Official Topic - Press & Media Reviews of Taking Chances

[Shaun]

Short review from Channel4.co.uk

 

Celine Dion 'Taking Chances' (Sony BMG)

Terrifyingly zombie-esque sleeve photo aside, this is a brave attempt by Celine to drag her music into the 21st Century with subtle arrangements and a smattering of Linda Perry songs, but she still can't resist attempting to shatter the windows of passing ships, whenever the vocal opportunity arises.

 

6/10

 

http://www.channel4.com/music/albums/index.html

 

I love how they give it 6/10 without actually commenting on any of the songs at all. LOL

[peo]

Sorry if it's a repeated topic.

 

 

Though she's undeniably warm and gregarious, you can hear a bit of irritation creep into Celine Dion's voice when her years away from the pop music world is referred to as "time off." "I don't think it was a break," she says politely but firmly. "I worked for five years." Indeed, Dion's " A New Day " concert extravaganza on the Las Vegas strip may have been more demanding than pop life. The French-Canadian chanteuse performed several days a week in the ambitious, Franco Dragone-directed show, which was heavy on dancing, theatrics and, of course, Dion's booming voice. The career of Celine Dion the Entertainer was vibrant and thriving.

 

But, for all practical purposes, the career of Celine Dion the Pop Diva was all but dormant where it once had its biggest impact - the recording industry. While thousands packed Caesars' Palace to hear her sing every night, Dion - who has sold 50 million albums in the United States alone since her 1990 debut, and had one of the biggest songs in pop history with "My Heart Will Go On" - disappeared from the charts. Though she released a French-language album and a CD to accompany an Anne Geddes photo book titled " Miracle ," Dion decided not to put out a pop disc during her Las Vegas tenure. Her last proper studio album release was 2003's double-platinum " One Heart ," released just as the show began. So, as " A New Day " winds down this year and she releases her comeback record, " Taking Chances ," this week, Dion finds herself in many ways starting over, trying to reclaim her place after being a pop queen in exile.

 

 

"She's more nervous than she was before. The fact that she hasn't been in the pop arena for five years, she's pretty nervous about it - and me too by the way," says her husband and manager, Rene Angelil. "We don't know if people will accept her, if the fans are still there. We know that she has fans . . . (but) a lot of things have changed in the music business in the last five years." Something else has changed as well: Dion's sound. The woman known (and often parodied) for her bombastic love ballads now has a harder edge to her music. Some of the songs are decidedly uptempo and would fit in easily on a Kelly Clarkson CD, with their emphasis on heavy guitars. And, on the album's most intriguing track, " That's Just The Woman in Me ," Dion sounds like she's singing in some nefarious dive bar. Growling her way through the blues belter, she blows away her reputation for sometimes saccharine material.

 

 

Even the album's first single, the ballad " Taking Chances ," seems more mainstream pop than her usual adult contemporary vibe - like a calculated attempt to capture new listeners. But Dion, 39, says she wasn't intentionally trying to change her sound. "I picked those (songs) without knowing that it was very different, to be honest with you," she said via phone after taping an episode of " The Oprah Winfrey Show ," part of a high-profile media blitz planned for the week of the CD's release. "When I went in the studio and I sang them I just enjoyed myself so much. And now I listen to it and I notice it's definitely edgier but this is where I am right now," she adds. "I'm not a new Celine but it's just that I've evolved and this is where I am in my life and my career right now . . . the feeling that I feel. I'm definitely more mature and more grounded."

 

 

John Shanks, who produced several songs on " Taking Chances ," including the title cut, says her new sound shows "she's viable and that she is competitive." "It shows that there are many sides to her and it's just how she's been showcased in the past . . . I don't think she's chasing anything at all, she's not chasing a sound. I think it's a very natural growth." But, after being gone from the pop scene for so long, even a new sound may not be enough to connect with listeners.

 

 

So far, the acoustic-leaning single " Taking Chances " hasn't registered on the pop charts, although it's at No. 11 on the adult contemporary charts. One station that is taking a chance on " Taking Chances " is New York's top 40 radio station Z100. Sharon Datsur, the program director, says the typical response from listeners is "shock that it's Celine Dion, first of all, and then they say, 'Wow, I love the song.' " Though the first single has been slow to catch on at other radio stations, Datsur said the album, which includes production by R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, rocker Ben Moody and Linda Perry, is the smart way to reintroduce Dion and create a different identity with the audience.

 

 

"I've listened to the whole album and they did this really smartly. They are working with some of the top producers that have produced some of the biggest pop hits in the last five, 10 years," she says. "For so many years, a lot of people kind of associated her with adult contemporary - an older audience." While Dion admits to being "more nervous" about her new album than past one, she's also quick to assert that she's not obsessed with trying to recapture the multi-platinum status of her glory years. Part of the reason for that is also the reason she planted herself in Las Vegas for five years: her six-year-old son, Rene-Charles.

 

 

"I do worry, but for the important things," she says forcefully before a recent performance at Caesars Palace. "My priorities changed since I became a mommy. I love to sing, I love to perform - (but) it is not my life." To that end, Dion and Angelil are already looking past the next year, during which she plans a major world tour, and planning to add to their family. "This is our big project," Angelil says. In fact, Dion, who is quick to point out that she has been working pretty much straight for the past 25 years, is looking forward to her next hiatus from the pop arena - when she will truly have a real break. "I miss to be home, we're building a house right now," she says wistfully. "I'm about to meet my life soon, you know, so that's what I miss the most."

