Celine is no Piaf

She's also no Judy. Edith Piaf was the original. Just flipped to an old movie, "Etoile sans lumiere", starring the magnificent French chanteuse. It made me realize what it was that set Piaf apart. Raw emotion. Forget Barbra Streisand and forget Celine. Both have glorious and resplendent voices, but they aren't the real thing. They just do not have the primal, gut-wrenching draw of an Edith Piaf or a Judy Garland.

Watching this sparse, black and white 1945 movie, with its primitive sound track, one-note muscians and rudimentary sets, I realized that Piaf was the first; she was unique. She played an innocuous background singer -- imagine Celine or Barbra doing that -- who was the real voice behind a famous singer. It was her voice they dubbed and she was grateful for the money. When the star dies, the promoters decide to feature the authentic voice of Piaf in a musical hall performance. The scene where she sings her audition is riveting. She actually "plays" the song and her gestures and expressions are almost painful to watch. She gives it absolutely everything and is exhausted when it's over. She does not break into a smile, or bow for applause. She remains in the state the song has induced for quite a while because she has really "become" the woman in the sad song she has just sung.

All looks promising, but when she steps on stage, visions of the dead star appear and she and freezes. Finally, terrible sounds come out of her, as she tries to continue. She can't, she faints. As they carry her off, the promoters are already dismissing her and talking about the next "star" they will feature. The last scene is Piaf walking alone out of the stage door, into obscurity. Very "French", I know, but can you imagine Striesand or Dion singing badly and ultimately failing?! Wouldn't happen.

Garland had the same electrifying effect when she took to a stage. It was impossible to watch either of these two women perform and not know they meant every word and had probably lived every line. People adored them in a viceral way. Watching that movie I understood why. Never having seen a live Garland concert, I have nonetheless seen many televised versions and my reaction to the naked vulnerability she revealed always made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

I have seen televised concerts with Celine and, although her voice is magnificent, you just don't get the impression that she is living the songs. It's all about her and her image; same with Streisand. It's also all about money, which was never the case with their predecesors.

With the pipes, but not the soul, neither can hold a candle to Piaf, the original, nor Garland, the next and last in that line of tragic, yet stunning performers.