Les premières années (English: "the early years") is a French-language compilation album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released in France by Versailles on 10 January 1994. It features eighteen rare songs recorded between 1982 and 1988, including the Eurovision-winning "Ne partez pas sans moi". In France, Les premières années was certified Gold. The album was also released in Belgium, reaching number twelve on the chart in Wallonia.
| Les premières années | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 10 January 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–88 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 63:55 | |||
| Label | Versailles | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Celine Dion chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and content
editAfter the success of "Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)", which reached number two on the French Singles Chart in 1993, Versailles issued Les premières années on 10 January 1994, a compilation of Dion's early and rare recordings from the '80s. In addition to the singles, it also includes album tracks and singles B-sides ("En amour", "Comment t'aimer").
Critical reception and commercial performance
editAllMusic gave the album two and a half out of five stars.[1] Thanks to the success of D'eux, Les premières années has eventually sold 180,000 copies in France and was certified Gold in November 1995. After being also released in Belgium, it entered the Wallonia Albums Chart in June 1995 and peaked at number twelve in November 1995.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "D'amour ou d'amitié" |
|
| 4:00 |
| 2. | "Visa pour les beaux jours" |
|
| 3:25 |
| 3. | "En amour" |
| Marnay | 3:20 |
| 4. | "Les oiseaux du bonheur" |
|
| 3:39 |
| 5. | "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" |
|
| 2:57 |
| 6. | "La religieuse" | Didier Barbelivien | Barbelivien | 3:27 |
| 7. | "C'est pour toi" |
|
| 4:01 |
| 8. | "Ne partez pas sans moi" |
| 3:07 | |
| 9. | "Mon ami m'a quittée" |
|
| 2:59 |
| 10. | "Avec toi" |
|
| 3:27 |
| 11. | "Mon rêve de toujours" |
|
| 4:18 |
| 12. | "Du soleil au cœur" |
|
| 2:42 |
| 13. | "À quatre pas d'ici" |
|
| 3:54 |
| 14. | "Un amour pour moi" |
|
| 3:18 |
| 15. | "Billy" |
| Marnay | 3:05 |
| 16. | "Comment t'aimer" |
| Musumarra | 4:00 |
| 17. | "Je ne veux pas" |
| Musumarra | 4:06 |
| 18. | "C'est pour vivre" |
|
| 4:10 |
| Total length: | 63:55 | |||
Personnel
edit- Didier Barbelivien – composer
- Céline Dion – primary artist, vocals
- Thierry Geoffroy – composer
- Hubert Giraud – composer
- Jean-Pierre Goussaud – composer
- Andy Hill – composer
- J.P. Lang – composer
- Patrick Lemaitre – composer
- Christian Loigerot – composer
- Eddy Marnay – composer
- Nella Martinetti – composer
- Jean Claude Massoulier – composer
- Romano Musumarra – composer
- Francois Oren – composer
- André Popp – composer
- A. Sereftug – composer
- Peter Sinfield – composer
- R. Walt Vincent – composer
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications and sales
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[6] | Gold | 100,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 10 January 1994 | Versailles | CD | VER 474653 2 |
References
edit- ^ "Celine Dion: Les premières années (Sony 1994)". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "Les Premières Années [Sony 1994] > Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Céline Dion – Les premières années" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "Rapports annueles 1995" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ "Rapports annueles 1995 - albums francophones" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ "French album certifications – Celine Dion – Les premieres annees" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
External links
edit- Les premières années at Discogs (list of releases)