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Janis Joplin had a hoarse, rough voice. It was the late '60s, and legends said it was the abuse of smoking, alcohol, and drugs that made it that way.
Bonnie Tyler has a hoarse, rough voice. But the legends that accompany her at the dawn of the '80s are a bit different... It is said that the young Englishwoman Gaynor Hopkins, even before realizing that to make it big there would definitely need to be a new name, was in the hospital after a vocal cords operation. She had, as one might easily imagine, the absolute ban on speaking. But how can you stay silent when they serve you a bowl of strawberries without cream! Gaynor shouted, and that scream was her blessing...
The difference between these two stories is directly proportional to the difference between the two eras in which they are set.
When "Faster Than The Speed Of Night" was released, we were indeed in the midst of the new wave that shook music after the '70s. It was 1983, and Bonnie Tyler's third incredibly successful studio album can be considered one of the finest examples of the musical trends of the moment.
A light, easy-listening, unpretentious music was born. In discos around the world, people no longer danced to the notes of great disco orchestras filled with overwhelming brass and percussion. The new music was electronic, and to be successful, one needed to dress like extraterrestrials on leave.
It would be useless to reopen debates about change... So let's try not to notice the bush of teased hair this woman had on her head and focus on the content of the album, the result of the collaboration with skilled producer Jim Steinman (the same one who would bring Bonnie back to the top of the charts worldwide the following year with the famous "Holding Out For A Hero").
The album opens with the reinterpretation of "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The electronic drums, electric guitars, and powerful interpretation appear as an excellent statement of intent. The difference with the original is abysmal; John Fogerty and company's classic is transformed into a stadium power ballad perfectly balanced between rock and pop, like many that would be heard in the following years.
The next track, the one chosen to give the entire work its title, is the first of the two tracks penned by Steinman. "Faster Than The Speed Of Night" does not change genre but amplifies the starting points exceptionally, thanks to the elaborate arrangements and the superb performance of the musicians. A track of enormous energetic impact, to be listened to strictly at extremely high volume.
Highest marks also for the following "Getting So Exciting", a sensual and highly successful soft-dance piece, the result of very meticulous production work.
The immortal song of the album is "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", from Steinman's pen, destined to remain one of the most famous slow songs of the decade. Once again, the care of the arrangement and the power of the emotional impact are astonishing, between the suspended choirs of the verses and the opening of the refrains.
After the fun disco-reggae of "It's A Jungle Out There", however, begins a declining phase. The album falls back on easily catchy and somewhat unoriginal FM rock ("Goin' Through The Motion", "Tears", "Take Me Back"), though supported by the interpretation, which is always exceptional.
"Straight From The Heart", an intense ballad by Bryan Adams, manages to close the work worthily.
"Faster Than The Speed Of Night" is a record of fashionable music and surely feels the weight of the years, but once understood, it can be appreciated as an expression of an era, as well as for the undeniable talents that worked on it.
Bonnie Tyler's success, as easily understood, ended abruptly after just a few years (suffice it to say that she recorded "Save Up All Your Tears" and "The Best" without causing any stir before they became two worldwide hits by Cher and Tina Turner, respectively).
She has the ability to be content with having remained, for better or worse, one of the symbols of a musical phenomenon, perhaps not the most glorious, but certainly one of the brightest in terms of variety and lightheartedness.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Have You Ever Seen the Rain? (04:09)
Someone told me long ago
There's a calm before the storm
I know
And it's been coming for some time
When it's over so they say
It'll bring a sunny day
I know
Shining down like water
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
Coming down on a sunny day
Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hot
I know
It's been that way for all my time
Til forever on it goes
Fill the circle fast and slow
I know
And it can't stop my wonder
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
Coming down on a sunny day....
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know
Have you ever seen the rain?
Coming down on a sunny day
Have you ever seen the rain?
Have you ever seen the rain?
Have you ever seen the rain?
Have you ever seen the rain?....
