Customer Reviews

A New Day...Live In Las Vegas w/Bonus DVD

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

If you like listening to a live performance without the video than this one is for you... the DVD is just a teaser that has some interesting information about Celine, but doesn't have the live Las Vegas show I wanted to see. Again... save your money and wait until we can buy a DVD with her live stage performance that will have some entertainment value. I gave it two stars... very disappointed! C'mon Celine ... make it right for your fans... give us your live Las Vegas show on DVD! and make everyone happy!

Celine Dion recently released her first live English language album. "A New Day...Live In Las Vegas," debuted at #10 on Billboard's album chart and is the precursor to a fall tri-DVD release featuring the same concert. While fans will certainly find plenty to enjoy it is not difficult to realize that this release could have been made far more relevant.

Dion's performance is, from beginning to end, top of the line. However, the quality of the setlist is not. After opening with Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" she ill-advisedly rushes through two of her biggest hits, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and "Because You Loved Me". Both from her Grammy-winning 1996 album "Falling Into You," they are performed in just under six minutes and lack all the power of their original studio versions. Also, her low-key interpretation of Peggy Lee's "Fever" is extremely weak and a clear waste of space on the disc; the song does not suit her.

There are some extreme standouts, however. Her rendition of Barbra Streisand's "If I Could," which she dedicates to all the children and parents of the world, is heart tugging and inspired. Furthermore, her upbeat performances of her 2002 single "I'm Alive" and Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" perfectly demonstrate her versatility and vocal prowess. In fact, she displays it quite well throughout the entire performance, obviously without the use of any sneaky tricks or lip-syncing as she did in the past on her "The Colour of My Love Concert" DVD.

One problem with this release, nonetheless, is the blatant lack of Dion's own material. Of the thirteen tracks culled from the concert, eight were already made famous by other singers long before she ever sang them. She has enjoyed a rare career longevity and has had many well-deserved hits, such as her first stateside single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" which hit #3 on Billboard's Hot 100, and the fact that only a droplet of those hits are represented is ultimately dissapointing, especially since there are exactly nineteen minutes of space on the disc where no music resides. On top of that, fans will be left irksome after noticing the obnoxious FBI "Unauthorized Duplication" warning stamp on the back of the album artwork and on the disc. Apparently, Dion has a penchant for intrusive logos, as was also evidenced by the shameless Chrysler advertisement included in the artwork for last year's quickly assembled "One Heart" album.

The addition of a bonus DVD that includes footage of Dion filming her "One Heart" video and in the recording studio as well as two lip-synced performances rounds out the package. It also is adorned by the FBI logo, and will only be part of the album's initial pressing. What still makes this worth your hard-earned money, though, are the two new studio recordings included at the end of the disc, "You and I" and "Ain't Gonna Look the Other Way". They are both perfect performances that prove that she is a world-renowned singer for a reason and that she is only getting better with age.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Céline Dion's! And I still think she deserves that respect of mine for her phenomenal accomplishments in these short years. I think, however, I miss those days before All The Way... A Decade of Song, when she was really consummate in all her works. She did also admit that she was very disciplined in training her vocals as a professional. After her hiatus - and the baby - she began to sound all so nasal (she was in the first place, but she's getting more so!). This album totally proves that fact. Rather than the really majestic soaring voice she once had, she has been barely gratifying her fans now with very nasal thin vocals. What happened? Her rendition of What A Wonderful World in this album is one of the worst I've heard by a professional artist. Not forgetting the lackadaisical effort to please her fans with just 2 (2??) new songs. "I Ain't Gonna Look The Other Way" is good (but nasal still), but "You And I" was a disappointment, more suited for the new fans since A New Day Has Come. Bring back David Foster, Diane Warren... Bring back Céline Dion PLEASE.

If you'd keep an open mind, even Celine's 'non-fans' would have to admit that this show is simply out of this world. It blew me away. There are a few good songs missing, but for her vocals and the memories of one of the best shows I've ever seen, I love, love, love this cd. If you can go see her in Las Vegas, then do so. If you've already seen her, get this to relive it all again.

Don't get me wrong. I've been a Celine Dion fan from the time I heard "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" in November 1990, back when I was just 7 years old. I've grown up with Celine's music, and have bought her albums as fast as I could since I first picked up "Falling Into You". There's a definite history of my listening to, and being captivated by, her music.

That said, this is easily the worst album she's ever done. Even some of the more cringe-worthy demo-style recordings she occasionally did as a child prodigy in Quebec are moot compared to this. This is supposed to be the audio to a great spectacle of a show. And therein lies its shame.

For a supposedly great show, this only ends up sounding mediocre. Her accent, while pleasant on her previous live records, grates on the nerves here because it's so thick as to make her virtually impossible to understand. The supple quality of her voice has vanished, and is replaced by something that sounds like a death rattle. One is forced to wonder if that is the sound of a singer who knows her time is almost up.

