[2] Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on Bad for Good himself, and write a new album for Meat Loaf.

[citation needed] Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to a new, re-recorded version of "More Than You Deserve" (which Meat Loaf had sung in the musical with the same name) and a reworked monologue, formed the album Dead Ringer.

[3] The tour for this album also marked the beginning of Meat Loaf's long-running collaboration with pianist Paul Jacobs, as both sideman and songwriter.

Dead Ringer was considered both a commercial and critical disappointment after the worldwide success of Meat Loaf's debut album Bat Out of Hell.

Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone called the album a "cast-iron drag" and chastised Meat Loaf for his "alarmingly awful" vocals.