Heaven & Hell (Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler album)

Heaven & Hell is a compilation album by American singer Meat Loaf and Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in 1989 by Telstar Records. The majority of songs included on Heaven & Hell were written by Jim Steinman, who wrote some of Meat Loaf and Tyler's biggest hits.

Heaven & Hell
Compilation album by
Released1989
Recorded1971–1986
GenrePop rock[1]
Length61:42
Label

Though the album was not an immediate commercial success, due to steady sales Heaven & Hell was certified platinum by the BPI in 2013.

Background

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Heaven & Hell was first released in 1989 by Telstar following a deal with Epic. It contains fourteen tracks, with selections from Bat Out of Hell, Dead Ringer, Blind Before I Stop and Bad Attitude by Meat Loaf, and Faster Than the Speed of Night and Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire by Bonnie Tyler. Ten of the compilation's tracks were written by Jim Steinman.[2] The original cover art for Heaven & Hell featured two mirrored photographs of Meat Loaf and Tyler performing on stage. In 1993, Columbia reissued the compilation with new cover art and an altered track listing.

In 2011, Sony released another CD pressing of Heaven & Hell as part of their "Girls Night In X" reissue campaign.

Critical reception

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Thom Jurek of AllMusic described the compilation as "a rather pointless collection of tunes", only that it was "a good idea at the time". He described Steinman's songs as "brilliantly composed" and Meat Loaf's vocals as "wonderfully sung".[1]

Track listing

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Heaven & Hell — Original version
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Dead Ringer for Love" (with Cher)Jim SteinmanDead Ringer4:26
2."Holding Out for a Hero"
Footloose: Original Soundtrack of the Paramount Motion Picture4:23
3."You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth"SteinmanBat Out of Hell4:13
4."Faster Than the Speed of Night"SteinmanFaster Than the Speed of Night4:41
5."Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"John FogertyFaster Than the Speed of Night3:48
6."Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"SteinmanBat Out of Hell3:57
7."Total Eclipse of the Heart"SteinmanFaster Than the Speed of Night4:32
8."Bat Out of Hell"SteinmanBat Out of Hell4:55
9."Straight from the Heart"
Faster Than the Speed of Night3:40
10."Read 'Em and Weep"SteinmanDead Ringer3:48
11."Loving You's a Dirty Job (But Somebody's Gotta Do It)" (with Todd Rundgren)SteinmanSecret Dreams and Forbidden Fire4:12
12."Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries" (with John Parr)
Blind Before I Stop4:56
13."If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)"Desmond ChildSecret Dreams and Forbidden Fire3:59
14."Modern Girl"Bad Attitude4:25
Heaven & Hell — 1993 reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Bat Out of Hell"Jim SteinmanBat Out of Hell4:55
2."Faster Than the Speed of Night"SteinmanFaster Than the Speed of Night4:42
3."You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth"SteinmanBat Out of Hell5:05
4."Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"John FogertyFaster Than the Speed of Night4:08
5."Read 'Em and Weep"SteinmanDead Ringer3:48
6."Total Eclipse of the Heart"SteinmanFaster Than the Speed of Night4:31
7."Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"SteinmanBat Out of Hell4:50
8."Holding Out for a Hero"
Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire3:31
9."Dead Ringer for Love" (with Cher)SteinmanDead Ringer4:23
10."If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)"Desmond ChildSecret Dreams and Forbidden Fire4:02
11."If You Really Want To"
Midnight at the Lost and Found3:39
12."Straight from the Heart"
Faster Than the Speed of Night3:43
13."Loving You's a Dirty Job but Somebody's Gotta Do It" (with Todd Rundgren)SteinmanSecret Dreams and Forbidden Fire5:50
14."Heaven Can Wait"SteinmanBat Out of Hell4:41

Charts

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Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 43
Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[4] 84
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Irish Albums[5] 54
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Irish Albums[6] 58
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Irish Albums[7] 32
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Irish Albums[8] 94
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Irish Albums[9] 60
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Irish Albums[10] 82
Chart (2022) Peak
position
German Downloads (Offizielle Download Top 100)[11] 25
Irish Compilations Chart (OCC)[12] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 83
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[14] 17
UK Compilation Chart (OCC)[15] 34

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Platinum 300,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Country Date Version Format(s) Label Ref.
United Kingdom 1989 Original Cassette Telstar
Europe 5 May 1993 CD Columbia [17]
1994 CD Epic
2004 Digital download Columbia [17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Heaven & Hell - Meat Loaf / Bonnie Tyler — Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  2. ^ Wall, Mick (2017). Like a Bat Out of Hell: The Larger than Life Story of Meat Loaf. Hachette UK. p. 191. ISBN 9781409173526. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Meat Loaf & Bonnie Tyler – Heaven & Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 – 22 May 2003 – Week 21/03". acharts.co. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 – 23 February 2012 – Week 08/12". acharts.co. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 – 20 June 2013 – Week 25/13". acharts.co. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 – 21 August 2014 – Week 34/14". acharts.co. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 – 20 August 2015 – Week 34/15". acharts.co. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Ireland Albums Top 100 – 6 April 2017 – Week 14/17". acharts.co. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Download Charts Album". GfK Entertainment charts. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Official Irish Compilations Chart Top 10 - 23 January 2022 - 03 February 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Meat Loaf & Bonnie Tyler – Heaven & Hell". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 - 23 January 2022 - 03 February 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100 - 23 January 2022 - 03 February 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  16. ^ "British album certifications – Bonnie Tyler – Heaven & Hell". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  17. ^ a b "iTunes — Music - Heaven & Hell by Meat Loaf & Bonnie Tyler". iTunes Stores (UK). Apple, Inc. Retrieved 7 April 2015.