Lara Fabian CD

Personnel includes: Lara Fabian (vocals); Jeremy Lubbock, William Ross (conductor); Bruce Gaitsch (acoustic & nylon-string guitars); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar); Steve Lukather, James Harrah, Michael Landau (electric guitar); Carl Sturken (guitar, keyboards, programming); Marc Antoine (guitar); Steven Tavaglione (soprano saxophone); Dave Pickell, Patrick Leonard, Walter Afanasieff (piano, keyboards, programming); Rick Allison, Dan Shea, Louis Biancaniello, Mark Taylor (keyboards, programming); Remy Malo, Paul Bushnell (bass); Brian MacLeod (drums, percussion); Mickey Curry, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Luis Conte (percussion); Greg Bieck (programming); Bridgette Bryant, Richard Page, Natalie Jackson (background vocals).
Producers include: Patrick Leonard, Evan Rogers, Mark Taylor, Brian Rawling, Carl Sturken.
Engineers include: Dave Reitzas, Ross Hogarth, Jay Healy.
Personnel: Bruce Gaitsch (acoustic guitar); Steve Lukather (electric guitar); Dave Pickell (piano, keyboards, programming); Rick Allison (keyboards, programming); Mickey Curry, Steve Smith (drums).
Audio Mixers: Jay Healy; Ross Hogarth.
Recording information: Capitol Studios, Los Angeles CA; Larrabee West Studios, los Angeles CA; Studio Marko, Montreal, Canada; The Hit Factory, New York, NY; The Record Plant, Los Angeles CA.
Like Celine Dion, Lara Fabian started her professional career in Quebec, singing in French, and crossed over to popular success in France before turning to the English-language market under the auspices of Sony. With Dion declaring at least a temporary retirement, it's no surprise that Sony has thrown its considerable weight behind the effort to make Fabian an international superstar. And there's no mistaking that effort on her self-titled English debut (not to be confused with her self-titled debut of 1991, which was sung in French). All the accoutrements of major-label largesse are present, especially in the total of ten credited producers, who include Patrick Leonard (Madonna), Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey), and Brian Rawling, who produced Cher's comeback hit "Believe." Working closely with Fabian, who is a songwriter as well, these heavy hitters have created widescreen power ballads with the occasional dance song thrown in. The lyrics are the usual generalized depictions of the joys and turmoil of romance, with the music almost invariably swelling portentously halfway through the track so the singer can take off on an overwrought tear. Fabian has the pipes to handle such material and is actually better at singing in English than Dion, who always had trouble with her phrasing. She doesn't do herself any favors as a songwriter, but that isn't very important on this kind of record. As in a big-budget summer movie, it's the stars and special effects that matter, not the plot. It's easy to see this album making Lara Fabian a star in the English-speaking world, but it took even Dion a couple of albums to crack that market, and she was a hard worker. Fabian has her work cut out for her, but she's taken a big step toward filling Dion's shoes with this album. ~ William Ruhlmann
Industry bigwig Tommy Mottola's discovery, French-language chanteuse Lara Fabian hits it big with her self-titled English solo debut. Packed with passionate love songs in the Barbara Streisand and Celine Dion vein, Fabian takes the power ballad one step further. Her voice and music are best described as dramatic, the songs here ranging from catchy tailor-made Top-40 dance tracks such as "Till I Get Over You," and "I Will Love Again," to power ballads such as "Adagio," which appears here both in English and Italian.
Fabian's voice is clear and amazingly strong, ranging from a near-whisper to a powerful belt. The lyrics are non-offensive and inspirational in a broken-hearted sort of way. Fans of Celine Dion and Mariah Carey will find Lara Fabian the ideal addition to their record collections.