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.
Background and content
After 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
AllMusic 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.