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95 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I Am...Making You Pay For A Deluxe Edition That Could've Been a One Disc by Beyoncé, November 18, 2008
Before I start, I'm just gonna say I'm not an amazing reviewer, but I am going to give an honest review.
I am definately not the biggest Beyonce fan by far, as I usually like to stray away from mainstream music as often as I can, being such over processed crap as most of it is. But this is Beyonce we're talking about, she has amazing talent, and an amazing vocal range. Which is why I'm so appalled that she had the audacity to release such an album. It's almost like she's saying, "I'm Beyonce, I'm amazing, and people will jump on anything I create, so why even make an attempt."
I'm one of the idiots who purchased the deluxe album, and after unwrapping it at home and actually checking out the track listing and such, all of these songs could have DEFINATELY fit onto one album. There was nothing deluxe about it.
After listening to the first disc, I almost felt I had to check my stereo to make sure I didn't have the same song on repeat over and over. The entire first disc is nothing but power ballads, that lack just that, power. There was no emotion, they all sounded exactly the same: bland, dull, and over-polished. It made me feel like she went into the studio and just recorded each track to the same intrumental, back to back, and called it a night.
The second disc I'm assuming was supposed to be the disc with club anthems, party songs and such. It had the typical "independent" ladies song, and the typical "boast like a man" song. I forced myself through the whole thing just to say I gave it a shot. Basically the only song worth anything on this entire collection is the song "Single Ladies", which I'm still not bananas about.
Beyonce, you're incredible, but this album was a slap in the face to all of your fans and anyone who even mildly liked you. Giving it two stars is generous, and I wasn't in the mood.
It definately seems like I'm bashing Beyonce in this review, but I'm not bashing her, I'm bashing her feeble effort in this album release. I'm sure she'll notice the poor feedback from this cd and the next will be incredible. She should definately take her time and create an album with songs that have some staying power. Because if there ever was a Beyonce album to forget in the dust it's definately this one.
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
You're better off with the deluxe edition, November 18, 2008
On her third solo disc, Beyoncé returns with a concept album of sorts, a double disc with disc 1 comprising ballads reflecting Beyoncé, and disc 2 comprising more uptempo songs reflecting her fiercer alter ego, Sasha.
Opening the album is the smash hit "If I were a boy", co-penned by Toby Gad who also co-penned such lovely acoustic ballads for Fergie ("Big girls don't cry") and Donna Summer ("Sand on my feet"). The song is a beautiful acoustic ballad with Beyoncé stepping into a guys' shoes and telling how she would treat a girl better if she were a guy. It also features some of Beyoncé's most heartfelt and best vocals. Other standouts on Disc 1 are "Broken-hearted girl", the acoustic "Smash into you" (on the deluxe edition), and the bonus cut "Save the hero", a Timbaland-style groove with lyrics asking who will be there for her in her time of need, as she's always there for others.
Disc 2 boasts more sonic variety; The techno-tinged "Radio", the club number "Sweet dreams" (which sounds like something off of former bandmate Michelle's recent Dance CD), the piano drenched "Hello", the retro Soul sounding "Ego" (with organ, horns and lovely harmonies), the stomping Darkchild produced "Scared of lonely" (nice keyboards and swirling synth effects) and the closing bonus cut co-penned by her sister Solange (who I feel should have co-penned the entire CD), the Motown-tinged bouncy "Why don't you love me" (the latter 4 on the deluxe edition).
That makes it 10 good songs on the entire album (assuming you have all 18 cuts), or simply 4 on this version of the disc. And therein lies the problem. The disc could have been effectively whittled down to just 10 tracks and it would have been much more effective. Songs like "Single ladies", "Diva", and "Video phone" are more of the same skeletal atonal tuneless stuff like "Ring the alarm" or "Get me bodied", while much of Disc 1 passes by harmlessly making no impact. Disc 1 sounds like an attempt to muscle in on Leona Lewis' territory; "Halo" was co-written by the same chap that co-wrote "Bleeding love" for Leona and was apparently originally intended for Leona. The songs also largely lack the vocal dexterity she displayed in her first CD on songs like "Be with you", "Yes" or "Speechless"; her singing on practically every song except "If I were a boy" is basically the same. Also, she seems unable to recapture the charm and excitement that was "Crazy in love".
If you go for the regular edition of the album, you miss most of the best songs ("Smash into you", "Hello", "Ego", "Scared of lonely", and bonus tracks "Save the hero" and "Why don't you love me"). It's really pointless getting the regular edition. All 11 songs on the regular edition could have conveniently fit onto a single disc.
