I don’t like being wrong, but in this case I’ll make an exception. You see, I was doing a chronological dive into Celine Dion’s discography the other day, for reasons, and I got to “The Power of Love”. No, not the Huey Lewis song. While not her debut English-language single, I’d always considered “The Power of Love” to be the beginning of Celine Dion™ in the United States. She would continue to climb the Adult Contemporary/Soft Rock ranks, putting out “Because You Loved Me” (from the film Up Close & Personal), “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”, and then gaining immortality with Titanic‘s “My Heart Will Go On”. Still, for the past 30 years, I’ve always found myself back at “The Power of Love”, believing it was an original song for her. And it was NOT. Not only that, but she was something like the 4th person to record it in English (Yes, there are versions in other languages, as fans of Bend It Like Beckham can tell you)! So, I had to hear these other versions. I mean, if she had done such a wonderful job, surely these others were great, too, right? I mean, I felt that the foundation of the song was already strong, and Celine just punched it up. As you’ll see, however, some artists did do much to make the song their own. Today, we’re going to look at the other versions of “The Power of Love”.
Now, I know pop culture *points to the sign up top*, but I had never heard of singer Jennifer Rush. There are probably two reasons for this: 1) Her debut album came out around 1984, when I was 2 years old and 2) Her fame was mainly in Europe. Still, I know Westlife and World Apart and DJ Bobo, so I could also know her. The Europe thing isn’t really an excuse. Nor is the age thing. She had just never come across my radar. Well, not only was Rush the first artist to record “The Power of Love”, but she also co-wrote the song. In fact, it was the best-selling single of 1985 in the UK! This wasn’t just a minor hit, but it was huge, and simply got lost traveling “across the pond”? It gets even crazier, as it was, according to Guinness, the best-selling single of all time by a female solo artist in the history of the British music industry! It was only unseated by Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, in 1992. They must be grading on a curve, though, because it peaked at #57 here in America, where STARS are made lol. And I get it. She wrote a great song. She just didn’t do it justice with her performance. Check it out:
Capable job, right? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it comes off like a filler track on an album, as opposed to a commercially released single. The background isn’t doing anything epic, leaning more on the light synth of the era. She has a strong voice, but I’m not sure she understood the assignment. She seems like a classically-trained singer, “dabbling” in pop. This would get a respectful reaction if she sang it at her college friend’s wedding, but the “best-selling single from a solo female artist” it is not! Still, there’s a lot of potential there – potential that I thought would be tapped when the song was covered by Australian duo Air Supply.
Air Supply is one of those groups I don’t really understand, in that they’ve had known hits, and it’s not like there was an acrimonious breakup or anything. That said, they peaked in the 80s, yet are still around and touring, and no one ever mentions them. “All Out Of Love”? “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All”? BANGERS! So, surely they’d really put their stamp on their gender-swapped cover of the song, right? Right?
OK, so I like this tempo better. It’s a driving beat, and not as laconic as Rush’s. Two things are happening here: I like the background, and I like Air Supply, but I don’t like Air Supply singing over this background. Tempo-wise, this is heading in the right direction, along with the Full House-esque “Ah” in the bridge. This is Peak ’80s. But Air Supply (I don’t know if the guy singing is “Air” or “Supply”, so we’re just gonna use their full band name) ain’t cut out for this job. The tone of voice isn’t right. You’ve got to listen to the lyrics. This is a song about giving yourself over to your love, and acknowledging they’ve, in turn given over to you. It’s a deep sentiment, and I don’t get that here. Let’s listen to Celine, so you can see how it’s done:
Very demure, very mindful. I always thought this was about 20 year old Celine falling in love with her 46 year old manager (and eventual husband) René, so it was kinda gross, but her performance of it made it OK. You would think “Eww, he’s old as shit! (I was 12 at the time, so “old” was relative) But this chick LOVES that old man!” She understood the assignment, and it is made apparent that Celine belongs to René and only René. Now, before we get into the whole “No one owns anyone” angle, you’ve gotta look at this through the lens of Romance, and not the Equal Rights Amendment!
Anyway, two things here make this a terrific rendition of the song: 1) It’s produced by hitmaker David Foster (Seriously, if you enjoy his work, read his memoir Hitman. That dude hated Peter Cetera and Richard Marx lol) and 2) Celine brings dynamics to the song. She’s the McDLT of Adult Contemporary: She keeps the louds LOUD and the Quiets quiet. Whereas Jennifer Rush and Air Supply pretty much kept the same energy throughout the whole song, Celine made it EPIC. There are highs, there are lows, and they all blend together masterfully. This is the perfect version of this song. Or so I had thought for the past 30 years. But, you see, I skipped one.
Laura Branigan is best known for the 80s hits “Gloria” and “Self Control” (And cameoed on CHiPs and Knight Rider), but she also released a cover of “The Power of Love” in 1987. The thing that set her version apart from all the others, however, is that her intention is different. Whereas the other singers use the song as something of a declaration of love, Branigan’s comes across more like “bargaining”. She’s telling her lover “I’m your lady, and you’re my man! Can’t you see that?!” She’s not in the comfortable position of a secure relationship, but rather trying to prove to the subject what they’ve got going on. To use modern terminology, it’s almost like she’s pleading with someone with whom she’s in a “situationship”. And because of this angle, her vocals are a little dirtier, a little more raw. There’s an interesting little vocal break in the second chorus that you might catch. Celine’s version is controlled and beautiful, but Branigan’s is more powerful due to its lack of control:
The “We’re heading for somewhere, somewhere I’ve never been” is a lyric she really makes you feel, as her voice swings for the fences. You don’t know if she’s gonna hit those notes, nor does she, but she makes it, and the whole experience is so much more rewarding for it. The “sometimes I am frightened but I’m ready to learn” is just such a free, unbridled portion where you get the sense that she’s in uncharted, unfamiliar territory and taking you along for the ride. She’s scared, but she’s willing, because it’s worth it to her. THAT is the Power of Love.
In the past few years, there have been other covers. German singer Helene Fischer took a turn at it, but it comes across as a safer, almost Karaoke version of Celine’s rendition. Then, Jason Owen, the runner up in the fourth season of Australia’s version of The X Factor, did another gender swap version, but it was just flat. Every now and then, these reality winner singers put covers on their album because they’re cheap for the label, but all they do is fill space. Meanwhile, UK singer, and winner of season 10 of The X Factor, Sam Bailey released a version that is probably closest to what I’m looking for, in that she had the vocal skill of Celine, coupled with the emotion of Branigan:
Still, something about it just didn’t work for me all the way. I think it’s almost over produced, if that’s possible. No, at the end of the day, Celine Dion probably gave us the most iconic version of “The Power of Love”, but I think Laura Branigan gave us the best version.
