There's three artists whose album's I've really waited for this year: Lady Gaga, Jonté, and Beyoncé. Lady Gaga served me everything I wanted on "Born This Way". Jonte's still working on his album, but the single for "High Kick Pow" left me floored.
Then there was Beyoncé Giselle Mutha' Fuckin' Knowles-Carter.
I'm going to be completely serious. I did NOT like this album at first. It's not either disc of Sasha Fierce. It's not "B'Day". There were a lot of slow songs and it didn't have the hook and grab potential that her other work has, not to mention that the production didn't have that radio readiness that we've grown accustomed. Then I stopped, and really started listening to the songs. And realized that musically, this could very well be her best album.
The one thing I've always felt was true about B's records were that the songs varied so greatly in terms of quality. Take "Sasha Fierce" (the second disc). "Radio"? That song sucks, especially when you put it against a "Single Ladies" or a "Diva". This album has the same problem, flat out. "Party" featuring Andre 3000 sounds like garbage to me. I just do not like that song. I love Beyoncé, I love 'Dre, but this song just feels like a dated early 90's R&B drone. For a party, I wanted to grab a pillow and go the fuck asleep. I do not like this song at ALL! "Love on Top" has a similiar problem; it sounds like an Anita Baker B-side. The instrumental choice, the melodies, all of it sounds dated and... wrong. Oh, Beyoncé herself sounds incredible. But both of these songs, "Start Over", and "Rather Die Young" could have stayed in the back of the closet.
Then you get to the rest of the album.
"1 + 1". That song sounds like it was written for a man. The passion B' puts into the song along with the fact that she's letting just a little bit of voice strain shine through makes for one of the best, most emotionally sound and memorable love songs she's ever sung. I was driving when I first heard the song and damn near crashed. I've felt like this before, and I hope to feel like that again; no matter what, baby, I've got YOU (falsetto)~!
"I Care" is a slow stride into an incredible chorus and is probably one of my favorite songs on the album. That and "I Miss You" round out the start of the album and it's really a shame that the middle of the record just doesn't shine as brightly. I would have loved to see the tracklisting formed a bit more traditionally with these slow songs at the end of the album as opposed to the front, but I can understand why someone would do that; the emotionally bearing introduction is approachable and that's a good way to be reintroduced to B' after we'd grown so accustomed to Sasha, Sasha, Sasha Fierce. "Best Thing I Never Had" was a song that I also didn't like at first. But you have to get into the lyrics for it to mean something. I don't consider it a standout, but it certainly makes the album all around better. "I Was Here" IS a standout though, if nothing for it's potential as a pop classic. It's brilliantly written and shows such a controlled and defined side to Beyoncé as a vocalist. I could see an American Idol or something giving this song a twirl (and subsequently fucking it up, but I digress).
Then there's the fast songs. "Countdown", "End of Time" (my personal favorite from the album), and of course "Run the World (Girls)" are great compliments to Beyoncé's list of club jammers, even though they cover familiar territory thematically. "End of Time", especially, sounds like Beyoncé serving us Michael Jackson or something, and that's brilliant. It just has that wideness you'd expect from an MJ track. The overall sound is great, and I just prefer it to the other bangers on the album. "Countdown" is amazing of course and so is "Run the World (Girls)" (cue me on the dance floor giving high knees and military arms in front of a sea of gay men in a honey blonde wig... yes, that really happened).
The deluxe edition, which I listened to, also comes with three extra tracks that should have been on the album instead of the filler I hated. That's the other thing with Beyoncé; most of her best songs are either the B-sides, the unreleased tracks or the bonus tracks. "Why Don't You Love Me?", which a lot of people slept on, was one of her best songs, but it was a bonus track. All three of the bonus tracks show new sides to B' sonically and are welcome additions to what's already there... in fact it's really because of those songs that I even like the album as much as I do.
So, what's the verdict? Do I gag? Do I pass? Honey, I gag. But I gag for the standout moments on this album and not the album as a complete whole. If I could, I would adjust the tracklist and go from there. I guess that's what mixtapes are for. This is a great album, though not for the sum of it's parts, and a lot of B's fans aren't going to get it because it's so different from what she's done.
I can appreciate different.
What about you? What did you think about B's fourth chart topper? Hmm? Comment below~.
Standout Tracks: "End of Time", "1 + 1"
Kill These With Fire: "Party (Ft. Andre 3000)", "Love on Top"
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