These Are Special Times

These Are Special Times

Infobox Album | Name = These Are Special Times
Type = album
Artist = Céline Dion


Released = Start date|1998|10|30
Recorded = 1998
Genre = Pop
Length = 68:27
Label = Columbia, Epic
Producer = Bryan Adams, David Foster, Humberto Gatica, R. Kelly, Tony Renis, Carole Bayer Sager, Ric Wake
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:bun8b5t4msqh link]
Last album = "S'il suffisait d'aimer"
(1998)
This album = "These Are Special Times"
(1998)
Next album = "Au cœur du stade"
(1999)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = Studio album


Lower caption = Ihre Schönsten Weihnachtslieder.
Singles
Name = These Are Special Times
Type = studio
Single 1 = I'm Your Angel
Single 1 date = November 9 1998

"These Are Special Times" is a Christmas album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on October 30 1998. It's her 1st English-language Christmas album, 6th English album and 25th in total. It was re-released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in September 2007, under the title "Ihre Schönsten Weihnachtslieder", including the same tracklist as the original version, but a different cover picture. "These Are Special Times" was also re-released worldwide between October and December 2007 as a collector's edition. This 2-disc digipak containes the original CD and previously unreleased DVD of Dion's 1998 CBS TV special.

Album information

On "These Are Special Times" Dion balances popular carols ("The Christmas Song," "Blue Christmas," "Feliz Navidad") with new songs ("Don't Save It All for Christmas Day," the R. Kelly duet "I'm Your Angel"), hymns ("Ave Maria," "Adeste Fideles"), and Christmas songs with a distinct religious theme ("O Holy Night," the Andrea Bocelli duet "The Prayer"). Dion is joined by her family on "Feliz Navidad" and "Les cloches du hameau." The album was produced mostly by singer's longtime partners: David Foster and Ric Wake. One of the songs, called "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" was co-written by Céline Dion.

"These Are Special Times" was recorded with help of few other artists, including Diana Krall (piano on "Blue Christmas") and Bryan Adams (guitars, bass and backing vocals on "Another Year Has Gone By").

Two songs from "These Are Special Times" were previously available: "The Christmas Song" (recorded in 1993 for "The Christmas Album" by David Foster) and "Brahms' Lullaby" (recorded in 1996 for the compilation "For Our Children Too" to benefit Pediatric AIDS Foundation). French version of "The Christmas Song" appeared on Dion's first two Christmas albums: "Céline Dion chante Noël" (1981) and "Chants et contes de Noël" (1983).

On November 25 1998, one-hour CBS TV special, dedicated to Céline Dion's Christmas album, was broadcasted all across the United States. Dion performed songs from "These Are Special Times", as well as few other tracks, including duet with Rosie O'Donnell on "Do You Hear What I Hear?." One year later, O'Donnell added her vocals to Dion's song "The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)," and included this duet version on her "A Rosie Christmas" album.

Céline Dion was nominated for two Grammy Awards in Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category for "I'm Your Angel" (1999) and "The Prayer" (2000). The last one was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song from the "Quest for Camelot" movie in 1999. Dion performed it with Andrea Bocelli at the Grammys and Oscars.

The title song was covered in 2000 by Christina Aguilera for her album "My Kind of Christmas".

Over the years, Céline Dion recorded few other Christmas songs, not included on "These Are Special Times". In December 1994, "A Very Merry Chipmunk" by The Chipmunks was released, containing "Petit Papa Noël" with Céline Dion on lead vocal. The latter recorded her own version of this song back in 1981 on "Céline Dion chante Noël".

In December 1999, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was used as the lead track to the Target TV special called "And So This Is Christmas." The special featured an instrumental track of the song accompanied by a choir to the introduction to the show and also featured Dion's new Christmas recording "I Met an Angel (On Christmas Day)." The final track of the show used Dion's version of "Happy Xmas" accompanied by Charlotte Church and Gloria Estefan. "I Met an Angel (On Christmas Day)" was included as a B-side to the "That's the Way It Is" single, and appeared on various Christams compilations in the following years.

Chart success

"These Are Special Times" is one of the best selling Christmas albums in history, with 11.5 million copies sold worldwide. According to "Billboard" magazine dated October 31 2007, "These Are Special Times" is the second best-selling Christmas album of the Soundscan era. Kenny G took the first place with his "". Dion's album was certified 5x platinum in the U.S. for selling 5 million copies. In Canada, "These Are Special Times" sold 1 million copies and was certified diamond.

"These Are Special Times" went to number 1 in Canada (for two weeks), Switzerland (four weeks) and Norway (four weeks), and reached top 10 all over the world. Although number 2 on the Billboard 200, "These Are Special Times" reached number 1 for nine consecutive weeks on the "Billboard" Top Holiday Albums. The next year it went also to number 1 for seven consecutive weeks on the Top Pop Catalog Albums.

Track listing

#"O Holy Night" (Traditional) – 5:21
#"Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" (Peter Zizzo, Ric Wake, Céline Dion) – 4:37
#"Blue Christmas" (Jay Johnson, Bill Hayes) – 3:48
#"Another Year Has Gone By" (Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy) – 3:24
#"The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)" (Dee Snider) – 4:17
#"Ave Maria" (Franz Schubert) – 4:55
#"Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)" (Traditional) – 4:43
#"The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) – 4:13
#"The Prayer" (with Andrea Bocelli) (David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa, Tony Renis) – 4:29
#"Brahms' Lullaby" (Johannes Brahms) – 3:32
#"Christmas Eve" (Maria Christensen, Curt Frasca) – 4:16
#"These Are the Special Times" (Diane Warren) – 4:08
#"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (John Lennon, Yoko Ono) – 4:14
#"I'm Your Angel" (with R. Kelly) (R. Kelly) – 5:31
#"Feliz Navidad" (Jose Feliciano) – 3:40
#"Les cloches du hameau" (Brahms) – 3:10
#"My Heart Will Go On" (no lead vocals) (James Horner, Will Jennings) – 4:40 (Japanese bonus track)2007 collector's edition bonus DVD
#"The Power of Love" (Candy DeRouge, Gunther Mende, Mary Susan Applegate, Jennifer Rush)
#"Do You Hear What I Hear?" (with Rosie O'Donnell) (Noel Regney, Gloria Shayne Baker)
#"O Holy Night" (Traditional)
#"Because You Loved Me" (Warren)
#"Let's Talk About Love" (Adams, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Kennedy)
#"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Ewan MacColl)
#"My Heart Will Go On" (Horner, Jennings)
#"The Prayer" (with Andrea Bocelli) (Foster, Bayer Sager, Testa, Renis)
#"Ave Maria" (performed by Andrea Bocelli) (Schubert)
#End credits (featuring "Feliz Navidad" and "These Are the Special Times")

Chart performance

ee also

*List of best-selling albums worldwide

References


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