Bonnie Tyler
Between the Earth and the Stars
(earMUSIC)

Bonnie Tyler, the husky-voiced singer, known for “It’s A Heartache,” and the worldwide smash “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” has released her 17th studio album, Between the Earth and the Stars. Joined on these songs by a whole bunch of collaborators and enlisting the talents of the producer of her first two albums, here we get a pretty solid presentation of 14 tracks of just about where B.T. is in 2019.

Songs like the opener, “Hold On,” and “Slow Walk,” make use of loud guitars, mining a country-rock edge (with “Hold On” surely revealing an anthem-like vice with its big chorus backing vocals). Then there are the noticeable duets Tyler manages with likes of Rod Stewart on the naughty “Battle of the Sexes,” Francis Rossi on “Someone’s Rockin’ Your Heart,” and the excellent “Taking Control” with Sir Cliff Richard. Tyler truly works well with a male voice.

The ballads here really stand out, especially “Older,” a read on somebody of Tyler’s age lamenting love and life and “To the Moon and Back,” both written specifically for Bonnie by Amy Wadge. We also get solid MOR moments, like on the Bee Gee’s “Seven Waves Away,” the acoustic Eagles-like “Let’s Go Crazy Tonight,” and the horn push of “Missing You,” one of Tyler’s best vocals on the album.

The big bass groove of “Move” ends Between the Earth and the Stars, the best tune here for me.