Music: {allcanada} Celine Dion dials it down for 'Loved Me Back to Life'

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

{allcanada} Celine Dion dials it down for 'Loved Me Back to Life'

Celine Dion has spoken of taking an earthier approach to singing on Loved Me Back to Life (* * * out of four), her first English-language album in six years, out Nov. 5 and streaming now on SoundCloud. But expecting Dion to get down and dirty would be like expecting Eminem's next album to be a collection of children's songs.

Mercifully, Loved Me offers something more predictable: accomplished adult-contemporary pop that celebrates love, and occasionally laments its elusiveness or loss. Didn't Know Love and Thank You offer softer, grittier vocals and more nuanced drama than previous power ballads; the latter was contributed by Ne-Yo, also Dion's duet partner on the slicker Incredible.

But on the catchiest track, Somebody Loves Somebody, Dion starts out low and sultry, then lets her big, creamy soprano rip — a pattern she follows on the "Wall of Sound"-inspired Breakaway and Thankful, which starts out with a spare piano and crescendos with a gospel choir. A subtler, more subdued Celine Dion may be interesting in theory, but bright shades still suit this diva best.

Download: Somebody Loves Somebody, Breakaway, Overjoyed (with Stevie Wonder)

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