Me and Bonnie McGee Tyler: resoconto di un amore a prima vista.
Gli anni '80 per il pop sono stati una catastrofe di proporzioni immani: il diluvio universale, il Ragnarok, Waterloo, Little Big Horn, le Termopili o quello che volete voi, fatto sta che da quella decade il pop uscirà completamente distrutto, svalutato, svilito e mercificato ma comunque, anche in quegli anni qualche seme selvaggio, portato dal vento, è riuscito comunque a germogliare, ed a fiorire prima di essere soffocato dalle sterpaglie. Penso alla briosa, colorata ma tutt'altro che posticcia e superficiale Cyndi Lauper, la cui storia è assolutamente emblematica, e penso soprattutto a Gaynor Hopkins, in arte Bonnie Tyler: una bella donna, bionda ed appariscente, figlia di minatore gallese.
Nel 1977, quando aveva appena iniziato la sua carriera musicale, rischiò di dover dire addio al suo sogno ed al suo talento per via di un problema alle corde vocali diagnosticato in ritardo che la costrinse ad una delicata operazione; rischiava di non poter più cantare, la bella Gaynor, ed invece da quel male sboccerà il suo più grande dono: l'operazione che stravolge le sue corde vocali modifica completamente il suo timbro di voce, trasformandolo in un roco e potente ruggito: una vocalità straordinaria, immediatamente riconoscibile, e tremendamente affascinante: non si tratta tuttavia di una voce androgina come quella, ad esempio, di Annie Lennox, no: Bonnie Tyler è meravigliosamente femminile, il suo canto è la cristallina è espressione di una femminilità autentica, intensa, straripante, non allineata. La sua scalata verso il paradiso può quindi cominciare; correva l'anno 1983 e Bonnie Tyler centra il colpo grosso: "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", singolo di lancio dell'album "Faster Than The Speed Of Night" è una di quelle canzoni che lasciano il segno; Freddie Mercury avrebbe fatto carte false per scrivere una canzone come questa: la quintessenza della power-ballad, un crescendo gospel-orchestrale di rara potenza, una canzone che fa dell'enfaticità tipicamente (spesso in modo deteriore) ottantiana il suo punto di forza, nobilitata da una raffinatezza non comune e soprattutto da quella voce così particolare. Era nata una stella, che (quasi) come tutte le più belle cose durò solo per il fuggevole tempo di una hit, per poi sfumare nell'anonimato, da cui merita di essere risollevata e celebrata come merita.
La musica di Bonnie Tyler si ascolta a volume rigorosamente alto: pop, pop-rock, AOR anni '80, adult contemporary, chiamatela come vi pare, ma è comunque grande musica, una musica forte, decisa, di quelle che scuotono da dentro, che danno carica, grinta e sorriso: canzoni immediate, dirette, ritornelli da cantare a squarciagola. Bonnie è una semplice interprete ma la sua voce è così dirompente, le sue interpretazioni così passionali che quelle melodie evergreen è come se fossero sue a tutte gli effetti; dietro ai sintetizzatori, ai cori, alle chitarre c'è un cuore che pulsa, c'è emozione, c'è un'artista vera, e questa raccolta del 1993 la fotografa in tutto il suo splendore, nel pieno dei fasti della sua epoca d'oro: "The Very Best Of Bonnie Tyler" è un disco fondamentale per capire quanto sia bello il Pop, quello vero, e cosa sia un'interprete con la I maiuscola, soprattutto in tempi in cui si dice che insopportabili mezze tacche come Anastacia e Beyonce abbiano delle grandi voci.
