Interview with Josélito Michaud - Jan. 7th, 2017

[Javito]

You really don't like D'Eux? I was really surprised to read that. Of course it all comes down to personal taste so I'm not trying to start an argument! I was just surprised because JJG's album is one of the best in her career (anglophone and francophone)!! Can I ask what is it that you don't like about it? It's an honest question btw, I'm not being sarcastic or anything

 

I don't know, but I never clicked with it! I always liked much much more SISDA. I acknowledge it is a very good album though.

 

Maybe it was because I first listened to the live versions of the songs in the Live à Paris CD (I bought that album before D'eux), so after listening to those masterful performances she did, the strength of her voice in the live prowess she managed, to the studio versions of the songs, which are all inferior to me, it was kind of a disappointment. This was particular noticeable in the song Regarde-moi, whose companion live version is by far of superior quality.

 

Also, I think it has to do with the arrangements of the songs too. Overall, except for timeless tunes like PQTME, most of the music and arrangements in D'eux sound dated to me, and they sounded dated already by 2000. This didn't happen with the orchestral arrangements that SISDA brought, on the contrary

 

Thanks for your interest wanting to know my reasons about this. Please notice that I'm not bashing D'eux just for the sake of it, since it is Jean-Jacque's second album, SISDA which I adore and prefer the most (well, at least until I discovered 1F&4T ). But D'eux... I think it's kind of overrated, thanks to PQTME to a great extent. Well, same happened with LTAL for including MHWGO, I suppose!

Edited January 8, 2017 at 04:35 PM by Javito

[flutefreak]

This is what I want more of in future interviews, what albums are her favorites and why, why she chose to record certain songs, what she was thinking about at the time, etc. I find it interesting and she doesn't talk all that much about it.

[dodobird]

I don't know, but I never clicked with it! I always liked much much more SISDA. I acknowledge it is a very good album though.

 

Maybe it was because I first listened to the live versions of the songs in the Live à Paris CD (I bought that album before D'eux), so after listening to those masterful performances she did, the strength of her voice in the live prowess she managed, to the studio versions of the songs, which are all inferior to me, it was kind of a disappointment. This was particular noticeable in the song Regarde-moi, whose companion live version is by far of superior quality.

 

Also, I think it has to do with the arrangements of the songs too. Overall, except for timeless tunes like PQTME, most of the music and arrangements in D'eux sound dated to me, and they sounded dated already by 2000. This didn't happen with the orchestral arrangements that SISDA brought, on the contrary

 

Thanks for your interest wanting to know my reasons about this. Please notice that I'm not bashing D'eux just for the sake of it, since it is Jean-Jacque's second album, SISDA which I adore and prefer the most (well, at least until I discovered 1F&4T ). But D'eux... I think it's kind of overrated, thanks to PQTME to a great extent. Well, same happened with LTAL for including MHWGO, I suppose!

 

Ha! ok so it's not a matter of not liking the songs but the arrangements and her vocal performance. I get that. Some of the live versions (especially at the Live a Paris CD) are miles better. I was just curious because the songs themselves are absolutely fantastic both in terms of melodies and of lyrics. With the exception of very few, no other songwriter has written such fantastic melodies for Celine (IMO...always IMO!).

 

Thanks for taking the time to explain all this I guess I was curious because D'Eux has everything that EUS lacks in my opinion...melodies: strong melodic content that clearly distinguishes one song from another and adds an extra layer to the lyrics. This is 10000% my personal opinion but while the lyric content in EUS is great, the melodies leave a lot to be desired (with the exception of the title track which surprise, surprise is JJG's!). Even SA had better melodies than EUS...Le miracle, Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour, Parler a mon pere...they might not be the greatest hits of all time but their melodies are catchy and support the lyrics really well.

 

Anyway, I don't want to ramble on and on (which I tend to do as you can see lol!), I was just curious and thanks for satisfying that curiosity, much appreciated

[Javito]

Let's say the arrangements make all the difference to me, and SISDA is more mature in those terms because it has an orchestra... The orchestra... that's what lacks D'eux, and makes a big difference to present the music. The orchestral arrangements in songs like Papillon, En attendant ses pas, On ne change pas... that is far superior than anything listened in D'eux to me!

[dodobird]

Let's say the arrangements make all the difference to me, and SISDA is more mature in those terms because it has an orchestra... The orchestra... that's what lacks D'eux, and makes a big difference to present the music. The orchestral arrangements in songs like Papillon, En attendant ses pas, On ne change pas... that is far superior than anything listened in D'eux to me!

 

Agreed! If there's one artist out there whose stage presence (and vocal abilities/performances) demand an orchestra....it's Celine!

[angelil78]

Me, Sans Attendre is the least french album that i listen to.