[ByuSmurf]

USA TODAY 11 Nov 07

 

Celine Dion is 'Taking Chances' with her latest show stopper

 

By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY

 

HENDERSON, Nev. — Celine Dion lowers her lean frame into an overstuffed hotel suite couch and describes her dream.

"I had a vision. I was in the front row at the Academy Awards with my mother, husband and son, and I won an Oscar for my role as Maria Callas," says Dion, 39, conjuring up the ill-fated Greek opera diva whose story haunts the Canadian siren.

 

"First, I speak English to thank the academy. Then I speak grec, Greek. Then some French to thank the people at home." She pauses. All Dion's pauses are dramatic. Silence as punctuation mark, followed by declarative sentences in staccato bursts. "The faces of my mom, my husband, my son. Priceless. It is my best achievement as an artist."

 

The genesis of this disclosure could be the hour — creeping toward 1 a.m., after a full day of being photographed by the Japanese press — or perhaps the peach-colored Bellini bubbling away in a champagne flute that Dion holds like a rose.

 

As a new mother six years ago, she decided to settle in this Las Vegas suburb, where she could raise Rene-Charles while drawing Elvis-sized crowds to the Strip. And now, after she wraps her staggering 700-plus performance run at Caesars Palace next month, Dion plans to tour the globe for a year in support of her new album, out Tuesday, perfectly titled Taking Chances.

 

Among the 16 tracks are a handful of radical departures from her love-centric, power-ballad past, notably an eponymous title track that makes good use of the lower reaches of her vertiginous five-octave range. The song This Time finds the Vegas showstopper slipping into the skin of an abuse victim. She calls the tune her "Janis Joplin moment" and can't resist breaking into a verse.

 

"This time is the last time," she belts. Her eyes close. Out of nowhere, a guttural growl.

 

"Yeahaowwww!"

 

Eyes open. She leans forward.

 

"I knew that if I sang that song, I had to find that pain of living, that soul," she says. "I don't know where that sound came from. I abused myself vocally. I went for, well, death row. I was shocked I had it in me."

 

'Like I'm at Splash Mountain'

 

Dion says she has taken this new sonic turn because she has nothing left to prove.

 

"If no one is pushing my songs, that's fine," she says with a confidence befitting someone who has earned a reported $100 million from her Vegas run alone. "If my fans don't like what I'm doing, I'm sorry. But I'm enjoying my life. I feel like I'm at Splash Mountain."

 

But Dion isn't exactly an American Idol ingénue taking a flier on a new musical direction and hoping people pay attention. The promotional blitz for Taking Chances includes the usual raft of media as well as a chat with Oprah and — there's that acting bug biting again — an appearance Nov. 21 on the ABC soap All My Children, playing herself.

 

As for radio programmers and longtime fans taking flight, so far the opposite seems to be true.

 

"All this 'Hear her like you've never heard her before' stuff is getting Celine on the docket in places that wouldn't have considered her before, including some top 40 playlists," says Sean Ross, vice president of music and programming for Edison Media Research, which tracks radio trends. "She's keeping company with the likes of Fergie, Gwen Stefani and Maroon 5."

 

Ross says Dion's tactic has deep roots. "Veteran artists inevitably try to reinvent themselves, only to then later tell folks, 'Hey, it's now back to the me you always knew.' Just look at (Bruce) Springsteen's current tour, which is all about a return to past form," he says. "In Celine's case, she had to do something different because (My Heart Will Go On) was a decade ago."

 

For Taking Chances, Dion took few, calling in both longtime collaborators such as Aldo Nova and John Shanks, as well as more contemporary producing and writing talent including Ne-Yo, Ben Moody and Linda Perry.

 

"She's trying to stay relevant in today's market," says Tamara Conniff, group editorial director of Billboard magazine.

 

"To get a young audience, you need a fresh sound," she says. "But at the same time, the people who will be buying this album include those middle Americans who flew to Las Vegas in droves to see her. For them, she'll never be out of style. She's in that (Barbra) Streisand category, timeless. Some criticize Celine for playing Vegas, but it's helped her reach more fans."

 

But settling down in the desert did more than that. Dion waxes nostalgic — now that she, husband/manager Rene Angelil and their 6-year-old son are about to make their home on the road — about how living here allowed her to transform into just another working mother.

 

She has spent her days with Rene-Charles (who is home-schooled by a tutor), perhaps making one of her favored tomato sauces for a pasta dinner, or maybe running over to Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus with him in tow "for a crazy shopping spree."

 

And each day, Dion would disappear for four hours to work, belting out tunes in an over-the-top show that some reviewers dubbed Cirque de Celine.

 

"I think (Rene-Charles) saw that it was possible for me to be there for him and for me to be a performer," says Dion, brushing a strand of her leonine hair away from her heavily made-up eyes. "When we go out, it's always with bodyguards, chauffeur, an entourage. He knows Mommy is a public person, and he is willing to share me. But he knows my life is all about him."

 

Dion's son, in turn, gave his mother nothing less than perspective. "I thought singing was my life. It's not. It's a passion, a way of expression," she says. "OK, look, it's a dream career. But I'm talking as a mother. It is such a privilege to bring to life a miracle. I prefer this sort of success to the kind that leads to money in the bank or a gold record on the wall.

