Customer Reviews

Super Hits

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With a hard-edged voice that recalled Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Tyler was among the most interesting of the 1980s rock and rollers--but she was also a performer who had great difficulty in finding good material. Although her unique vocals lent interest to every song she recorded, only rarely did the song match her talents.

When the two collided, however, the result was magical indeed, and this collection offers Tyler at her best. "Total Eclipse of the Heart," of course, was the great song of her career--and although it is very distinctly of the 1980s it remains as knock out as ever, and "Faster than the Speed of Night" also finds Tyler at the peak of her power.

Not surprisingly, both tunes were specifically created for Tyler by Jim Steinman, the driving force behind Tyler's acclaimed 1980s album FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF NIGHT, on which Tyler also delivered a very credible version of the CCR standby "Have You Ever Seen The Rain," which also appears on this collection. But when you add in the memorable "Here She Comes," recorded for a big screen release of the silent film METROPOLIS, you've heard the best that this "best of" collection offers.

It is a tremendous pity that Tyler did not record more extensively or with the same talents that supported the best of her work; by most accounts, however, Tyler was considerably less interested in public success than in private happiness--and now semi-retired and making only the occasional charity appearance she seems more than satisfied with the decision. Although this collection is of very limited scope, it at least preserves the best of her work, and is to be greatly enjoyed for that.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

While this is in no way a definitive collection of Bonnie's entire 25-year career (those looking for "It's A Heartache" should look elsewhere), this is a perfect collection of her work with Jim Steinman... arguably the high-point of Ms. Tyler's career. The partnership encompassed only two albums, which this compilation focuses on, though Bonnie and Jim have worked together sporadically since then. This disc remains an excellent starting point for new fans. Steinman and his famed "Wagnerian wall of sound" capture Bonnie's spirit and energy better than any other producer she's worked with. Bonnie was born to sing these songs. She gives her all, with total conviction and passion, and practically every track builds to a fevered pitch that will leave you breathless.
Highlights include "Ravishing", "Faster Than The Speed Of Night", "Holding Out For A Hero", "Here She Comes" (the only track here that wasn't produced by Jim Steinman, but rather by famed producer Giorgio Moroder), "Loving You's A Dirty Job But Somebody's Gotta Do It" (a GORGEOUS duet with Todd Rundgren), and of course, "Total Eclipse Of The Heart." Turn this CD up, and listen until your heart's content. (*** For some of Bonnie's more recent work with Jim Steinman, see her album 'Free Spirit', which includes "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" and "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad." Also be sure to check out the recently-released DVD, 'Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration', for Bonnie's most recent collaboration with Jim: "Tire Tracks And Broken Hearts" (co-written with Sir Andrew).)

No eighties collection would be complete without Bonnie Tyler's power hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which was resurrected for younger audiences by Nikki French recently.

The song, with its accompanying video featuring children with glowing eyes, is firmly imbedded in '80s pop culture, and this album brings together her best music of the decade. Her hit album "Faster than the Speed of Night" went to the top of the UK charts, and spawned many other great singles.

This album is almost complete, except for her very first hit single, 1977's "It's a Heartache" but has the other singles "Holding Out for a Hero", "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)", "Take Me Back" and "Here She Comes". Also good are "Have You Ever Seen the Rain", "Faster Than the Speed of Night", "Ravishing" and that power ballad with Todd Rungren "Loving You's a Dirty Job, but Somebody's Gotta Do it".

The raspy voiced Welsh singer's music is as powerful and driving now as it was then, and this album represents all her best work in the eighties.

Amanda Richards, June 6, 2005

Global fans of Ms. Tyler's may scoff at this skimpy compilation, but for the yanks who'll barely remember "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" and "Holding Out For A Hero," this one'll probably do it.The focus is on the Jim Steinman works, with a lot of Todd Rundgren on the side. Small caveat, there's no "It's A Heartache," Bonnie's first stateside hit."Heartache" aside, the sound is an improvement over the Nice Price releases, and while Tyler's "Super Hits" isn't regulation length, it's a keeper.

I remembered when I bought this album over a year ago, it was because of 2 songs: Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out For a Hero. However, after listening to such classic tracks like Ravishing, If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man), Rebel Without a Clue, Faster Than the Speed of Night, and Loving You's a Dirty Job, this album quickly became one of my all-time favorites. Nobody composes and arranges songs like Jim Steinman. He does things that mere mortals can only dream of doing. Just like any other Steinman album, be prepared to be mentally and physically exhausted after listening to this album. That's part of the beauty of Steinman. Every one of his songs are epics. The only bad thing is it takes him a long time to write songs. Also, if Jim does not produce and write the song, it's not going be as good. (See Bat Out of Hell--if you don't believe me.)

