Dion

When Dion DiMucci was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues category for 2006's Bronx in Blue, an excellent collection of blues standards, it was an official affirmation that he was "back." In truth, he'd never left, and had been recording all along. He issued a stellar follow-up in 2007's Son of Skip James, a collection of revelatory blues covers and fine new material. The third album in this blues trilogy is Tank Full of Blues. Recorded in a trio setting, Dion produced the album, wrote all but two selections, and played the hell out of all the guitars on it. Tank Full of Blues is a slippery, street-smart, utterly inspired album of blues and roots rock tunes that are free of nostalgia and drenched in history…

Celine Dion began work on Encore un Soir in the summer of 2015 when her husband Rene Angelil was quite ill. He passed away in January 2016, around the midpoint of the sessions, so it could stand to reason the album was a way for Dion to work through her grief, but this French-language record isn't quite as simple as that. For one, Dion's art isn't strictly autobiographical; she may pour herself into her performances but a correlation between her personal life and her recordings isn't easy to draw. Secondly, Encore un Soir is evenly divided between pop tunes and ballads, not too dissimilar from her usual albums.

Celine Dion's Falling into You returned the Canadian vocalist to the top of the American charts, and for good reason. Although the album is formulaic, it's a well-executed, stylish, and catchy formula, accentuating her natural vocal charm…