I won't be surprised if months down the line, she releases a deluxe deluxe edition including the good songs that should have been on the album in the first place, much like she did with "B'day". Albums like this strongly argue the case for illegal downloads!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Forget who Sasha Fierce is...Who is Beyonce Knowles-Carter?, November 22, 2008
Who is Sasha Fierce? More importantly, who is Beyonce Knowles-Carter? Music listeners worldwide are more interested in the latter; more curious about divulging into the mind and psyche of Beyonce, the newly married, former lead singer of super girl group Destiny's Child.
But with her third solo album, widely publicized as her most personal project to date, does Beyonce really give insight into what life is like behind the celebrity trappings?
I Am...Sasha Fierce is exactly what was forecasted: a disjointed package of two sounds and ambiences. In what is described as an album illustrating two sides of the vocal powerhouse diva's persona: Beyonce', the artists vulnerable, emotional (sincere) side, and alter ego Sasha Fierce, the domineering, attention capturing diva; the two disc set straddles current music trends of pop on the former, and edgy, street-wise R&B/dance on the latter.
First disc, entitled, I Am, is an adventure in pop sounds and phrasings for the most part. In the grand scheme of this conceptual project, I Am is more rewarding and convincing.
Listening to the twenty-seven-year-old sing about her lover's angelic qualities on "Halo" and pondering her actions as the opposite sex on "If I Were A Boy" is actually a bit refreshing. An abundance of acoustic elements (piano, guitar) and soaring restrained vocals reveal a distinctively new approach to music for the Houston native, famous for cramming more syllables and words into a single breath than her other female counterparts.
Even here, however, the attempts to incite a certain intimacy are futile. Most notably is "Ave Maria", which may have been a decent song without the interpolation of the operatic standard into what is an overly ambitious, under-executed filler track. Conclusively, there is no doubt Mrs. Knowles-Carter has the chords to sing just about anything, and I Am, while pleasant, is almost too easy.
Thankfully, disc two, Sasha Fierce, finds Beyonce channeling her familiar, sure-footed sexiness. It's inevitable that most will skip through a couple of tracks on disc one before they trade it in for Fierce.
With alter-ego in full effect, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" immediately signals the change of pace and prepares listeners to break out in a sweat. "Single Ladies" is about as synonymous with sophomore album single "Get Me Bodied" as any song could be without being an exact carbon copy. Down to the snappy hand claps and steady foot stomping beat ---both songs even have accompanying dance routines---"Single Ladies" may sound eerily familiar, but it is among Bey's catchiest songs to date.
"Radio" and "Sweet Dreams" are clear attempts to capitalize on the techno craze sweeping airplay as of late. "Radio" finds the singer stepping into Rihanna territory, relying on overemphasis of vowels 'o' and 'a' while in the midst of lyrics that sound like they were written for a teenager . On the other hand, Beyonce owns "Sweet Dreams", embodying the song's irony in her vocal delivery against the bass-thumping, rousing synths and sparkling piano. "Dreams", a clear gem, was unfortunately leaked to radio and dance floors in the early part of 2008.
After listening to I Am...Sasha Fierce, one will realize that Beyonce's work with Destiny's Child on their farewell album, Destiny Fulfilled, is the closest we have gotten (or may ever get) to calling an album by Sasha Fierce herself, personal and probing.
Speaking of the Destiny Fulfilled album, the final track on second disc Fierce, "Video Phone", borrows a lot from "Soldier" off of the DC3 project. Hustlers swagger and pants sagging low are the catalysts for Beyonce to offer a private "video phone" sex tape. "Video Phone" is rather frank.
We appreciate the notion of trying to present a candid, stripped down Beyonce to the world through music, but this is not it. There are interesting surprises, but this double-disc album package is a lot less compelling than it could have been. Given a recording process that stretched over a year, and a goldmine of seventy songs from which these eleven were selected, it's hard to determine whether the album's concept diminished the intended introspective feel or if the concept saved the songs from the project's lapse in cohesiveness.
Beyonce's voice is there. She sings effortlessly. A few good songs are there. Top 40 radio will eat up the catch phrases. But where is the evidence of the singer turned actress and wife blossoming into womanhood and relishing in the bliss of married life?
If Beyonce fights the inevitable, at worst she could end up like Usher; playing catch up by the time she is thirty. If she reinvents herself, she may never need to live her personal life on stage. Instead she can follow in the footsteps of Madonna or Tina Turner and "Sasha" all the way into her fifties and sixties.
3*** stars out of 5
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