| Most Celine Dion fans are familiar with the English-language work of the Quebec-born singer. After all, this is a chart-topping artist who is renowned for her soaring power ballads and can command an impressive Las Vegas performance run. Many listeners, however, are not aware of the French-language aspect of Dion's career, when, in fact, the emotive vocalist has recorded numerous albums in her native tongue. ON NE CHANGE PAS, a two-disc 2005 retrospective of Dion's recordings in French, aims to give this material wider exposure, succeeding with a well-selected 36-track set. The collection begins with two new songs--the gentle "Je Ne Vous Oublie Pas" and the dramatic "Tous Les Secrets"--before revisiting many of Dion's past French-language hits. ON NE CHANGE PAS also includes a collaboration with the pop/opera group Il Divo, "I Believe in You," which is primarily sung in French, despite its English title. For those interested in the Gallic side of Dion's bilingual career, this compilation is the perfect place to begin.Celine Dion's ascent from stardom in her native Canada to the upper echelons of international pop divadom is one of the 1990s major success stories. Blessed with a formidable set of pipes and a preference for heart-in-the-throat ballads, the precociously talented Dion initially won over American listeners in 1991, 10 years after her French-language debut, with the title track from Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. From then on, Dion became a music-biz phenomenon, with platinum record sales, sold-out concerts, and across-the-board appeal rivaling her idol, Barbra Streisand. | |