Celine Dion | All The Way: A Decade Of Song | CD 632

Queen of the power ballad, throughout the 1990s the Canadian diva Celine Dion bestrode the international pop charts like a colossus. But if her songs sailed into view with all the pomp and bombast of the Titanic, they would never be wrecked on the icebergs of critical scorn, kept buoyant by an audience's passion for tales of fidelity and true love. A Decade Of Song collects Celine's most memorable moments; check, for example, "Power Of Love", Celine belting out "Cause ahm your lady/ And you are mah maaaaaaayn" with such zeal that even the most inept wedding DJ should be able to fill any post-reception dancefloor. "Think Twice" and "My Heart Will Go On" pull ruthlessly efficient feats of epic grandeur, although it's evident that "I'm Your Angel"--a duet with R Kelly--is far from her finest moment. That niggle aside, A Decade Of Song proves Celine is one of our generation's most enduringly successful popular singers. --Louis Pattison