The only thing that kept “Making Love out of Nothing at All” from topping the US singles chart was that “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was already there. For two weeks in October of 1983, Jim Steinman had written and produced the top two singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The fact that he produced…

Really, the best thing about this song is the title, because “Faster Than the Speed of Night” is a great title, which I’m sure is why it was the title track of the album. It’s also very Steinman: a gothic, fantastic, slightly altered version of something normal that vaguely suggests vampirism. The song opens with…

When I try to tell people about my Jim Steinman obsession, they usually then say that they have no idea who he is. I’ve tried to say, “He wrote Bat out of Hell” or, “He wrote every Meat Loaf song you’ve heard” and they tend to stare blankly. But if I say, “He wrote ‘Total…