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If you flap your arms fast enough while listening to this you might fly away.
I mean, she's a Superduperstar and all, but she's still kind of gangly and even a little shy. Mon dieu. Basically, people know where they stand when it comes to Celine Dion's musique. But it's still just too, too much. Having said all that, I gotta admit I kinda like Ce-LYNN, as she's been known to refer to herself when she lapses into her native Quebecois. Before makeup, she looks like someone I might have gone to high school with. I mean if New Yorkers have something of an innate spiritual kinship with Streisand, those of us who stem from more northerly environs may find ourselves relating a bit to Celine, perhaps despite ourselves.
You start using words like "overkill," "hackneyed," "schlock" or, uh, "carp" around them, and you better reach for your track shoes and get out of Dodge Cite, Quebec. You really don't want to mess with Celine Dion fans. "Power of the Dream" was penned, of course, as an anthem for the '96 Olympics, and those are never supposed to be subtle. Covering the Roy Orbison/Cyndi Lauper "I Drove All Night" or Ann Wilson's "Alone" is close to pushing the envelope for Celine. The opener is more indicative of what some of us find so problematic about Dion. You've got the gospel choir, the brass, the whole schmier. I don't mean the music so much, although I can put up with a song or two just fine (though much more than that, and it gets waaay too grating). In fact, since I come from a part of New England with a large French Canadian population (and am about 1/4 "franco" myself), I kind of look on her, figuratively, as something of a hometown girl who made good.
But she just seems kinda likeable. And really, it's a pointless argument. It's probably no surprise that Dion's albums have such earnest prosaic titles: FALLING INTO YOU; LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE; THESE ARE SPECIAL TIMES; THE COLOUR OF MY LOVE. Well, except that the first few bars echo the SPAMALOT "tour de force" "The Song That Goes Like This" almost note for note. Not a drop of irony or wit to be found.
Her English is still not perfect (though it's pretty good) so her interviews have a certain non-native speaker charm (also known as gaffes). Some tunes I like better than others, of course. The Swedish produced "That's The Way It Is" has a certain bounce that evokes ABBA (again in a good way) and has fewer vocal histrionics than some of the other tunes included here. They brook absolutely no criticism of their diva. All I'm sayin', folks, is that it provided a rare moment of unintentional humor on a Celine Dion record.
Now, I'm guessing that "Dream" was penned first, so I'm not accusing anyone of plagiarism. She can belt (although am I the only one who finds some of those high notes a bit too pinched). Like her contemporary Mariah Carey, and the many younger singers who have been influenced by the Sturm und Drang breastbeating (only some of whom have the chops), her appeal will be mainly among those seeking vocal acrobatics and emotionalism with next to no leavening touch. But AC/DC.
Obviously, the fans find it simply divine--emotionally authentic, and overpowering (in a good way)--and the rest of us who find it overdone, overwrought, overproduced and, despite the megasales, stylistically over the hill. I prefer this collection to some of the rockier stuff. But the music is not my thing. That's the closer.
Having said all that, the technical skill is often very impressive (if sometimes showy, and ballad heavy collections like this one may show off her strengths better than the more recent attempts to get a little edgier.
Yes there are a few repeats but I didnt mind so much because ther other newer songs are all very pretty. I pretty much own ever Celine album so I had to add this one, and I'm glad I did.
A beautiful collection for those who love her voice. With all the different language songs in the CD you'll be amazed.
Celine Dion is one of those great voices, I love the lyrics of her songs. Definetely she has as good a voice as Barbra Streisand.
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