CELINE DION - CELINE DION

I know what you're thinking...  Oh I totally know.  You're asking yourself...  "Why????"  And the truth is very simple.

I feel like a preacher beating the same topic into the ground for the billionth time.  I don't like singers.  As a general rule, I don't throw my hat into the ring with artists who identify themselves strictly as a vocalist.  I know that's an unpopular position to take considering how famous these people get in the music industry.  But I don't see the point.  It makes no sense to me.

Celine Dion is a technically proficient vocalist.  She has a powerful voice and an awesome range.  But I can't get excited about her.  She has an almost country twang I'm not partial to and frankly, I think her choice of music is lacking.

This will be one disc I won't bother breaking down because the majority of the music and arrangements are so generic they barely register on my radar.  There's almost nothing on this disc for me to get excited about.  Once in awhile there's an interesting musical moment, but they're overshadowed by cliche lyrics and run of the mill vocal arrangements.  Not even a voice as powerful as Dion's can make the mundane sound extraordinary.

Not even the inclusion of the Disney hit, 'Beauty And The Beast' can rescue this disc from obscurity.  The one redeeming quality of this album is the 2nd to the last song.  'With This Tear' was written by Prince although it lacks his magical touch.  It's an exceptional tune and is the one track on the album with any emotional strength.  The down side is the arrangement.  Dion's session musicians play the instruments and her producers are responsible for the arrangement.  Still, even when you have the power to kill songs, it takes a special sort of screw up to ruin a Prince track.  And enough of Prince's input survives to see this song as the shining star of a lackluster recording.

Sadly, this is the only place you can find this song making the album a must have for Prince collectors.  There's no way around this one unless you're comfortable buying your music digitally and not owning a physical copy.

Dion gives it her best shot, but one thing this album does demonstrate is her desperate need for a decent producer and better writers.  If she did an entire album with Prince input, she'd be challenged as a singer and also come out with some interesting songs.  As of today, she's a singer living on the strength of a few hit songs.  Most of which are tied to major motion pictures.  That's not the resume of an artist who is looking to leave a legacy behind or create music that will really last a lifetime.

My final words:  SKIP IT... DOWNLOAD INDIVIDUAL TRACKS...  SPARE YOURSELF THE WASTED TIME.

CELINE DION - CELINE DION
01. Introduction
02. Love Can Move Mountains
03. Show Some Emotion
04. If You Asked Me To
05. If You Could See Me Now
06. Halfway To Heaven
07. Did You Give Enough Love
08. If I Were You
09. Beauty And The Beast
10. I Love You, Goodbye
11. Little Bit Of Love
12. Water From The Moon
13. With This Tear
14. Nothing Broken But My Heart