Shortly before the astronomical event of April 8th, 2024, this scribe’s boss asked why did nobody play Bonnie Tyler‘s “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” to mark it. As it turned out, people did – en masse – which begged the question of whether there’s a need for something special to listen to the Welsh chanteuse’s oeuvre whose almost five-decade-long career is full of brilliant songs. And it’s not the MBE that signifies the ultimate respect she commands – it’s the list of instrumentalists supporting the lady’s voice on record and on stage, from Mo Foster and Simon Phillips back in the day to John Young and Ed Poole in later years, with colleagues like Frankie Miller and Rod Stewart raring to share her vocal load in duets. Yet then again, in concert she shines just as bright – and Ms Tyler’s forthcoming live album should be a testament to her undimming talent.
It’s a shame, of course, that “In Berlin” which will be out on April 26th (physically, as the digital release date is April 19th, which is also a European CD outing day) is the singer’s only fourth full-length effort preserved for posterity in front of the audience, but this endeavor might be her best of the sort, with seventeen cuts on offer spanning quite a few past platters while focusing on the veteran’s latest – except for the very last one. How come?
“We’d just released my album ‘Between The Earth And The Stars’,” says Bonnie. “It was one of the biggest tours of my career, with shows in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland and, of course, Germany. The Admiralspalast is an amazing place and I’ve sung there a couple of times over the years, but it feels great to finally have this live album released, and it’s especially bittersweet because we recorded it not long before the pandemic started. Glad to see the live music scene has pretty much recovered again now. I really hope people will enjoy this album – it was a great show, a great night!”
In Berlin
CD 1:
1. Flat On The Floor
2. Hold On
3. It’s A Heartache
4. Seven Waves Away
5. Have You Ever Seen The Rain
6. Move
7. This Is Gonna Hurt
8. Let’s Go Crazy Tonight
9. Bad For Loving You
CD 2:
1. Total Eclipse Of The Heart
2. Between The Earth And The Stars
3. Faster Than The Speed Of Night
4. Turtle Blues
5. Slow Walk
6. The Best
7. Holding Out For A Hero
8. Older
