Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart

If someone were to have read the last review about Ellen Foley, they might be asking themselves, who else was on the “Meatloaf and Friends” compilation album? Jim Steinman did a lot of song writing for a lot of people, but after Meatloaf he is probably best remembered for his work with Bonnie Tyler.

Bonnie Tyler, like Ellen Foley has three songs on “Meatloaf and Friends,” including her by far biggest hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Even though Steinman did not write most of Bonnie Tyler’s songs, he wrote all three on this completion album, and he did write her biggest hit, “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” This song is such a massive hit that it requires no introduction. It is one of the best-selling singles of all time and continues to be listened to and covered to this day.

By the mid eighties Bonnie Tyler was huge. She had multiple hit songs, was featured on big blockbuster movie soundtracks, “Footloose” staring Kevin Bacon included Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero,” for example. More then anything else however, Tyler’s popularity was fueled by “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Like everyone else I like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” because it is a powerful ballad about love and longing. As far as radio hits go, it is hard to do better then “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” it is legitimately an incredibly good song, but of course it is, Jim Steinman wrote it.

Like every Jim Steinman fan, I love his work on “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” The man knew how to write the most powerful ballads, and sometimes they were pop radio friendly. The stars aligned on “Total Eclipse of the Hart,” Steinman wrote one of his most emotional ballads and got it tight enough to be digestible by the general market and Tyler’s husky but powerful voice had this affect on those same market of people, that made the high drama somehow more personal; somehow more relatable.

Great song. Everyone knows about it. Not everyone knows that it was written about vampires.

The original version of this iconic song was written for a vampire musical, perhaps “Nosferatu the Musical” I goggled that and apparently it exists. So, yes, Steinman wrote “Vampires in Love,” which he would later somewhat modify for Bonnie Tyler. Those vampire lyrics though, the power of the dark, the lifetime of the nightlife, and forbidden, runaway, everlasting love, it is hard to give them up. Once you know “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is a vampire song, it suddenly seems rather obvious. I mean the song is called “Total Eclipse of the Heart”

“Forever is going to start tonight.”

In this modern age on the information highway, I suspect a lot of people know about vampire connection to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” it is right there on the Wikipedia page, still a cool story. We would eventually get the full rock opera musical version of “Vampires in Love.”

Dance of the Vampires Version:

The tale of “Tanz der Vampire” or “Dance of the Vampires” is a long and awesome story. We do not have the time to cover it here and now, just know that it exists and listen to if when you have the time. I talked about a while ago on this humble blog:

https://colinkellymusicinreview.blogspot.com/2017/02/dance-of-vampires.html

Another contributing factor to the continued and ongoing popularity of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is the covers. I believe the most famous cover must be Nikki French’s, as this version managed to be a worldwide hit, keeping the songs tractions going another ten years after the original.

Nikki French Version:

I am not big on remixes, but this one is alright, but I definitely prefer the original. Naturally, my favorite is the Dance of the Vampires version. If I had to recommend another cover, it would be Exit Eden’s metal cover:

Exit Eden Version:

That lasting power is impressive and a testament to just how emotional a song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is. The eighties pop rock song, with a very aged music video, should have in theory aged badly, but it did not, partially because it was more rock than pop and was undeniably very good, but Tyler and Steinman tapped into something intangible and special when the original version was recorded and though it can be hard to put a finger on it, there is something there that separates “Total Eclipse of the Heart” from other songs of that style and era. I think it is the vampires, the lingering after affect of the vampire origins that makes “Total Eclipse of the Heart” so immortal. Most people did not know about the vampire side of it, but the tale of love so great that it may overcome dark and forbidden desires, really appeals to everyone, and the vampire side being somewhat subtle allowed everyone to project their own wildest romantic dreams onto the song.

I was too young to remember or appreciate the original release of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” but the Jim Steinman connection and the raw power of Tyler career would eventually present themselves to me and this is one of those times when the popular consensus made a lot of sense. It is a great song, timeless, you know, like vampires.

- King of Braves