Posted by WM on 1/30/2005, 10:49 am
Swinging In English
Music Express Magazine
January 1991
by Tina Clarke
At 23, Celine Dion, has the poise and sophistication of a performer twice her age. With a decade of experience in the business and nine albums already behind her - Dion's been a sensation in her native Quebec since the tender age of 12 - she's a little nervous about the release of Unison, her first English-language
recording.
"In English you can use one word and it means so many different things," Dion muses in an unmistakably French accent. "It's another experience singing in English. When I started work on the album, it was hard for me because I didn't
understand every word. I said to the people that I worked with (including Granmmy Award-winning producer David Foster) to explain every word to me 10 times, because the most important thing to me is to understand what I'm singing.
I like to sing things that I feel."
Despite her initial apprehension, though, Dion quickly mastered the pleasures of words with harsh consonants and double meanings, "It's easier to swing in English," she says, "If you want to sing an uptempo song, in English it's easier
to sing. French is very romantic, very sensitive. English is different."
Whatever the language, on Unison Dion's soaring voice, a blend of smokey sensuality and brassy boldness, performs a disarming magic on each melody, whether it be snappy pop or a heartfelt torch song.
"I'm very lucky, because I can do different kinds of music," she explains, "I enjoy singing ballads, uptempo, powerful songs, blues songs. I love all
different kinds of music; it's the same thing with clothes, perfume, everything.
I don't like one style."
A fan of Anita Baker, Barbra Streisand and Natalie Cole, Dion grew up on the rural outskirts of Montreal, the youngest of 14 children.
"Music is the only thing I know," she states, "I grew up with a mike and guitar, and with musicians and instruments all my life."
For years her parents and older siblings performed in a traditional Quebecois ensemble. "My mother played violin and my father played accordion," she notes.
And during her childhood music provided a welcome distraction from her studies.
"Me, I hate school," she states flatly. During the summer the Dion's would sometimes practice late into the night, inviting the ire of sleepy neighbors.
"Sometimes they would call the police, and the police would come and play music
with us," she recalls.
With an ever-increasing string of accolades in Canada and France - which she represented at the 1982 Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo - Dion now has her sights set on sharing her passion for song with the rest of the world. "I would
love to sing in different languages," she says, "I recorded in German and liked the experience. I'd also like to record in Italian.
"I'm a very lucky person," she adds, "I have a fantastic family, wonderful parents and a fantastic chance to do what I love. Many young people of my age, they dream a lot and maybe don't have the chance to realize their dreams."
And what of those who do, like New Kids on the Block or Debbie Gibson? "If Debbie Gibson feels as good as me, good for her." she says, "I just can't wait to see her and talk to her about bread and music and all that kind of stuff."
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