Celine Dion returns with her eighth English-language studio album, which will hit stores on March 25, the same day that she opens her three-year, 600-show engagement at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This satisfactory set, which includes her driving cover of Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night," shows surprising restraint for a diva who just had a coliseum custom-built for her. There is a lightness to One Heart that has been missing from much of Dion's previous work, as she leans more toward upbeat dance numbers, easy-listening rock and even borderline country-pop. The slightly twangy "Naked" sounds like it could have been on a Faith Hill CD.
Even her trademark ballads feature less of the vocal histrionics that we've come to expect from Dion, She displays a subtler, sometimes hushed delivery on "In His Touch." Still, the results can be a bit jarring at times. Dion sounds so strangely subdued on some tracks, you keep waiting for her to really let rip. Although there are only a couple of real clunkers in the bunch, none of the songs comes close to touching such Dion faves as "My Heart Will Go On" and "Because You Loved Me." Two of the strongest cuts are actually recycled from last year's A New Day Has Come: "Have You Ever Been in Love" and a ballad version of "Sorry for Love."
BOTTOM LINE: Decent Dion
Brian McKnight (Motown)
Critic's Choice
Brian McKnight's eighth disc doesn't get off to a promising start. The first cut, "All Night Long," is a shamelessly trend-conscious hip-hop number (featuring a guest rap by Nelly) that sounds an awful lot like B2K's recent chart-topping hit, the kiddie anthem "Bump, Bump, Bump." A couple of other missteps aside, though, the rest of this album doesn't disappoint, as McKnight consistently delivers the kind of sophisticated, melody-driven R & B that suits his supple tenor. Several of the tracks (most of which were entirely written and produced by McKnight) are such strong compositions that you'll swear they're remakes because they just don't write 'em like this anymore. McKnight, nimbly slipping in and out of falsetto, also conjures up '70s-era Marvin Gaye on smooth and sensual slow jams such as "Good Enough," which features guest vocals by fellow soul men Joe, Carl Thomas, Tyrese and Tank.
BOTTOM LINE: Take this U Turn
Deana Carter (Arista Nashville)
The lively title track of Carter's latest shows that she is no ordinary girl when it comes to singing traditional country music. Extolling the joys of baseball, apple pie and freedom, she makes "I'm Just a Girl" a much more effective flag-waver than many of the other patriotic tunes coming from Nashville. Another highlight, "Wild-flower," is sweet and tuneful enough to be a Dolly Parton song. Unfortunately, the rest of this CD vainly attempts to make Carter's sound more contemporary, while losing the unpretentious wit that marked her 1997 hit "Did I Shave My Legs for This?" The metal-infused "There's No Limit," full of high-voltage guitar, seems to be on the wrong album. Meanwhile, "Girls' Night" features the ridiculous ersatz rap: "I'm going downtown, I'm gonna look real nice/ I'll be sportin' my stilettos/ I'm gonna cause a few fights."
BOTTOM LINE: Nothing to kick up your heels about
Richard Ashcroft (virgin)
As frontman of the Verve, Richard Ashcroft was one of the pouty-faced poster boys of brooding Brit pop in the mid-to late '90s. His largely satisfying second solo outing finds the singer still moping on a disc that should come with a prescription for Prozac. "I'd have a breakdown, but I don't have the time," Ashcroft sings in his rich baritone on the bluesy "Bright Lights," the only real rocker among the 10 songs. The rest of this tuneful collection consists of dreamy if downbeat ballads and midtempo numbers such as the single "Check the Meaning," which, with its lush, string-drenched orchestration, has a sweeping majesty reminiscent of the Verve's 1997 hit "Bitter Sweet Symphony."
BOTTOM LINE: Somber but mostly successful
- Contributors:
- Chuck Arnold,
- Ralph Novak.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
