All The Way: A Decade Of Song - Celine Dion
Celine goes All The Way... well kinda - All The Way: A Decade Of Song - Celine Dion Music Album

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Celine goes All The Way... well kinda
All The Way: A Decade Of Song - Celine Dion

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Member Name: bilbob20

Product:

All The Way: A Decade Of Song - Celine Dion

Date: 18/03/08

Rating:

Advantages: Good collection of love songs

Disadvantages: Lots of songs missing

There's a real stigma attached to liking Celine Dion these days. Its sort of like admitting that you like Barry Manilow, or Bee Gee's, or worse still - Mariah Carey. Nobody seems to care that she is notoriously good in concert, has a superb and eclectic back catalogue which has covered rock, dance, blues, soul, and the much maligned power ballad. Its also dismissed all too easily that she has achieved phenomenal sales both in the singles chart and the worldwide album charts.

This collection is not so much a Greatest hits collection as it is a brief overview of her best moments combined with a collection of new tracks that didn't quite make the previous album.

Power Of Love
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Originally recorded by Jennifer Rush back in the mid 80s, Celine's version is a soaring if somewhat faithful rendition. Its huge buildup results in a gut wrenching chorus that has Celine belting out the lyrics about what a woman will do for her guy when she's in love.

Beauty And The Beast
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Celine's 1992 duet with Peabo Bryson was one of her earliest UK hits, and was taken from the film of the same name from that time. Its a tender duet which mulls over Celine's favourite subject - love.

Think Twice
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I can recall this record taking eons to get to number 1, and when it eventually did, I was ready to strangle Celine. It remains one of her biggest and most loved hits, and talks about a relationship that is nearing its end and a woman begging her man to rethink his decision before he says it out.

Because You Loved Me
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Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer made out to this song. At least on screen. In the film Up Close And Personal. Its a somewhat turged four minutes as the song never really reaches its promised heights. But in its place on this album, its deserving.

Its All Coming Back To Me
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One of the finest tracks Celine has recorded, this edited version was produced by Meatloaf's main man Jim Steinman. And its telling, as the song speeds up and slows down with Celine battling gamely to keep up at times. But its a terrific song that evokes images of love lost in some far away gothic land.

Immortality
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Funnily enough, as I mentioned them early, Bee Gee's are on hand for production and vocal duties on this gorgeous track. It barely goes anywhere, but its excellent in its simplicity, and the harmonies are everybit as good as you would expect them to be on a Bee Gee's number. Still, this show belongs to Celine as her voice has never been in more controlled form.

To Love You More
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International hit To Love You More is a strange song that hasn't dated very well. Complete with its orchestral arrangement, it has Celine catawalling all over creation, but it doesn't really achieve anything other than giving Celine the opportunity to exercise her lungs. There are more apt tracks from her career that could have found themselves here in its place.

My Heart Will Go On
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What kind of Celine collection would it be without the song that launched a thousand ships, and sank just one. My Heart Will Go On really has gone on and on and on.... You get the picture. Anyway, its Celine once again on form, and she has rarely looked better than she did in the video for this song. The finale of the song has Celine once again showing what a powerful vocalist she is.

I'm Your Angel
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R Kelly joins Celine for an outing here on this boring low key track. There's nothing really more to say about it, except that its the weakest track on the album, and Celine's worst duet.

Thats The Way It Is
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Pop is the order of the day for this summery upbeat number, as Celine empathises with a loved one. Celine's singles rarely venture far from the typical ballad, but occasionally she comes up trumps with something that is good enough to give the pop brigade a run for their money. And the fact that she's a better vocalist than most of them cant harm either.

The six remaining tracks are new songs that haven't seen releases on previous albums are; If Walls Could Talk, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, All The Way, Then You Look At Me, I Want You To Need Me, and Live, one of which is a duet with the excellent late Frank Sinatra. Celine's version of The First Time is a terrific version of the track that actually saw her score another hit in the UK singles chart.

Celine's voice often verges on hystrionics, but sometimes a song requires her to tone it down, and control herself. Immortality is one of the best examples of Celine Dion showing an unusual tenderness. The best of her vocal often shows up when she is singing in her native tongue - French, but just now and then an English recording will allow her to do the same.

If there is a complaint about this collection, its that its shamefully incomplete. I can agree with leaving off minor hits from a Best Of Collection if there is such a large list of songs for the final cut. However, with only 9 songs at the time of release being singles, there is really no excuse. There are huge hits missing such as The Reason, Only One Road, All By Myself to name just a few. A Greatest Hits therefore is long overdue. However, as a collection for fans who might have most of the material, its nice that she aired 7 new tracks on the album.

All in all, this is a decent collection of songs from one of Canada's biggest exports.

Summary: Not really a Greatest hits, more of an overview