Faster Than the Speed of Night

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Faster Than the Speed of Night
Bonnie Tyler - Faster than the Speed of Night LP.png
Studio album by
Released8 April 1983 (United Kingdom) [1]
September 1983 (United States)
Recorded1982
Studio
  • Power Station, New York City
  • Greene Street, New York City
  • Right Track Studios, New York City
Genre Rock
Length43:14
Label Columbia
Producer
Bonnie Tyler chronology
Goodbye to the Island
(1981)
Faster Than the Speed of Night
(1983)
Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire
(1986)
Singles from Faster Than the Speed of Night
  1. "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
    Released: 11 February 1983 (UK)
  2. "Faster Than the Speed of Night"
    Released: April 1983 (UK)
  3. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"
    Released: 17 June 1983
  4. "It's a Jungle Out There"
    Released: July 1983 (Japan) [2]
  5. "Straight from the Heart"
    Released: 11 August 1983
  6. "Take Me Back"
    Released: November 1983 (US)
  7. "Getting So Excited"
    Released: 27 February 1984 (UK)
  8. "Tears"
    Released: 1984 (Netherlands)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [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.

Contents

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]

Content

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 .

Track listing

Original LP and cassette track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
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 Gruner3:33
4."Total Eclipse of the Heart"Steinman6:57
5."It's a Jungle Out There"
  • Dennis Polen
  • Paul Pilger
  • William Moloney
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

Personnel

Musicians

"It's a Jungle Out There"

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [26] 2× Platinum200,000^
France (SNEP) [27] Gold100,000*
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [28] Gold10,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ) [29] Gold7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway) [30] Gold25,000*
Sweden (GLF) [30] Platinum100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [31] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [32] Platinum1,000,000^
Summaries
Worldwide3,000,000 [33]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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