"Courage" album - Official Topic

[ryba]

I quite believe that she's done something to her nose that impacted on her voice.

Second, most of the producers of this time are too technology-oriented and maybe they can't handle a voice (when in top shape or when rightly used) like her.

Third, she use to sound much like the artist that made the demo of the song (in Boundaries she's singing like the author of the song) so this could change the way she sings.

I think it’s her stylistic choice and a little bit of laziness, cause she can sound amazing if she wants to, see Ashes or Recovering studio versions.

[garyhollander]

After almost 3 years, Courage is firmly in my top 3 English Celine albums of all time. I still listen to it frequently; it's been the gift that keeps on giving. So thankful that she released this album!

Agree 100 percent got some strong songs on there for me far better than loved me back to life, and one heart and maybe even taking chances.. jist feel it didnt have its moment it should have but thats okay

 

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[garyhollander]

 

I quite believe that she's done something to her nose that impacted on her voice.

Second, most of the producers of this time are too technology-oriented and maybe they can't handle a voice (when in top shape or when rightly used) like her.

Third, she use to sound much like the artist that made the demo of the song (in Boundaries she's singing like the author of the song) so this could change the way she sings.

Dont think so has nothing to do with her nose she always used the mask and now a days a headier mix and her voice thinned out a bit but that always happens naturally when you sing for so long..

 

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[Alex_Incognito]

I think Miracle is her weakest

I disagree. It's the album I can relate to the least, but in terms of orchestration, vocals, and quality I think it is quite good. "In Some Small Way" and "Miracle" are such beautiful songs. "A Mother's Prayer" is also very moving.

 

Courage to me all feels like the same song, except for the singles and the Sia songs.

Edited October 18, 2022 at 02:53 PM by Alex_Incognito

[smw]

Courage earns points for me because it was the first album Celine put together on her own. I like many of the songs but I don’t love her dry, raw vocal delivery. I hope that era has ended for Celine.

 

During her time off, I hope she’s inspired once again by Barbra Streisand & Whitney Houston instead of (or in addition to) Sia & LP.

 

Her voice on Ashes is lovely and the reception was amazing.

 

Edited October 18, 2022 at 04:07 PM by smw

[No1IrishFan]

Courage earns points for me because it was the first album Celine put together on her own. I like many of the songs but I don’t love her dry, raw vocal delivery. I hope that era has ended for Celine.

 

During her time off, I hope she’s inspired once again by Barbra Streisand & Whitney Houston instead of (or in addition to) Sia & LP.

 

Her voice on Ashes is lovely and the reception was amazing.

 

I think that dry and raw approach is here to stay as it masks the natural decline in her voice. I don’t think we’ll ever hear the crystal clear pin drop vocals again.

[Alex_Incognito]

Courage earns points for me because it was the first album Celine put together on her own.

To me that's a sign that she needs a better team around her picking and presenting songs. Like I said, 4 or 5 songs sound almost the exact same. The bonus tracks, except Heart of Glass, don't go anywhere. "Flying On My Own" was such a poor single choice because it didn't match the album at all - not to mention it was pretty dated sounding by the time it came out and her diction is atrocious.

[Unisono]

 

 

What has she done to her nose then?

 

Maybe nothing, it's just my idea that it's different. I say this watching different images through the years but nothing that I want to be taken for sure of course.

[comingback]

The only standout tracks are Courage and Heart Of Glass, the other songs are forgettable.

[Unisono]

Dont think so has nothing to do with her nose she always used the mask and now a days a headier mix and her voice thinned out a bit but that always happens naturally when you sing for so long..

 

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

 

Her voice changed every year. During the 90s every album had a different voice from her, so age, time and time spent singing have a lot to do with it. Was just trying to figure out why it got so thin during the last year in a very fast way. I say this because I love what she does and what she sings and all her signature shades of her voice and not to go against her.

[Unisono]

I think it’s her stylistic choice and a little bit of laziness, cause she can sound amazing if she wants to, see Ashes or Recovering studio versions.

 

That's possible. What I had in mind with the producers ware Dance with my father and I knew I loved you compared with the taking chances era... Those two track were pure perfection. Ashes it's a great example too.

[CelinesDIVO5]

 

To me that's a sign that she needs a better team around her picking and presenting songs. Like I said, 4 or 5 songs sound almost the exact same. The bonus tracks, except Heart of Glass, don't go anywhere. "Flying On My Own" was such a poor single choice because it didn't match the album at all - not to mention it was pretty dated sounding by the time it came out and her diction is atrocious.

 

The bonus tracks are better than some on the standard track list. “The Hard Way” doesn’t go anywhere? It’s one of her most impressive vocals post 2003!

[smw]

 

 

I think that dry and raw approach is here to stay as it masks the natural decline in her voice. I don’t think we’ll ever hear the crystal clear pin drop vocals again.

 

I think she’s still capable of delivering great vocals. Yes, her voice has changed. But if she can sound like her old self (but older) on Ashes, I think she can do it on other new songs too.

