Celine Dion These Are Special Times CD

Personnel includes: Celine Dion (vocals); Dion Family (vocals); Peter Zizzo (guitar, programming); Bryan Adams (acoustic & electric guitars, bass); Kamil Rustam (acoustic guitar); Larry Salzman, Marc Shulman, Ira Siegel, Chieli Minucci, John Chiodini, Michael Thompson (guitar); Vancouver Orchestra (strings); Richie Cannata (saxophone); Bobby Franceschini, Bill Harris (alto saxophone); David Foster (piano, keyboards); Diana Krall, Shane Keister (piano); Loris Holland (Hammond B-3 organ); Phil Western (keyboards); Heather Hinton (organ); Tom Rainer (synthesizer); Chuck Domanico (bass); John Robinson, Shawn Pelton (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion); Steve Skinner (keyboard & drum programming).
Producers: David Foster, Ric Wake, Bryan Adams, R. Kelly.
Engineers includes: Felipe Elgueta, Randy Staub, Phil Western.
"The Prayer" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).
In the wake of her Titanic success, Celine Dion produced two new albums for the holiday season of 1998. One was a new French album, and the other was These Are Special Times, her first Christmas album. These Are Special Times is an especially successful holiday album since Dion wisely balances popular carols ("The Christmas Song," "Blue Christmas," "Feliz Navidad") with new songs ("Don't Save It All for Christmas," the R. Kelly duet "I'm Your Angel"), hymns ("Ave Maria," "Adeste Fidelis"), and Christmas songs with a distinct religious theme ("O Holy Night," the Andrea Bocelli duet "The Prayer"). At times, the production is too slick, at other times Dion's vocals are a little mannered, but overall, These Are Special Times is very effective, because the songs are good and she's committed to the material. Any fan of Dion, or of '90s adult contemporary pop in general, should find this very enjoyable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Whether or not you're a fan, it's undeniable that Celine Dion is the people's siren of choice in turn-of-the-millennium America. Part of the reason for that (apart from her superhuman pipes) is the way she throws herself into a song with total emotional commitment, taking nothing lightly. That kind of earnestness serves her in good stead on this collection of Christmas tunes. Tackling both the traditional ("Ave Maria," "Adeste Fideles") and the modern (John Lennon's "Happy Xmas") Dion invests these yuletide songs with just the right mix of reverence and authority. Joined by everyone from R&B love man R. Kelly to Opera crossover superstar Andrea Bocelli, Dion proves that even a concept as overdone as the Holiday album can sound fresh and substantive when a performer of her ilk is involved.