The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 60

MOVIES, MUSIC AND THEATER OPENINGS AND PERFORMANCES heard it every day for four solid months. PJggg JqJI fig Still, it is the messenger and not the message that ultimately captivates. As the showpiece of Dion's latest effort, "Let's Talk About Love," "My Heart Will Go On" only underscores what we've suspected for several years: Dion is that rare artist who can put indelible magic into everything she does. The depth of her self-investment in every song even the most heavily sugared movie themes yields a touch-of-gold effect we haven't seen since Barbra Streisand's heyday. s.

'S 1. "V- 1 For many years I've managed to keep these pages relatively free of Celine Dion. It's been a tough job, but rewarding. I care about you people. You see, I really don't like Dion, but after she recently won an Oscar for "My Heart Will Go On," which is the love theme from "Titanic," the biggest movie of all time, she can't be ignored.

Veteran critic Scott Robinson admires Dion quite a bit, as you'll read in the following review. In the (self-serving) interest of balance, I'm going to finally uncork on Canada's answer to Meat Loaf after his review. Nothing against Scott, mind you, whose opinion is in the majority. I love Scott. But Dion? That's a whole 'nother bucket of grease.

Jeffrey Lee Puckett, Courier-Journal critic The new diva By SCOTT ROBINSON Special to The Courier-Journal "LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE" Celine Dion (Sony) Formats: cassette, CD If Celine Dion wasn't already unsinka-ble, that infernal "Titanic" song would make her so. Her performance of "My Heart Will Go On" was the live-music climax of the Academy Awards ceremony, and the song then won the Oscar. Her performance of the same song was the most talked about performance at last month's Grammy Awards, and disc jockeys all over town still introduce it reverently despite the fact that we've By JEFFREY LEE PUCKETT Courier-Journal Critic "WHY CELINE IS SO VERY BAD" Me (JaifDisc) Formats: You're holding it. I never paid much attention to Celine Dion until the 1997 Grammy Awards, at which she gave what I consider the single most shocking performance of the decade. She delivered a version of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself' that was jaw-dropping in its cluelessness and almost terrifying in its grandiloquence.

Every nuance was magnified a thousand-fold, and every emotion played as if for the back row of a stadium. Buddy, I was scared. If it had been parody, it would have qualified as art. But it was just Dion, singing a nice little love song the only way she knows how with staggering self-importance. Since then I've kept up with her as much as possible.

I know that she's one of the world's best-selling artists over the last several years. I listened to her latest album the day it came out and wasn't surprised to find it bombastic in every way. I watched her videos and was gratified to find her still clueless, still substituting pan-tomines of emotion for the real thing. And that, for me, is what it all comes down to. Dion would have us think that she lives every moment of these songs as if her heart were breaking, but I'm not convinced she even knows what she's singing.

She knows when to pound her chest or throw her arms in the air, but I don't believe she's invested any real emotion; she's an empty vessel who has learned the language of love from sheet music. Though "My Heart Will Go On" is the album's stand-out track, Dion unapologe-tically demonstrates a bold eclecticism. From the opening track, "You Are the Reason," through the Bee Gees collaboration, "We Don't Say Goodbye," Dion deftly probes any style, any emotional tone that might enhance the moment, never overreaching. No part of her performance is phoned in; she invests every note with a very adult passion and unashamed openness. Her taste in selecting songs is at least the equal of her contemporaries, though even the most ordinary material seems special in her hands.

Her vocal technique rivals that of Streisand (with whom she sings on "Tell her capacity to move us stands alone. There has been little serious artistic artistry among pop vocalists of recent years; it says much about our generation that we celebrate Tony Bennett far more today than we did during his prime. The time has long since come for someone to accept the mantle of a Linda Ronstadt for the 1990s and into the new century. Celine Dion is more, than we could have hoped for. Celine Dion seems unsinkable with "Let's Talk About Love," which features "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic.