Quasi tutte la canzoni presenti in questa raccolta hanno un'ossatura rock a volte influenzata dal synth-pop, comunque mai dominante; gli arrangiamenti sono molto curati, ricchi e "bombastici", una scelta certamente in linea coi tempi, ma che si sposa alla perfezione con il timbro potente della cantante gallese; tuttavia ad aprire la danze c'è lo sbarazzino e leggiadro pop-folk di "Lost In France", che permette di apprezzare la voce di Bonnie Tyler prima dell'operazione, più soffice e leggera ma pur sempre intensa e magnetica, quindi le ballate dal sapore country "Here Am I" e la fortunata "It's A Heartache". Dopo questo gustoso preambolo datato 1977-1978 la raccolta entra nel vivo, in tutta la sua ottantiana magnificenza; in una decade in cui gli ABBA si sciolgono, Elton John è un'iperproduttiva ombra di sé stesso e i Bee Gees colano letteralmente a picco dopo "Living Eyes" Bonnie Tyler colleziona ottimi album e tante grandi canzoni; lei, che di certo non è un genio della musica come i signori sopra citati, con la sua grinta, il suo ruggito felino e la sua tenacia ed umiltà se il beve tutti. "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", in tutta la sua magnificenza, su cui non serve aggiungere altro, l'altrettanto epica "Loving You Is A Dirty Job But Somebody's Gotta Do It", una cavalcata di quasi otto minuti duettata con Todd Rundgren, "Hide Your Heart", un potente hard-rock firmato Paul Stanley perfetto per esaltare il ruggito felino di Bonnie Tyler, mentre "Holding Out For A Hero" attinge a piene mani dalla disco anni '70, risultando per essere una specie di "It's Raining Man" iper-vitaminizzata, di sicuro impatto. "If You Were A Woman And I Were A Man" lascia basiti per il suo ritornello praticamente identico a quello della contemporanea "You Give Love A Bad Name" dei Bon Jovi; dopotutto entrambe le canzoni portano la firma del famigerato Desmond Child, hitmaker su scala industriale di professione, ma, ovviamente, Bonnie Tyler con la sua classe riesce a salvare il pezzo dalla mediocre plasticosità coatto-rockettara a cui era altrimenti destinato con risultati più che dignitosi. In ogni caso molto meglio l'elettronica sognante e raffinata di "Islands", bellissima collaborazione con Mike Oldfield, l'inedita "I Can't Leave Your Love Alone", che per il suo ampio uso dei sintetizzatori e la melodia intrigante ed ipnotica riporta quasi alle atmosfere di quell'ineguagliabile ed eccelso capolavoro del pop che fu "The Visitors" degli ABBA con un pizzico di rock in più e due estratti dall'album "Bitterblue" del 1991, ovvero "Against The Wind", power-ballad di assoluta perfezione e la titletrack, un brano che, a fronte di un testo che è quanto di più banale e scontato ci possa essere mette in mostra un tiro pazzesco sia per la grinta e l'entusiasmo contagioso che questa voce pazzesca sa sprigionare che per il perfetto uso dell'elettronica, che crea una melodia dirompente ed anthemica senza tuttavia scadere nel pacchiano.
