My faith in Celine Dion was dying. Undeniably, her voice was and is remarkable, but some of her songs of late had frankly been worrying. Though 'A New Day has Come' may have been embraced by relieved Celine fans, it was no masterpiece. From her signature power ballads to dance to dodgy R&B, Celine's blitz on countless styles of music was confusing. Many of the tracks seemed over produced and /or badly mixed (what on earth went wrong with 'I'm Alive'?'). Thankfully, it seems that 'One Heart' is a strong, focused offering with straightforward contemporary pop as its mainstay. It's very much a 2003 version of 'Falling Into You.'
'One Heart' starts with Celine's funky version of Roy Orbison's 'I Drove all Night.' People say it lacks soul, but this version is worked around groovy dance rhythms, so it's not exactly going to be a 'My heart Will Go On', is it? Take it for what it is, and that's a really energetic opening to the album (and first single). Max Martin provides some breezy tracks like 'Faith' and the impressive 'In his Touch'. The middle tracks are broadly upbeat, easy going, feel-good kind of stuff. Celine's vocals sore in 'I Know What Love is', and the closing track 'Je t'aime Encore', with a great acoustic accompaniment. Mostly strong songs then, except for the reworked 'Sorry for Love' which limps along dangerously with kind of calypso undertones - dire. And what about 'Have You Ever Been in Love?' Haven't we already heard that?!
I am honest when I say that I recommend this album. It's fresh and more simple than former disks. Although I'm a fan of Celine Dion, I'm not blind to the fact that Sony has been churning out some pap lately knowing full well that Dion's megawatt sales tally would keep growing. Celine isn't resting on her laurels here though - 'One Heart' delivers, and really does deserve the five stars. Superb voice, great songs. Nice photos too - What a hat! Thanks Celine!