Blind Before I Stop (1986)
Covers
 
 
Tracks
  1. Execution Day (6:30)
  2. Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries (5:00)
  3. Getting Away with Murder (3.:49)
  4. One More Kiss (Night of the Soft Parade) (5:38)
  5. Blind Before I Stop (3:39)
  6. Burning Down (5:10)
  7. Standing on the Outside (3:57)
  8. Masculine (4:23)
  9. A Man and a Woman (4:11)
  10. Special Girl (3:54)
  11. Rock 'n' Roll Hero (4:30)
Info
Without Jim Steinman, this album still manages to soar--although most Meat Loaf fans probably don't agree (but then, most "Meat Loaf fans" think that his body of work is BOOH and BOOH2). Oddly, the album is titled after a song of the same name; personally, if it had been me, I would have titled it after the leadoff track, "Execution Day"--and I would have put just about anything on the cover besides Meat's grim face and light blue blazer.

Yeah, the cover
Now, I'm not saying Meat is repulsive (although the light blue blazer sure is). I just have a problem with musicians who put their faces on the cover, like that's a terribly exciting thing that makes people grab it when they see it in a store. Perhaps that's what happened to this album; although it's excellent and perhaps the most "rock and rolling" through and through of all his works, it hasn't stuck in most folks' memories. The alternate cover (above), which I don't have, is slightly more bearable. The frightening album cover is somewhat redeemed by the back cover, which features two guitars, one resembling the American flag and the other the British flag, crossed. (The album was recorded in England.) Very cool indeed.

I have a personal affinity for fantasy art, which is why BOOH, DR, BA, BOOH2, and TVBOML are my favorites. Perhaps Meat was trying to escape the "fantasy art covers to sell copies" bit, but he should have stuck to it.

My personal vision: This album should have been named Execution Day and had cool fantasy cover art. What sort? Good question. I envision either a headless rider on a motorcycle (keeping with the long-running Meat Loaf bike theme) or a crowd of thousands before a gallows with the biker meeting a hooded executioner. (If there are any interested artists out there, I'd love to see concepts for such an Execution Day redesign, just for grins. I am not much of an artist, so won't attempt such a thing myself.)

At any rate, this would be a great way to re-release the album for its twentieth anniversary in 2006!

Cross-fade
When this album was released, LPs and cassettes were still what most people bought; CDs were brand new and, in fact, I don't know if this album was even released on CD initially.

As such, there is a slightly annoying cross-fade between "Execution Day" and "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries." As the first track is fading out with an awesome echo of Meat screaming "Execution Day!" the second track is fading in with the opening "Talking... talking..." bit. Now, on LP and cassette, this sounds pretty cool. However, on CD, the audio tracks must be separated in order for the CD player to find the tracks. Therefore, on CD, there is an annoying blank spot right in the middle of the cross-fade. It's brief, but it is there and is interruptive. I'm wondering: were these songs ever released as singles, without the cross-fade?