from LET’S TALK ABOUT LOVE
Written by Albert Hammond & Carole Bayer Sager
In the fall of 1997, French/Canadian songbird Celine Dion was the world’s biggest pop star at the time of the release of her cd, Let’s Talk About Love. Let’s Talk About Love included the iconic “My Heart Will Go On,” the now-classic theme of the blockbuster movie Titanic, and high profile duets with Barbra Streisand on “Tell Him,” the late, Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) on “I Hate You Then I Love You” and The Bee Gees on “Immortality.”
David Foster was a household name in Dion’s camp and he produced a good portion of the cd including the aforementioned duets with Ms. Streisand and Mr. Pavarotti plus the anthemic title-track and several other tracks on the album. Among those songs was a great cover of Leo Sayer’s #1 hit, “When I Need You,” that’s the song for this week.
“When I Need You” was co-written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager. It was a massive hit for Sayer, a soft/rock veteran who topped the charts around 1977 on both sides of the pond. Foster eventually suggested the song to Dion when they were looking for suitable covers to record for Let’s Talk About Love. Ms. Dion’s and Foster’s rendition of “When I Need You” wasn’t released as a single, but it does carry the same elements of their best chart toppers. In fact, the arrangement was total ear candy with a well-dosed compromise between programmed percussion and synths, keyboards, bluesy guitars and soothing strings. Foster built an evocative landscape on the classic melody to back-up Ms. Dion’s superb vocal performance. The result was another power ballad that defined the nineties delivered by a singer that was at the top of her game.
Let’s Talk About Love sold an astounding thirty-one million copies worldwide with ten million in the US where it was eventually certified diamond. In the archives there are past reviews of other David Foster-produced gems from Let’s Talk About Love including “Why Oh Why,” “To Love You More” and “Tell Him.”
Listen
[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Celine-Dion-When-I-Need-You-lyrics-90s-Throwback.mp3|titles=When I Need You|artists=Celine Dion]
Lead & Backing Vocals: Celine Dion
Keyboards: David Foster
Electric Guitar: Michael Thompson
Synth Programming: Dan Shea
Strings Arrangement by William Ross
Produced & Arranged by David Foster
Lyrics
When I need you
Just close my eyes and I’m with you
And all that I so want to give you
Its only a heart beat away
When I need love
I hold out my hands and I touch love
I never knew there was so much love
Keeping me warm night and day
Miles and miles of empty space in
Between us
A telephone can’t take the place of your
Smile
But you know I won’t be traveling
Forever
Its cold out but hold out and do like I do
When I need you
Just close my eyes and I’m with you
And all that I so want to give you babe
Its only a heartbeat away
It’s not easy when the road is your driver
Honey, that’s a heavy load that we bear
But you know I won’t be traveling a
Lifetime
It’s cold out but hold out and do like I do
Oh I need you
When I need you
I hold out my hands and I touch love
I never knew there was so much love
Keeping me warm night and day
When I need you
Just close my eyes and I’m with you
And all that I so want to give you
Its only a heart beat away