Faster Than the Speed of Night | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 April 1983 (United Kingdom) [1] September 1983 (United States) | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 43:14 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer |
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Bonnie Tyler chronology | ||||
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Singles from Faster Than the Speed of Night | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Faster Than the Speed of Night is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in Europe on 8 April 1983 and later that year in the US through Columbia Records.
After releasing four albums on RCA, Tyler signed with CBS Records and changed musical direction. Soon after, she began working with Jim Steinman who produced the album and wrote its most successful single "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
Faster Than the Speed of Night entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 1, and was certified Silver in the UK, Platinum in the US, and Double Platinum in Canada. British Hit Singles & Albums lists Tyler as the first women to have her first album debut at no. 1. [4]
The album contains six dramatically re-worked cover songs, produced in the model of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, [5] including the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?". [6] "Goin' Through the Motions" is a cover of the song by Blue Öyster Cult from their 1977 album Spectres , [7] while "Straight from the Heart" was the break-out Top 10 hit for Canadian rock singer/songwriter Bryan Adams from his platinum album Cuts Like a Knife . [6] "Getting So Excited" was a cover of a song by British singer Lee Kosmin (with a short spoken interlude recited by Steinman inserted after the second verse: "I'd do anything for love, but I won't do that"). [8] Another song, "Tears", was originally written and performed by Frankie Miller for his 1980 album Easy Money; for this album, Tyler performed the song as a duet with Miller. [9] The sixth single, "Take Me Back", was written by Billy Cross and originally released by the Delta Cross Band in their 1981 album titled Up Front.
The album also includes three original songs produced in the same manner, two of which were written and composed by Steinman himself: the title track and the international No. 1 hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Additionally, this contains the initial recording of "It's a Jungle Out There", written by Dennis Polen, Paul Pilger, and William Moloney, which was picked up and re-recorded (in a shorter version) by '70s pop group Three Dog Night for their 1983 EP It's a Jungle .
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" | John Fogerty | 4:08 |
2. | "Faster Than the Speed of Night" | Jim Steinman | 6:44 |
3. | "Getting So Excited" | Alan Gruner | 3:33 |
4. | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" | Steinman | 6:57 |
5. | "It's a Jungle Out There" |
| 4:39 |
6. | "Goin' Through the Motions" | 4:09 | |
7. | "Tears" (with Frankie Miller) | Frankie Miller | 3:51 |
8. | "Take Me Back" | Billy Cross | 5:24 |
9. | "Straight from the Heart" |
| 3:42 |
Total length: | 43:14 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada) [26] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
France (SNEP) [27] | Gold | 100,000* |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [28] | Gold | 10,000* |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [29] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [30] | Gold | 25,000* |
Sweden (GLF) [30] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [31] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [32] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 3,000,000 [33] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Gaynor Sullivan, known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles "Lost in France" and "More Than a Lover". Her 1977 single "It's a Heartache" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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Bonnie Tyler, the first woman to bag a UK album chart-topper with her first hit album straight in at No.1