Stoney & Meatloaf


Stoney and Meatloaf is the only album by Stoney & Meatloaf, a collaboration between Meat Loaf and female vocalist Shaun Murphy, released in 1971 on the Motown subsidiary label Rare Earth. Meat Loaf and Murphy met while performing with the Detroit cast of Hair.

Re-releases

The album was re-released several times with a different track listing under the title Featuring Stoney and Meat Loaf. Firstly in 1978 and 1979 on the Prodigal label and again in 1986 on Tamla Motown. The album contained most of the tracks on the original album; " As Heavy as Jesus" and "Game of Love" were not on the reissue. In addition to three new tracks, some songs appear in different versions and in some cases, different song titles.
The album is being released on CD for the first time in remastered two-disc form by Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records in 2022. The release will contain a selection of bonus tracks including new mixes of the additional songs originally released on the 1978 reissue of the album, as well as both sides of Stoney's solo single for Motown, and unreleased outtakes from Stoney's solo sessions.
What You See Is What You Get is the first single by duo Stoney & Meatloaf. It was released ahead of the release of the duo's only album Stoney & Meatloaf in 1971. The song peaked on the R&B chart at number 36.

Reception

Louder ranked Stoney & Meatloaf as the sixth best Meat Loaf album, calling it a "minor gem" and "a frothy stew of brass and thunder". Although Allmusic deemed the songs to be "second-tier", the singers' performances were praised, and the site said the album was "Worth picking up for a buck or two out of a used bin".

Other releases of ''Stoney & Meatloaf'' material

The track " As Heavy as Jesus" was included in the 1971 Motown gospel compilation Rock Gospel: The Key to the Kingdom, alongside tracks by label stars The Supremes, Valerie Simpson, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight & the Pips and others.

Track listing

1971 original release

Producers: Ralph Terrana, Russ Terrana, Mike Valvano

Arrangers: Tom Baird and David Van De Pitte

1978/1979 re-release ''Meat Loaf featuring Stoney and Meatloaf''

Personnel

Singles

  • "What You See Is What You Get"
  • "It Takes All Kinds of People"