Customer Reviews

Dangerously in Love

5 star:		(317)
4 star:		(194)
3 star:		(153)
2 star:		(97)
1 star:		(130)

 

 

It's not a surprise; Who didn't know that the debut album of Destiny's Child lead singer, Beyonce Knowles would be fabricated with sappy pop-vocals & oh-so-tired lyrics? Beyonce was always known to hog the spotlight. So that gave me the impression that she would have something more to give on a solo album. Unfortunately, the only thing she gives us is generic Pop-R&B.

Of course, you can always count Jigga to appear on his girlfriend's album. Now, I'm not afraid of admitting that I do find "Crazy in Love" catchy, and I don't have much problem with "That's How You Like It" (although the song is basically based on repeating the hook), but I don't find either innovative or fresh; They're basically the remixed versions of J's -'03 Bonnie & Clyde-. "Hip Hop Star" is completely scarred with dumb-rhymes by Big Boi & Sleepy Brown. But even with that said, the song isn't much on it's own either. "Signs" lacks substance in lyrics. It's like being taught a lesson on astrology; it doesn't take much talent to just recite the zodiac signs. "Speechless" is 6 minutes of Beyonce rambling about loving somebody & repeating, "you got me" here and there. "Me, Myself and I" is "Survivor (Part 2)"; YET ANOTHER "my boyfriend cheated on me, but I'll be strong" song we've heard so many times. The duet with Luther Vandross is, I'll admit, the best performance of Beyonce on the album... but that still isn't saying much; Luther is the one we're really listening to on this track. "Dangerously In Love 2" isn't much of a difference from the Destiny's Child version (big surprise...). It's just a slight variation in the beat. And I hope there's a good return policy for the "gift from Virgo"

Although this album has MTV stamped all over it, I can't help but admit that the hooks are catchy. "Naughty Girl", although the song fails to go anywhere, has an addictive chorus and sexy beat. "Baby Boy" also has an addictive chorus but with a middle-influenced beat and features Sean Paul.

There is one song, however, that's catchy, sexy, not necessarily innovative, but defiantly not immature, the mid-tempo "Be With you".

Well, when it comes down to it... this album is based on catchy choruses and collaborations. I think Beyonce is rushing the songs. She (or whoever is writing them) needs to put more substance into the lyrics of the song because most of them fall bland. And I've noticed that her voice appeals only when she harmonizes... doesn't that say something? Well anyway, this album is just what I'd expect from Beyonce. I can't say I love the album, but I'm not satisfied either. She has the potential, but I'm afraid she too "crazy in love" with being popular...

There are few artists in the music industry that have been the subject of such intense hype - in this respect, Beyonce is in a class all by herself. Her record label, along with mass media outlets, made Destiny's Child seem like the second coming from the moment their debut album was released - apparently the listening public bought into this but I personally didn't hear anything from them that hadn't already been done by 702, SWV, and more importantly, Diana Ross & The Supremes.

This is the debut solo release from Beyonce Knowles, diva extraordinaire, and it hasn't even come close to justifying all the hype that has surrounded its release. The first single "Crazy In Love" drives a tired horn sample into the ground (whatever happened to using live instrumentation?) juxtaposed with an irritating, repetitive chorus that Beyonce only talks her way through - Jay-Z might state that it's "history in the making" but I don't buy it for a second. Then we have "Naughty Girl", which has some dopey cringe-inducing lyrics and a shameless cop of Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby". Then, in the track that follows, "Baby Boy", we get more uninspired lyrics - Beyonce yearns for the child that she sees in her dreams and thinks about all the time over a lifeless pseudo-sitar hook (popularized by Missy Elliott - does Beyonce have any original ideas in her head?). After this, the album falls into slow jams with comatose arrangements and all the passion and energy of a snail, not to mention overwrought vocals from Beyonce (doesn't anyone know the meaning of restraint these days?). Maybe I was expecting too much, but all the publicity that this album received set me up for something greater than what I heard.

In summary: A disappointing debut from the ubiquitous Beyonce. She does have talent, but isn't applying it correctly - she needs to utilize better control over her voice and while her attempts at songwriting are admirable, they're also weak ... perhaps she should turn to outside songwriters for stronger material. There's better stuff out there - the hype for this album turned out to be hollow.

