Survivor [ENHANCED]

Destiny's Child

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 2001)
• Original Release Date: May 1, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00005B5ZU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (560 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,767 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One listen to the eagerly anticipated third CD from the world's biggest girl group and it's clear there is one child with the most destiny. To paraphrase the hip-hop legends, "Who's house?" Beyoncé's house, and with the lead vocalist producing or cowriting all of the 14 tracks, it's hard to imagine what those other two chicks even do (other than act grateful to still have a gig). Seizing creative control is a bold move for Miss Knowles, and anytime an R&B act eschews the beat of the week, they have to be commended. But the problem is that Beyoncé, even with her ambition, has yet to suss out that the key to a pop-R&B smash is hook and melody. With the exception of the now-played-out title track (Can we all take a moratorium on this mighty goddess theme for a second, please?) and the equally you-go-girlish "Independent Woman Part 1," most of the tracks here lack a strong core. Beyoncé crams a litany of thoughts and motifs into her mini-anthems, with samples ranging from Stevie Nicks to Tarzan Boy, but though the cuts sizzle and sparkle and throw off much attitude, Survivor is way too frenetic. Even with some strong singing and songs (most notably the laid back "Fancy"), Survivor lacks real emotion. --Amy Linden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big guilty pleasure of mine, July 21, 2001

By	Erica Anderson (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Okay, I'm not too fond of Destiny's Child, especially having heard "Say My Name" one million times on the radio but that was a couple of years ago. The songs I've heard off "Survivor" proved to be irresistable and addictive. "Bootylicious" is what convinced me to acquire the group's 3rd album. The killer Stevie Nicks sample did me in. The lyrics are corny, if not ridiculous but overall the song is fun especially during the summer right now. "Survivor" and "Independent Women Part 1" are two other excellent summer tunes. I particularly loved "Nasty Girl". The lyrics are a real hoot and I love that bit from the group took from Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy". As far as the slower songs goes, I loved "Emotion" and "Brown Eyes" but "The Story of Beauty" was a real stinker as were the last two tracks of the cd. I do think DC's strengths lies in their more upbeat songs which really showcases the group's individual voices. Overall I love "Survivor" despite my earlier resistence to their music.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not "Writing's On the Wall", but..., May 17, 2001

By A Customer

Upon buying and playing DC's last album over and over AND OVER, of course I was anticipating their latest album, "Survivor." I don't buy many albums, in fact the last album I purchased was around 8 months ago, but I like DC and so of course I knew I would buy the group's next album when it came out. It should be already said that, simply, "Survivor" is no "Writing's on the Wall." That's a good thing and a bad thing. The album really has no stand out, catchy "everyone sing cause you know you know the words" unless you want to count Independent Women and Survivor which, still,can't be compared to "Bills, Bills, Bills" or "Say My Name." But I still can't put this album down, because they are still quite catchy songs. This is the type of album that you have to listen to about 3 times before you go "hey, this isn't bad" on some of these songs--at least that was my experience. But I'll give a quick rundown of some of the songs on this album:

"Independent Women (part 1)" and "Survivor": You've heard these songs a zillion times and have your own opinions on them, so I don't need to say more. "Bootylicious": I still think the title is rather "Huh? What?"-ish, but the song is a good dance song even if it isn't my favorite dance song on the album. "Nasty Girl": Love this song--the beat is tight and I find the words playing over and over in my head throughout the day. It's very catchy and a very good dissin' song. "Fancy": Very nice beat also, especially the latter part of the chorus. I'm sure everyone can totally relate to the words. "Apple Pie A La Mode": A song with a very sexy, seductive tone. Cute, but not my absolute favorite. But I can tolerate it, still. "Sweet Daddy": THE BOMB!! This is my favorite song on the whole album. I've played this one song more than any other on the album. The beat is awesome--you can't help but to move. "Independent Women (part 2)": I might find the little cartoon-ish music that goes with this song rather irritating on another song, but for some reason it seems to work here. Maybe because I love the message of the song. "Happy Face": Okay, this song gets kinda corny for me, but it's still a cute "happy, wake up and shine" song "Emotion": Very pretty song and I absolutely LOVE near the end of the song when Michelle comes in to sing her one or two lines. I wish she could've gotten the chance to sing the whole song because her voice is so beautiful on this song. In fact I fast forward to the end of the song and start at the point immediately before she sings. Sweet slow song, but... "Desperately in Love" is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE slow song on the album. It has so much emotion and power, even if Beyonce's voice once again overpowers the song and everyone else. It's a beautiful song. "Brown Eyes" is another pretty slow song. It's probably my second favorite slow song. "The Story of Beauty" is nice, but I don't listen to it much when I play the album because of the sad topic it discusses. So true, but still so sad. Overall, although Beyonce once again is in the leads, at least you do get to hear the other two girls occasionally and they come through nicely. The album is still good and a good follow-up even if it doesn't surpass or exactly meet the quality of their last album. I don't feel as if I wasted my money.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not REAL R&B, May 5, 2001

By	Urban-Reviews.com (Urban-Reviews.com) - See all my reviews

Luckily I didn't purchase this album due to listening to a music store friend's store promo. Just for the record, this is NOT in any way, shape or form, REAL R&B. For those of you who don't know,REAL R&B is music that you will still be able to listen to 10 years from now. REAL R&B is Jill Scott, Musiq, India Arie, Maxwell, D'angelo, Eryakah Badu, Angie Stone, Rashaan Patterson. These people are simply in the business to make REAL music and not just to win Grammys and go platinum. Their music is simply timeless. Destiny's Childs' music is CHILDish POP mess. This cd just shows that once again their music has no substance. With songs like Bootylicious, Apple Pie A La Mode, and Mr.Peabody cartoon music samples, Beyonce needs to leave the writing and producing to someone else(Latoya & Latavia). If Destiny's Child want to be real SURVIVORS, they need to start producing real music. And what was the point of dissing the ex group members on the cd??? The Vibe article was bad enough. Just another example of what the name Destiny's Child really means: Destiny is CHILDish.