Live A Paris Natchez MS

Live A Paris

Celine Dion

Sony Music, 1996

REVIEW BY: JB

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/19/1997

It seems to me that I'm the only one who's interested in reviewing so-called "fluff" albums on "The Daily Vault". Sometimes I get intimidated by all the upper-world revelations some reviewers here and on HitsWorld seem to get from all sorts of albums by everyone from Tool to Nirvana. Hey, I like my material; I just want some fun, not the meaning of life.

Because once in a while in the "fluff" hierarchy, an album comes out that screams "I'M AN ARTIST!!!" and perks up my faith in "fluff" (or using Vault lingo, a "gem"). At this precarious time for "fluff" when artists Mariah Carey is preparing, Whitney Houston is going down, Toni Braxton is disappointing, and Spice Girls are overplayed, Celine Dion releases an album that captures her trademark live performances in one neat package.

Don't be turned off by the thirteen out of fifteen French language tracks. Jean-Jacques Goldman works perfectly with Dion, so even if it is essentially a Dion-Goldman concert, it doesn't take away anything at all.

I understand only rudimentary French but this album still took me into a state of stupor. I've seen Celine Dion in concert recently (Seoul performance), and I'm amazed at how perfectly the feeling is captured into disc. The layout is the only disagreeable factor; "J'Attendais" was never my favorite Celine Dion song (Celine, you're a "fluff" artist! Enter with Goddess-like pose!) and "Vole" isn't a good way to end a concert. I was very disappointed that "To Love You More" was not a live performance, just the studio version, released for the sake of the Americans (it was previously released in Southeast Asia and Europe).