This piece from American Songwriter looks back at Meat Loaf's 1981 album Dead Ringer, released four years after his blockbuster debut Bat Out Of Hell, and examines why the long gap undermined the record's impact. Rather than following up quickly, Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim Steinman were derailed when relentless touring damaged Meat Loaf's voice, forcing him to abandon studio sessions for a planned follow-up. The delay meant the pair lost momentum with fans just as the pop landscape was shifting, and even once released, the album never quite recaptured the magic of its predecessor.

Bat Out Of Hell had become a sensation in 1977 despite a difficult path to release, but touring it heavily took a toll on Meat Loaf's voice, stalling work on a planned follow-up called Renegade Angel. Steinman ultimately released the shelved material himself in 1981 as Bad For Good, while Meat Loaf slowly recovered and eventually completed Dead Ringer with producers Stephan Galfas, Steinman and Jimmy Iovine. Released in September 1981 with a Cher duet, "Dead Ringer For Love", the album underperformed in America but topped the UK charts, even as critics judged it artistically inferior to Bat Out Of Hell. The duo would not properly reunite until Bat Out Of Hell II in 1993, twelve years later.