 

"That boy came, and I started to sing differently. I used to sing with my vocal cords. Now, I won't sing as perfectly, technically, but it will come from my guts, with all the mistakes. I've found that inside the imperfections, there is perfection."

 

Dion takes a sip of her Bellini. She looks down at the ground, then over at a closed door behind which is her husband, more than 25 years her senior. All this talk about her son triggers a keenly felt emotion.

 

"Sometimes I feel my son took my husband's place, you know what I mean?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "I've had the best time with my husband, and I'm sure we'll have the best time again. But now, every second we have, we give it to our boy. We feel good about it, but we miss each other. Our love is still there."

 

She says friends would often ask if Angelil's age gave her pause. "I'm thankful he's the man I'm with. His maturity has given me peace of mind. He'd been a father before and wasn't there for his children. I'm glad he could be there for our son. We'd love to have another."

 

Indeed, Dion says her plans include another round of in vitro fertilization — the way she conceived Rene-Charles — but only after the Taking Chances tour ends in 2009. "If I had a child now, I'd never want to go back (on the road) again."

 

Although Dion plans to keep her Las Vegas mansion ("Because all my son's memories were created here"), she and her husband will return to tony Jupiter, Fla., where they've bought property and plan to build a home.

 

The couple already have found a school for their son, a private institution that recently flew out a representative to ensure that whoever tutors Rene-Charles over the coming year will be doing so with the school's curriculum in mind.

 

As for what the future holds for Dion after the tour, it could include lazy days exploring her newfound interest in books ("Mostly, how do you say, romans," French for novels, "though I just read a few pages at a time to get my mind to slow down") or nights cozying up to her husband in front of the TV. ("We just loved The Sopranos, and I hope something else like that comes back.")

 

Dion has one demand of her future home: It must have a clothesline.

 

"I want to hang my own laundry. You do that with sheets, it's a dream," she says, eyes alight. "It brings back childhood memories of my mother doing this, but mostly it was freezing out and the sheets would be so cold."

 

In the kitchen, in the garden

 

She's on a home-and-hearth roll.

 

"I admire Martha Stewart so much," she says. "With her arts and crafts. Making cupcakes, and then she's got time to write the names of each guest on each one."

 

Big laugh. "That's got to be a dream, to have time to do that. To grow and cut your own flowers. To make your own coffee in the morning. Wow."

 

Celine Dion, domestic goddess?

 

Sure, that vision seems sweet. But it would be as if Elvis — the King to her Las Vegas Queen — had decided to cap his bright-light city triumph by returning to Graceland and retiring to his La-Z-Boy. Besides, Dion can't disappear so long as the ghost of Maria Callas is lurking in the wings.

 

"Something makes me identify with her," Dion says, suddenly ramrod straight, eyes blazing. "But I'll need teachers in order to learn to act. I need to be directed. I don't want to be judged as a singer."

 

Pinning up the laundry outside may have to wait.

 

Source:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/20...line-dion_N.htm

Edited November 18, 2007 at 03:51 PM by ByuSmurf

[Hilda]

I love how they give it 6/10 without actually commenting on any of the songs at all. LOL

 

hahha yeh i posted that somewhere - did u see the 10 reasons why that photo is scarey as well - hahaha so funny

[nickah79]

Wish I could share. But wanted to let you all know that they reviewed Taking Chances along with Alicia's "As I Am" and had a lot of good things to say about Celine and the new album.

[celinefanonline]

hi everyone i just discover a review on here's breakfast show (in NZ)

here's the video http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/1454881

they r not saying that much about the album actually ... but it's alright...

the reviewer said she should stick to powerful ballad....... and she gave the album 3 / 5

oh well.......

i still hope this would promote the album though!

[mebe]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/arts/mus...agewanted=print

 

November 19, 2007

Critics’ Choice

New CDs

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

CELINE DION

“Taking Chances” (Columbia)

 

It has now been a decade since Celine Dion first shared the musical electrocardiogram that has come to define her career. And in retrospect “My Heart Will Go On” seems like the end of an era. Since then she has managed only one more Top 10 hit in the United States: “That’s the Way It Is,” from 1999. Her hugely successful residency in Las Vegas is testament to the size and devotion of her fan base, but it may also have fostered the impression that Ms. Dion has become an oldies act.

 

Not true! In this decade alone Ms. Dion has released five albums of new songs, three in English, two in French; her CDs still routinely top the charts in France, Belgium and, of course, her native Canada. Now comes the sixth, “Taking Chances,” which starts simply enough, with the title track, with a strummed guitar and an absurd plea: “Don’t want to be alone tonight, on this planet they call Earth.” (By the way that last prepositional phrase, portentous and meaningless, can be tacked onto just about any lyric in need of extra oomph: “Sweet home, Alabama, on this planet they call Earth”; “You lived your life like a candle in the wind, on this planet they call Earth”; “We be big pimpin’, on this planet they call Earth.”) Before long the music is swelling, giving Ms. Dion a chance to do what she does best: soar.

