An open appeal to Celine Dion.... (1 Viewer)

[Wes Larkins]

OHHHHH!!! Ok!!!!!

I know who she is as a matter of fact, Gloria Estefan said in an interview that one of her favorite singers was KD Lang, I remember a song from VH1 i used to hear all the time when I was younger Im thinkin somethin like Constant Craving or something thats the last I had heard of her

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I remember that her neighbors were having a hissy fit because she wanted to fly in her helicopter from her home in Lake Las Vegas (very exclusive) to Ceasars every night of her show. We are talking like 10-11pm every night after the show for the ride home. I think she finally gave in and decided on the old limo routine.

This reminds me of a great story I heard last weekend during a visit with some friends in Beaufort, SC. It seems that Barbra Streisand was renting a house in Beaufort during the filming of a movie (Prince Of Tides, I think). Well, the Marine Air Base in Beaufort is used to practice carrier landings, and Babs was bothered by the planes flying over "her" house in the evening. She decided to complain, and worked all the way up to the base commander, who promised to do something for her. The next night, the planes did not come by that evening, but at 3am.

I guess Celine Dion is a Streisand wanna-be in more ways than one.

 

[Danny Tse]

Scott,

Only if Celine has half the talent of Babs....

k d Lang actually recorded "Crying" with Roy Orbison, and winning a Grammy for it. Old Roy passed away before the presentation of that award. It was a match made in heaven.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

The next night, the planes did not come by that evening, but at 3am.

Heck, I would have scheduled flyovers every 15 minutes from dusk to dawn. And not just planes, but helicopters too, flying low and slow.

And I agree, Celine's "I Drove All Night" is a butchery of that fine song. Sure, I understand the idea of someone re-doing a song and making it their own, but the idea is that it's supposed to be just as good or sometimes better than the original.

 

[Darryl]

Talent aside, I can't help but share this story when Barbara Streisand's name shows up in a thread...

An acquaintance of mine worked with Barbara Streisand as a board member of a certain charity. Before the first board meeting, one of Barbara's little helpers laid out some ground rules on how to communicate with Ms. Streisand. For example, you were not allowed to talk with her during breaks unless you got permission from the little helper first. If you needed to communicate with Ms. Streisand during the meeting, you had to say "excuse me Ms. Streisand" and then wait to be called on before speaking. My acquaintance said "Babs" was an extremely unfriendly, cold, controlling woman.

Incidentally, Robin Williams was also on the board. He knew everyone's name by the end of the first meeting, remembered everyone's name at the start of the second meeting (my acquaintance couldn't claim the same), and instantly treated everyone as if they had been life-long friends.

Off topic, but hey, when will I get another chance to share that story?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

As an addendum to my Beaufort/Marine Air Base story, Streisand had the complete interior of the house she was renting redecorated, including paint/wallpaper, for her brief couple of month stay. When she left, the house was then "unredecorated" -- i.e. returned to its previous state.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread bashing Celine Dion...

 

[Chuck L]

I'm sorry...I would listen to Cher sing the phone book. She is the only Diva on this list so far to have been able to carry herself into four decades of hits and has proven that she can do anything that she sets her mind out to do.

As a long time fan, Cher is never going to the media darling or have the mass appeal that someone like Celine has. Why? Cher isn't willing to whore herself out the way that Celine has on her latest album.

At the same time, while yes Cher has had her highs and lows, she has never gone away. While many sight comeback upon comeback, she has never gone away...she simply wan't doing a release that as mass marketed. During that time, she did some of her best recordings "It's A Man's World" (the UK edition, not the US 'urbanized' version) is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Also, about two years ago she released through Artist Direct an album entitled "Not Commercial" which is one of my favorite Cher albums. Not only is every cut on the album written by Cher, it is her most personal album and shows many ranges of this artist that a record company was not able to see or give a rat's ass about.

Just like she said on the Billboard Music Awards this year in regards to the critics and those people that have said that she was out..."F*** 'em." Cher will always be around. People have had her 'out' for years, but she is always right there and the true fans of the amazing artist and the artist herself are simply standing by and watching.

As far as the latest from Celine...I wish that Cyndi Lauper would get ahold of that little boy in drag and kick her ass for what she has done to Cyndi's wonderful song from 1988.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Sadly, the Chicks are now learning the same hard lesson k.d. did about talking politics to a C&W crowd.

The difference is that the Chicks actually seem to care what the C&W establishment thinks, whereas that doesn't appear to matter at all to k.d. Really different constituencies anyway - the Chicks have established a much larger fan base than k.d. ever could have gained within that genre. No matter how talented, a semi-in-your-face lesbian's never gonna be the belle of the C&W ball...

