Let's Talk About Love

Celine Dion

550 Music / Epic Records, 1997

http://www.celinedion.com

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/26/1997

** You are now logged on. Enjoy.

AlwaysJB - /join #divas_galore

#divas_galore:

@divabot

-AlwaysJB

-RSTLNE

divabot - o+ AlwaysJB

RSTLNE - Howdy.

AlwaysJB - Hi. Cold night.

RSTLNE - It's getting warmer here in Australia.

AlwaysJB - Oh.

RSTLNE - So let's get to it. The Divabot set the topic to Let's Talk About Love.

AlwaysJB - With an album title like that, you know what's coming.

RSTLNE - (nods) Celine Dion will never change.

AlwaysJB - Well, Celine Dion and D'eux were quite excellent concept albums.

RSTLNE - She only used like three producers then. This new one has a billion, give or take ten million. It really takes away coherence, she sounds WAY oversung and overproduced. I hate that.

Divabot sings: "There's no me, without you, there's no meaning to life, without you"

AlwaysJB - So what else is wrong here?

RSTLNE - Well, there's nothing >wrong< with Sea-Lion. It's just that, she's getting boring and predictable.

AlwaysJB - The one with Barbra Streisand in it is nice. I like the way Babs enters, lush, just like marmalade. Celine's voice ... well, how can I put this ...

RSTLNE - All those years of singing the wrong way is finally starting to show in her voice. Did you HEAR those straining notes in "The Reason"? I shiver to think of what it will sound like in the next album. I'm kinda surprised it happened to her before it happened to Whitney Houston. Good singing. You ain't born with it, you're trained into it. They never learn.

AlwaysJB - But I really like some of the songs. "Us" is a good rock ballad, almost as good as "The Reason". "Treat Her Like A Lady" is much funkier than her last effort at reggae "Make You Happy", I love that rap-chorus she's doing. One thing about Sea-Lion, she isn't afraid of doing all sorts of styles.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

RSTLNE - Did you know? She's in the writer's credits.

AlwaysJB - NOO!!! Celine Dion WROTE something???

RSTLNE - With two other people, but it's a start. Scandalous in a deliciously promising sort of way! But there's no way to know how influencial she was.

AlwaysJB - There's hope for her yet.

RSTLNE - Gawds, "I Hate You Then I Love You" is coming on.

AlwaysJB - Why? It's a nice collaboration. It sounds very moonlight-and-champagne-ish. Pavarotti did always make the best duets.

RSTLNE - Their voices DON'T MESH!!! It's like that Deloris O'Riordan "Ave Maria" mess he did for the Children of Bosnia concert. The lyrics are really stupid, too.

AlwaysJB - (gently) RSTLNE ... you don't listen to fluff for the lyrics. "How Do I Live", you know?

RSTLNE - BRB, my husband is looking for his keys again.

AlwaysJB - 'Kay.

Divabot sings: "You don't need diamond rings or eighteen carat gold, fancy cars that go very fast you know they never last no no"

AlwaysJB - I LOVE that song ...

RSTLNE - Hey, I'm back, they were in the freezer. What song?

AlwaysJB - "Express Yourself" by Madonna. Anyway, you were saying?

RSTLNE - Fluffy lyrics. Talk about "Let's Talk About Love".

AlwaysJB - It's very "Heal the World"-ish. Not better, not worse. That song doesn't do a lot for me. I've never liked those sort of songs, they sound so FAKED!!!

RSTLNE - The album doesn't do a lot for me.

AlwaysJB - There has to be SOMETHING you like in the album.

RSTLNE - "Immortality" is an excellent collaboration. I never liked the Bee Gees by themselves but I like it when they collaborate with someone else.

AlwaysJB - Their backing vocals are terrific. All that harmony. This time I wasn't turned off by that falsetto.

RSTLNE - "My Heart Will Go On" is OK, it's one of her better ballads ... which is saying a lot.

AlwaysJB - a LOT.

RSTLNE - "Why Oh Why", "Be The Man", "Where Is The Love" are all Vanessa Williams-style fillers. I can't quite believe her producers don't get how utterly BORING she sounds.

AlwaysJB - "Love is On the Way" is right out of Celine Dion and that's why I like it. It doesn't compare to "Nothing Broken But My Heart" or anything, but still I like that chorus, She should use more choruses, she knows how to sing with them.

RSTLNE - Did we cover it pretty much? "Amar Haciendo El Amor". Of all the great Spanish or Tejano songs out there, why did she pick THAT?

AlwaysJB - I agree. Well, maybe the lyrics are good but then again; not all listeners know Spanish. It's very authentic but it doesn't have that Sea-Lion Touch.

RSTLNE - You know, I used to like Celine Dion a lot. But as I grew up, she didn't grow up with me.

AlwaysJB - Carbon-copy albums. I wonder what the critics will say?

RSTLNE - They'll have a field day. But my opinion with Dion is that I'd much rather buy her singles than her albums. Now excuse me while I help my honey with his jumper cables.

AlwaysJB - Something's burning in the oven.

RSTLNE - Celine Dion's career?

AlwaysJB - Don't start flattering her. :-)

RSTLNE - :-)

AlwaysJB - /quit

Rating: C+

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


Comments

 








© 1997 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of 550 Music / Epic Records, and is used for informational purposes only.