 

She’s easy to mock because she’s so uncool, or rather, unchilly. She belts out those fervent ballads with a singular combination of confidence (she knows she can nail every note), recklessness (she’s not afraid to overdo it) and unpretentiousness (she sees no shame in giving people what they want). This combination helps explain her overloaded release schedule, and it also helps explain her new CD. Eager to put herself back in the American pop mainstream, she recruited a wide range of big-name collaborators: the R&B singer Ne-Yo; the songwriters Linda Perry and Kara DioGuardi; the producer Christopher (Tricky) Stewart, of “Umbrella” fame; that guy who used to be in Evanescence.

 

The results can be gruesome. “Eyes on Me,” an awkward club track, sounds like Shakira covering Beyoncé’s “Baby Boy.” And “That’s Just the Woman in Me” is truly puzzling: a melodramatic blues-rock song, with lyrics that sound no less bizarre when delivered in Ms. Dion’s French-Canadian approximation of a Deep South accent. (There isn’t a drawl thick enough to redeem, “Searching for that imperious, mysterious, femme fatale kind of stuff.”)

 

O.K., so it’s obvious that chances have been taken. But most of the best songs here are the safest. “I Got Nothin’ Left,” the one Ne-Yo helped write and produce, is a beautiful lament, sung by Ms. Dion in the smallest voice she can muster, which is still pretty big. “Shadow of Love” is a pounding Euro-pop song that’s cheerfully inane, in the best sense. And “Surprise Surprise,” a sweeping power ballad that’s satisfying because it follows the rules: from the second the strings kick in you know a triumphal modulation is coming.

 

 

So what do you guys think of this review??

[firebird]

I love how they give it 6/10 without actually commenting on any of the songs at all. LOL

hahha yeh i posted that somewhere - did u see the 10 reasons why that photo is scarey as well - hahaha so funny

The cover will never be the same to me hahaha.

 

The NYTimes review is quite fair.

"That guy who used to be in Evanescence" lol

[Davey84]

Surprise, Surprise a power ballad?

[Loup_garou]

One of my favorite Bloggers has made a review on the album on his column on outzone while he was in Vegas

 

Arjan Writes

Celine Dion: "Taking Chances" ... Sorta

 

Kathy Griffin wasn’t joking when she talked about the Celine Dion megastore in Las Vegas during one of her stand up shows. Last week, I visited the store that is located right on Caesars Palace's glittery casino floor. I was amazed by all the clutter and stuff that was inspired by the Canadian singer, from earrings to photo frames and from fleece hoodies to play cards. Celine is serious business.

 

This year, Dion is celebrating the final year of her impressive five-year residency in Las Vegas that formally comes to an end on December 15. Las Vegas has proven to be a fitting home for Dion. Both are over the top, slightly tacky and love to entertain the masses.

 

Now that her Las Vegas stint is wrapping up, Dion is not planning on taking a vacation any time soon. In fact, she is releasing her brand-new album "Taking Chances" next week and she announced a five-continent world tour for 2008 in a press statement earlier this week.

 

In an effort to keep up with the pack, Dion chose to take a chance and work with a diverse group of writers and producers on "Taking Chances." She gathered hitwriters like Linda Perry, Ne-Yo, David Stewart (one half of The Eurhythmics) and the very talented Kara DioGuardi who has written hits for Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne and Ashlee Simpson.

 

Even though Dion tried to step out of her comfort zone, this new record largely follows her time-tested and proven formula of grand, bombastic tunes with trivial lyrics and her larger-than-life vocals. The singer has never been particularly edgy with her music, and the truth is that she doesn't have to be. She has sold over 175 million records worldwide by showcasing her unique voice. That's what people admire and that is exactly what she delivers on "Taking Chances."

 

Exception to her cookie cutter ways are two tracks that were written and produced by Linda Perry, the punk-rocker turned producer extraordinaire who has written evergreen tunes for people like Pink and Christina Aguilera. You can tell that on "My Love" and "New Dawn" Perry encouraged Dion to use her voice differently, to up the timbre and lower the volume. It is as if those two songs introduce a Celine alter ego much like Garth Brooks' Chris Gaines that allowed her to experiment a bit. The result of the singer's performance in Perry's raw and stripped laboratory is something that is fresh and unusual, and worth checking out.

 

The rest of Dion's album is very much like a Godiva chocolate. It is rich in flavor and should be enjoyed in moderation. "Taking Chances" is the album's first single that was produced by John Shanks who started his career as a guitarist for Melissa Etheridge. This radio-friendly tune embodies what Celine is all about heralding a majestic chorus and her big diva pipes. "A World To Believe" and the snappy "Just Fade Away" present a similar crisp, conquer-the-world feeling.

 

"Eyes On Me" has an exotic feel to it with tablas and soaring Bollywood strings that is somewhat reminiscent of Beyonce's "Baby Boy." The song was co-written by Australian pop songstress Delta Goodrem.

 

Celine Dion's vocals soar on the glorious "Shadow Of Love" that was written by Swedish production duo Merlyn who are also responsible for Madonna's "Get Together" and Kelly Clarkson's "Because Of Love." It has a kicky, pick-me-up chorus that is pure pop perfection. Lyrically, it is weak with the very cliché, "I can run, but I can't hide."

 

More of the singer's signature vocal acrobatics ensue on "This Time" that shows off an unusually moody Celine who sings, "This nightmare is not fair and I've had enough. You call this love. But this time your lies are not enough. The rocked up "Can't Fight The Feeling" reflects similar sentiments.

