"Nowhere Fast" is a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

, performed by Fire Inc. in 1984 for the rock movie ''

Streets of Fire ''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American action crime neo-noir film directed by Walter Hill, from a screenplay by Hill and Larry Gross. Described on the poster and in the opening credits as "A Rock & Roll Fable", the film combines elements of ...

''. An alternate version of the song was recorded by

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

the same year. The song was written by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

Fire Inc. single

The "Nowhere Fast" single contains an edit (edited down to 4:11 from the 6:02 album version) and is backed with the

Marilyn Martin Marilyn Martin (born May 4, 1954) is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, " Separate Lives", which reached number one on several charts. Early life Marilyn Martin was born on May 4, 19 ...

track "Sorcerer", also from the ''Streets of Fire'' soundtrack.

Laurie Sargent Laurie Sargent is best known as a songwriter and vocalist in the 1980s and 1990s. She was active in the city of Boston. Around 2008, she and her long-term partner, drummer Billy Conway, moved to Montana, where they began raising food on an organ ...

performed the lead vocals.

Holly Sherwood Holly Sherwood is an American rock vocalist, best known for her work with Jim Steinman, providing both lead and backing vocals. Acting career At the age of three, Holly Sherwood began her professional career as the star of Procter and Gamble's " ...

and

Rory Dodd Rory Dodd (born Port Dover, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing as the duet voice (the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics) on Bonnie Tyler's versi ...

performed the background vocals.

Personnel

*Music and Lyrics: Jim Steinman *Lead Vocals:

*Background Vocals:

and

Eric Troyer Eric Lee Troyer (born 10 April 1949) is an American keyboardist, singer, songwriter, and occasional guitarist. Troyer was a founding member of ELO Part II, having been recruited by band leader Bev Bevan in 1988. He wrote a substantial quantity ...

*Piano:

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

*Guitars: Dave Johnstone and Mike Landau *Bass: Steve Buslowe *Synthesizer: Larry Fast *Drums:

Max Weinberg Max Weinberg (born April 13, 1951) is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' an ...

and Jim Bralower *Drum Programming: Jim Bralower *Additional Keyboards: Jim Steinman

Meat Loaf single

Meat Loaf's more rock-oriented version has an almost entirely different set of lyrics, with only the chorus being the same as the Fire Inc. version. Meat Loaf's version also has a more prominent guitar being played by

Bob Kulick Robert Joel Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 28, 2020) was an American guitarist and record producer, who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss (band), Kiss, W.A.S.P. (band), W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton. He w ...

. Meat Loaf performed it live during the ''Bad Attitude'' tour along with his touring band, The Neverland Express. At the time of its release, it was only a minor hit, but remains a fan favorite. The single was also released as a limited edition motorcycle-shaped vinyl. A music video was also produced.

Critical reception

Upon the British release Biba Kopf (pseudonym of journalist Chris Bohn) of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' left ironic review of 8 December 1984. He took the singer's attempt as another self-repetition of his early works by saying "The tone, as always, is that of the teenager who never quite got over the shock and disappointment of making it into his 20s."

Single versions

;12" maxi single *"Nowhere Fast" (6:05) ''(Jim Steinman)'' *" Stand by Me" (3:45) ''( Ben E. King)'' *"Clap Your Hands" (2:23) ''( Richard Hartley/Brian Thompson)'' ;7" single * "Nowhere Fast" (4:00) ''(Jim Steinman)'' * "Clap Your Hands" (2:23) ''( Richard Hartley/Brian Thompson)'' Both B-sides were recorded during Meat Loaf's sessions for ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

'' soundtrack, and remained unreleased until this single. There were four different versions of the 7" single, including a shaped picture disc, a pop-up cover and a gatefold sleeve.

Personnel

*Lead Vocals:

*Guitars:

*Bass: John Siegler *Piano & Keyboards, Background Vocals: Paul Jacobs *Drums, Background Vocals: Wells Kelly *Percussion:

Frank Ricotti Frank E. Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Frank E. Ricotti was born in St Pancras, London, England; his father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National ...

*Background Vocals: Clare Torry, Stephanie de Sykes *Produced by Meat Loaf, Paul Jacobs and Mack

References

Jim Steinman.com
was used for the detailed information about this song

External links

*

1984 singles Songs written by Jim Steinman Meat Loaf songs 1984 songs MCA Records singles Arista Records singles RCA Records singles Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements {{1980s-rock-song-stub