Released May 1981 Genre Progressive rock | Format 7" Label Epic | |
B-side "Love and Death and an American Guitar" Length 5:25 (Radio edit)
6:23 (Album version) | ||
"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a song composed and written by Jim Steinman. It was first featured on Steinman's 1981 solo album Bad for Good, with lead vocals by an uncredited Rory Dodd (though the song is credited to Steinman). It was later recorded by Meat Loaf, and released in 1993 as the third single from the album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.
Contents
- Music and lyrics
- Jim Steinman single version
- Meat Loaf single version
- Track listing
- Jim Steinman official versions
- Live variations
- References
Both the Steinman original and the Meat Loaf remake were Top 40 hits. Steinman's version hit #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, #29 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #14 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts; to date, it is Steinman's lone top 40 hit as an artist. In New Zealand, the song spent two weeks at #6 and was the 46th biggest hit of 1981. The Meat Loaf version reached #11 in the UK and #13 on the U.S. Hot 100 in early 1994.
Music and lyrics
"Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a paean to rock music, 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."
Jim Steinman single 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 with a prop electric guitar. Steinman is seen throughout in a dark suit and aviator sunglasses standing still on a platform and lip synching the song. Scenes of a black bird of prey are seen at the beginning and end of the video.
Meat Loaf single version
The video for the Meat Loaf version was directed by Michael Bay, who had also directed the videos for "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" 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 Angelina Jolie). 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.
Track listing
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)", while the 7" picture disc 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)".
Jim Steinman official versions
Album version, 6:23
Radio edit, 4:00
Knute Rockne edit, 5:28
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 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 in 2007. It can also be found on the special 2 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.