Customer Reviews

The French Album

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A marvelous 1995 collaboration between Celine and Jean-Jaques Goldman, this CD is treasure. Goldman wrote all the songs, except for "Cherche encore" ("Search Again"), which was written by Erick Benzi. Goldman and Benzi did all but one of the superb arrangements and musical direction; the final track, the sweet, beautiful "Vole" ("Fly"), is very simple, and by pianist Roland Romanelli. Goldman joins Celine in a terrific duo, the energetic "J'irai ou tu iras" ("I'll Go Where You Go").

Highlights for me are: Three gentle, melodic ballads that are sung with a depth of emotion that goes straight to the heart: "Je sais pas" (I Don't Know"), "La memoire d'Abraham", and "J'attends" ("I Was Waiting") are exquisite, and the funky, smooth and easy "Le Ballet" is irresistible.
Celine's agile voice is like an instrument with extraordinary precision; in "Prie`re paienne" ("Pagan Prayer"), which is a vibrant up-tempo number with a flurry of horns, she uses her voice like a trumpet, to remarkable effect. What appeals to me the most are the many colors of her sound; she can go from a luminous whisper to a rich, dark resonance, and her phrasing is exceptional.

The booklet insert has lovely photographs and some recording information. No lyrics are supplied, and it would have been nice to have them, with English translations, for those who do not speak French, especially since these lyrics are poetic and very moving. The music alone however, and Celine's heartfelt renditions, are more than enough to satisfy the listener. Total time: 47'12.

I have to admit I don't speak French. I pick up a few words here and there, but I already have all of Celine Dion's English albums and I wanted some more of that heavenly angelic voice and I decided to buy 2 French albums, this one and S'il Suffisait D'aimer. Both are excellent and though I can't understand what she's singing about, there's a specialness about her singing that lets you enjoy the song even if you don't understand the lyrics.

My favorite tracks on this album are Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore and Cherche Encore. The best!

Some people get really touchy when they ponder whether to buy one of Céline Dion's product for fear of some nasal art produced by a mediocre artist. Well, this album might be it that will change your point of view in spite of her amateurish try with French rock star Jean Jacques Goldman.

The first track is a soulful French ballad that showcases Céline Dion's deeply felt emotions together with the innovative arrangements of Jean Jacques Goldman's catchy beats. Later Céline's music evolves into a variety of genres including the impishly jazzy Le Ballet (which is a feature song for her D'eux concerts), the rock Cherchez Encore and J'iras Ou Tu Iras and more soulful Le Memoire D'Abraham and Vole. Not to forget the uptempo Destin for the pop-goers.

Would strongly recommend this to everyone, who hasn't heard good music for a long time. This is timeless and one of Céline's best albums in my opinion. If you like this, probably you will like S'il Suffisait D'aimer and A New Day Has Come as well.

When I first bought this album, as first on cassette it was the "The French Album" and three years ago I imported it as D'Eux. This is a wonderful and beautiful album with moving lyrics that would work in any language, thanks to Jean-Jacques Goldman and Erik Benzi. Céline recorded this album in 1994 right before her wedding to her husband, René. They had this album for about two months, and agreed with Jean-Jacques that they would not let anyone listen to this album. It has jazzy songs, with strings and slow moving songs such as the song that Jean-Jacques and the Angélils thought would be perfect for Karine, Vole. And the two duets between Céline and Jean-Jacques Les Derniers seront Les Premiers and J'irai ou iras. And my favorite songs, Pour Que Tu M'aimes Encore and Je Sais Pas, which can be found as the English translated songs "If That's What It Takes" and "I Don't Know," on her English megahit Falling Into You. I actually give this album, 10 star rating, but that's not possible here.

Flagellation is preferable to listening to the great pop "divas" - but there are exceptions, and this CD is one.

Celine Dion sounds better in French than she does in English - and this, I have read, is the all-time best-selling CD in France. Dion's "Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore" is one of the best performances I have ever heard. Celine does every verse differently as the song builds from subdued to an emotional high. The second great vocal performance on this CD is the last half-minute of "Les Derniers Seront les Premiers" where she does some background warbling that just blows you away.

Most of the other songs are merely very good, rather than great, and three or four of the up-tempo songs are not so good. They sound frantic. French has never been a good language for rock and roll.

Dion followed this with a second, similar CD, "S'il Suffisait D'Aimer" which is almost as good.

Ther's only one thing to say:Get this CD! It's DEFINITELY the best CD Céline has ever released, something that isn't very surprising when one looks at the fact the most of the songs were written by Jean Jacques Goldman, one of the most gifted French songwriters.Every song has been my "special" favorite one time or another. It's an album you never get tired of. Hey, when it came out in '95 I listened to it AT LEAST 2 times a day! I really have problems saying which songs are the best. If I had to choose, I'd say it's "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" which has a brilliant video as well. The only disadvantage is the horrible title:In the non-English speaking countries it's known under the title "D'eux," which in my opinion sounds way better. Céline is obviously (;-)) one of my favorite singers,and as I own all of her Sony releases, I really have to say that the French albums stand out of the crowd. You should also get "S'il suffisait d'aimer," but this one's better. A survey found out that 1 in 3 people in France owns this CD! No wonder, it was among the top 10 albums in France for over a year. So what are you waiting for? Get this CD NOW!

Personally, I feel that this album is the best one Céline ever did (although her new French album "S'il suffisait d'aimer" is wonderful, too!). Everybody who knows about her biography knows also that French is her mother tongue and that she only started to learn English at the age of about 14 (if I am not mistaken). Additionally to that, she was - of course - raised in French culture. That is why I think that her French songs are simply more genuine than the English ones. Of course, when she sings in English, she'll attain a larger public. But to my mind that is not the point. I love the fact that she still does not forget her "roots". And I hope she'll never stop producing French albums beside her English ones. In fact, I think that her English and her French songs cannot (and shall not) be compared: They have an absolutely different character, so they are not in competition but they have each their very special charm. Merci, Céline, de ne pas oublier tes origines, et s'il te plaît, continue de travailler avec J-J Goldman, les résultats de votre travail sont merveilleux!

Combine excellent lyrics, music full of emotion and one of the greatest female voices of our time and you will have this CD. I highly recommend it to all those who speak French, to those who are learning the language or simply to those who enjoy first quality music. You will laugh, cry and fall in love again listening to this work of art.

My favorite songs: Pour que tu m'aimes encore, je sais pas, j'attendais and cherche encore.

Bravo Celine!

Celine Dion just knows what she's doing. It is a rare and special thing to see someone so talented also pursue her artistic vision with such clarity and emotion. Jean Jacques Goldman has given her absolute treasures to sing here, and like any great singer, Celine rises to the occasion and sings the snot out of these songs.

I'm also going to comment on the photographs of Celine in the CD liner. They're very nice, especially the pseudo Frida Kahlo shot on the inside cover. She's done enough with her hair and everything else....this is her true calling and her best image. French it up, girl! Your voice is the perfect cultural transmitter!

Celine sounds great in any language, but I must confess that when she sings in her native French, her vocals take on an added dimension that prove once and for all that she is a vocalist of the highest caliber. I do hope that she will one day be able to take one of her French songs onto the U.S. charts; Americans just have no clue what they're missing.

I am learning French and chose to buy Celine's recordings in her native language. I also obtained the lyrics from the Sony Music website. A great way to learn the language with one of the most popular divas in music today. The music is fantastic and the songs are first-rate. I highly recommend it!