First of all let me finish PEEING MY PANTS!
This experience was freaking amazing! I really tried to remember everything I could but it was hard hearing 14 songs in a row and trying to remember details about each one...Here we go...
I was really surprised at the diversity of people there. Lots of old and lots of young. I do have to say the crowd was a huge freaking dud though! Jeez, bunch of old fogies. I think most of them were Caesar's and Harrah's employees that acted like the had to be there or something. No excitement at all. And it started like 25 minutes late.
Anyway, let me say that Rene himself hosted the event! When they announced him it was like nobody special at all, the crowd gave him a pathetic reception. I was super excited to see him but nobody else really was! I was actually a bit offended at the lukewarm response. As I said the crowd was a dud. They had us sit in the orchestra level seating and almost filled up the whole section save for a few back rows. It's kinda funny because the sat the ones who got there early in the back area, and as more people came the late ones got to sit in front of us. The stage was the usual setup. Patrick Angelil was there, as well as Celine's brother Michel, who has cut off his ponytail! I should mention, that once you got inside the Coliseum they gave out free copies of Celine's book. I wasn't impressed because I already have like 3 copies of it so I passed, heh. I'll explain more later about that.
Anyway, at our seats were survey cards and pens with Celine's logo on them. Inside the card was a list of song titles, with numbers from 1-10 that we were going to circle whichever score we felt about each song. 10 being the best, and 1 being worst.
It had a welcome letter on the other side explaining that she was coming out with a new album in November and that they wanted us to preview the songs as honestly as possible so that we can help them determine which singles get released!
Rene came out after it started and talked for about 10 minutes about how this was something they'd never done before and that the public was responsible for everything so they wanted to get our most honest opinions about each song, and Celine was very proud of the album and liked it very much. He also made reference to our forum I think, because he said there was a rumor on the internet that someone was going to pretend they had a pacemaker and were going to try to sneak in a tape recorder, so he hoped nobody had done that, hehe. Was that someone's idea here? Anyway, he was very nice and announced the process that they were going to play each song once, then have a 15 minute break, then play each song again but only 1 minute clips of each and he didn't want us filling out our cards until the very end. So with that, the songs started...
I wrote down each song and made little notes about each one (IMG:
http://www.celinedionforum.com/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I only did it after the 1 minute clips though because I didn't want to get caught taking notes and get thrown out the first plays, hehe.
Here's the song list:
Taking Chances: this song is abso-freakin-lutely fantastic! Has a great acoustic intro, fantastic vocals by Celine and them speeds up a bit with great vocals towards the end. Very radio friendly and a really great song, I think everyone will love it! Everyone was talking about it, I think it was the favorite.
Alone: YES THE HEART COVER. I have to be honest I love this freaking song, so I was super freakin excited to see the title and hoped it would be the same song. When the intro started, I sure knew. I have to say it's pretty much a copycat of the original, vocal wise. Celine sung it the same as Ann Wilson did, including the adlibs and everything. Celine sounded good, but I think it was a bit stale. The middle adlib scream thing wasn't as good, but the ending was good! A bit mechanical and I like the original better I think. Still a good one!
Shadow of Love: It has a very unique arrangement! Definitely has a rocky feel to it; uptempo with lots of background vocals I think. Also a harder sounding chorus, it was different but really good!
A Song for You: Definitely major piano ballad. She sounds very emotional singing it and it honestly is pretty boring. She also sounds a bit nasal for my liking. Not my favorite to be honest, but I'd have to hear it a few times.
This Time: Fantastic arrangement!! Above average as far as songs go. Has a bit of a dark sound to it. Major guitars in the chorus and she sounds kinda angry singing it but it's great!
Surprise, Surprise: Great guitar! Sounded a bit cheesy at first, and she sings prett low during the first part, but it ends great and the chorus is great! I liked this one a lot!
Can't Fight the Feeling: Very low singing and very different! She sings with some major attitude, and it is pure ROCK. Seriously it's not like any other song she's done, it's very hard for her. I liked it after the second listen, it's really different!
Let me Be Your Soldier: Lyrics are cheesy if you ask me. Has a dark sound and army drums in the background the whole time. Rat-tat-tat kinda sound, hard to explain. Wasn't my favorite.
Eyes On Me: Crazy india guitar or something and this song has a MAJOR BEAT! Unlike any beat you've ever heard and this song kicks some serious butt! Everyone's gonna go crazy for this one. If Timbaland did produce anything on the album, it's this song. This song seriously rocks! She sings so awesome.
My Love: Very average and pretty much goes nowhere. some good piano arrangment though.
World to Believe In: AMAZING ballad. Fantastic lyrics and amazing vocals from Celine. This will be a popular one, it's gorgeous!
Right Next to the Right One: This song sounds weird as hell honestly. It has some sort of like ukelele as the main instrument or banjo or something. I didn't like very much, but it's very unique! I don't like the lyrics.
Just Fade Away: At first it sounds like The Show Must Go On with some really heavy violin playing! Sounds very dark and has a heavy chorus, but sounds great! I loved it!
That's Just the Woman in Me: THIS IS THE SONG YOU WILL WAIT FOR. This is the most blues song she's ever done, and has a classic blues arrangement. Her voice is so bluesy and scratchy at times I thought it would give out! It's astounding the way she sings it and she's never sounded like this before EVER. Fans will go crazy for this one I think! It's just freaking incredible. Possibly the best song on the album with a great high wail at the end.
Overall the album will be incredible, and it definitely has a rock theme! It's majorly guitar driven! It's very different from anything she's done if you ask me.
I have to add that during the break Rene started signing autographs! Haha I went down to redeem my book afterall so he could sign it and ended up getting his and Michel's autograph! It was crazy standing right next to him! He's about as tall as I am and he was looking very svelt! He has lost a lot of weight and looked awesome. I told him the album is going to be great and fans will love it and to tell Celine I love her ver much. I also told Michel he was so lucky to have Celine as a sister, heh.
Anyway, my freakin arm is killing me from typing here, hehe. I couldn't get it out fast enough. They did hand out vouchers at the end after you turned in your survey to redeem for a free copy of the CD when it comes out in November, but you can only redeem it if you're in Vegas at the boutique.
Anyway, I have work in 5.5 hours and I am dead tired, so I'll have to answer questions tomorrow morning. I had a blast and Thanks again to Koolan for making it possible for me to go! Eternally grateful!! I can't wait for the album to come out!!
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This post has been edited by Bellamy: Aug 21 2007, 03:03 AM