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Faster Than the Speed of Night

Bonnie Tyler - Faster Than the Speed of Night Audio CD

A fair review of the Bonnie Tyler "Faster Than the Speed of Night" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Bonnie Tyler reviews here, or go back to the Bonnie Tyler tabs.

Band: Bonnie Tyler
Title: Faster Than the Speed of Night
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-02-01
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Have You Ever Seen the Rain? 2: Faster Than the Speed of Night 3: Getting So Exciting 4: Total Eclipse of the Heart 5: It's a Jungle out There 6: Goin' Through the Motions 7: Tears 8: Take Me Back 9: Straight from the Heart

2009 Japanese edition.
This a mainly to speak about the new Japanese version of 'Faster. . ' Now, I bought the original UK version in June 1985, about 2 months after I got my first CD player. Even then it wasn't amongst the best CDs I'd heard. 1986's 'Secret Dreams And Forbidden Fire' sounded even worse. So soft and lacking in dynamics.

The good news is that these were both re-released in Japan in July and given the 'paper sleeve' treatment. This means that basically the original LP artwork is reproduced as closely as possible. Very nice it is too, though it features the UK sleeve ('Faster. . . ', I mean) rather than the US one.

Now to the sound quality. I don't speak (or read) Japanese, so I can't say for sure if these mention being remastered anywhere but they certainly sound like they have. Back to back tests show an obvious improvement which isn't always apparent on a fair few supposedly remastered titles.

Previous reviews state that FTTSON is a patchy album. I agree, but the 2 classic Steinman songs along with 'Take Me Back' and her excellent version of 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' make it worth your while, and now it sounds so good there's a reason to buy it again!

Another nice touch is the bonus track, the radio/single version of 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart'. Not as good as the album version, true, but it's the one we all bought on 45 in 1983.

Japanese releases don't stick around forever so I recommend you get this (and 'Secret Dreams') as soon as you can. If you shop around you can find them at reasonable prices. I don't think you'll regret it.

Bonnie's most successful album
During that period, Bonnie had a couple of British top ten hits (Lost in France, It's a heartache) with a minor British hit in between. I loved Bonnie's seventies music, the style of which could be described as mainstream pop with occasional nods to country (she even had an unexpected top ten American country hit with It's a heartache) and R+B (the album featuring It's a heartache also includes covers of Living for the city and You make me feel like a natural woman). Unfortunately, seven consecutive chart misses followed those three hits. Exactly why those records failed to chart isn't clear but at least part of the reason must be related to changing fashions. Some of those records were of a very high quality and most of them were original songs, but among them was Bonnie's great cover of Tom Petty's Louisiana rain. The run of chart misses end with a minor hit (The world is full of married men) from a soundtrack, but it was too little too late and when Bonnie's RCA recording contract expired, it was not renewed.

Bonnie sought out the production services of Jim Steinman, famous for his work with Meatloaf, and secured a new recording contract with a new label. This album, which has Jim Steinman's stamp all over it, was Bonnie's first for the new label, brought Bonnie back to the public's attention. I'll admit that although this is a great album, I still prefer her earlier seventies music (described above) and her later nineties music (recorded in Germany, where she found a style of rock music that suited her ideally). Nevertheless, I was pleased to see Bonnie return to the big time and there is, in any case, a lot to like about this album.

This album made it to number one on the British album charts. That success came because the lead single, Total eclipse of the heart, was itself a number one hit singe in Britain (and later, America). Meatloaf was very popular at the time and the record label made sure that the Jim Steinman connection was well publicized. They wanted everybody to know that this album was radically different from Bonnie's earlier music. In some ways it was, but Bonnie's was as magical as ever. As far as the songs are concerned, Total eclipse of the heart is certainly one of the best recordings that Bonnie ever made (maybe the best of all) and it was definitely the most successful, very deserving of the huge international success that it earned. Know.

If the rest of the album had come close to the brilliance of Total eclipse of the heart, this would have been my favorite Bonnie Tyler album. Although there isn't anything else here that comes close, there are still some great tracks here. Have you ever seen the rain (a cover of a Creedence Clearwater Revival classic) provided Bonnie with a minor British hit and is a nice opening track for the album, as the song suits Bonnie well. Next comes the title track, a Jim Steinman original. The closing track, Straight from the heart, is a cover of a Bryan Adams song. At the time, Bryan was still building his career, so his name didn't mean anything to me (or a lot of other people) in 1983. The remaining tracks (Getting so excited, It's a jungle out there, Goin' through the motions, Tears, Take me back) are good songs but less so than the ones I've highlighted.

This being a Bonnie Tyler album, containing one of her best-ever recordings and three other excellent tracks, it still rates five stars, but only just.

Faster Than the Speed of Night
I received the CD in great shape, the price was good and it was delivered in a very timely manner.

faster then the speed..
must have cd. this a great cd it has my favorite song total esciple of the heart its great for any bonnie who likes bonnie like me or an 80s music like i do. allie from oprt washgton ny.

only slightly dated
You should get this only because it has the full length version of Total Eclipse of the Heart, one of the best pop singles ever. The title track is cool, despite the fact that is is an overwrought, melodramtic epic in the Jim Steinman vein. What remains is a bland, slightly dated but not unenjoyable mix of pop/rock drama whose one and only saving grace is the incredible voice of Bonnie Tyler.

You can see a complete list of all Bonnie Tyler discography, or go back to the Bonnie Tyler tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.