Music Review: Nicki French "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Nicki French
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Total Eclipse of the Heart
Album: Secrets
Year: 1995
Nicki French lets go of her lover in her steadfast cover of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
From the start, the musical arrangement is different. Cymbals crash together and hyper keyboards begin the single, setting a self-assured tone. French then "oohs" in the background. Whereas, Tyler was undecided about the relationship, French has her mind made up. She's been miserable. She spends her nights alone. She's worried she stayed longer in the relationship than she should have. She's turned down many men while dating her boyfriend and now it seems like she should've taken advantage of it. These thoughts cause her to cry and beat herself up for the decision she made. This time, the "turn around's" are sung by female background singers. In French's version, the boyfriend isn't willing to hear out her point of view.. ("Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round...every now and then I fall apart.")
In the original, the drums took a while to get going. Here, the drums are frisky and are the only instrument used to stress the "every now and then I fall apart" lyric.
Instead of leading directly into the second verse, French sings the pre-chorus after the first verse. ("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/Once upon a time I was falling in love but now I'm only falling apart/There's nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart.")
French's "whoa's" again as the hyper keyboards accompany her again.
The second verse is gone and French sings the third verse instead. She's disappointed in who her boyfriend became. She's knows his a good person deep down inside and she will always care for him. But the relationship isn't working for her anymore. ("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 wondrous 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.")
After the chorus, is the bridge. The bridge is the remainder of the edited lyrics from the pre-chorus. ("We can take it to the end of the line/Your love is like a shadow on me 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.") It's far more explosive. French is still in love with him. although she acts detached. She feels like something is still there between them.
The song ends similarly. The keyboards are toned down as French sings the (edited) chorus. However, it's a fantasy that the relationship will be better and like it was before.
The song has had undergone many positive changes. Verses and choruses are rearranged, a bridge appears where it didn't exist, etc It gets to the point, cutting out at least four minutes out of the single. It's well-done.
Album: Secrets
Year: 1995
Nicki French lets go of her lover in her steadfast cover of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
From the start, the musical arrangement is different. Cymbals crash together and hyper keyboards begin the single, setting a self-assured tone. French then "oohs" in the background. Whereas, Tyler was undecided about the relationship, French has her mind made up. She's been miserable. She spends her nights alone. She's worried she stayed longer in the relationship than she should have. She's turned down many men while dating her boyfriend and now it seems like she should've taken advantage of it. These thoughts cause her to cry and beat herself up for the decision she made. This time, the "turn around's" are sung by female background singers. In French's version, the boyfriend isn't willing to hear out her point of view.. ("Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round...every now and then I fall apart.")
In the original, the drums took a while to get going. Here, the drums are frisky and are the only instrument used to stress the "every now and then I fall apart" lyric.
Instead of leading directly into the second verse, French sings the pre-chorus after the first verse. ("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/Once upon a time I was falling in love but now I'm only falling apart/There's nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart.")
French's "whoa's" again as the hyper keyboards accompany her again.
The second verse is gone and French sings the third verse instead. She's disappointed in who her boyfriend became. She's knows his a good person deep down inside and she will always care for him. But the relationship isn't working for her anymore. ("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 wondrous 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.")
After the chorus, is the bridge. The bridge is the remainder of the edited lyrics from the pre-chorus. ("We can take it to the end of the line/Your love is like a shadow on me 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.") It's far more explosive. French is still in love with him. although she acts detached. She feels like something is still there between them.
The song ends similarly. The keyboards are toned down as French sings the (edited) chorus. However, it's a fantasy that the relationship will be better and like it was before.
The song has had undergone many positive changes. Verses and choruses are rearranged, a bridge appears where it didn't exist, etc It gets to the point, cutting out at least four minutes out of the single. It's well-done.