 

R&B singer Ne-Yo wrote "I Got Nothing Left" that is a tedious, middle of the road ballad that is nothing more than a letdown. The theatrical and introverted "A Song For You" features Celine with a classical piano and a touching orchestral outro with gliding strings and a horn section that would fit her Las Vegas' Cirque du Soleil show perfectly.

 

Dion also features two covers including "Alone," which was originally recorded by Heart, and the very soulful "That's Just The Woman In Me" from Katrina & The Waves on which Dion goes a little down and dirty.

 

Overall, "Taking Chances" is an accomplished effort that will please Celine fans. Others might be interested in checking out the Linda Perry songs to hear Celine truly taking a chance.

 

http://blogs.outzonetv.com/arjanwrites/200...orta.php?page=1

http://www.arjanwrites.com

[Hilda]

THE NY TIMES article!!! I wont have that said about Eyes on me!! hahaha

 

"Eyes On Me" has an exotic feel to it with tablas and soaring Bollywood strings that is somewhat reminiscent of Beyonce's "Baby Boy." The song was co-written by Australian pop songstress Delta Goodrem.

 

and WHY does everyone keep saying baby boy ??! I cant hear it AT ALL?! what are they on about. Baby boy sucked #ss with rotting mellons on the side.

[Céline's Blues]

Others might be interested in checking out the Linda Perry songs to hear Celine truly taking a chance.

Others may be interested in checking out "D'eux". Now that is an album.

[Tal]

I said from the beginning that EOM sounds like a watered down version of Baby Boy. The music is basically the same.

 

Its so funny to read all of these varying opinions. Some say My Love is like a typical banal Celine ballad, others think its one of the treasures of the album. They also are very keen to brush off her lyrics as trivial, and some are, but not My Love. If they knew the story behind it they would understand that the words to that song are probably the truest in her English career.

[tativale]

I said from the beginning that EOM sounds like a watered down version of Baby Boy. The music is basically the same.

 

Its so funny to read all of these varying opinions. Some say My Love is like a typical banal Celine ballad, others think its one of the treasures of the album. They also are very keen to brush off her lyrics as trivial, and some are, but not My Love. If they knew the story behind it they would understand that the words to that song are probably the truest in her English career.

Which story is behind 'my love' song?

[fabtasticfoo]

Here's a nice review of both Taking Chances and Alicia's As I Am, by someone who seemingly appreciates different styles of music for what they are. It's refreshing to read, actually. Here's a taste:

 

While Keys is still most effective courting life's elusive what-ifs, Dion remains the queen of the declarative statement, and "Taking Chances" rumbles with them. It may have been a risk for Dion, who rarely writes her own material, to work with new pals including former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody and R&B all-pro Ne-Yo, and to let an old one, Aldo Nova, persuade some tentative rocking out. But these collaborators all brought their vision of Celine into the studio with them, and her thespian glory still rules the day.

 

With her tragic sense of phrasing and her perfect command of the vocal throb, Dion is truly pop's operatic heroine, except that unlike Carmen or Butterfly, she never dies. Her emotionalism is huge, yet somehow not daunting; her slightly awkward physical presence adds to her approachability. Singing about passion and survival, Dion connects them to ordinary life. Her performances show how much work it takes to sing well, just as her songs reflect on how much energy it takes to love.

The whole article is here.

[boyblackuk]

Not accurate but a very good review

 

Dion's New Album 'Powerful'

CD Review: 'Chances' Tops Charts Across The World

Tara Joyce

Issue date: 11/27/07 Section: Focus

PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 A new day has certainly come for Celine Dion with the release of her new album, "Taking Chances." The highly anticipated record hit stores nationwide on Nov. 13 and immediately soared to the top of the charts in over a dozen countries. Under Columbia and Epic Records, Dion has again produced an inspirational and powerful album, demonstrating not only her enormous vocal talent but also her ability to explore musical genres we are not used to hearing from her.

 

Dion's first new album since 2003,takes us away from her classical and soulful style, introducing us to the pop-rock and R&B styling some may have forgotten she is capable of. The album begins with the title song, which is a strong way to begin the collection. Dion performed this song at the 2007 American Music Awards. "Taking Chances" is followed by the commanding "Alone," the upbeat "Fade Away" and the soulful "New Dawn." However, the album's best song is the 10th track, "A World to Believe In." It is here we find the style and lyrics Dion is famous for. The song is truly touching, containing lyrics depicting strength, hope and love. The song has already received recognition and has appeared on the previews for hit shows such as ABC's "Brothers and Sisters."

 

Fittingly, "Taking Chances" concludes with the song "Skies of L.A.," a testament to Dion's extravagant Las Vegas show, "A New Day," which will come to an end on Dec. 15 after five years of sold out performances. "Skies of L.A." portrays a Dion who is willing to end the show that has brought her the happiness and of performing everyday, but it also shows us a Dion who is excited for an undetermined future.

 

"Taking Chances" is 73 minutes of chance-taking by Celine Dion. While it is not the type of album we have grown accustomed to, the modern touch Dion has added makes her an inspiration to other artists. Dion has given us an album dedicated to her life and future, an album entirely representative of the woman she is today. "Taking Chances" will be the perfect holiday gift and an addition to any music lover's collection.

