Official Topic - Press & Media Reviews of Taking Chances

[stevo]

I thought it'd be good to open a thread for peeps to put any media and press reviews they find relating to the album- instead of them being spread amongst a couple of the other mammoth ones open. Is that ok mods??? Reviews should start trickling out over the next couple of days.

[mebe]

Here is one review from BBC UK

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/r9rg/

[Ronny83]

Here is one review from BBC UK

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/r9rg/

Very accurate review. Kudos to BBC. :sofunny:

[bluestar]

Nice review!

[Andrei Dion]

Liked the review.

 

it's gonna be good topic

[Javier_Natalio]

That BBC review mentioned Timbaland and R.Kelly... not cool.

[katie555]

'Taking Chances doesn’t quite do what the title suggests, but it does push Celine Dion to the edge of her comfort zone and show an artist who not only wants to remain relevant but is prepared to work hard to stay that way.'

 

Overall its very good review, Celine rocks!!!

[smw]

do we actually know what ever happened to R. Kelly and Timbaland??

[cannonball]

do we actually know what ever happened to R. Kelly and Timbaland??

 

I thought the Timbaland thing was never really confirmed. I thought there was an article where he said he wanted to work with her, but nothing definate saying he was.

[Shaun]

Good review from the BBC apart from a few key facts being wrong.

[Shaun]

Here's a new review of the single from UK website Digital Spy

 

As anyone who caught her recent mentoring spot on The X Factor will know, Celine Dion has spent a bit too long in Vegas. After being introduced as the world's best-selling female artist – a title Madge, Mazza and Babs would be well within their rights to query – she proceeded to tell every single contestant that they had a "beautiful gift" while smiling manically and swishing around her Lassie-style barnet as though she'd just landed a L'Oreal ad. At times, it almost felt like we were watching American Idol.

 

Still, with her half-decade Caesars Palace residence drawing to a close next month, the whippet-thin trilling machine has sensibly returned to the recording studio. 'Taking Chances' begins in surprisingly restrained fashion, with Dion crooning softly over a near-acoustic musical backdrop, but the soft rock bombast kicks in soon enough. The guitars surge tastefully; the drums thump like they belong on a Phil Collins solo record and Dion plays the banshee to perfection. This is going to be absolutely massive in Germany.

 

3/5

[mebe]

Another review of the album:

 

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1225

 

 

Celine Dion

Taking Chances

by Sal Cinquemani

Posted: November 6, 2007

 

celine Dion's Taking Chances is the album Clive Davis probably wishes Kelly Clarkson had made. Dion hooks up with a small legion of the "best" songwriters and producers recoupable record label money can buy for her first English-language album since 2004's baby-themed opus Miracle. The laborious 16-track record purportedly finds the queen of adult contemporary-turned-Vegas attraction taking chances by modernizing her treacly power ballad sound with lots of overdubbed guitars and of-the-moment collaborators: There's a welcome grittiness to her vocals on the bluesy "That's Just the Woman in Me"; the team behind Rihanna's "Umbrella" provide Dion with an understated ballad in closing song "Skies of L.A."; and former Evanescence members and Clarkson cohorts Ben Moody and David Hodges serve up a subtle gothic treatment on "This Time" that works well for the singer—not surprising for a woman who once did an effective impersonation of Meat Loaf. But the soft-metal "Can't Fight the Feeling" is a typically misguided venture for Dion, and Linda Perry and Ne-Yo don't offer anything of worth on "My Love" and "I Got Nothin' Left," respectively. And it's not just her music that's gotten a makeover: Look at the album's frightening cover photo (chiseled face, angular posture, and a giant Tyra Banks hairpiece sitting atop a head half the size) and compare it with the softer cover art of A New Day Has Come. It's not that Dion hasn't ever vied for relevance before (there are always a few embarrassing attempts at sounding hip on each album, and always with varying degrees of success)—it's just usually not so calculated.

[Dechen]

^OMG, how can that person not like 'My Love'? it's THE most emotional song from the album to me...

[cloudboy1984]

The review seems fair. That album cover is horrible and seems try-too-hard as well. The content of the album however is better. But as the review says basically, a lot of the songs on the album, though well produced and well sung by Celine, are just rather 'forgettable'. There's no magic about them. A few tracks on the album stand out such as Eyes On Me and Surprise Surprise. I do think it's a good album, but it's a far cry from "A New Day Has Come" for example and even further away from "Falling Into You" or "Let's Talk About Love". This english album, "Taking Chances", is probably the closest album that feels like her French work.

 

But anyway, she seems to be getting fair reviews overall, which is good. And from what I've read on other forums, people are liking the album. The word of mouth is going to work I think.

[stevo]

"whippet-thin trilling machine" OH MY GOD!! That's perfect!!

