Miracle

DION CELINE MIRACLE

In collaborating on Miracle, Celine Dion and her partner in baby love Anne Geddes carefully sidestepped the L-word--a smart move, considering that the songs captured here, despite their electric-blanket warmth, aren't always lullaby-like in their delivery. Though the collaboration is about babies--the liner notes to this CD provide a sneak peek at Geddes' visual wizardry available in both the expanded box set and book--Miracle is not necessarily for them. Which works out great for Celine fans who have made contact with their maternal sides. More than anything, the disc plays as a valentine to new mothers: "Le Loup, La Biche et le Chevalier (Une Chanson Douce)," "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" get the trademark melt-away vocal treatment, causing the need to keep a box of tissues at the ready. While tenderness flows from each track as consistently as formula from a baby bottle, though, the chanteuse doesn't shy away from the passion and note-pounding that are also her trademarks. Thus, the miracle of Miracle lies not in its ability to soothe the tiny creatures it swollen-heartedly celebrates, but in its ability to set the sentiments of listeners who love them to song. --Tammy La Gorce