 

http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/sto...l-3117084.shtml

[miracle_girl]

Here's a nice review of both Taking Chances and Alicia's As I Am, by someone who seemingly appreciates different styles of music for what they are. It's refreshing to read, actually. Here's a taste:

 

While Keys is still most effective courting life's elusive what-ifs, Dion remains the queen of the declarative statement, and "Taking Chances" rumbles with them. It may have been a risk for Dion, who rarely writes her own material, to work with new pals including former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody and R&B all-pro Ne-Yo, and to let an old one, Aldo Nova, persuade some tentative rocking out. But these collaborators all brought their vision of Celine into the studio with them, and her thespian glory still rules the day.

 

With her tragic sense of phrasing and her perfect command of the vocal throb, Dion is truly pop's operatic heroine, except that unlike Carmen or Butterfly, she never dies. Her emotionalism is huge, yet somehow not daunting; her slightly awkward physical presence adds to her approachability. Singing about passion and survival, Dion connects them to ordinary life. Her performances show how much work it takes to sing well, just as her songs reflect on how much energy it takes to love.

The whole article is here.

 

Yeah i like this review

[tcherno]

Celine dion calling her new album Taking Chances? That's like a Zac Efron musical called Making Cops s*** Their Pants, or a Lil Wayne mix tape titled Bumming Bus Fare From My Mom. Celine's shtick is as safe a bet as there is in the music biz, coming a mere six months after her last album, the Canadian chart-topper D'Elles. Alas, her cat-strangling whine is still a remarkably ugly sound, no matter what she's singing. The days are gone when she had her pick of material, ruining perfectly nice pop-trash ballads from Diane Warren or Jim Steinman — no songs here by either of them, and Linda Perry's "New Dawn" is a Nineties leftover. She interprets Ne-Yo ("I Got Nothin' Left") and the Dream ("Skies of L.A.") with awful results. She goes back to Eighties schlockmeister Aldo Nova for "Can't Fight This Feelin'," which is unfortunately not an REO Speedwagon cover. But that's nothing compared to Dion shrieking the ten millionth version of Heart's "Alone" (mad pitchy, dog!), produced by ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody — Amy Lee, meet the fugliest bullet you ever dodged.

 

 

source: http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/...reviews_rssfeed

[dj4celine]

I so hate The Rolling Stones reviews

[fabtasticfoo]

Celine dion calling her new album Taking Chances? That's like a Zac Efron musical called Making Cops s*** Their Pants, or a Lil Wayne mix tape titled Bumming Bus Fare From My Mom. Celine's shtick is as safe a bet as there is in the music biz, coming a mere six months after her last album, the Canadian chart-topper D'Elles. Alas, her cat-strangling whine is still a remarkably ugly sound, no matter what she's singing. The days are gone when she had her pick of material, ruining perfectly nice pop-trash ballads from Diane Warren or Jim Steinman — no songs here by either of them, and Linda Perry's "New Dawn" is a Nineties leftover. She interprets Ne-Yo ("I Got Nothin' Left") and the Dream ("Skies of L.A.") with awful results. She goes back to Eighties schlockmeister Aldo Nova for "Can't Fight This Feelin'," which is unfortunately not an REO Speedwagon cover. But that's nothing compared to Dion shrieking the ten millionth version of Heart's "Alone" (mad pitchy, dog!), produced by ex-Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody — Amy Lee, meet the fugliest bullet you ever dodged.

 

Wow, that's not even a review.

 

We have insults, lame attempts to be witty, irrelevant factoids, groundless speculation about who is or isn't offering material...but very few words about the album, itself. That was the most uninsightful, self-absorbed piece of garbage I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

 

(See...criticizing is easy! Anyone can do it!)

[Bellamy]

The Rolling Stones is disgusting as always.

[mebe]

Not accurate but a very good review

 

Dion's New Album 'Powerful'

CD Review: 'Chances' Tops Charts Across The World

Tara Joyce

Issue date: 11/27/07 Section: Focus

PrintEmail DoubleClick Any Word Page 1 of 1 A new day has certainly come for Celine Dion with the release of her new album, "Taking Chances." The highly anticipated record hit stores nationwide on Nov. 13 and immediately soared to the top of the charts in over a dozen countries. Under Columbia and Epic Records, Dion has again produced an inspirational and powerful album, demonstrating not only her enormous vocal talent but also her ability to explore musical genres we are not used to hearing from her.

 

Dion's first new album since 2003,takes us away from her classical and soulful style, introducing us to the pop-rock and R&B styling some may have forgotten she is capable of. The album begins with the title song, which is a strong way to begin the collection. Dion performed this song at the 2007 American Music Awards. "Taking Chances" is followed by the commanding "Alone," the upbeat "Fade Away" and the soulful "New Dawn." However, the album's best song is the 10th track, "A World to Believe In." It is here we find the style and lyrics Dion is famous for. The song is truly touching, containing lyrics depicting strength, hope and love. The song has already received recognition and has appeared on the previews for hit shows such as ABC's "Brothers and Sisters."

 

Fittingly, "Taking Chances" concludes with the song "Skies of L.A.," a testament to Dion's extravagant Las Vegas show, "A New Day," which will come to an end on Dec. 15 after five years of sold out performances. "Skies of L.A." portrays a Dion who is willing to end the show that has brought her the happiness and of performing everyday, but it also shows us a Dion who is excited for an undetermined future.

