Reissue Theory: Celine Dion, “Falling Into You”

The Second Disc’s Mother’s Day Mania continues with a Reissue Theory look at Celine Dion’s Falling Into You, the Canadian chanteuse’s fourth English-language LP and one of her all-time best.

Wait, what?

For some, it is weird to label a Celine Dion record as good. Even more forgiving folks will come down hard on her for what some would consider her increasingly schmaltz output over the years (particularly after the inescapable “My Heart Will Go On” helped propel Titanic to an even wider appeal). Those that decry her for being a too-calculated woman in pop need only observe when she was more of a girl – her earnest covers of Jennifer Rush’s “The Power of Love” and Patti LaBelle’s “If You Asked Me To,” or her fantastic contribution (with Peabo Bryson) to the theme to Disney’s superb Beauty and the Beast – and then one might find something to like.

This is perhaps why Falling Into You may be her most satisfying LP (at least to this writer): she ably straddled the girlish and womanly impulses in her ’90s pop niche, and the result was a great mix of tunes that included a few phenomenal covers (“River Deep, Mountain High,” “All by Myself” and Jim Steinman’s superb “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” originally an obscurity by Pandora’s Box!) and light tunes like “Dreamin’ of You” and the title track.

This album largely showcases Dion for what she really is: she’s not heavily reliant on vocal acrobatics (at least, not yet), but she could make a song her own, no doubt about it. If Legacy ever reissues the album, there are a few bonus cuts worth adding for good measure, and you can take a look after the jump.

The trick about Falling Into You is it’s so long; were one to add the typical two bonus tracks that were on most international versions, you’ve nearly filled the whole CD. Perhaps other demos and outtakes exist in the vault that could make up a Legacy Edition of some sort; they would complement the few previously released cuts that would have to be left off for space issues.

Celine Dion, Falling Into You (originally released as 550 Music BK 67541, 1996)

1. It’s All Coming Back to Me Now
2. Because You Loved Me (Theme from Up Close and Personal)
3. Falling Into You
4. Make You Happy
5. Seduces Me
6. All by Myself
7. Declaration of Love
8. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (European bonus track – Columbia 483792 2, 1996)
9. Dreamin’ of You
10. I Love You
11. If That’s What It Takes
12. I Don’t Know
13. River Deep, Mountain High
14. Your Light (European bonus track – Columbia 483792 2, 1996)
15. Call the Man
16. Fly
17. The Power of the Dream (European B-side to “Because You Loved Me” CD single – Columbia 663219 2, 1996)