 

[Darryl]

The difference is that the Chicks actually seem to care what the C&W establishment thinks, whereas that doesn't appear to matter at all to k.d. Really different constituencies anyway - the Chicks have established a much larger fan base than k.d. ever could have gained within that genre. No matter how talented, a semi-in-your-face lesbian's never gonna be the belle of the C&W ball...

LOL! Everything in this paragraph is so totally and completely true I can't help but chuckle.

I've had Shadowlands for years, but that's the only k.d. I've ever owned. Any recommendations for what I should get next?

 

[Chuck L]

Stay away from All You Can Eat. I loathe that release.

I really appreciate and admire the work she did on the album "Drag"...no it isn't an album about Queens, but mostly all the songs have a cigarette them to them. It is very elegant and she is in top form on the album.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Stay away from All You Can Eat. I loathe that release.

To each his own. I really like Eat - I think it's my favorite k.d. album overall. It's more dance-oriented than anything else in her catalog, though...

 

[Chuck L]

Sexuality is the one song of the disc that I can still listen to. When it first came out, I was working in music retail and I built up a huge wall for that album, poster and all, and had her catalog titles mixed in around it for an entire wall of nothing but k.d. It was the only album from her that we got negative reaction to.

I have mostly everything from k.d. and the ones that get played the most are Shadowland, Absolute Torch and Twang and Drag.

IN FACT...last year, or maybe the year before that, my partner and I went to see her and Tony Bennett when they toured together. Wonderful show and she is such a talent that only few know. I even had more respect for her after seeing her live then I did before.

All You Can Eat though is one CD though that maybe I will listen to every two years and that is that.

 

[Chuck L]

Well Buzz...we live just outside Charlotte, NC.

She was truly amazing in concert. Her voice is even better live than it is on record.

What was really astonishing about the show was that Blockbuster Pavillion can seat I believe about 10,000 between the covered area and the lawn. I know that there maybe wasn't even 1,000 people at the show. It was really sad that to see this great woman that few people cared.
(I will tell you though that we didn't stay for Tony Bennett though...neither one of us was interested, and I know that I missed out on some duets with them, but I don't want duets, just her...)

As far as looks and beauty...k.d. has something that most of the Diva's don't have...innner beauty. There is also a true talent that lies within her that is sorely lacking in most of the artist in today. (It is in the same light that I hold up Annie Lennox. I think that she is one of the most awesome artist in any form of media and the woman has proven that she can do just about anything. There is such a radiance from her that you don't find in today's music and there is not way that most would say that she is today's standard of 'beautiful.' What she does have is the confidence, style and the beauty that J-Lo, Janet, Britney nor Christina could have with all the plastic surgery in the world.)

 

[Danny Tse]

OK, please stay with the topic at hand....and that's bashing Celine Dion.

Am I missing something here? Why do people consider her such a great talent?? I just don't understand....most of the songs she sang aren't that great, and certainly her vocal stylings don't improve them any better. Yet she sells millions of records.

 

[Malcolm R]

most of the songs she sang aren't that great, and certainly her vocal stylings don't improve them any better.

Your opinion, of course. As you admit, she still sells millions so apparently there are millions of people that think differently, enjoy her songs, and love her voice. :p)

Personally, I can't see the attraction of 90% of what's on the radio. Yet most of them sell millions too. C'est la vie!

 

[Chuck L]

I liked Celine when she first arrived on the scene in the states.

Her first album with the hits "The Last To Know," "If There Was Any Other Way," and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now?" were great adult contemporary songs. Her next release, simply entitled Celine Dion, featured some fine examples of talent there.

It was after that and the the releases that followed that Celine simply got on my nerves. From the chest pounding, to the theatrics, to the overall attitude, she was off the map for me and my taste. She is basically this generations Barbra Streisand...and I can't stand her either.

So in other words...there was a time was a huge supporter of her. Because of what she became, be it just her, the public or a mix of both...I wouldn't use a Celine Dion liner note to line the bottom of my puppies crate...

 

[RobertW]

allloudness and bombast, and lacking any subtlety or emotion. flash over substance.

 

[Ricardo C]

There's two Celines... The one that sings generic pop and ballads in Vegas, and the one who teamed up with Jean-Jacques Goldman to create the wonderful "Deux" (a.k.a. "The French Album"). It's the only Celine Dion record I own, with the exception of "Live in Paris", which is essentially a live performance of Deux.

Bash her all you want (and I know you do ) but do try to listen to this album, if only to be reminded what she's capable of when she isn't wasting time with forgettable, formulaic songs.

 

[Rob P S]

Celine should hope she never has to follow Alison Krauss in concert - that woman is nothing short of amazing.

 

[Danny Tse]

It's about time!!