Kasim Sulton on Classic Albums

Kasim on Classic Albums

Classic Albums is a UK produced television documentary series which focuses on a different album each week. On Saturday 23rd October 1999 the first of the new series was about the 1977 Steinman / Meat Loaf epic Bat Out Of Hell.

It is an interesting documentary as it goes into detail about how the songs were written, how the tracks were recorded layer by layer and then how the record itself was marketed as well as there being interviews with Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman, Todd Rundgren, Rory Dodd, Ellen Foley and, of course, Kasim Sulton. (Kasim played bass on all but one track of Bat Out of Hell and sings background vocals on the track Bat Out of Hell.)

Kasim is interviewed in two segments in the documentary. The first part is where the track Hot Summer Night (You Took The Words Right Outta My Mouth) was being discussed. Kasim says "It harkens back to Phil Spector, you know. Whereas Bruce [Springsteen] is sort of from that Phil Spector school and Bruce’s records, the earlier records, sound a lot like the Phil Spector songs and that’s what Jim wanted too. Jim wanted that larger than life wall of sound."

Kasim's second segment in the show is when the marketing of the album is being discussed and how unfashionable that type of music was at that time. Kasim says "You have to remember that in 1977 it was the dawning of punk ..... well maybe punk had been around for a couple of years by then but it really had come into it’s own at that point ..... The Sex Pistols, The Clash and all that stuff. There was also the disco emergence, The Hustle, The Rock the Boat and all that dance music was just coming out."

The video of Classic albums is still available to buy and is well worth purchasing because, as well as Kasim's contribution, there are some amazing clips of Todd Rundgren demonstrating how he produced the album.

Many thanks to the kind person (who wishes to remain anonymous) that provided all the photos of Kasim from the Classic Album video.