[bronzey]

From Amazon.com

 

Taking Chances is not without its daring moments--we'll get to those--but the first order of business in any review of this much-hyped record, on which Celine Dion is said to have slunk away from her songbird instincts in favor of embracing her inner rock & roll wild child, should be fan reassurance. Therefore: fear not. Taking Chances has its share of poignant, pretty ballads (both "A Song for You" and "Right Next to the Right One" are goosebump-raisers) and love songs (the hopeful, heartfelt title track, which unfolds into an anthemic power ballad midway through, may be the best one). As far as standard Celine fare goes, in fact, Chances is likely her strongest non-French outing since 2002's A New Day Has Come; nobody unfolds a lyric with more care or nuance. And, as the subtle "My Love" deftly proves, any early-career instincts to over-sing have gone poof along with her '90s-era, sweet-natured-kook persona. Because it's a generous 16 songs long, it may even be possible to ignore the non-Celine-like moments on Taking Chances and just enjoy the more fan-faithful tracks. But that wouldn't be any fun, would it? There are songs here--"Can't Fight the Feelin'," "Fade Away," "That's Just the Woman In Me"--that will astound diehards and make fans of those who've dissed her for more than a decade. If you didn't think the diva behind Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" had it in her to screech from the bottom of her soul, a la Janis Joplin, flip to track 15 and guess again. --Tammy La Gorce

 

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Chances/dp/B0...6805&sr=1-2

[lyn]

YAY! I like that review. Thanks for posting!

[bilinkew]

Found this review via Google News . . . it's a fantastic review P x

 

GayWired.com Article

 

Celine Dion 'Taking Chances'

Article Date: 11/08/2007

 

By Ross von Metzke

 

Celine Dion: Taking Chances

 

Gone are the power ballads that made her famous—from “The Power of Love” to her Oscar-winning Titanic theme, Celine Dion became a household name by singing the songs we cry to while driving home alone at two in the morning when the adult contemporary station seems to be all we can find on the radio. But schmaltzy lyrics and sweeping scores aside, what made Celine Dion famous is her voice, and that voice has never sounded so strong and assured.

 

On her first studio release in four years, Dion is finally Taking Chances—it’s the title of the album, the lead single and the mantra with which she approached the recording process.

 

Dion is in uncharted waters here, one minute channeling Shakira on “Eyes on Me”, then tackling Heart’s “Alone” for her obligatory cover and, perhaps most impressive, going where no music critic that I know could have possibly anticipated—an authentic, dare I say career reinvigorating performance out of the Janis Joplin school of rock with “That’s Just the Woman in Me”. When Dion lets rip on notes Whitney hasn’t had in a decade, I challenge you not to feel chills down your spine.

 

The album is decidedly rock, with contributions from Linda Perry, Evanescence drummer Ben Moody and the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, among others. And Dion, the chest-thumping chanteuse too often dismissed as a schmaltzy pop singer who relies on her vocal theatrics to sell a song, is more than up to the challenge.

 

On the title track, Dion instantly reinvents herself as a more mature Kelly Clarkson… though I fully support Clarkson’s need to soul search as an artists, when critics say she should have listened to the record label on at least a few tracks, this is probably what they meant.

 

Later, on “New Dawn”—which begins as a church dirge and ends as a powerful anthem of hope—Dion manages to overcome something she’s oft been criticized for. It’s a vocal performance of the highest order… an acting tour de force in which you can feel every emotion pouring from her voice.

 

And near the album’s finale, on the upbeat, put the top down and drive anthem “Just Fade Away”, Dion delivers one of the finest vocal performances of her career—it’s a minor miracle that while Toni, Mariah, Whitney and Gloria struggle to sing their hits of yesteryear with the same fervor that made them famous, Dion just gets better with age. Her voice is crisp with some wisdom around the edges. She can sing lower, higher and more powerfully than ever before (simultaneously, no less).

 

This is a master class in music—one Celine seems ready, willing and able to instruct.

[stevo]

Oh my God that just made me cry!! It's all so true. Celine is the best

[bluestar]

I love this article!!!

[Frida]

what a review!

[tcherno]

i love the last article. it is very good

[Cambroneroj]

"Her voice is crisp with some wisdom around the edges. She can sing lower, higher and more powerfully than ever before "

 

Well said, im in love with that article!!!

[Shaun]

Yeah, loving that Google review.

[speedy]

What a good review OMFG!!!!!!!!! This is what we were waiting to read (hear from somenone)!!!!

 

And says the true

 

 

Makes me and feel soo good

[Davey84]

This is a master class in music—one Celine seems ready, willing and able to instruct.

 

 

[Andrei Dion]

OMG. Amazinf review. i'm shocked ahhaha Celine rocksss!

[zanif]

i'm reading each of the reviews posted here and all of them are just thumbs up. yeay. they should just stop with the kelly clarkson comparison though.

[mike_z]

YOU SEE?

 

THE WOMAN IN ME is THE song in the album!

 

the one song might change every critic´s mind!!

[Loup_garou]

When Dion lets rip on notes Whitney hasn’t had in a decade, I challenge you not to feel chills down your spine.

 

 

 

That's what this album si about...channeling emotions that get right thru your spine........this is THE album