You can buy the 2 albums, Faster Than the Speed of Night and Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fires, but why do that when all the best tracks from these 2 albums are on one? Yes, it doesn't have It's a Heartache, but it has everything that you would ever want with the Steinman years. If you like Jim Steinman and/or Meat Loaf, then this album is highly recommended.

The music in this cd is immensely beautiful. I just love her voice.

My mother bought this on a random drop in to Best Buy, to drop off my laptop, and she picked this up just for $4. She bought the cd just for the song 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. But before she even got her hands on it I borrowed it before she even got to open it and heard the other song by Jim Steinman.

I've been a fan of Jim Steinman music even when I was a child, and if youre a fan of Bonnie Tyler then you will love this.

It also has the song 'Holding Out For A Hero' which is featured in the movie Footloose soundtrack

~Sakura Sake~

I write this even though from what I saw I will , I'm sure gonna love this album , but it is missing the very first Bonnie Tyler
Song that I heard , and fell in Love with ," Its A Heartache " in my opinion should be included here also.

Bonnie has been my all-time favorite singer. Why give 4 stars? Well, because there are better compilations out there than this one. As a long-time fan (since 1976, the first time I heard her on the Germany waves), I can say that this is a pretty good compilation. While Bonnie virtually disappeared from the American scene since the mid 80s, with an attempt at rescinding the success she had then in 1996 with her FREE SPIRIT CD, her music is still very good. She has been huge in Germany, and in this millenium in the rest of Europe. This has some great tracks, but I would not necessarily call all of the hits! I think if you really want to listen to the best of Bonnie, get your hands on Bonnie Tyler - The Best, which is much better, and adds variety, including tracks of her best album to date NOTES FROM AMERICA (aka HIDE YOUR HEART). If you wanted a more exhaustive songlisting, try THE ANTHOLOGY by Ms. Tyler. Now, that will get you going, and even includes her very early hits, prior to Ms. Tyler having her nodules removed, namely MY, MY HONEYCOMB (never really made it in 1973), and LOST IN FRANCE (huge hit, and in the top 10 in Europe for 6 months in 1976), which got me stuck on her. She is a great performer, and while some TV performances were so-so, check out the maturity that 30 years of touring have brought to the plate. Check out her DVD "Bonnie on Tour", released April 7, 2006, with old and new material. While not being as popular, she has learned to master the stage, and her voice sounds stronger, and more controlled! It is just great!

While my husband likes Bonnie Tyler, I never paid much attention to who she was. But I am a HUGE Jim Steinman fan and own nearly everything Meatloaf and he did together. Looking for other artists who have worked with him, I noticed there were SIX Steinman songs on this cd. Curious to see what she could do with a Steinman song, I pounced on it. All I can say is WOW. She's awesome with that voice and all that explosive energy, and a natural for his kind of song-writing. This cd would be an excellent introduction to either artist for anyone (like me) wanting a good sample. This will be one of my favorite cds, and as soon as I finish this review, I'm gonna order more Bonnie Tyler. Hold on to your hat and heart when you hear "Holding Out For A Hero" (a Steinman song) or "Here She Comes" (a non-Steinman song). If "Holding Out for a Hero" doesn't grab you by the heart, tail, feet, and turn you upside- down and inside-out, I don't know what will. If I were wealthy, I'd buy you a copy. That's how good it is.

Bonnie Tyler is just gritty. Gnaw on some rocks gritty. Her raspy voice reminds me of the history channel's looks at the Bolton soccer team featuring J Abs. With Bonnie, much like C & C Music factory, you have a choice to make. Neither put out a ton of music, yet have several greatest hits collections. With Ms. Gritty, you've got Super Hits, Definitive Collection and Best of the Best. Yup, they're pretty much the same album. I chose Super Hits for two reasons, it's much cheaper and Hits that are Super are much better than Definitive songs or best songs. If they weren't, instead of Superman you'd have Definitiveman or Bestman. Best man is something in a wedding and Definitiveman is too wordy and frankly not that strong. So I went with Super Hits.

Growing up in East Gretna, I understand the pain of dancing not being allowed in your town. I got three weeks in the pokey for pulling a moonwalk at Zestofreeze. So the selection of "Holding out for a hero" from the Footloose soundtrack was a natural favorite of mine. "Total Eclipse of the heart"? I'm not going to lie, I have no idea where the heck that song is going. Some kid with glowing eyes is in the video and she's falling apart. Good tune, but makes no sense. The other tracks are just flat gritty. Gritty enough that public works should try to clear the sand from the roads. She has skillz on the mic though and you should buy this or not get any dinner tomorrow.