Faster Than the Speed of Night

Faster Than the Speed of Night is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released first in Europe on 8 April 1983 and later that year in the US through Columbia Records. Tyler had changed musical direction from country music in 1981, and began working with Jim Steinman soon after. Steinman produced the album and wrote its most successful single "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

Faster Than the Speed of Night
Studio album by Bonnie Tyler
Released	8 April 1983 (UK)[1] September 1983 (US)
Recorded	1982
Genre	Rock
Length	43:14
Label	Columbia
Producer	Jim Steinman John Jansen
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
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" Released: 11 February 1983 (UK); 31 May 1983 (US) "Faster Than the Speed of Night" Released: 29 April 1983 "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" Released: 17 June 1983 "Straight from the Heart" Released: 11 August 1983 "Take Me Back" Released: November 1983 "Getting So Excited" Released: 29 February 1984 "Tears" Released: 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified Silver in the UK, Platinum in the US, and Double Platinum in Canada.

Content

The album consists of dramatically re-worked cover songs, including the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?".[3] "Goin' Through the Motions" is a Blue Öyster Cult cover from their 1977 album Spectres,[4] and the cover version of "Straight from the Heart" was the breakout Top 10 hit for Canadian rock singer/songwriter Bryan Adams from his Platinum album Cuts Like a Knife.[3] It also includes the song "Take Me Back", written by Billy Cross, a former Bob Dylan guitarist. Only two of the tracks were written by Jim Steinman himself: the title track and the international number one hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"	John Fogerty	4:09
2.	"Faster Than the Speed of Night"	Jim Steinman	6:44
3.	"Getting So Excited"	Alan Gruner	3:32
4.	"Total Eclipse of the Heart"	Steinman	7:01
5.	"It's a Jungle Out There"	Dennis Polen Paul Pilger William Moloney	4:39
6.	"Goin' Through the Motions"	Ian Hunter Eric Bloom	4:09
7.	"Tears" (with Frankie Miller)	Frankie Miller	3:51
8.	"Take Me Back"	Billy Cross	5:24
9.	"Straight from the Heart"	Bryan Adams Eric Kagna	3:41
Total length:			43:14

Personnel

Musicians

• Bonnie Tyler – vocals
• Roy Bittan – piano, organ on track 8
• Larry Fast – synthesizers
• Rick Derringer – guitars
• Steve Buslowe – bass
• Max Weinberg – drums
• Jimmy Maelen – percussion
• Eric Troyer – backing vocals
• Rory Dodd – backing vocals, vocal on track 4

"It's a Jungle Out There"

• Paul Shaffer – organ (also organ on track 7)
• Hiram Bullock – guitars
• Will Lee – bass
• Steve Jordan – drums
• Jimmy Maelen – percussion

Additional musicians

• Dave LeBolt – additional synthesizer on track 1
• Steve Margoshes – all keyboards on track 2
• Holly Sherwood – backing vocals & wailing on track 2
• Martin Briley – additional guitars on track 2
• Stephanie Black, Erika Katz, Brian Pew, Edward Skylar, Tristine Skylar, David Varga – children's chorus on track 6
• Frankie Miller – male vocal on track 7

Production

• Produced & directed by Jim Steinman; associate producer: John Jansen
• Arranged by Roy Bittan & Jim Steinman, except track 2 (arranged by Steve Margoshes & Jim Steinman)
• Recording engineers: Neil Dorfsman (basic track recording), Rod Hui; chief recording engineer: John Jansen
• Additional recording by Frank Filipetti & Scott Litt
  • Recorded at The Power Station, Greene Street Studio, Right Track Studios
• Mixed by Neil Dorfsman, John Jansen & Jim Steinman, except track 2 (mixed by John Jansen, Scott Litt & Jim Steinman)
  • Mixed at The Power Station
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound

Charts

Chart (1983) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 3 Canada RPM Top Albums (RPM)[6] 6 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 24 Finland The Official Finnish Charts[8] 17 French Albums (SNEP)[9] 12 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 20 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 19 UK Albums (OCC)[15] 1 US Billboard 200[16] 4 US Cashbox (magazine)[17] 3

Year End Chart (1983) Peak position US Billboard Top Pop Albums Female Artists[18] 23 UK Billboard Top UK Albums Artists[19] 20 US Cashbox Top 100 Albums Artists[20] 23

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21]	2× Platinum	200,000^^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[22]	Gold	10,000^*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23]	Gold	7,500^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24]	Silver	60,000^^
United States (RIAA)[25]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2014-03-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. AllMusic review
3. Guarisco, Donald. "Faster Than The Speed Of Night". allmusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
4. Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult Spectres review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 316. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "RPM 100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. 17 September 1983. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
8. "Suomen virallinen lista". Retrieved February 15, 2019.
9. "Lescharts.com – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
10. "Officialcharts.de – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
11. "Charts.nz – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
12. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
13. "Swedishcharts.com – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
14. "Swisscharts.com – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
15. "Bonnie Tyler | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
16. "Bonnie Tyler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
17. "Cashbox Pop Albums" (PDF). Retrieved Dec 29, 2018.
18. Billboard (PDF). London, UK. 24 December 1983 https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Music-and-Media/80s/1986/M&M-1986-12-27.pdf. Retrieved 17 April 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
19. Billboard (PDF). London, UK. 24 December 1983 https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Music-and-Media/80s/1986/M&M-1986-12-27.pdf. Retrieved 17 April 2019. Missing or empty |title= (help)
20. "Cash Box Award Winners" (PDF). Cashbox. December 3, 1983.
21. "Canadian album certifications – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Music Canada. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
22. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1985". IFPI Hong Kong. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
23. "New Zealand album certifications – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
24. "British album certifications – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 31 October 2014. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Faster Than the Speed of Night in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
25. "American album certifications – Bonnie Tyler – Faster Than the Speed of Night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 31 October 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.