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Water and a Flame

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"Water and a Flame"
Song

"Water and a Flame" is a song recorded by Daniel Merriweather for his debut solo album, Love & War.[1] It features vocals from Adele.[1] "Water and a Flame" was released as the album's fourth and final single on 2 November 2009.[1] Produced by Eg White and released under Columbia Records, "Water and a Flame" peaked at number 180 on the UK Singles Chart.[2] The song's music video does not feature Adele.[3] In 2013, "Water and a Flame" was recorded by Celine Dion for her album, Loved Me Back to Life.

Composition

"Water and a Flame"
"Water and a Flame", a smoky, heartfelt ballad.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Water and a Flame" was described as "a smoky, heartfelt ballad". According to David Balls of Digital Spy, "it finds their rich and soulful vocals dovetailing sweetly - enough to draw attention away from the slightly clichéd chorus".[4]

Track listing

Digital single
No.TitleLength
1."Water and a Flame" (featuring Adele)3:39
2."Water and a Flame" (featuring Adele) (Buzz Junkies Club Mix)7:16

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[2] 180

Celine Dion version

"Water and a Flame"
Song

Celine Dion covered "Water and a Flame" for her 2013 album, Loved Me Back to Life. It was once again produced by Eg White and released as the third single in the United Kingdom.[5] "Water and a Flame" was added to the A List on the BBC Radio 2 Playlist on 6 February 2014 and the commercial single was scheduled for release in the UK on 24 March 2014.[5] On 11 April 2014, "Water and a Flame" was officially sent to Contemporary hit radio in Italy.[6]

Background and release

On 8 August 2012, Le Journal de Montréal wrote that Dion's upcoming English-language studio album will contain songs written and produced by Eg White, who worked with Adele on 19 and 21.[7] The fragment of the first song, "Water and a Flame" premiered on The Katie Couric Show on 25 April 2013 and a behind-the-scenes look at Dion and White recording the song was posted on singer's official website the next day.[8][9] On 29 August 2013, Billboard wrote that Dion's upcoming album Loved Me Back to Life is her edgiest record to date and it includes "Water and a Flame", which finds Dion utilizing the lower, grainier register of her voice.[10] The video titled "Making of Water and a Flame" was released onto Dion's Vevo channel on 30 October 2013 and the official audio of the song premiered there on 5 November 2013.[11][12] Eg White also co-wrote and produced another song on Loved Me Back to Life, "Didn't Know Love".[13] On 6 February 2014, Dion's official website announced "Water and a Flame" as the third UK single.[5] The song was added to the A List on the BBC Radio 2 Playlist and the commercial single was scheduled for release in the UK on 24 March 2014.[5] However, the commercial single was withdrawn at the last minute.[5] The song peaked at number thirty on the UK Radio Airplay Chart in early March 2014.[14] On 11 April 2014, "Water and a Flame" was sent to radio in Italy.[6]

Controversy

Loved Me Back to Life was originally to be titled Water and a Flame. In an April 2013 interview on The Katie Couric Show, Dion played a recording of her cover of "Water and a Flame".[15] Right before hearing the song, Katie Couric asked Dion and her husband/manager, René Angélil, in reference to the then title of the album: "where did 'Water and a Flame' come from?" Angélil responded, "It's, you know, the opposites," and Dion replied, "It's the name of the song".[15] Musician Samantha Ronson, who is a friend of Daniel Merriweather's, wrote a blog post that included the video of the interview and the text "Dear Celine Dion, when you COVER someone else's song - you might want to give them credit."[16]

In June 2013, Merriweather linked to Ronson's post from his Facebook page and harshly criticized Dion, writing, "This song has every ounce of my heartache and pain in it and she pretends as if she wrote it herself."[17] Two days later, Dion's management responded on her website, saying that, while Dion often does not mention the writers of her songs, she has been very vocal about the fact that she does not write her own songs, that she did not intend any harm by the omission, and that all of the writers and producers were always credited on the liner notes.[18] On 25 July 2013, Dion's website confirmed that the album was re-titled to Loved Me Back to Life.[19]