I've listened to this album several times and I can say with complete confidence that only 2 songs are decent: "Crazy in Love" & "Baby Boy," both of which were released as singles. The rest of the album is crap filler and a waste of time! I think I would have had more respect for Beyonce if she had released a 2-track CD rather than a 15-track CD with 13 bad songs! I'm still shocked and somewhat offended that this album won 5 grammy awards when so many other albums are 100 times more deserving! I advise you not to waste your money on this highly mediocre album!!

This album is really good! Been a true fan of Beyonce and Destiny's Child since the beginning. Her album shows that sista girl has grown up. LOL Here's my comments and ratings for each song.

- Crazy in Love (10/10) great song for her debut
- Naughty Girl (9/10) cool
- Baby Boy (10/10) nice song with Sean Paul
- Hip Hop Star (7/10) it's ok
- Be with you (9/10) nice slow jam
- Me, Myself and I (9/10)
- Yes (10/10) pretty nice beat
- Signs (10/10) Missy knows how to do it!
- Speechless (6/10) really slow and drawn out, cool though
- That's How You Like It (8/10) its ok,
- The Closer I get to you (9/10) great collaboration with the legendary Luther Vandross
- Dangerously in Love 2 (8/10) should have left the original version from last DC album, love the song though.
- Gift From Virgo (8/10) cool ending
- Daddy - Bonus Track (9/10) nice tribute to her dad.

Overall it's a good album. Even if you're a Beyonce hater, just accept that she's a great writer and producer. She's really good. Great work!! Hope it helps

When you start hearing track one, you take off smoothly over known territory.

At track two, the weather keeps on getting finer and you inform all passengers you are having a good time, and it reaches a climax when track three arrives. You feel you are ongoing your best journey ever.

Then, all of a sudden, track four starts to play and storm clouds start to build on the horizon. By track seven, thunders and tornados start to shake your plane violently. You can't believe in what has just happened ... how a wonderful take off could degenerate in such terrible conditions.

By track 13, all your passengers are sick with nausea, some have fainted and some have even left the plane though they had no parachute. It was simply a case of pure despair.

Then, track 15 arrives and you have a feeling the sun is coming back again and the weather is improving. But then, alas, you look at your fuel reserves and you come to understand that you have wasted too much gas already and it is simply too late to regain control of the plane.

By track 16, the mountain is finally there and the crash is unavoidable. There are no survivors.

Want to miss this trip? It's simple ... just ignore this CD. Buy the single and be contempt.

The fact that this won 5 Grammys speaks on the state of music, the joke that the Grammys have become, and what stylish packaging can do. Her voice is better than the likes of Britney Spears yet I found Britney's album to be more entertaining minus the even more limited vocals-- this coming from an R&B fan. Like Ashanti, her song-writing ability is elementary. The difference is, with acts like Ashanti you are not set up to expect much. It is what it is, like it or leave it. Beyonce, on the other hand, has been branded a 'diva' as if she is a standard for the new crop of singers. Sporting high heels and weave doesn't make a diva. This album is garbage.

Save your money. Trust me, why settle for these really bad remixes she attempted to make when you can buy Mariah Carey's "Remixes". She knows how to do it. Just face it Beyonce, Mariah's "Heartbreaker" with Jay-Z is better than your "Crazy in Love" with Jay-Z. Mariah's duet with Luther "Endless Love" is better than yours with Luther. Please get original or give up.

I love Beyonce's first two singles, "Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy"! So I decided to download this and hear the rest of the album, as I had high hopes for this release. Really, I did! And boy, was I disappointed. The only other song that's single material is "Naughty Girl". "Baby Boy" is where the list of good tracks ends!! The rest of the album is slow and repetitive. I can't tell one song from the next, which is why I'm not doing a song-by-song analysis. Instead of singing like with Destiny's Child and her first two singles on the solo album, she pulls a Mariah Carey and whisper sings the entire album! Bottom line: Wait for the next Destiny's Child album!!

