Great Rock Albums of 1988: Bonnie Tyler- Hide Your Heart

That distracting thing called life has a terrible way of disrupting things, which is why I only posted once last week. What was worse is that I am still not finished my chapter for Mike Ladano’s “Adventures of Tee-Bone Man and Superdekes.” However, my load will be getting lighter over the next few weeks with the service user at work who requires 95% of one’s attention going on a home visit and the UK school year coming to an end next week. So, I hope to be back in full by then. In the meantime, I did get to listen to Bonnie Tyler’s “Hide Your Heart” album a few times and can write about it.

I have been wondering why the album escaped my attention back then. I have to thank Damien for another great save, but I would think that living in England, it would have come to my notice somehow. Thankfully, I have discovered the reason. It seems “Hide Your Heart” fared much better in Europe than it did in the UK or US. Charting at number 2 in Norway, 13 in Switzerland, 24 in Sweden but only making it to 78 in the UK and 91 in Canada. Another reason could be that Bonnie and my ex wife came from the same town, Swansea, and my ex wasn’t too keen on Bonnie.

Anyway, on to the album. Actually, the best way to describe most of it is commercial rock. Good commercial rock but the commercial sticks out. With most of the songs, there is that 1980s pop rock feel to them. You know, a little bit of guitar with a heavy saturation of keyboards. “Don’t Turn Around” is a great example. But the songs aren’t bad, after all, Bonnie had some great people writing songs for her. Desmond Child, Holly Knight, Michael Bolton, and one Paul Stanley, which I will get to in a minute.

Usually, I learn something new whenever I write about an album and this one is no exception. When l discovered that Bonnie sang the Tina Turner classic, “The Best” on the album, I assumed Bonnie was covering Tina when it was actually the other way around. However, in the long run it doesn’t make much difference because I still much prefer the Tina version. I get the impression that everyone else probably believes the same so an “Original vs. Cover” post would not be worth it here. However, there is a cover which could be worthy of such a post. It comes in the form of the album closer where Bonnie sings a cover of the Janis Joplin song, “Turtle Blues.” I haven’t heard Janis’s version in ages but Bonnie does put a lot of pizazz into this song, so such a post could be in the cards somewhere down the line.

Oh yes, Paul Stanley. He, along with Desmond and Holly, wrote the title track of the album. This is the rockingest track on the album, hands down. If Bonnie had more metal leaning songs like this one, I would have taken notice of the album. Which brings me to my next point. Bonnie’s voice is as good as it always is but the title track reinforces the true hero on the album, guitarist John McCurry. He nails some great solos. The title track is a given but he nails another great solo the “To Love Somebody” and has some great hooks along with a cool solo on “Take Another Look at Your Heart.” It’s his guitar work which really holds my interest on the album. Credit where due though, on “To Love Somebody” there is also a really cool sax solo.

Track Listing:

1. Notes From America
2. Hide Your Heart
3. Don’t Turn Around
4. Save Up All Your Tears
5. To Love Somebody
6. Take Another Look at Your Heart
7. The Best
8. Shy With You
9. Streets of Little Italy
10. Turtle Blues

Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler- vocals

Louis Cortelezzi, Lawrence Feldman- saxophone

Ronnie Cuber- baritone saxophone

Keith O’Quinn- trombone

Ralph Shuckett- conductor, horns arrangement

Chuck Kentis- organ, synthesizer

Holly Knight- keyboards

Greg Mangiafico, Bette Sussman- piano

Tony Levin, John Regan, John McCurry, Seth Glassman- bass

John McCurry- guitar

Seth Glassman- rhythm guitar

Jerry Marotta- drums, percussion

Elaine Caswell, Desmond Child, Diana Grasselli, Jerry Marotta, Lewis Merlino, Steve Savitt, Joe Lynn Turner, Myriam Naomi Vale- choir, chorus

Patricia Darcy, Patty D’Arcy, Jayne Payson, Al Scotti, Bernie Shanahan, Bernie Williams, Melanie Williams- other vocals

Joe Shepley, Joseph J. Shepley- trumpet

I always thought that Bonnie had the pipes to be a good rock singer and with the great song writers she had on this album, “Hide Your Heart” is a fine album.

Next post: The Proclaimers- Sunshine on Leith

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

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