Originally conceived by songwriter Jim Steinman as a rock opera based on Peter Pan, Meat Loaf’s unashamedly excessive 1977 debut soon took on a life of its own, selling by the million and laughing wildly in the face of the then-emergent punk and new wave. And why not? This is cheese of the highest quality, enhanced in no small way by the input of one Todd Rundgren, whose lavish production and buzzsaw guitar echo that of his own sterling output of the time (see the following year’s Hermit Of Mink Hollow). Loaf himself plays the lovelorn behemoth to perfection, especially on the title track and epic ballads “You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth” and “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad”. Ambitious, yes. Ludicrous, certainly. But who could get away with this nowadays?