Tra tutte le raccolte dedicate a Bonnie Tyler, questa è sicuramente la migliore nonché la più esaustiva, anche se bisogna segnalare un errore marchiano come l'inserimento della non eccezionale cover di Bryan Adams "Straight From The Heart" a discapito della meravigliosa "Faster Than The Speed Of Night", ed anche le belle interpretazioni di "Piece Of My Heart" e "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", così come "Married Men (The World Is Full Of)", ma questo non pregiudica la perfetta riuscita di una raccolta che rende a questa meravigliosa voce del Pop, a questa diva autentica ed incompresa tutto l'onore che merita; pur non essendo una figura di assoluto spessore ad oggi non esiste un'altra Bonnie Tyler, non c'è una nuova voce neanche lontanamente paragonabile alla sua; nessuno in grado di riproporre questo genere di grande musica d'intrattenimento, questo mix di AOR, pop ed elettronica frizzante ed esplosivo; la bionda Gaynor Hopkins rimane quindi l'ultima della sua specie, una delle ultime Popstar veramente degne di tale nome.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 Lost in France (03:55)
I was lost in France
In the fields the birds were singing
I was lost in France
And the day was just beginning
As I stood there in the morning rain
I had a feeling I can't explain
I was lost in France in love
I was lost in France
In the street a band was playing
And the crowd all danced
Didn't catch what they were saying
When I looked up he was standing there
And I knew I shouldn't but I didn't care
I was lost in France in love
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
I was lost in France
And the vines were over-flowing
I was lost in France
And a million stars were glowing
And I looked round for a telephone
To say 'baby I won't be home'
I was lost in France in love
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
And I looked round for a telephone
To say 'baby I won't be home'
I was lost in France in love
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing
Ooh la la la Ooh la la la dance
Ooh la la la dancing...out
02 It's a Heartache (03:30)
It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it's too late
Hits you when you're down
It's a fool's game
Nothing but a fool's game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown
It's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down
It ain't right, with love to share
When you find he doesn't care for you
It ain't wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you
Ah, it's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it's too late
Hits you when you're down
It's a fool's game
Nothing but a fool's game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown
It ain't right, with love to share
When you find he doesn't care for you
It ain't wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you
Ah, it's a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down
It's a fool's game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown
It's a heartache
Love him till your arms break
Then he lets you down
It's a fool's game
03 Here Am I (03:49)
Here am I in love again clinging to your arms again
Wondering why I wanted to be free
Here am I next to you wondering what we ought to do
Can't afford to lose it all again
Here am I, there are you, we nearly broke our hearts in two
Would have been the worst thing in the world
When I thought that we could live apart
I must have been crazy, what a fool I was
What a fool from the moment you got in my heart
I should have known baby, but now I know, oh!
Here am I in love again clinging to your arms again
Wondering' why I wanted to be free
When I thought that we could live apart
I must have been crazy, what a fool I was
What a fool from the moment you got in my heart
I should have known baby, but now I know, oh!
Here am I in love again clinging to your arms again
Wondering' why I wanted to be free
Here am I next to you wondering' what we ought to do
Can't afford to lose it all again
Here am I in love again clinging to your arms again
Here am I, there are you, we nearly broke our hearts in two
Would have been the worst thing in the world
04 Total Eclipse of the Heart (06:58)
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely
And you're never coming 'round
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit tired
Of listening to the sound of my tears
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit nervous
That the best of all the years have gone by
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
And then I see the look in your eyes
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit restless
And I dream of something wild
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit helpless
And I'm lying like a child in your arms
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit angry
And I know I've got to get out and cry
(Turn around)
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified
But then I see the look in your eyes
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
(All of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
(Forever's gonna start tonight)
Once upon a time I was falling in love
Now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
(Turn around bright eyes
Turn around bright eyes)
(Turn around)
Every now and then I know you'll never be the boy
You always wanted to be
(Turn around)
But every now and then I know you'll always be the only boy
Who wanted me the way that I am
(Turn around)
Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe
As magical and wonderous as you
(Turn around)
Every now and then I know there's nothing any better
There's nothing that I just wouldn't do
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
(And I need you)
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
(If you'll only)
Well be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
(And we'll never)
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Love is like a shadow on me all of the time
(All of the time)
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
(Forever's gonna start tonight)
Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
Nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
(Turn around bright eyes
Turn around bright eyes
Turn around).