Critical reception

"Water and a Flame" garnered favorable reviews from music critics. The song was a track-pick in Stephen Thomas Erlewine's review of Dion's Loved Me Back to Life on AllMusic.[20] The New York Times review by Jon Caramanica and Nate Chinen said: "Celine, her show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas... has perhaps pushed Ms. Dion to new levels of pizazz. Several of the album's new songs would fit seamlessly into that revue — "Water and a Flame" has genuine R&B swagger."[21] Jim Farber of the Daily News stated, "The Winehouse-y number finds Dion fully convincing in her woozy, boozy phrasing."[22] Mike Wass, of Idolator wrote, "It's an inspired choice, taking Celine down an entirely different path. It's very Adele – all smoky vocals and retro soul production complete with gorgeous strings. This is a great sound for the diva and she should consider revisiting it on future endeavors."[23]

Live performances

On 28 October 2013, Dion performed "Water and a Flame" live for the very first time on The Today Show in New York City.[24] The next day, she sang it again at the Edison Ballroom in New York City during her intimate concert.[25] Andrew Hampp from Billboard was impressed by her rendition of "Water and a Flame", and wrote that Dion impressively turned it into her own "gin-soaked" breakup ballad.[26] Later, "Water and a Flame" was included on the setlist of Dion's Sans attendre Tour which started in Belgium on 21 November 2013 and ended in France on 5 December 2013.[27] The performance from one of the 2013 sold-out Paris shows was included on the Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 (2014) as a CD bonus.[28]

Track listing

Promotional single
No.TitleLength
1."Water and a Flame"3:42

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
United Kingdom (Airplay Chart)[14] 30

Credits and personnel

Recording
Personnel
  • Songwriting – Eg White, Daniel Merriweather
  • Production – White
  • Recording engineer – White
  • Vocals recording – François Lalonde
  • Vocals recording assistant – Raymond Holzknecht
  • Mixing – Manny Marroquin
  • Mixing assistants – Chris Galland, Delbert Bowers
  • Bass, drums, percussion, guitar, piano – White
  • String arrangement –White
  • Violins – Janice Graham, Magnus Johnston, Marije Ploemacher, Jonathan Evans Jones, Annabelle Meare, Harvey de Souza, Hannah Dawson, Helen Cox, Beatrix Lovejoy, Kotno Sato
  • Violas – Timothy Grant, Becky Low, Simone van der Giessen
  • Cellos – Richard Harwood, Rowena Calvert, Jassie Anne Richardson

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United Kingdom[5] 6 February 2014 Promotional single Columbia
Italy[6] 11 April 2014

References

  1. ^ a b c "Daniel Merriweather – Love & War". Discogs. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b "CHART: CLUK Update 14.11.2009 (wk45)". Official Charts Company. Zobbel.de/.
  3. ^ "Daniel Merriweather - Water And A Flame". YouTube. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  4. ^ Balls, David (30 October 2009). "Daniel Merriweather ft. Adele: 'Water And A Flame'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Celine's Third UK Single Added To BBC Radio 2 'A List'". celinedion.com. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "Radio date - Water and a Flame - Celine Dion (Sony)". Radio Airplay SRL. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  7. ^ "La 100e avant la pause" (in French). Le Journal de Montréal. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Celine Talks Music With Katie Couric". celinedion.com. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Celine Recording "Water And A Flame"". celinedion.com. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Celine Dion Talks 'Loved Me Back to Life' Single, Album (Exclusive)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Céline Dion - Making of "Water and a Flame"". Vevo. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Céline Dion - Water and a Flame". Vevo. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Céline Dion - Making of "Didn't Know Love"". Vevo. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  14. ^ a b "The UK Radio Airplay Chart". Radiomonitor. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Celine Dion on Katie Couric Show 4/25/2013". celinedion.com. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Water and a Flame by Daniel Merriweather". samantharonson.com. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  17. ^ "Open Letter to Celine Dion". Facebook. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Response to Comments from Daniel Merriweather". celinedion.com. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  19. ^ "Loved Me Back To Life – Coming In October". celinedion.com. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  20. ^ "Loved Me Back to Life - Celine Dion Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  21. ^ "Cds from Celine Dion and Midlake". The New York Times. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  22. ^ "Celine Dion, 'Loved Me Back to Life'; Midlake, 'Antiphon': Album reviews". Daily News. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  23. ^ "Celine Dion's 'Loved Me Back To Life': Album Review". Idolator. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Celine's Performance On The Today Show". celinedion.com. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Watch Celine On QVC". celinedion.com. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  26. ^ "Celine Dion Loves Fans 'Back to Life' at Intimate NYC Show: Review". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  27. ^ "Sportpaleis". celinedion.com. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  28. ^ "Celine Dion: Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 (2CD+DVD/Blu-ray)". celinedion.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
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