyler's versi ...

. It was later recorded by American singer

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

and released in 1994 as the third single from the album '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell''. Both the Steinman original and the Meat Loaf remake were top-40 hits. Steinman's version hit number 32 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Rock Top Tracks chart and number 29 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100; it is Steinman's lone top-40 hit as an artist. In New Zealand, the song spent two weeks at number six. It matched this position 12 years later with the Meat Loaf version. Also, the Meat Loaf version reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Top Singles chart in early 1994.

Music and lyrics

"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek (also or ), "song ...

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

, celebrating how it is always there to help you through troubled times. One of its lyrics is "You're never alone, 'cause you can put on the 'phones and let the drummer tell your heart what to do."

Release

Several versions of the "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" have been released. The European and UK version included live versions of "Heaven Can Wait" and " Paradise by the Dashboard Light". A second UK version had "Wasted Youth" and "

I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" is a song written by Jim Steinman and performed by American rock singer Meat Loaf with additional vocals by Lorraine Crosby. The song was released in August 1993 by MCA Records, MCA and Virgin Rec ...

", while the 7"

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

contains just "Wasted Youth". The US singles contained edited, live and acoustic versions of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)".

Critical reception

Meat Loaf version

Upon the single release,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine wrote, "There were moments when it seemed like ' I'd Do Anything for Love' would never cool off. Its follow-up from the massive comeback set, '' Bat Out of Hell 2: Back into Hell'', is an appropriately grand and cinematic rocker that places Mr. Loafs aching

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

amid rushes of choir vocals, tinkling piano lines, and chugging rhythm guitars. Diehards undoubtedly will draw comparisons to producer Jim Steinman's own rendition of the tune, while novice fans will happily snarl down this hit-bound version." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it four out of five, saying, "Trimmed to just over five minutes, this long-awaited follow-up to 'I'd Do Anything for Love' is lighter than its chart-topping predecessor, but no less commercial. Radio is already leaping aboard, and a Top 10 placing is a certainty, though another number one seems out of reach, even though there's a 13-minute live version of 'l'd Do Anything...' included." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "The carnivore rocker cuts another slice from the favoured ''Bat Out of Hell II'' loaf. Fewer drama and tempo changes mark the differences with the first single."

Music videos

Jim Steinman version

The Steinman version's video features an empty, dark stage with two dancers, one male and one female, both in dancing suits and dancing

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

with a prop electric guitar. Steinman is seen throughout in a dark suit and aviator sunglasses standing still on a platform and

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the Hard and soft C, spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a Speech, speaking or singin ...

hing the song. Scenes of a black bird of prey are seen at the beginning and end of the video.

Meat Loaf version

The video for the Meat Loaf version was directed by

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

, who had also directed the videos for "

" and " Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are". In the music video, Meat Loaf stands as a fortuneteller who comforts a recently runaway teenager (played by an 18 year old

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

). Meat Loaf's character also protects a young boy from joining a gang and other people who are lost and lonely. Jolie's character, after the song ends, returns to her family.

Live variations

The song has been performed live various times since the release of ''Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell''. The song was featured on '' Live Around the World'' and a live soundcheck appeared on the MAXI single. It was performed with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...

in 2004 as a sound test, but was not in the actual concert (Its audio can be heard on a special edition of the '' Bat Out of Hell Live'' CD). It was showcased in the DVD '' 3 Bats Live'' with performance by Meat Loaf in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

in 2007. It can also be found on the special two-CD edition of ''Bat Out of Hell II'' and most recently on the live album ''Casa De Carne'', a bonus CD with the Special Edition (US) Deluxe and Super Deluxe versions (UK) of Meat Loaf's 2010 album '' Hang Cool Teddy Bear''.

Charts

Jim Steinman version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Meat Loaf version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 songs 1981 singles 1994 singles Meat Loaf songs Epic Records singles MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Michael Bay Song recordings produced by Jim Steinman Songs about rock music Songs written by Jim Steinman Virgin Records singles