HomeMusicBonnie Tyler - Rocks and Honey album review

Bonnie Tyler – Rocks and Honey album review

Bonnie Tyler is a rock icon and singer who is famous for her power ballads and her gravelly, luscious vocal power. Many people refer to Bonnie Tyler as ‘the first lady of rock’. Being a long time fan of Bonnie’s work, we are thrilled that she is back with her first album in over eight years, with the release of Rocks and Honey. Looking at the credits on the album and seeing who the musicians and songwriters are that have worked on this album, it reads like a who’s who of some of the best talent in the industry and the album was recorded in Nashville.

This is Gonna Hurt is the first song on the album and it is a powerful rock ballad. The lyrics are powerful and Bonnie’s vocals are faultless and shows Bonnie doing what she does best, singing those powerful, rock anthems, with only someone with a voice as strong as Bonnie, can reach. The song shows Bonnie being her utmost confident and shows strength with such lyrics as ‘this is gonna hurt you, more than it’s gonna hurt me’. The second song on the album is Sunshine, which is becoming a firm favourite of those who have already listened to the album, ahead of its release and we can see this becoming a fan favourite. The song is about seeing the positivity through a dark moment and Bonnie sounds fantastic.

Bonnie has been chosen to represent the UK in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and the chosen song is Believe In Me. Believe In Me is a modern day, soft version of her famous power ballads. This is one song that will definitely not be receiving the infamous ‘nil points’ at the competition! This is a great slow burning song, which reaches its peak to be another uplifting song, full of strength and passion. The song was written by the mega-talented Desmond Child, who has worked with some of the best artists in the music industry, including Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin and Cher, to name but a very few. The other song that Desmond has written for the album is Stubborn, which is a mid-tempo love song.

What You Need From Me is a truly stunning duet with 27-time Grammy winning country artist Vince Gill. We saw Vince Gill performing at the 02 a few months ago, as Nashville descended upon the North Greenwich Arena for a weekend of country music for the Country 2 Country weekend. We were in awe of his talent and his magic is shown again all over this record. This is the type of song that you can get lost in and feel goosebumps forming. Bonnie and Vince sound perfect together and this is the reason that the album is called Rocks and Honey, as Bonnie’s vocals were compared to rocks and Vince was the honey that trickled through the rock whilst singing the duet together. Bonnie’s emotion throughout the song is stunning and it is lovely to have some variation on the album, by adding country licks to it. This is by far our favourite song on the album. Does everything that Vince Gill creates just turn out to be magic? What an incredible musician. Pair them together and you have the perfect duet.

Other highlights not the album include Lord Help Me, which is a cover of one of Carrie Underwood’s songs. Carrie co-wrote the song and Bonnie gives it added rock star oomph and rawness.  Mom is also another beautifully written song. Having spoken to Bonnie recently, she explained that the song is about (see our interview with her, for more details!). It was a bit unusual for us to hear a Welsh person singing Mom initially, as that is the American term for the word Mother (the Welsh would use the term Mam). However it works, as the song has a country tinged American feel and it fits the feel of the song to hear Bonnie singing Mom. It’s a really gorgeous track.

For us, the feel of the album is that the songs rock, yet they have mellow and gentle sounding undertones and there are so many great songs on the album. Bonnie sounds absolutely fantastic on the album and her fans are going to love the album. We bet that the album will gain her even more fans too, especially with the extra exposure that the Eurovision song contest will bring. This is an absolutely wonderful return to form for Bonnie Tyler and the album deserves to do well.

Carys Jones
Carys Jones
I am passionate about everything any anything that involves music, theatre and the arts! I love interviewing artists and getting to learn more about them. When I’m not doing artsy things, you may find me watching rugby, singing with my choir and travelling to a new part of the world. Carpe diem.

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