07 Holding Out for a Hero (05:49)
Where have all good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and I dream of what I need
(Chorus)
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life (larger than life)
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet
(Chorus)
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there's someone somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like a fire in my blood
(Chorus)
09 If You Were a Woman (and I Was a Man) (05:15)
(Desmond Child)
Producer for Bonnie: Jim Steinman
How's it feel to be a woman
How's it feel to be a man
Are we really that different
Tell me where you stand
I look at you, you look away
Why do you say we're night and day
I'd like to try another way
Oh baby for just one day
If you were a woman and I was a man
Would it be so hard to understand
That a heart's a heart and we do what we can
If you were a woman and I was a man
If you were a woman and I was a man
How's it feel to be the hunter
How's it feel to be the prey
Is there really a reason
For this game we play
I look at you, you look away
Why do you say we're night and day
I'd like to try another day
Oh darling, just one day
If you were a woman and I was a man
Would it be so hard to understand
That a heart's a heart and we do what we can
If you were a woman and I was a man
If you were a woman and I was a man
Hey, we're just two people trying to love
Oh but how, how can we love
With this wall between us, holding us back
If you were a woman and I was a man
Would it be so hard to understand
That a hearts a heart and we do what we can
If you were a woman and I was a man
If you were a woman and I was a man
12 Save Up All Your Tears (04:20)
(Desmond Child/ Diane warren)
Producer for Bonnie: Desmond Child
I can't figure you out
But a heart must be the one thing
You were born without
I'm through wasting my time
I don't know where I'll sleep tonight
You say that you can do without me
Go ahead now, try and live without me....
Baby, save up all your tears
You might need them someday
When the tears start to fall
I won't wipe them away
When you cry in the night
For the love that you need
Baby, save up your tears
Cause you'll be cryin' over me
You got used to my touch
I got used to not feeling much
Winter set in your eyes
Time will melt your castle of ice
You think that you won't feel the pain now
Your eyes'll be cryin' like the rain now....
Baby, save up all your tears
You might need them someday
When the tears start to fall
I won't wipe them away
When you cry in the night
For the love that you need
Baby, save up your tears
Cause you'll be cryin' over me
You don't know it now
But some wounds get deeper with time
You don't feel it now
Till the need burns, a knife turns
Your heart bleeds like mine....
13 Bitterblue (03:48)
Bitterblue
Written by - Howard Houston
I'll take the train to nowhere
This love is a sacrifice
My heart ain't big enough babe
For your paradise...
Oh darling I'm crazy - after all these years
Don't throw away my love babe
I'm not a lonely child
Tomorrow's such a long time
My dreams are running wild...
Oh Darling I'm crazy - after all these years
I gave you all my love for free
My tears are full of memories
Give me love, give me all
Baby, catch me when I'll fall tonight
Bitterblue, Bitterblue
Breaking up is hard to do
Bitterblue you know that I'm too
Proud to cry
Bitterblue, Bitterblue
I can't take my eyes off you
That's no way to say goodbye
I'll be sailing on a rainbow
If you will change your mind
Don't throw away this love babe
Love is hard to find...
Oh darling I'm crazy - after all these years
Come save a little room babe
In your heart for me
We can make it better
Love is a mystery...
Oh darling I'm crazy - after all these years
Oh I sold my heart to you
I gave you love and heaven, too
Give me love, give me all
Baby catch me when I'll fall tonight
Bitterblue, Bitterblue
Breaking up is hard to do
Bitterblue you know that I'm too
Proud to cry
Bitterblue, Bitterblue
I can't take my eyes off you
And that's no way to say goodbye
Bitterblue, Bitterblue
Breaking up is hard to do
Bitterblue you know that I'm too
Proud to cry
Bitterblue, Bitterblue
I can't take my eyes off you
And that's no way to say goodbye
And that's no way to say goodbye
And that's no way to say goodbye
And that's no way to say goodbye
14 Against the Wind (03:38)
"Living in a danger zone
A lonely man a lonely child
So many miles away from home
Emotions running wild with me
Come take my heart
Come feel the burns of fire
Come and break my heart
And feel my loving mind
Oh against the wind I'm flying
Against the wind I'm crying
This night was made for a lonely
Don't break my heart tonight, no
Oh you need a helping hand
The times are geting tough
Baby come and try again
There's no living without love, in my heart
It's hard for me, but it's harder to ignore it
Oh my fantasy, come feel my love tonight."
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