 

It’s how she’s styling her voice (to sound like Sia, Adele, LP) that doesn’t resonate with a lot of her fans... because she doesn’t sound like herself. Whereas she used to style herself after Barbra, Whitney, etc.

 

Edited October 18, 2022 at 05:20 PM by smw

[smw]

 

 

The bonus tracks are better than some on the standard track list. “The Hard Way” doesn’t go anywhere? It’s one of her most impressive vocals post 2003!

 

Agreed.

[ryba]

The Hard Way is a masterpiece!

[ryba]

The Hard Way is a masterpiece!

[smw]

 

To me that's a sign that she needs a better team around her picking and presenting songs. Like I said, 4 or 5 songs sound almost the exact same. The bonus tracks, except Heart of Glass, don't go anywhere. "Flying On My Own" was such a poor single choice because it didn't match the album at all - not to mention it was pretty dated sounding by the time it came out and her diction is atrocious.

 

She definitely needs a stronger team around her. FOMO should never have been a single & it probably shouldn’t have been included on the album. Or at least not as the opening track. Perhaps as the closing track.

[Alex_Incognito]

The bonus tracks are better than some on the standard track list. "The Hard Way" doesn't go anywhere? It's one of her most impressive vocals post 2003!

The sad thing is that I cannot even recall that song. Give me any random song from the 80s and I can rattle off those lyrics, but not this one. I'll give it another lesson.

[CelinesDIVO5]

I think “Courage” is her strongest album since ANDHC, honestly.

 

 

Flying On My Own - I do love the song. Not my favorite on the album, but it’s fun. And while the album version was dated by a couple of years, the remixes were fantastic and it performed rather well on the Dance charts here in the US. I heard it everywhere in summer of 2019.

 

Lovers Never Die - My least favorite on the album, not for any particular reason.

 

Falling In Love Again - I think she sounds beautiful on this song. I love a subdued piano and vocal from Celine.

 

Lying Down - This is an epic song. It’s just enough of a classic Celine ballad, while also being totally current and modern. This should have been the lead single, and it was SCREAMING for Guetta to remix it.

 

Courage - Truly makes me cry every time I hear it. Breathtaking.

 

Imperfections - I love this one too. But I also love the songwriter, Lauv. This song is a mood. I live for it’s chill vibe. And the piano line, tinkling throughout the track is so pretty. This song also should have gotten some official remixes.

 

Change My Mind - This song is FIRE. So current. The lyrics are fantastic, and Celine belts for the Gods at the end. Whew!

 

Say Yes - This is such a lovely but heartbreaking song. The lyrics get right to me, and are reminiscent of a time in my life not too long before this album was released. And I’m sure many of us can relate to it.

 

Nobody's Watching - This song is fun. I find myself dancing around my apartment every time it comes on. The “belieber” lyric isn’t my favorite, and it’s not going to age well. But I still like the song.

 

The Chase - Probably the most organic sound on the album. Light and airy. Nice vocal and delivery.

 

For The Lover That I Lost - I know a lot of you have an issue with her pronunciation on this one, but I don’t mind it. And I think Sam Smith did a good job with this one. Shame that they didn’t collaborate further on it.

 

Baby - I love anything Sia. This song is so much fun.

 

I Will Be Stronger - This is classic Celine. I can feel her pulling this one out or herself, finding the strength to move on. This track moves me.

 

How Did You Get Here - This song is great. Fabulous production, she sounds amazing, and I can’t get enough.

 

Look At Us Now - This one is tied with “Change My Mind” for my favorite on the album. I adore the backing track, the lyrics are so true for many, and I just love it.

 

Perfect Goodbye - Good closer. It reminds me a little of the sound from Ariana Grande’s last album. Aioki did a fine job, stepping out of his box. But this should have come with remixes as well. This would have torn up the dance floor in the gay clubs for sure.

 

Best of All - This song is very special to me. I dedicate it to my partner. When we first started dating, we got into a huge argument, and I ended up actually sitting in his front steps, under the streetlight at his door; waiting for him to come home so that we could fix things. This song is a gem.

 

Heart of Glass - This song sounds like it was specially written for Celine by Sia. I think it’s a better song than “Baby.” But they definitely needed the tempo of “Baby” for the standard track list. This song transports you.

 

Boundaries - One of my favorite Celine vocals ever.

 

The Hard Way - If “Perfect Goodbye” wasn’t the best way to close the album, this one certainly is. This song is an ANTHEM. Just wow. Amazing.

 

 

I think “Courage” is her most cohesive English album since “Falling Into You.” Every track flows perfectly into the next. The lyrics aren’t super saccharine, or cliche. It’s a beautiful body of work. I want to hear the songs that didn’t make the cut!

Edited October 18, 2022 at 05:43 PM by CelinesDIVO5

[Chantemoi]

I think “Courage” is her strongest album since ANDHC, honestly.

…

Every track flows perfectly into the next. The lyrics aren’t super saccharine, or cliche. It’s a beautiful body of work. I want to hear the songs that didn’t make the cut!

 

I agree with your individual assessment of the tracks, but I still maintain that the tracklist was too crowded, and THAT is why so many songs don’t stand out (for some people). It’s a real marathon of an album, even without the bonus tracks. They really ought to have done 2 discs or just released 2 separate albums from these tracks so they had room to breathe.

 

My faves from the album are:

Baby

Best of All

The Chase

I Will Be Stronger(the strongest/most personal track)

The Hard Way

For the Lover That I Lost

How Did You Get Here (though I would have tamed down her ad libs at the end, which become very redundant)

Look At Us Now (begging for radio play)

Perfect Goodbye

Heart of Glass

 

Those songs alone could have made an excellent album on their own. There are a few songs I don’t mind (like Boundaries and Change My Mind) but I agree that she copied too closely the demos for me to feel a deep connection.

 

 

[ryba]

FOMO should have a better production. This is the song that could be really killer if it was properly produced by David Guetta or Aoki. Insted Guetta offered her an experiment song that he made with Sia hat was LD (he himself even called that sort of an experiment in an interview). Such a shame.

[CelinesDIVO5]

 

 

I agree with your individual assessment of the tracks, but I still maintain that the tracklist was too crowded, and THAT is why so many songs don’t stand out (for some people). It’s a real marathon of an album, even without the bonus tracks. They really ought to have done 2 discs or just released 2 separate albums from these tracks so they had room to breathe.

 

My faves from the album are:

Baby

Best of All

The Chase

I Will Be Stronger(the strongest/most personal track)

The Hard Way

For the Lover That I Lost

How Did You Get Here (though I would have tamed down her ad libs at the end, which become very redundant)

Look At Us Now (begging for radio play)

Perfect Goodbye

Heart of Glass

 

Those songs alone could have made an excellent album on their own. There are a few songs I don’t mind (like Boundaries and Change My Mind) but I agree that she copied too closely the demos for me to feel a deep connection.

 

A lot of the songs are so short though, which was a big complaint from many here. So, the extra tracks certainly make up for that. People were upset that the standard edition of LMBTL only had 11 songs on it. “We want our classic 16 track Celine album!!” Well, we got 21 here lol…22 if you count “Soul,” which truly could have stayed in the vault. Anyway, it seems to be a lose/lose situation around here. Nobody is ever actually satisfied with anything anymore.

[Alex_Incognito]

Anyway, it seems to be a lose/lose situation around here. Nobody is ever actually satisfied with anything anymore.

 

This is just a discussion of art. Not everyone is going to like it. It's all very personal. The only real problem is that studio albums from Celine are rare as can be anymore.

[smw]

Celine sounded great on Wicked Game too - wish that was on the album.

 

I’m hoping her Wicked Game cover finds its way into her upcoming movie so it gets more attention.

[Nmj]

I'm glad some people love this album. I think it's her weakest release in her anglophone catalogue. Most of the songs are forgettable.

 

I don’t think it’s her best work but in my opinion, it’s light years better than her other most recent English work. I would say miles better than the LMBTL album, and TC album.

 

Other than a few songs on both of those albums they are nothing special.

At least when I hear the “courage” album it somewhat feels for the most part that it’s personal, except for the whole “I want to party like a beliber” I doubt Celine still hasn’t an idea what that even is today.

[Állex Sodi]

The thing with Courage for me is that is a bland album. It's not great, it's not bad either. It's like any other between hundreds of pop albums that were released at the time. Good but nothing memorable on it. And it was born kinda old for a pop album, it sounds like 2015 pop music, wich in 2019 was already dated. I just never remember to listen to it.

 

I do like 'The Hard Way', though. And "The Chase".

[Alex_Incognito]

Side A of "Loved Me Back to Life" is a stellar album. If only side B would have continued on that vein. When they decided not to make it "the vegas album" they should have scrapped all of the vegas stuff.

[mirage]

It's a bit all of it with this album.

 

Falling In Love Again

Imperfections

Change My Mind

The Chase

Perfect Goodbye

 

Are the standouts for me. And this album definitely needed some great remixes. They would have been great for the clubs.

[celinesounds]

TC is a great album, even LMBTL

 

Courage is good too,

But I’m not a big fan of the standard edition

 

FOMO is not an great opener,

Courage is an amazing song, and sounds very Celine

Heart of glass best song on the album

Perfect Goodbye lovely song

 

Recovering and Ashes and FOMO should have been bonus songs on the deluxe edition

 

 

[ryba]

I think that the Courage album is extremely well produced. The sound is very solid and high class; however, I would expect a bit more for the arrangement of FOMO, that one sounds quite cheap IMO. I agree that the bonus tracks are the real hits on this album.

 

All in all, I must say that I can't really get warm with that album. The songs are not very catchy, apart from a very few exceptions. Most of the songs are quite boring and not exciting. It's not like there are songs I would play over and over again because they captivated me (that only happened with Heart of Glass and The Hard Way, I also quite enjoy the bridge in Lovers Never Die).

 

But I very much appreciate the fact that they went full on and gave us 21 new tracks on one album. And we have to thank Celine for that, because, as she said herself, they wanted her to pick only 12 songs, but she was pushing to give us more, and I love her for that!

Edited October 18, 2022 at 08:42 PM by ryba