A New Day Has Come

by Celine Dion

Overview

Like politicians, pop superstars staging a comeback need to be on message, devising a story line and sticking to it from conception to completion. Celine Dion's message is a simple one -- one that would be evident to anybody paying the slightest bit of attention. After a ballyhooed semi-retirement following 1999's semi-collection All the Way -- a retirement where she gave birth and tended to her manager/husband's recovery from cancer -- it was time to begin a new chapter in her life, something made explicit in the title of the comeback, A New Day Has Come. Of course, the new day is the new chapter of Celine's life -- she's still a caring, loving wife and mother, but she's ready to return to music with a vigor, including a three-year stint as the main attraction at Caesars in Las Vegas. Life -- or at least opportunists -- has a way of interfering with even the best-laid plans, and the week A New Day Has Come hit the stores, it was revealed that Dion's husband was the center of a dubious civil lawsuit claiming he raped a woman in Las Vegas in the late '90s, but the delivery of the message was so strong, so well-conceived, that this barely made a dent in the media blitz (no mention of it in a USA Today cover story the day of release, for instance). No matter your musical taste, you have to admire that feat, and to a certain extent you have to admire the construction of this album, as well, since it's about as perfect as it could be. That doesn't mean it's a perfect album, but it does exactly what it should do -- it doesn't deviate from Dion's mainstream audience, yet it dips its toe into modern music, particularly dance, while subtly addressing her status as a working mom (which somehow translates as she's a survivor), while keeping hip ("Nature Boy" at the end was surely included because of its prominence in Baz Luhrmann's pandering swill, Moulin Rouge). It's savvily sequenced, too, with the radio remix of the title track arriving before the original version! It's so carefully assembled that even stumbles like the bizarre "Rain, Tax (It's Inevitable)" wash away without much effort, which is a testament to how well-made this record is. There's really nothing to fault it on, actually -- it's more ambitious than it needs to be, covers more stylistic territory than any other Dion record, while never abandoning the middle-of-the-road; it's a balancing act that nobody since Barbra Streisand has been able to pull off. If there's any problem with the record, it's that the songs just aren't that particularly memorable, even after several spins. The mood shifts effortlessly, it never seems to stay in one place, but it never catches hold, either. Surely, some of these songs will define themselves through repeated plays on the radio, but oddly the lack of memorable songs doesn't hurt A New Day Has Come much at all, since the fact that it succeeds without real songs makes it all the more impressive. That's what staying on message is all about -- delivering the surface and the overall theme without delivering in the details -- and, in 2002, Celine Dion does that better than any of her peers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/26/2002
Label:	Bmg / Bmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0889853380428
Rank:	33531