 

"Taking Chances" is 73 minutes of chance-taking by Celine Dion. While it is not the type of album we have grown accustomed to, the modern touch Dion has added makes her an inspiration to other artists. Dion has given us an album dedicated to her life and future, an album entirely representative of the woman she is today. "Taking Chances" will be the perfect holiday gift and an addition to any music lover's collection.

 

http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/sto...l-3117084.shtml

 

 

Great review!!!

[mebe]

This article was in the album topic but since it's a review I decided to post it here too:

 

http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?A...B_TEMPLATE_ID=1

 

MUSIC: Celine and Anne Murray

REVIEWS / New albums are clichéd and bland

 

There's no denying it, Anne Murray and Celine Dion are two of the most famous and beloved Canadian icons. One walks like a football player and one insists on wearing her Dior suit ensemble backward. Murray sings smooth and simple, she's like baby bear's porridge... just right. Dion sings for her supper and yours... and your cousin Shirley's in Flin Flon. She can move mountains!

 

Dion and Murray have released new albums just in time for the holiday season. Either or both will undoubtedly find their way under every Christmas tree in our true north, strong and free.

 

Dion's is called Taking Chances. It's an album of new songs and new voices. I call it her Zelig album if you will. Zelig was Woody Allen's 1983 fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig. He becomes a celebrity due to his ability to look and act like whomever is around him.

 

Dion's voice morphs into whatever the production of the song requires. If it's pop, she channels Kelly Clarkson and all her American Idol girlfriends (who idolize Dion). If it's Bollywood/salsa sexiness you crave, Dion transforms into bodacious Shakira, boogying with her hips and getting down with her mouth.

 

The woman has the most amazing pipes but she's a diva whose only ambition in life is to please. Her emotions are pitch perfect. And that's the problem. Dion's songwriters throw her every tired cliché in the book. All of the songs will work great in the car ads for which they were probably written.

 

"Shadow of Love" is such a song. Dion is U2's Bono. There's a little rasp in her voice ('cause that's rock and roll) as she sings like she's really a cool indie rock chick. "I can run but I can't hide/ It's because/ I'm livin' in the shadow of love."

 

The one song that will fool your friends is "That's Just the Woman in Me". It's pretty amazing. If this were Meryl Streep we'd hand her an Oscar, Tony and a Grammy or two (we wouldn't want to make her have to choose). Actors are allowed to become someone else. Embody a character. True singers (save for Broadway performers) must stay true to themselves or we can't believe them.

 

As much as I hate Dion's Titanic song "My Heart Will Go On," at least that is 100 percent Dionness. "That's Just the Woman in Me" is all Janis Joplin. Dion is in there somewhere but you won't be able to find her. Gone is all her heart-pounding histrionics and in its place a gravelly drunken hard-edged grace. If she lived in Haight-Ashbury and rolled her own, it would be a solidly orgasmic performance. But she lives in Vegas and rolls her own makizushi. "But if you don't know by now that it's me anyhow," Dion wails. "Then baby you got it rough."

 

The woman is f****** bonkers.

[lyn]

Lol I have no idea if that is a positive or negative review.

[Prince Whiskers]

The reviewer is complimenting Celine in a backhanded manner.

[Davey84]

lol I found it positive lol! it's true! Céline IS f****** bonkers!

[dj4celine]

Dion is ‘Taking Chances’ again

By: Jenny Berg /The Daily Cardinal

 

Celine Dion's latest album, Taking Chances, is another jewel in her 17-year career in the music industry.

 

Stop right now. If you are a genuine Céline Dion fan, you probably already have her new album and are currently humming along to “Taking Chances.” But if you are a typical person, you are wary of the woman who belts out the “Titanic” theme song and emotionally beats her chest on stage. If you think Dion only sings manufactured, unrealistically corny love songs, just give her a chance.

 

Her latest album, Taking Chances, is another jewel in Dion’s 17-year career in the music industry. Her most recent albums followed similar themes: A New Day Has Come reflected her family and her young son, René-Charles, and One Heart was an anthem of love. Prior to its release, critics said that the style of Taking Chances was jazzier than Dion’s typical sound, but it carries strong reminders of her greatest songs and ranges from ballads of love to songs about abuse.

 

Dion is the world’s best-selling female artist of all time because of the emotion she injects into every word and breath. She has so much power and control in her voice that you experience the words instead of just hearing them. One instance is the entrancing and commanding “Just Fade Away,” where she sings “So I try to smile / But after a while / The memories come back / But I won’t give in / ’Cause I know that then / My heart will fade to black.” The best songs on Chances are the album’s anthem, “Taking Chances,” her remake of Heart’s 1987 hit “Alone,” which is brimming with yearning and angst, and the tender “My Love,” where her pure voice lifts above the mellow music.

 

She inevitably falls short on some songs, such as “Can’t Fight the Feelin’,” an unoriginal and uninspiring rock ballad, and “That’s Just the Woman In Me,” which is another annoying proclamation of an Aretha Franklin “Respect” message.

 

It has been over four years since her last album, One Heart, but Dion has kept busy. For the last five years she has headlined her A New Day… tour in Las Vegas, and after that gig ends this December, she will go on a year-long world tour. She is also raising her son, and has been vague about whether she will take a break again to have another child.

