Faster Than the Speed of Night | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 April 1983 (UK)
[1] September 1983 (US) | |||
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. Tyler had changed musical direction and soon after 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 at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, which saw her become the first British female to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart [4] and was certified Silver in the UK, Platinum in the US, and Double Platinum in Canada.
The album contains five 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 album also includes four 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". "Take Me Back" was written by Billy Cross, a former Bob Dylan guitarist. 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
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Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada ( Music Canada) [27] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
France ( SNEP) [28] | Gold | 100,000* |
Hong Kong ( IFPI Hong Kong) [29] | Gold | 10,000* |
New Zealand ( RMNZ) [30] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Norway ( IFPI Norway) [31] | Gold | 25,000* |
Sweden ( GLF) [31] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United Kingdom ( BPI) [32] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States ( RIAA) [33] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Guinness World Records British Hit Singles & Albums
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1983 | Faster Than the Speed of Night | The first woman to debut at number one in the UK Albums Chart [34] | Won |
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