Customer Reviews

Secrets

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In 1995, there was not much going on. Madonna had only released another compilation, but there were just no fresh new voices to come under way, until I heard the powerful voice behind the 1995 remake of Bonnie Tyler's 1983 hit, "Total Eclipse Of The Heart". This powerful voice belonged to that of Nicki French, a talented singer from England, who had been fighting to become this world's next pop-dance star. At the same time of Nicki's release of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", as her first single, she released her first album, SECRETS, in which the single belongs to. You'll understand, when you read on, why this album is just pure amazing.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART
First single from the album. Bonnie Tyler's rendition, which runs to a time length of 6:58 (6 minutes, 58 seconds), was an amazing power ballad. But Nicki French, cutting out the second verse, cutting out the second half of the first refrain and the first chorus, making it reach a time length of 3:53 (3 minutes, 53 seconds), did one hell of job turning a beautiful power ballad into a awesome GET-YOUR-GROOVE-ON dance tune.

DID YOU EVER REALLY LOVE ME?
Great song here.

FOREVER AND A DAY
When I first read the title, I thought she might have sang this as a cover song, which had already been originally recorded by Barry Manilow, but after hearing it, I realized that Nicki only used the title, but wrote different lyrics, making it a Nicki original. Great song.

I'LL BE WAITING
Great.

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?
Great.

NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS
Awesome.

FOR ALL WE KNOW
This song was originally recorded by The Carpenters, who sang the song as a ballad. Nicki French seems to be the only person in music history who can get away with turning beautiful ballads into awesome dance tunes. Great rendition.

SECRETS
The album's unbelievably amazing title track. Great song.

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU
Great song.

VOICE OF AMERICA
Aside from "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", this was my favorite song off of the album. I could play this song over and over if I had to.

I had bought the album on cassette around the time of its release. For two years straight (1995-1997), I had played this album non-stop until my cassette deck to my stereo ate it. From the years 0f 1997-2006, I searched religously for this album, until I finally found a used copy right here. Ever since the CD arrived, I have not stopped listening to it. This is a great album, and it seems to be the only album that Nicki has released. She has released some songs over the years, but those songs are non-album songs. I am hoping that one day, Nicki will put out another album.

Nicki French is a fantastic singer, my favorite! Here in Brazil, the album secrets has more than 4 top 5 songs! And the brazilian version of the album has 17 tracks, not 10! All Nicki French songs are very good in dance versions, but the US release has the pop vs! That's why I think the Brazilian version, released by Paradoxx music is much better. It has also the tracks "Heaven Is A Place On Earth", "Stop In The Name Of Love". Here in br Nicki is known as a dance singer, not pop. If you could, get the brazilian version of the album Secrets. Remember: the dance version of Total Eclipse Of The Heart is fantastic!

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" - The song of hers that everyone has heard. An excellent remake of Bonnie Tyler's song. Bonnie's version is slightly better, but only because she did it first.

"Did You Ever Really Love Me" - A nice not-quite-techno song that makes a great dance song. The first ballad on this CD is a winner, though the chorus seems a bit out of place with the rest of the song.

"Forever And A Day" - A faster song, well sung, with an interesting melody. Not as good as "Did You Ever..." but a good song in its own right.

"I'll Be Waiting" - Slower than the previous three tracks, this song is a decent ballad. The harmonies, though, are rather weak compared to other songs she sings.

"Is There Anybody Out There?" - By far the best song on this CD. Fast, energetic, and slightly haunting. The melody and harmony on this song mesh perfectly. This might be Ms. French's best song in her whole catalog.

"Never In a Million Years" - This is a very upbeat song, sounding almost like a mid-70's song rather than the mid-90's song it really is. Not bad, but it's got a tough act to follow.

"For All We Know" - This Carpenters cover unfortunately falls rather flat. At times, the vocals get lost in the music and it's easy to tell that this song was far better done by the Carpenters.

"Secrets" - The title track is another excellent song, making the choice of titles quite justified. The vocals are a bit low, but the music just accents the vocals, rather than hiding them the way "For All We Know" did.

"Something About You" - A rather poor song. The chorus is repetitive, and there's very little variation through the entire song.

"Voice of America" - A mediocre song. An excellent chorus and melody is betrayed by very weak verses. Worth listening to every few passes through the CD, but not good enough for every time through.

All in all, a rather average CD. "Is There Anybody Out There," "Secrets," and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" make it worth picking up all by themselves. The average songs are listenable, and none of them are truly unlistenable. I'm quite pleased with my copy.

I'm with the last person who commented, I heard "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and I was beyond hooked, I was obsessed. Today, I called a radio station after they had played it and got the D.J. to tell me who the artist was, and now I'm here. From what I've heard, the other songs on this alblum are as good as the first, and I'm going to search all the music stores 'till I find a copy.

I really like all the songs here but "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the best song in my opinion. I like Nicki French's voice much better than Bonnie Tyler's. I do wish the dance version of it was on here though.

Nicki French first caught my attention with her hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart". But she also has a great cd of dance/pop lined up for us. The best songs on the cd are "Did You ever Really Love me?" a great uptempo dance song, and "For All We Know" a cover of the Carpenters song. The cd also has a decent ballard or two. My only qualm is that she didn't put her cover of "Heaven is a Place on Earth" on this cd as she did for her Japanese cd.

Despite songwriting and backing musical support by Mike Stock and Matt Aitken (Pete Waterman was no longer part of the trio by now), this album falls far short of the great albums of the eighties that the trio was known for. For starters, Nicki French's singing ability is average at best, and her limp, lifeless remake of "Total Eclipse Of The Heart," would probably make Bonnie Tyler laugh. The beats and melodies are also pretty tired all around, and even if this album were to be looked at simply from the perspective of "pretty face to sing mindless dreck," it fails there because Nicki French isn't even particularly cute (at least I don't think so). "Something About You," has a decent beat and is probably the catchiest and best song on the album, however, it's still nothing really special, and some purists may be soured by the fact that it was originally a Carpenters song.

Nicki French has a good voice.This Album is enjoyable and has some good songs.The best songs are the cover of 'total eclipse of the heart','is there anybody out there?', 'secrets' and the brilliant, upbeat feel good song 'never in a million years'.
'I'll be waiting' is a bit too slow in tempo for my taste and 'something about you' has some annoying sirens in it. However,these don't spoil the Album as a whole.
All Tracks Produced by Stock and Aitken (Except Track 9 by Dave Ford)

Tracks 2,3,4,5,6 written by Stock and Aitken
Track 1 written by J.Steinman
Track 7 written by F.Karlin/R.Wilson/A.James
Track 8 written by D Dyer
Track 9 written by Ford/Jackson-Clark
Track 10 written by Scott/Dyer

After buying the single in early 1995, i have become a huge fan. I live in Australia and the album is different to the US version of secrets, i have also got all her other singles which were released on this album.

Wow, 1995, what a year. Everytime I hear this CD it takes me back. The music is not always STELLAR QUALITY, but it's just fun fun fun. No Lady Gaga, Pink, or Brittany Spears massed produced same sounding garbage just to sell CD's. Check this one out for a good time :)