Tracks

1. I'm Alive
2. Right in Front of You
3. Have You Ever Been in Love
4. Rain, Tax
5. A New Day Has Come
6. Ten Days
7. Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)
8. Prayer
9. I Surrender
10. At Last
11. Sorry for Love
12. Aun Existe Amor [Spanish Version of "L'amour Existe Encore"]
13. The Greatest Reward
14. When the Wrong One Loves You Right
15. A New Day Has Come
16. Nature Boy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Celine Dion   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Chantal Kreviazuk   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Shelene Thomas   Vocals (Background)
Paul Jackson, Jr.   Guitar
Skyler Jett   Vocals (Background)
Simon Franglen   Keyboards
Andreas Carlsson   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Steve Morales   Vocals (Background)
Kristian Lundin   Keyboards
Chieli Minucci   Guitar
Claytoven Richardson   Vocals (Background)
Francis Benitez   Vocals (Background)
Gavin Greenaway   String Conductor
Shania Twain   Vocals (Background)
Joey Diggs   Vocals (Background)
Robert John "Mutt" Lange   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Luis Conte   Bongos
Keith Fluitt   Vocals (Background)
Peer Astrom   Vocals (Background)
Walter Afanasieff   Keyboards,Bass
Yvonne Williams   Vocals (Background)
Eric Kupper   Guitar
Michael Landau   Guitar
Sam Watters   Vocals (Background)
Guy Roche   Synthesizer
Harry "Slick" Sommerdahl   Piano
Marc Antoine   Guitar
Margaret Dorn   Vocals (Background)
Sue Ann Carwell   Vocals (Background)
Sebastian Nylund   Guitar
Esbjoern Oehrwall   Guitar
Henrik Janson   String Conductor
Marc Dold   Guitar
William Ross   Conductor
Dorian Cheah   Guitar,Violin,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric)
Terry Britten   Guitar
Kevin Breit   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Kevin Fox   Cello
Jeanette Olsson   Vocals (Background)
Thomas Lindberg   Bass
Mark Portmann   Keyboards
Richard Page   Vocals (Background)
Richie Jones   Guitar
Mary Griffin   Vocals (Background)
Rafael Padilla   Percussion
Dan Warner   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Marcus Brown   Bass,Drums,Percussion
Rutger Gunnarsson   String Conductor
Jorge Calandrelli   Piano,Conductor
David Siegel   Keyboards
Nana Hedin   Vocals (Background)
Michael Hart Thompson   Guitar
Janie Barnett   Vocals (Background)
Maryanne Morgan   Vocals (Background)
Sakai   Vocals (Background)
Uli Janson   String Conductor
Stephan Moccio   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Stockholm Session Orchestra   Strings
Sebastien Chouard   Guitar
Jennifer Carr   Vocals (Background)
Stockholm Session Strings   Strings
Anders Bagge   Vocals (Background)
Kenny O'Brien   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Pablo Munguia   Assistant Engineer,Engineer
Simon Franglen   Arranger,Producer,Synthesizer Programming
Andreas Carlsson   Composer,Producer
Steve Morales   Arranger,Composer,Producer,MIDI Programming
Eden Ahbez   Composer
Kristian Lundin   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Programming
Christian B.   Producer,Programming
Christopher Neil   Producer
Gavin Greenaway   String Arrangements
Charlie Dore   Composer
Celine Dion   Liner Notes
Dave Reitzas   Engineer
Maggie Rodford   String Coordinator
Robert John "Mutt" Lange   Composer,Producer
Lenny DeRose   Engineer
Peter Doell   Engineer,Recording
Robert Conley   Programming
Louis Biancaniello   Composer
Peer Astrom   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Digital Editing
Martin Briley   Composer
Rich Davis   Production Coordination
Walter Afanasieff   Producer,Programming,Drum Programming,Arranger
Nick Thomas   Engineer
Maxime le Forestier   Composer
Eric Kupper   Keyboard Programming
Ric Wake   Producer
Sam Watters   Composer
Mick Guzauski   Mixing
Guy Roche   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Chris Brooke   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Daria   Stylist
Arnthor Birgisson   Composer
Vladimir Meller   Mastering,Compilation Mastering
Aldo Nova   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Joe Wohlmuth   Digital Editing
Dan Hetzel   Engineer
Henrik Janson   String Arrangements
Marc Dold   Programming
William Ross   String Arrangements,Orchestral Arrangements
Terry Britten   Composer
Simon Hurrell   Engineer,Track Engineer
Kevin Breit   Engineer
Felipe Elgueta   Engineer,Synthesizer Programming
Humberto Gatica   Arranger,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Mixing
Kevin Churko   Engineer,Pro-Tools
Mark Portmann   Arranger
Richie Jones   Producer,Drum Programming
David Foster   Composer
Nick Wollage   Engineer,String Engineer
Pascal Obispo   Composer
Tom Bender   Mixing Assistant
Bernard Loehr   Mixing,String Engineer
Marcus Brown   Keyboard Programming,Percussion Programming
Daryl Hall   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer,Lyricist
Vito Luprano   Producer,Executive Producer
Mark Russell   Production Coordination
Denis Savage   Vocal Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Rutger Gunnarsson   String Arrangements
Patrick Weber   Stage Technician
Jim Annunziato   Engineer
Jorge Calandrelli   Orchestral Arrangements
David Siegel   Composer
John Amatiello   Pro-Tools,Digital Editing
Dave Scheuer   Engineer
Dushyant Bhakta   Engineer
Jason Lloyd   Scoring Crew
Magnus Anderson   Assistant Engineer
Tom Nichols   Composer
Woody Pornpitaksuk   Compilation Editing
Shep Solomon   Composer
Luc Plamondon   Composer
Brian Mercier   Engineer
Kara DioGuardi   Composer
Steven Kadison   Assistant,Mastering Assistant
Laila Bagge   Composer
Gerard Schachmes   Photography
Richard Cocciante   Composer
Steve Prestage   Engineer
Peter Fogselius   Mixing Assistant
Uli Janson   String Arrangements
Matthew Dellapolla   Scoring Consultant
Patrice Guirao   Composer
Nancy Donald   Art Direction
Arnthor   Producer
Fredrik Andersson   Engineer,String Engineer
Hooshik   Design,Art Direction
Shane Stoner   Engineer
Nick Marshall   Assistant Engineer
Stephan Moccio   Composer,Programming
Chiquito   Assistant Engineer
Francis Galluccio   Composer
Datz Pyle, Debbi   Orchestra Contractor
Lionel Florence   Composer
Patrick Demarchelier   Cover Photo
Tony Stanton   Copyist
Michel Gallone   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Daria Hines   Stylist
Anders Bagge   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Kenny O'Brien   Vocal Editing,Vocal Arrangement
Carole Bayer Sager   Composer
Mack Gordon   Composer
Marjorie Maye   Composer
Jennifer Young   Assistant Engineer
Mark Eshelman   Scoring Crew