 

Mine as well, I have maybe listened 2-3 times to it max. Usually I love her French albums more than the English ones.

 

 

On subject, I hope someone can translate what she says about upcoming stuff.

 

I'm secretly hoping that there wont be a European tour because it will kill me not to be able to go lol, I don't have the money

[mirage]

Hope one day she will perform with a BIG orchestra.

 

 

 

Agreed! If there's one artist out there whose stage presence (and vocal abilities/performances) demand an orchestra....it's Celine!

[Javito]

Now that's interesting. Very few fans openly admitted that they didn't like Sans attendre, during SA era, and until EUS came. Now they're coming out of the closet lol.

 

It's interesting what a new album can make, now it seems not as many fans as were thought really enjoyed SA (Not a problem with this, though!)

Edited January 8, 2017 at 05:17 PM by Javito

[scielle]

I love Sans attendre, especially for Moi quand je pleure, which is my 2nd favourite Celine song after Le ballet.

Que toi au monde, Une chance qu'on s'a, Tant de temps and of course Ne me quitte pas also fabulous.

 

Curiously, the tracks I like least on it are the ones they decided to release as singles (though I suppose they're the most 'earwormy' so I get that). Qui peut vivre sans amour I find particularly cringe-worthy.

 

In my books Sans attendre is more or less on par with EUS in terms of quality.

[dodobird]

By the way, did anyone manage to record this interview for us poor souls who didn't get a chance to watch it live?

[Celine-Express]

Joselito made a very great interviews in the past, and this interview was one more of what he make! We can feel the emotions of Celine among many differents subjects!

 

PS : I very like Celine hair! :giggle:

Edited January 8, 2017 at 06:51 PM by Celine-Express

[Celine Fan 77]

Such a good interview! Not the best one ever but it was nice to finally see something a little bit different.

 

That final part when she said that it's hard for her to be alone for more than a few hours just got me, I send her all my love.

 

BTW, my only question: Céline, If you regret not having enjoyed 'D'elles' as much as you wanted to back in the day, why don't you add more songs from it to your French shows???

[isabel leite]

By the way, did anyone manage to record this interview for us poor souls who didn't get a chance to watch it live?

please, please please if anyone recorded it, please share! thanks

[DionFanAlways]

I love Sans attendre, especially for Moi quand je pleure, which is my 2nd favourite Celine song after Le ballet.

Que toi au monde, Une chance qu'on s'a, Tant de temps and of course Ne me quitte pas also fabulous.

 

Curiously, the tracks I like least on it are the ones they decided to release as singles (though I suppose they're the most 'earwormy' so I get that). Qui peut vivre sans amour I find particularly cringe-worthy.

 

In my books Sans attendre is more or less on par with EUS in terms of quality.

Yes I absolutely adore MQJP! Sometimes I have it on repeat lol. So French to me!

[SuperLove4Celine]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so damn tired of hearing/reading Celine talk about how she wishes more would have been done with certain albums/songs. Honestly, if she truly feels the way she feels about "D'elles," then SHE needs to take more control and incorporate more of its material into her projects/performances/appearances. Instead of only including one song from "D'elles" during last year's French tour, she should have incorporated more. Heck, make all the songs from "D'elles" she performs ones I don't like for all I care, but do SOMETHING with them instead of being meek, passive and regretful about things. There's a wonderful saying which applies here - "Sh!t or get off the pot!"

 

Newsflash, Celine, you have a French song in your Vegas show, and it's a cover. It's not one from "D'elles," let alone one of your own. You do have the power to change this, ya know? It's not rocket science. Just sayin'.

 

</end rant...for now>

[frana]

[scielle]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so damn tired of hearing/reading Celine talk about how she wishes more would have been done with certain albums/songs. Honestly, if she truly feels the way she feels about "D'elles," then SHE needs to take more control and incorporate more of its material into her projects/performances/appearances. Instead of only including one song from "D'elles" during last year's French tour, she should have incorporated more. Heck, make all the songs from "D'elles" she performs ones I don't like for all I care, but do SOMETHING with them instead of being meek, passive and regretful about things. There's a wonderful saying which applies here - "Sh!t or get off the pot!"

 

Newsflash, Celine, you have a French song in your Vegas show, and it's a cover. It's not one from "D'elles," let alone one of your own. You do have the power to change this, ya know? It's not rocket science. Just sayin'.

 

</end rant...for now>

 

Well I think "incorporating [neglected] material into her projects/ performances" is exactly what she did do this summer, except it happened to be 1F4T rather than D'elles. And I think that bodes very well for the future.

