5/5 Your chance to see it when it was "long ago and far away... and so much better than it is today!"
  by Brett D. Cullum (Houston, TX United States)
What I would not have given to be able to see Meat Loaf in his prime with his ruffled shirt, red hanky, Jim Steinman on piano, and Karla DeVito singing along for the very first Bat Out of Hell tour. Well thanks to DVD, the fans finally get that shot with Bat Out of Hell The Original Tour UK/US. I suppose there has to be a ton of fans considering Bat Out of Hell is the third most sold album of all time only eclipsed by Michael Jackson's Thriller and AC/DC's Back in Black.

The footage used comes from a tour stop in 1978 at the Stadthalle Offenbach in Germany. This is where a television special for the European series Rockpalast was taped, so the source material is over thirty years old. It's on video, and looks and sounds extremely raw in comparison to what could be done with current technology. There's some controversy about this release not including the entire set list of Meat Loaf's original tour. Missing are covers of "River Deep, Mountain High" and "Johnny B Goode". Originally Amazon and other online retailers listed this release as 105 minutes long, but final product reveals only 89 minutes made it to the disc. The set list follows the exact song order on the original Bat Out of Hell album with the exception of eliminating two ballads "Heaven Can Wait" and "For Crying Out Loud". "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" is moved to the end after "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights", and there is a reprise of "All Revved Up With No Place To Go" to serve as a finale. There are seven songs if we include the instrumental introduction piece "Great Boleros of Fire".

The DVD transfer looks as good as it can be considering the source material is video for television in the '70s. It has a decidedly low tech texture, but the clarity is amazing under the circumstances. The stereo sound is rough and tumble with vocals dropping in and out due to technical issues at the venue.
Extras include a pretty good German interview with Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman together from 1978. Steinman seems to take the lead in the fifteen minute session, and they discuss the Bat Out of Hell album from inception to execution. They talk about the follow-up project in great detail which became the Steinman solo album Bad for Good. Also included in the DVD are liner notes from Matt Friedman talking about what this album and tour meant.

Little more than over a month after this performance was taped Meat Loaf had an onstage accident which left him with a broken leg. He played Nassau Coliseum in New York from a wheelchair and then canceled the rest of this tour. So in all honesty the DVD is probably the best way to see a show that few fans got to see even the first time around.

3/5 Not As Advertised
  by Jennifer B. (Glen Ellyn, Illinois United States)
I enjoyed this DVD very much, but like the person who posted before me I was disappointed that it wasn't as advertised. The show was shorter than listed on Amazon and there were no covers of 'Johnny B Goode' and 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Other than that, the concert footage was quite enjoyable.


1/5 Not as Advertised
  by D. Kennamer
The DVD was supposed to include "River Deep, Mountain High" and "Johnny B. Goode". They were not on the DVD I received.