A magnificent anthology

Bonnie never achieved consistent success in Britain or America, though she has fared better in Germany. This compilation includes all Bonnie's British and American hits and a selection of her other songs.



Being a double CD, this anthology explores her career in greater depth than a single CD could ever do. Still, they can all be found elsewhere. As compensation, this collection contains many other excellent songs including My my honeycomb (Bonnie's first single) and several of Bonnie's nineties recordings, as well as Islands (a Mike Oldfield track featuring Bonnie as vocalist).



There were three phases to Bonnie's career. The first phase, her RCA recordings, occupy the first sixteen tracks. Many of them have a country feel to them although the final track (Married men) is very different and shows that Bonnie was already seeking a different musical direction. The biggest hit during this period was It's a heartache, which made the British top ten, the American top ten and also made the top ten in the American country charts. Lost in France also made the British top ten. More than a love and Married men were minor UK hits. Many other singles were released but failed to chart. My favorite among them (Louisiana rain - a Tom Petty cover) is not included but several others are.



The second phase (Bonnie's Columbia recordings) is represented by just nine tracks. This somewhat understates their importance in Bonnie's career, but the label that released this anthology had to license these tracks and that may be the explanation. The British hits during this period were Total eclipse of the heart (a number one hit in Britain and America), Faster than the speed of night, Have you ever seen the rain, A rocking good way (with Shaking Stevens), Holding out for a hero and Loving you is a dirty job. Again, there were several failures, among them The best (a Bonnie Tyler original recording that failed to chart until Tina Turner covered it, when it became a major worldwide hit - you may know it as Simply the best) but although Bonnie's recording of this song is brilliant, it's not included here.



The third phase of Bonnie's career began when she signed to a German record label in the nineties. She continued to record in English (though she has since recorded a few songs in other languages) and I regard her German recordings as being among the finest of her career. You'll find them here on the second CD beginning with Bitterblue, a major hit for Bonnie in Germany and the title track of her first German-recorded album. The title tracks of her next two albums, Angel heart and Silhouette in red, are also included, deservedly so as they are outstanding.



This is a very strong compilation. If (like me) you find one or two tracks not here, they can probably be found on other compilations, but this is a great starting point for a Bonnie Tyler collection.

More Than Covers...

This is the clipse of the whole carriere Bonnie Tyler has had. There's two CDs full of great songs from the time period 1976-1996, about 20 years! Like usually in 2 CD collections, there's great songs, good songs, and songs that should have been lef off. The songs in her early carriere all absolutely fastastic "My! My! Honeycomb", "Lost in France", "More Than a Lover", "It's a Heartache" are played in my CD player quite often. There's some songs that have no great value: "The World Starts Tonight", "Here Am I", "Hide Your Heart" which are quite boring material. I think there's much more great songs than basic pop songs but I think Bonnie Tyler would have more to offer. Where are the great songs "It's a Jungle Out There", "Against the WInd", "Where Were You", and "Too Hot"? There's great classics "Total Eclipse of the Heart", "Faster Than the Speed of Night", "Bitterblue", "Sem Limites Pra Sonhar", "Angel Heart" etc in the CD 2. There's also some songs I would have left off ("Save Your Love", "Islands", "You Won't See Me Cry", "Stay") but I think this 37-track collection offers quite great music.

Stars: Total Eclipse of the Heart, Holding Out for a Hero, My! My! Honeycomb, More Than a Lover

The Best!

The other reviewers pretty well summed it up, but I wanted to add my comments.

I have lots and lots of music but this has quickly become one of my favorites. Every single track is great!

I spend a lot of money on music but consider this the best money I ever spent.

If you are a Bonnie Tyle fan or just enjoy great music, this album is a "must have".

Go for it!!