There was a point in time when I was a Beyonce fanatic. Posters plastered on my walls, Destiny's Child albums scattered about the room, and I couldn't wait until her first solo effort was to be released. That is, until I bought the album.
I purchased the CD the first day it was sold in stores, despite the fact that the single "Crazy in Love," didn't impress me too much. One spin in my stereo and one look through the credits inside of the CD and I was convinced. Beyonce was nothing more than a commercial rip off and I was just a foolish consumer who had fallen into the pit known as music marketing.
To my disgusted amazement, I discovered that eight of the fifteen tracks either sampled songs form the past or were written by someone else. All Beyonce' did was take songs from the past that weren't well known to mainstream music listeners, and sit down with a group of writers to come up with cliché, predictable, inarticulately written, lyrics. The song I liked most which was "Be With You," sampled several different songs for both the music AND the lyrics.
Yes, Beyonce is beautiful, and yes her voice is just as impressive, but her music is nothing more than overly synthesized, re-edited, poorly written tracks stolen from past musicians and groups. The lyrics alone turned me against the singer, who ranted about "Baby boy, you stay on my mind/ Baby boy, you are so damn fine," and mutilated the already cliché rhyming of the words crazy and baby in "Crazy in Love." Then to top it off she threw "Dangerously in Love," on the CD and gave her album the same title as if no one was aware that it was the same song from the Destiny's Child album "Survivor," with a few piano keys added.
Beyonce has the talent--VOCALLY, but as a songwriter it would be best if she left that to professionals. I am personally surprised and appalled that she won so many Grammy's for this album. I at least hoped that the music industry would be able to recognize real music when they heard it, but apparently they're as reliable as the masses that have purchased this so called "brilliant" album.
The music is bland, the lyrics are jumbled and easily forgotten, and there is no depth to the record at all. Songs like "Hip-Hop Star," and "Signs," will make you scratch your head and wonder how such nice beats could compell such sorry lyrics. The songs like "The Closer I Get to You," and "Naughty Girl," seem to drag on for hours on end, while pointless songs such as "Gift from Virgo," and "Daddy," will just plain annoy you as you listen to her try to fit 5,094,091 words into what seems to be, ten seconds of music.
If mainstream music with no meaning or purpose is your cup of tea, you should most certainly purchase this album. It will be around an hour of Beyonce failing attempts to sing in a Mariah Carey style, as she rushes words and repeats cliché's as best she can, and you will LOVE it. If you like originality and true songwriters/musicians, you'd be smart to steer clear of this album. As the title states, it is dangerous.

I didn't believe that I would ever say something like this, but I love Beyonce. I've never liked her. I never thought she could sing. I didn't think she could write. But all of these thoughts were dispelled when I got her cd. I figured I'd get it because I found it for ten dollars and I liked "Crazy In Love". So here is what I found:
1. "Crazy in Love"- good song, of course. it's always on the radio
2. "Naughty girl"- like most of her cd, has an old school feel. also has a good beat. good song
3. "Baby Boy"- with Sean Paul, good song. good beat.
4. "Hip Hop Star"- great beat, different and typical of Outkast. Big Boi is in the song.
5. "Be With You"- another old school beat. this song is one of my favorites.
6. " Me, Myself And I"- Another favorite of mine. Great lyrics and a relaxing, laid back feel
7. " Yes"- another good beat. good lyrics. good song
8. " Signs"- produced by Missy Elliott, so of course it's just another good beat on this album. the song is ok, but it sounds like tyrese's new song.
9. " Speechless"- sexy and smooth, the vocals on this song are excellent, another favorite.
10. " That's How You Like It"- I don't really listen to this, I'm not a Jay-Z fan. But I'm sure it's good
11. " The Closer I Get To You"- duet with Luther Vandross. nicely done.
12. " Dangerously in Love 2"- as we all know, this is a Destniy's Child song. I loved this song then and i love it now with its slighty different beat.
13. " Beyonce Interlude"- leads to the next song, spoken
14. " Gift From Virgo"- a love song, cute.
15. I'm not sure what the name of this song is because it is a bonus track. It is a song written for her father, Matthew Knowles. This is a beautiful song. Great lyrics and very touching. Possibly the most heartfelt song on the cd. Excellent.
In conclusion, this is a very good cd. You probably felt like me, wary of purchasing Beyonce's cd. But I'm very happy that I did. I personally love slow songs and there are a good number of them. Each is nicely done. But there are still a few upbeat songs. The vocals are impressive. Her songwriting skills have greatly improved. And the production on the album is excellent, which she did most of. I am shocked and pleasantly surprised that Beyonce has made such a good cd. So go buy it.