Midnight at the Lost and Found
Studio album by
Meat Loaf
ReleasedApril 1983
RecordedOctober 1982–February 1983
GenreHard rock, glam rock
Length35:26
LabelCleveland International, Epic
ProducerTom Dowd
Meat Loaf chronology
Dead Ringer
(1981) 		Midnight at the Lost and Found
(1983) 		Bad Attitude
(1984)
Singles from midnight at the lost and found
  1. "If You Really Want To"
    Released: May 1983 [1]
  2. "Razor's Edge"
    Released: June 1983 (UK) [2]
  3. "Midnight at the Lost and Found"
    Released: September 1983 [3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Smash Hits7/10[5]

Midnight at the Lost and Found is the third studio album by Meat Loaf, released in April 1983. This would be the final Meat Loaf release under Epic Records until The Very Best of Meat Loaf (1998).

"Razor's Edge", "If You Really Want To" and the title track were released as singles, but none of the three went inside the Top Ten on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 59, 41, and 17 respectively.[6] The song "Lost Love", which was originally recorded during the sessions for the album, was released as the B-side to "If You Really Want To". This track was only released on CD on the Australian edition of Hits Out of Hell.[7] The title track was one of very few 1980s songs to feature on the compilation album, The Very Best of Meat Loaf (1998).

Background

Following a dispute with his former songwriter Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf was contractually obliged to release a new album. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman gave him "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" for the album, but Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman. The songs Steinman had given to Meat Loaf were then given to Bonnie Tyler and Air Supply respectively, which both became hits in their respective countries and worldwide.[8] Struggling for time and with no resolution to his arguments with Steinman seemingly on the horizon (eventually, Steinman and Meat Loaf would sue one another), he was forced to find songwriters wherever he could, including writing the songs himself.

Meat Loaf is credited with being involved in the writing of numerous tracks on the album, including the title track. However, as Meat would later admit, he was not much of a songwriter and did not like the songs he had written for the album. It was also regarded by fans and critics alike as a poor effort whether compared to previous releases or on its own merit. Those same fans and critics were disappointed to see that the iconic pictures on the covers of Bat Out of Hell and Dead Ringer were replaced by a black-and-white photograph of Meat Loaf. (An Australian reissue sported a color image of Meat Loaf screaming on the cover).[9]

J. D. Considine wrote in Musician: "I don't think I've ever heard a performer more desperately in need of a duet with Cher."[10]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Razor's Edge"Steve Buslowe, Paul Christie, Mark Doyle, Meat Loaf4:07
2."Midnight at the Lost and Found"Steve Buslowe, Paul Christie, Meat Loaf, Dan Peyronel3:29
3."Wolf at Your Door"Leslie Aday, Steve Buslowe4:05
4."Keep Driving"Paul Christie, Paul Jacobs, Meat Loaf3:30
5."The Promised Land"Chuck Berry2:44
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."You Can Never Be Too Sure About the Girl"Steve Buslowe, Meat Loaf4:28
7."Priscilla"Sarah Durkee, Paul Jacobs3:33
8."Don't You Look at Me Like That"Marshall James Styler3:27
9."If You Really Want To"George Meyer, Ted Neeley3:38
10."Fallen Angel"Dick Wagner3:38

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[11] 84
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 26
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[13] 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 7

References

  1. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Meat Loaf - If You Really Want To". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  2. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Meat Loaf - Razor's Edge". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  4. ^ AllMusic review
  5. ^ Hepworth, David (12 May 1983). "Review: Meat Loaf — Midnight at the Lost and Found". Smash Hits. Vol. 5, no. 10. Peterborough: EMAP National Publications, Ltd. p. 35. ISSN 0260-3004. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2022 – via World Radio History.
  6. ^ "Meat Loaf - UK Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Meat Loaf — Hits Out of Hell | the (Almost) Complete Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman Lyric Archive". Mljs.evilnickname.org.
  8. ^ Adams, Cameron (October 26, 2006). "Meat Loaf's a Hell raiser". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
  9. ^ "Meat Loaf - Midnight At The Lost And Found". Discogs.com. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  10. ^ Considine, J.D. (August 1983). "Midnight at the Lost and Found". Musician.
  11. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 196. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Meat Loaf – Midnight at the Lost and Found" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  13. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Meat Loaf – Midnight at the Lost and Found". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  14. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Meat Loaf – Midnight at the Lost and Found". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  15. ^ "Meat Loaf | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
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