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Album review: Loved Me Back to Life by Celine Dion

Dec 3, 2013 Music

LovedMeBackToLife

The wailing diva’s back, and someone advised her to slum it with the kind of hip-hop influenced electronic productions typical among the 20-something pop glitterati. Dion survives the transposition, proving that the autotuned, autopiloted turns of the Mileys and Rihannas can’t substitute for commanding vocal prowess and genuine power.

For all that, her problem remains the same as ever: that every note she sings is an emotional punchline, that there’s never, ever, any holding back, making the net result about as emotionally complex as a musical greeting card.

Many of these excuses for songs are clearly written by focus groups, which is unintentionally emphasised by her pointless cover of a really great piece, Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen”.

And what’s with the title, with its connotations of necrophilia and resurrection? Ewww!

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Metro N°444 is Out Now.

Welcome to the new issue of Metro! The Top 50 restaurants in Auckland! What are New Zealand’s mad scientists up to? Ed Hillary and the (or perhaps a) Yeti! We catch up with the affable Jack Tame! As well as the 3-bodied Jess Hong. A studio visit with sculptor Yona Lee! Sam Brooks derides the dearth of arts criticism! What are the Take Out Kids up to when they’re not on TV? And more, much more.

Cover by Sarah Larnach

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