The rest of the songs are very eclectic. Listen to any one line from any song by Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington or Etta James and you'll hear the sound of a pounding heart, not a pounded chest. You won't hear anything that reminds you of Dion. TRACKS Concert calendar Cincinnati: Friday at Bogart's, Insane Clown Posse (513-872-8801). Lexington: Wednesday at Lyn-agh's, Merl Saunders (502-361-3100).

Louisville: Tuesday at the Palace Theatre, B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland; next Saturday, Ray Charles and the Louisville Orchestra (502-583-4335 or 502-361-3100). Tuesday at the Brewery, Limp Bizkit, Clutch; Thursday, Insane Clown Posse (502-361-3100). Tuesday at Bellarmine College, Violent Femmes (502-452-8150). Friday at the Toy Tiger, Cinderella, Hair of the Dog (502-361-3100).

Ticket office Cincinnati: April 19 at Bogart's, Overkill (513-872-8801). Lexington: April 21 at Memorial Coliseum, Indigo Girls (502-361-3100). Louisville: April 12 at the Brewery, Deftones; April 17, Leftover Salmon (502-361-3100). April 16 at Jim Porter's Good Time Emporium, Bo Diddley, Tim Krekel and the Groovebillies (502-361-3100). April 14 at Coyote's, Foghat; April 16, Aaron Tippin; April 19, Billy Joe Royal (502-589-3866).

Canceled: April 16 at Louisville Gardens, Mary J. Blige, Usher, NEXT (502-361-3100). BULLETINS, BLASTS AND NEWS BITS and a slick layout job helmed by K. Scott Ritcher. The Initial attitude is strongly apparent in a review of Metroschifter's "Fort Saint "An insane dose of analog flanging makes you feel like you're on an airplane the whole time you're listening to it.

No Labels calls it 'the Pink Floyd of US Rocker calls it the most distinctive Louisville record since Magnet calls it 'Nearly Elsewhere, a Jason Noble (Rachel's Shipping News) side-project called Per Mission is described as "a shameless attempt to cash in on the drums 'n bass retail explosion. Jason personally guarantees that you couldn't spend five dollars in a better way (not including food, shelter or clothing, but including Shelter The catalog, which does include several items of clothing but no Shelter clothing, is available at ear X-tacy, Ground Zero and Better Days record stores and at Verbivore Books. It also acts as an advance notice of the label's a shindig to be held May 29-31 at Stage Door Johnnies featuring many Initial re cording acts. Tickets for the event go on sale Monday and are $8 for Friday, $10 Saturday and $8 Sunday or $25 for all three days. Out this week Here come the quirky and strange.

"Andrew Bird's Bowl of Love" is a solo album by the Squirrel Nut Zippers' fiddle player. Brave Combo's "Polka Party With Brave Combo: Live and Wild at a Real Polka Dance" is probably what it says it is. On the mainstream front, Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell releases his first solo album. Old favorites Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt and Leon Russell each have new albums. Newer faves Pulp, Mew Bomb Turks, Long Fin Kll-lie, Pete Droge, Damon Naomi and Avail are also tipping in with new material.

On the reissue front, 11 albums by the influential German band Can (including "Ege Bamyasi," "Tago Mago" and "Anthology and three more by Can member Holger Czukay will be re-released on the Mute label. Paul Curry, special to The Courier-Journal What we meant to say was A review in last week's Tune In of "Ball One," a compilation of music released by Louisville's David LaDuke, didn't make clear that one of the bands, the Yardbirds Experience, includes an original member of the Yardbirds in drummer, singer and writer Jim McCarty. In case you're wondering what the "Experience" refers to, it's because former Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding is also in the group. Jeffrey Lee Puckett, The Courier-Journal Louisville's buzzin The same issue of Playboy that listed Louisville as a "music mecca" also listed Louisville-based Initial Records as one of 1998's "buzz" labels, which makes the arrival this week of Initial's Spring 98 Catalog all the more timely. Arguably the finest free publication printed in the Louisville area, the catalog features hundreds of brief record reviews mostly written by Adam Rich, the label's founder, Saturday, April 4, 1998 SCENE Page 5.