2008 Woodie Awards
Celine Dion gives us more of the same on Taking Chances
Caity Cudworth
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Entertainment
1/30/08 - Celine Dion has been with us through thick and thin, serenading us with her weirdly intense brand of light rock power ballads since the 1980s. More than two decades later she's still at it - dishing up more of the overly dramatic songs for which she is known (and, I guess, loved) on her new album Taking Chances.
Throughout her career Celine has been a constant fixture in pop music, comforting and inspiring us like no other middle-aged Canadian pop star. Like a rainbow of hope, love, and wisdom, Celine has been there to share important lessons with the world, giving advice such as "there's no easy way out," "don't give up on your faith," and other sentiments that could easily be plastered on a motivational poster with a waterfall and some kittens.
But for all her popularity, Celine remains a diva for the QVC set. She's the musical equivalent of a bedazzled pantsuit - flashy but unstylish. She's reliably un-cool, and that's okay, because that's the Celine we all know and love.
On her new album she's fully embraced this image. Celine (never one for irony) isn't taking many risks on Taking Chances. She's made a safe album of her signature opulently over-the-top ballads, and the results are pretty predictable.
The album's melodramatic title track, "Taking Chances," is typical of most of Celine's work: it draws you into its swirling and disorienting vortex of hope and high-pitched inspirational lyrics so that, by the end of the song, you feel lifted by a vague, commercial hopefulness.
But at the same time it leaves you feeling hollow and kind of depressed. Mostly because you realize that you're listening to Celine Dion. And, to make matters worse, you're probably listening to Celine Dion by yourself … because with the exception of middle-aged housewives, Vegas show-goers, and people who actually read Parade magazine, most people are ashamed to openly enjoy her music. (Unless, of course, it's done in a suitably ironic fashion.)
Throughout her career Celine has been a constant fixture in pop music, comforting and inspiring us like no other middle-aged Canadian pop star. Like a rainbow of hope, love, and wisdom, Celine has been there to share important lessons with the world, giving advice such as "there's no easy way out," "don't give up on your faith," and other sentiments that could easily be plastered on a motivational poster with a waterfall and some kittens.
But for all her popularity, Celine remains a diva for the QVC set. She's the musical equivalent of a bedazzled pantsuit - flashy but unstylish. She's reliably un-cool, and that's okay, because that's the Celine we all know and love.
On her new album she's fully embraced this image. Celine (never one for irony) isn't taking many risks on Taking Chances. She's made a safe album of her signature opulently over-the-top ballads, and the results are pretty predictable.
The album's melodramatic title track, "Taking Chances," is typical of most of Celine's work: it draws you into its swirling and disorienting vortex of hope and high-pitched inspirational lyrics so that, by the end of the song, you feel lifted by a vague, commercial hopefulness.
But at the same time it leaves you feeling hollow and kind of depressed. Mostly because you realize that you're listening to Celine Dion. And, to make matters worse, you're probably listening to Celine Dion by yourself … because with the exception of middle-aged housewives, Vegas show-goers, and people who actually read Parade magazine, most people are ashamed to openly enjoy her music. (Unless, of course, it's done in a suitably ironic fashion.)