Celine Dion - Unison (Anniversary Celebration)

US release date: March 30th 1990
US album chart peak: #74
UK album chart peak: #55

Buy Unison here (Amazon GB)
Read my other Celine anniversary posts here

The first English-language album from now world wide superstar Celine Dion launched her distinctive, powerful voice onto a wider public who would come to know her songs as indelibly as the back of their own hands. Unison was a huge hit in her native Canada, but also made significant inroads in the US, Australia and UK in making her the household name she is today. Her work with producers David Foster and Christopher Neil on the ten tracks that make up Unison showcase her passionate vocals in multiple genres that would make this an easy sell not only to radio programmers but to consumers looking for the next diva album to adorn their shelves. I wasn't really aware of Celine until the album's lead single started making inroads within the US Top 40 (six months after the album was released in Canada), meaning this Brit boy got to hear it on Casey Kasem's radio show that aired on local stations on a Saturday afternoon. I was transfixed by her performance and it is a love affair that continues 30 years later. What follows is a look back at the album's key singles which made it the multi-million selling success it eventually became.

Where Does My Heart Beat Now was not the album's lead single in Canada, but it was the one that launched her to an adoring US audience. As rap, hip hop and new jack swing dominated radios across the States, I think people gravitated to this power ballad because it took them back to times they were already nostalgic for. Plus, a good song will always defy trends and avoid fading fads to find the audience it truly deserves. This torchy love song was a slow stepping groove with an effective and dramatic crescendo. Celine's pondering belted out the emotion with a conviction that was tangible to all who were paying attention. It is no wonder it rocketed up the US charts, becoming a top 5 pop and adult contemporary smash almost exactly one year after the album hit shelves across the northern border. Sadly it wasn't as successful in the UK (where it peaked at 72) - we shamefully, as a nation, didn't truly embrace Celine until she declared The Colour of My Love.

Single number two was actually the album's lead single in Canada. (If There Was) Any Other Way not only had excellent use of parenthesis but demonstrated that Ms Dion could handle a quicker tempo. The drama of that synth keyboard combined with the shimmering girl-group backing vocals made this tale of relationship woe as compelling as any late night soap opera. Not only was it a darn catchy pop song but it firmly established her as a serious contender for Whitney's crown as genre-hopping queen of pop. It was a decent size smash across the North America continent, most notably giving her another top ten smash on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. And releasing the album's title track, Unison, as single number three, introduced her to the club dance floors. One of my favourite Celine songs, this is vintage disco with contemporary beats that stands shoulder to shoulder with smash hits like I'm Your Baby Tonight and I'll Be Your Shelter. The single remix glitters like a swirling disco ball and gosh darn it, if that isn't Ruth Pointer giving Studio 54 realness on the backing vocals. An underrated gem (even with that Frankie Fudge rap)...

Considering she's known as a balladeer, The Last To Know was Celine's first real English language slowie. This cover of a Sheena Easton song suited the aching heartache in her voice beautifully. I recall being miffed (on Celine's behalf) that Billboard magazine called it a return to familiar territory, as if there hadn't been a broad selection of diversity across the singles selected from the album. Still, such eye rolling didn't stop me falling hard for the song, buying the US cassingle on import (plus the only way I could get the remix of Unison at the time). It wasn't as successful as her previous singles but gave her another top 30 adult contemporary hit (and, of course, the album had moved a fair few units by this stage). Have A Heart was the final track released to push album sales just that little bit further. The English version of her own 1987 French language song, Partout je te vois, it is a wonderful example of David Foster's now classic production and keyboard arrangements. Plus the gorgeous song gave Celine a final bit of radio momentum before Beauty and the Beast made her a worldwide success just a few months later.