 

And while I agree one French song (all of 1min 45sec of it) for the Vegas show is pitiful, I don't for one moment agree that QCB has no place in the show just because it's a cover. It's a great tune for her, fits perfectly and adds breadth to the show. I only wish it was supplemented by others en francais, because it's awful for those French-speakers who come all the way to Vegas, many of whom speak very minimal English, and all they get is that. And the casual-listener Vegas public needs to be educated on how great her French work is.

[isabel leite]

beautiful pictures

 

[isabel leite]

I wasnt able to watch the interview. I am curious because of the pictures above. What does she say about Rene?

[Javito]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so damn tired of hearing/reading Celine talk about how she wishes more would have been done with certain albums/songs. Honestly, if she truly feels the way she feels about "D'elles," then SHE needs to take more control and incorporate more of its material into her projects/performances/appearances. Instead of only including one song from "D'elles" during last year's French tour, she should have incorporated more. Heck, make all the songs from "D'elles" she performs ones I don't like for all I care, but do SOMETHING with them instead of being meek, passive and regretful about things. There's a wonderful saying which applies here - "Sh!t or get off the pot!"

 

Newsflash, Celine, you have a French song in your Vegas show, and it's a cover. It's not one from "D'elles," let alone one of your own. You do have the power to change this, ya know? It's not rocket science. Just sayin'.

 

</end rant...for now>

 

Post of the month :clap1:

 

Not a rant really, I'd say that's what would be the obvious answer to Céline when she "regrets" or moans about her own albums that way. It's even infuriating, for a singer who can afford doing her own show in a permanent venue for 1,000 times... not many singers out there can afford that. But she's wasting time there... quality time for her songs and her voice

[Peppercorn1991]

All these shows.... I wonder if it will have an impact on sales of EUS.... was EUS mentioned in the interview?

 

Kev x

[scielle]

Post of the month :clap1:

 

Not a rant really, I'd say that's what would be the obvious answer to Céline when she "regrets" or moans about her own albums that way. It's even infuriating, for a singer who can afford doing her own show in a permanent venue for 1,000 times... not many singers out there can afford that. But she's wasting time there... quality time for her songs and her voice

 

If she were doing a show of deep cuts and D'elles tracks she'd never have made it to 1,000 shows in the first place!

 

Believe me, I'm not fan of the same-old Vegas set list either. But it is what it is for the reason, and it works. And all you need is to listen to some conversations of the audience members filing out of the Colosseum to understand why.

 

The fan base that hangs out at this forum and wants to hear Then You Look at Me or some such is not the target audience. If the set list were comprised of obscure back catalogue (much as I'd love to hear some of it live), she wouldn't be consistently selling out a massive theater. Such is life. She could probably afford 2-3 neglected tunes, but any more than that, and I suspect sales would suffer.

Edited January 8, 2017 at 10:00 PM by scielle

[Javito]

I'm not saying she turns her Vegas show into an anti-tour setlist show, nor that she performs the whole D'elles album in Vegas all of a sudden. But if she had included, say one special day of the month, to perform songs less popular or have taken requests from the fans, like many other artists have already done, things would be very different now. Or changed the show setlist with more frequency, including more rarities, less random covers and more of her own songs. And Vegas audiences is not going to run away just because she performed those rare songs one special day, or even regularly. Many fans would be happy and she wouldn't be regretting a neglected album. If it was neglected, it's only because she wanted to. Like I said, how many artists can afford to perform 1,000 shows in a venue built specifically for her? If among those 1,000 shows (please repeat aloud this number) she hasn't been able to perform each song she has recorded in her albums since 2003 and before, what does the woman need? Edited January 8, 2017 at 10:29 PM by Javito

[scielle]

Agreed.

I always thought it might be worthwhile to experiment with 1 or 2 French shows in each run. Clearly communicated and marketed as French shows, so francophone audiences could plan around that.

Cirque du Soleil did this with Toruk - they had specific dates which were sold as English or French shows, and it was all very clearly communicated at the time of ticket purchase to avoid confusion. I think this could make a lot of people happy!

[scielle]

Here's a Journal de Montreal summary / key quotes -

http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/01/08/je-dors-encore-avec-mes-jumeaux-et-cest-pour-apaiser-ma-peine--16-confidences-bouleversantes-de-celine-a-joselito

[artistman2007]

I love d'elles

[DionFanAlways]

I can't find this any longer.

[Celine Fan 77]

Hey guys, here's the full interview for those who missed it over the weekend!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oupXWWSPnug

Edited January 9, 2017 at 12:12 PM by Celine Fan 77

[CelineDionFreak]

Hey guys, here's the full interview for those who missed it over the weekend!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oupXWWSPnug

THANK YOU!!!!

[dodobird]

Hey guys, here's the full interview for those who missed it over the weekend!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oupXWWSPnug

ΤΗΑΝΚ ΥΟU!!!