 

Dion ends her album with the delicate but gloomy “Skies of L.A.,” where she sings, “All I know is that I can’t see the sun / Through the sky from here … my future looks like the skies of L.A.” It seems like she is as uncertain as her fans about what her future holds.

 

Nonetheless, Dion deserves more recognition as one of the greatest voices of our time, not just the goofy French-Canadian who sang “My Heart Will Go On,” and she continues to prove this with Chances. So, to all the haters out there, “What do you say to taking chances?”

 

http://www.dailycardinal.com/article/1319

 

 

 

 

I love this review!

Edited November 28, 2007 at 12:55 PM by dj4celine

[Javier_Natalio]

Dion is ‘Taking Chances’ again

By: Jenny Berg /The Daily Cardinal

 

Celine Dion's latest album, Taking Chances, is another jewel in her 17-year career in the music industry.

 

Stop right now. If you are a genuine Céline Dion fan, you probably already have her new album and are currently humming along to “Taking Chances.” But if you are a typical person, you are wary of the woman who belts out the “Titanic” theme song and emotionally beats her chest on stage. If you think Dion only sings manufactured, unrealistically corny love songs, just give her a chance.

 

Her latest album, Taking Chances, is another jewel in Dion’s 17-year career in the music industry. Her most recent albums followed similar themes: A New Day Has Come reflected her family and her young son, René-Charles, and One Heart was an anthem of love. Prior to its release, critics said that the style of Taking Chances was jazzier than Dion’s typical sound, but it carries strong reminders of her greatest songs and ranges from ballads of love to songs about abuse.

 

Dion is the world’s best-selling female artist of all time because of the emotion she injects into every word and breath. She has so much power and control in her voice that you experience the words instead of just hearing them. One instance is the entrancing and commanding “Just Fade Away,” where she sings “So I try to smile / But after a while / The memories come back / But I won’t give in / ’Cause I know that then / My heart will fade to black.” The best songs on Chances are the album’s anthem, “Taking Chances,” her remake of Heart’s 1987 hit “Alone,” which is brimming with yearning and angst, and the tender “My Love,” where her pure voice lifts above the mellow music.

 

She inevitably falls short on some songs, such as “Can’t Fight the Feelin’,” an unoriginal and uninspiring rock ballad, and “That’s Just the Woman In Me,” which is another annoying proclamation of an Aretha Franklin “Respect” message.

 

It has been over four years since her last album, One Heart, but Dion has kept busy. For the last five years she has headlined her A New Day… tour in Las Vegas, and after that gig ends this December, she will go on a year-long world tour. She is also raising her son, and has been vague about whether she will take a break again to have another child.

 

Dion ends her album with the delicate but gloomy “Skies of L.A.,” where she sings, “All I know is that I can’t see the sun / Through the sky from here … my future looks like the skies of L.A.” It seems like she is as uncertain as her fans about what her future holds.

 

Nonetheless, Dion deserves more recognition as one of the greatest voices of our time, not just the goofy French-Canadian who sang “My Heart Will Go On,” and she continues to prove this with Chances. So, to all the haters out there, “What do you say to taking chances?”

 

http://www.dailycardinal.com/article/1319

 

 

 

 

I love this review!

 

Seems writen by a fan.

[boyblackuk]

THE GAY TIMES in the UK gave the album 4/5...and called it fantastic, I am trying also to upload the great interview which discusses what she would do if rene-charles became gay and all her gay entourage.

[CSCfan]

Dion's revamped approach mixes formula, adventure

 

By CHUCK CAMPBELL

Scripps Howard News Service

Monday, December 03, 2007

 

"TAKING CHANCES," Celine Dion (Columbia)

 

Celine Dion's critics might scoff at the title of her new release, "Taking Chances," and the queen of bombastic belting has done her part to earn skepticism: What constitutes taking a chance when everything she's done has been formulaic? Perhaps her huge, untamed hair on the cover is something of risk, as is her revealing outfit. But considering Dion's history of calculated, crassly commercial music, it's tough to imagine her sound would change one iota.

 

And yet, it does.

 

The shift isn't as dramatic as her hair, and cynics might see the broadened sound as a carefully measured attempt to recruit a new audience beyond the older, adult-contemporary crowd that constitutes her fan base. Still, "Taking Chances" represents unprecedented growth on Dion's part -- an evolution of style, lyrics and vocal delivery.

 

To be sure, the 16 tracks include lots of trumped-up schlock for her traditional fans to glom on to, stuff like her perfunctory cover of the Heart hit "Alone" that is every bit as overwrought as the original.

 

However, "Taking Chances" also finds Dion toying with her range (the title track, "I Got Nothin' Left"), showing a sense of humor ("That's Just the Woman in Me," "Right Next to the Right One"), tackling serious issues (the domestic-abuse themed "This Time"), rocking out ("Can't Fight the Feelin'"), getting bluesy ("That's Just the Woman in Me") and singing a slapping-beat "Eyes on Me" that would perfectly suit Shakira.

 

The release isn't particularly great, but it's unpredictable and well-produced, and it has its moments of melodic warmth as Dion, who typically overplays her powerful pipes, reins herself in with endearing effect.

 

Clearly she knew that her experimentation would spook some of her followers, so she also routinely revisits her old method of dishing out platitude-ridden love songs that open with subtle textures before she takes a deep breath and belts her head off.

 

She may be taking chances, but she's not stupid.

 

Rating (five possible): 3