One Heart Review

07/13/2005 7:16 AM, AMG


Five years separated Celine Dion's 2002 comeback, A New Day Has Come, and its predecessor, Let's Talk About Love. One year later -- nearly to the day -- Celine Dion released One Heart, touted upon its release as an audio souvenir of her three-year engagement at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, which also began on March 25, 2003. One Heart recalls several of Dion's diva peers, including borrowing Britney Spears mastermind Max Martin for three songs. If Spears' stuttering, stop-start dance-pop seems too young for Dion on "Love Is All We Need," there's the unapologetically Barbra Streisand-esque "Have You Ever Been in Love." If that seems stodgy, aim straight at the mainstream with sunny, catchy title track. Then, there's the tongue-in-cheek, neo-house cover with "I Drove All Night" and "Naked," reminiscent of Jennifer Love Hewitt's "Bare Naked," down to the acoustic guitar arrangements. One Heart favors a smooth Vegas-showstopper gloss to radio-ready sheen, with the title track and "Naked" standing out. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide