Announced in 2020, the tour was originally organised to support for her eighteenth studio album, The Best Is Yet to Come (2021), and to commemorate her 70th birthday in 2021. The tour was postponed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and after three dates in April 2022, the tour was renamed.
Background
The tour was originally announced in support of her eighteenth studio album. The Best Is Yet to Come, in December 2020. On 25 February 2022, numerous cancellations and postponements were announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour's second leg, which was set to run through April 2022, was set to continue as planned.[1] However, all but three dates were subsequently postponed to late 2023.
In an interview with Retro Pop magazine, Tyler revealed that the 40 Years "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Tour would be her final tour with back-to-back dates, intending to reduce her schedule to occasional festivals and one-off events.[2] The tour was announced with three additional dates in Koblenz, Marseille and Bielefeld, but each were later cancelled.[3][4]
During the first leg of the tour, Tyler was supported by the German country-pop group More Than Words, featuring Stefanie Hertel.[5] German singer-songwriter C.B. Green will be Tyler's support artist for the second leg of the tour, between November and December 2023.
Between the first and second legs of the tour, Tyler sustained a fracture to her meniscus in one of her knee joints, leading to the postponement of two concerts in Brussels and Würzburg.[6]
Critical reception
During The Best Is Yet to Come Tour in 2022, Stefan Peter of B.Z. noted that Tyler was greeted with a standing ovation at the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, and he complimented Tyler's "powerful voice".[7]
Reviews of the 40 Years "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Tour were generally positive, but many critics noted that Tyler's setlist was short. Clara Andersen of Berliner Morgenpost highlighted Tyler's versatile repertoire and ability to "convey strong messages with her distinctive voice".[8] Thomas Andre of Hamburger Abendblatt observed that the Barclays Arena in Hamburg appeared only half-full, but noted that Tyler drew in a crowd of all ages and stated that she was "still in good voice".[9] Jürgen Stahl of Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung similarly observed a "surprisingly large number" of young attendees at the RuhrCongress in Bochum. He stated that Tyler's "brittle" voice added more intensity to her songs, and described her delivery of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" as "perfectly interpreted and staged".[10] In Ostsee-Zeitung, Katharina Ahlers commended Tyler for her informative anecdotes between each song, but similarly viewed the concert to be markedly short.[11] In Saarbrücker Zeitung, Marko Völke admired Tyler's tribute to Tina Turner before performing "The Best".[12]
Following her performance at L'Olympia in Paris, Gaël Coulon of Pozzo Live stated that Tyler "doesn't run around as much as she used to and is somewhat diminished vocally", but added that she is still able to evoke nostalgia and draw standing ovations from the crowd.[13] In Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, Stefan Otto praised Tyler's performance of "Turtle Blues" and wished she included more blues rock songs in her set list.[14] Jean-Pierre Vanderlindenof Branchés Culture described Tyler's concert as a "great moment of blues rock" with "hair-raising performances".[15]
Set list
The following set list is from the concert on 5 January 2024 in Brussels.[15] It is not intended to represent all shows of the tour.
^The show on 5 January 2024 in Brussels was originally scheduled for 25 November 2023, but was postponed due to a knee injury Tyler sustained between the first and second leg of the tour.[16]
^The show on 6 January 2024 in Würzburg was originally scheduled for 26 November 2023, but was postponed due to a knee injury Tyler sustained between the first and second leg of the tour.[16]