02 Faster Than the Speed of Night (06:45)
(Jim Steinman)
Producer for Bonnie: Jim Steinman
I don't want to let another minute get by
They're slipping through our fingers, but we're ready to fly
The night'll be our cover and we'll huddle below
We got the music in our bodies and the radio
And when the morning arrives it'll all be gone
Disappearing in (to) the crack of dawn
We better make our move now before the sun is awake
It's time to put up or shut up and to pick up the pace
And I don't want to let another minute get by
Love is going to get us while the moon is in the sky
We may be running out of night, but never running out of steam
We're acting on a hunch, and we'll be acting out a dream
There really isn't any time to lose
They're going to catch us if we wait until it gets too light
You're such a pretty boy
Let me show you what to do, and you'll do it
But you gotta move faster
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
It's all we ever wanted
And all we'll ever need
And it's slipping through our fingers
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
It's all we ever wanted
And all we'll ever need
And it's slipping through our fingers
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Let me show you how to drive me crazy
Let me show you how to make me feel so good
Let me show you how to take me to the edge of the stars and then back again
You've gotta show me how to drive you crazy
You've gotta show me all the things you want to happen to you
We've gotta tell each other everything we always wanted someone to do
I don't want to push you now and I don't want to rush
We're getting closer every second now, but close is not enough
The night'll be our cover and we'll huddle below
We got the music in our fingers and the radio
There really isn't any time to lose
We're going to lose it if we wait until it gets too light
You're such a pretty boy
Let me show you what to do, and you'll do it
But you gotta move faster
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
It's all we ever wanted
And all we'll ever need
And it's slipping through our fingers
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
It's all we ever wanted
And all we'll ever need
And it's slipping through our fingers
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
Faster than the speed of night
04 Total Eclipse of the Heart (06:59)
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely
And you're never coming 'round
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit tired
Of listening to the sound of my tears
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit nervous
That the best of all the years have gone by
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
And then I see the look in your eyes
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit restless
And I dream of something wild
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit helpless
And I'm lying like a child in your arms
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit angry
And I know I've got to get out and cry
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
But then I see the look in your eyes
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
(All of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
(Forever's gonna start tonight)
Once upon a time I was falling in love
Now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
(Turn around bright eyes
Turn around bright eyes)
(Turn around)
Every now and then I know you'll never be the boy
You always wanted to be
(Turn around)
But every now and then I know you'll always be the only boy
Who wanted me the way that I am
(Turn around)
Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe
As magical and wonderous as you
(Turn around)
Every now and then I know there's nothing any better
There's nothing that I just wouldn't do
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
(And I need you)
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
(If you'll only)
Well be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
(And we'll never)
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Love is like a shadow on me all of the time
(All of the time)
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
(Forever's gonna start tonight)
Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
Nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
(Turn around bright eyes
Turn around bright eyes
Turn around).
08 Take Me Back (05:21)
(Billy Cross) Producer for Bonnie: Jim Steinman You said it's over now It's just not right You said there's a better place for you to be It's not with me Then you turned and walked away I can't believe what I see And I can't go to sleep at night when I think of how it used to be She can't give you what I've got And she can't stop your pain And she can't love you the way I do God I want you back again Maybe she could try with money Or she could buy you clothes But baby when it's dark and you're home at night Does she ever hold you close She takes you out in style She treats you right She gives you all the things I never could, she's so good But don't you think of me Baby late at night And I just can't take it boy, together we could be so right She can't give you what I've got And she can't stop your pain And she can't love you the way I do God I want you back again Maybe she could try with money Or she could buy you clothes But baby when it's dark and you're home at night Does she ever hold you close Take me back (Ooh you're gonna need me) (Ooh you're gonna need me) Take me back (Ooh you're gonna need me) All those things we did before Whatever happened to them And all those things I've been living for Gotta start 'em all over again You said it couldn't last That we were meant to part A guy like you and a girl like me didn't stand a chance - not from the start But then you looked at me I had to ask you why As I see and try to find out why you left me for those hungry eyes She can't give you what I've got And she can't stop your pain And she can't love you the way I do God I want you back again Maybe she could try with money Or she could buy you clothes But baby when it's dark and you're home at night Does she ever hold you close Take me back Ooh you're gonna take me Take me back Ooh you're gonna take me Take me back Ooh you're gonna take me Take me back...
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