The few songs of hers don't stand up to their studio counterparts, and the new recordings of the remakes she's done live in concert turn out to be rather lifeless and dull. Even her try at Peggy Lee's "Fever" -- always a fun, snappy tune in my book -- sounds shockingly boring. Sorry, but Eva Cassidy's version was more bluesy, and Madonna's club jam remake was funkier.

The only memorable track is one oven-fresh from the studio, "You And I". The single is a bouncy club-lite anthem to the beauty of love, which has topped the Adult Contemporary chart in her native Canada. That song, and the album art, alone is why I gave this album two stars. The second studio track is yet another yawn-inducing ballad that her hardcore detractors have come to expect from her.

The accompanying DVD isn't terribly impressive either, as it contains many scenes that most Celine fans have already seen before, and doesn't do much more than act as a half-hour commercial for the "A New Day..." concert. The semi-humourous commentary by Wayne Brady and the sadly brief scenes of Celine working in the recording studio and rehearsing dance steps for "New Day" are the only parts that save the DVD from being a total waste of laser etchings.

Oh yeah, and the prominent anti-piracy stickers all over the casing and CD labels tick me off as well. I happen to be a downloader who usually downloads albums to see if I like them, and then buys them. I didn't take that precaution with this one. Being a hardcore Celine fan, I simply bought this right off the bat, assuming that Celine would give me my money's worth, as I've been able to depend upon in the past.

I was sadly mistaken. Don't make the same mistake I did. Save your hard-earned cash and download "You And I". Or, if you're afraid of the feds coming after you, tape it off the radio and wait for the CD single to be released.

If I could talk to her... "Celine, Girl! Where did you hit your head! You left out The Power of Love!" how could she forget about her best songs ever, and I dont care what so and so did back in the day. We want to hear true Celine songs not someone elses. And the vocals on the album are so werid. She sounds incribly different. And the whole changing bands thing was a stupid idea.

Celine's Live English album A new day... Live in Las Vegas is wayyy awesome! If you've been to the show already, you can relive your favorite moments over and over again with this CD, but if you haven't been yet, you can still listen to her Live Las Vegas concert on the album whenever you want. And the Celine DVD is also amazing! The one year... one heart that comes with this CD. It is 36 minutes long, and is wonderful! I HIGHLY recommend that you buy this album if you don't already have it, I just bought my copy last weekend. :-)

I just came back from her show in Las Vegas. I was in Caeser's palace, at the Celine Dion gift shop,shopping for goodies. This show and two others that I attended in past, took my breath away! Go see this show if you get the chance. You will not regret it! Celine Dion has a incredible talent. Her voice is very beautiful and powerful! You enter a room filled with love and light. You should experience this at least once in your lifetime.

I don't care what others feel, she can SING! Her music will touch your heart:) Enjoy this cd and all her other albums!


You and I is another song on track and she sang it at the concert. I personally think its a great piece. I hope in the future they offer more different video dvds of her other songs.

As much as I have enjoyed Celine Dion's talents holding in the place as one of the best vocalists, this CD does nothing to showcase any of her skills. I felt let down to a certain degree and the live DVD/Video will probably be a better showcase of her talents. When all you can do is hear a show live, you want to hear some nice vocals. For much of the CD, Celine sings really low and does none of the vocal acrobatics and tricks she is known for which makes the CD very ho-hum, run of the mill. From a singer like Celine, I at least want to hear the climax in BECAUSE yOU LOVED ME and MY HEART WILL GO ON but she does those notes in her mid to low range voice which is nothing special. Do not get me wrong because she can definately sing as the CD shows but when you sing live, you have to do something new or even better than the original. Here, she presents the songs in a more boring, a more reserved fashion than the original. The two new songs also show the direction Celine's music is heading as they are very bubblegum and disposable. I know that a new day has come and that Celine is older but as far as selecting material, she needs to get better at doing it because all of this more mature Britney Spears poppish stuff is not working for her. This is certainly a CD for Celine purists, Celine diehards because it does nothing new or spectacular. Visually seeing the live will do better for me because the audio does nothing.

I find this a hard recording to review. I enjoy listening to it, as I haven't been able to go to Vegas to see her live show. However, the setlist is terribly imbalanced. Instead of including her big hits, there's only a few. In exchange, we get her versions of classic songs. Some work, some aren't as good. For example, she does fine renditions of "If I Could", "Nature Boy", "What A Wonderful World" and "At Last". However her take on classics like "Fever", "I Wish" and "I've Got The World On The String", aren't up to par. She manages to include a few hits, however I didn't appreciate the shortened versions of "Because You Loved Me" and "It's All Coming Back To Me Now". She does a great job on classics like "My Heart Will Go On", "I Drove All Night", and an emotional reading on "Et Je T'aime Encore". The new tracks, "You And I" and "Ain't Gonna Look The Other Way", sound like ONE HEART leftovers, but they are still fine pieces of pop music that show the songstress trying new directions with her music. Overall not the best live cd, it could have used more hits, and as well there was plenty more room for other tracks.