Beyoncé - I Am…Sasha Fierce
November 14th, 2008 | 5:40 pm est |
In non-Deluxe Edition form, Beyoncé’s third solo studio album is as concise as 2006’s B’day, but it is divided into two discs as a way to emphasize the singer’s distinct personalities. It’s a gimmick, of course — a flimsy one. Revealed through interviews in 2005, Sasha was said to be Beyoncé’s “stage persona,” an embodiment of the outgoing, aggressive, on-stage Beyoncé that doesn’t necessarily represent the real Beyoncé. Sasha now has a last name (possibly picked up from Tyra Banks, who maybe took a cue from Klymaxx), and is granted half an album (the second disc) to express herself. These five songs, when compared to the majority of B’day, are actually less fun, less impulsive, and yes, less fierce. “Diva,” a variation on Lil Wayne’s “A Milli,” is the only track that could go toe to toe with the likes of B’day’s “Freakum Dress” or “Ring the Alarm,” at least in terms of audacity. At the other end is “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” a dire “Get Me Bodied” retread. Otherwise, the Sasha Fierce half is full of decent, if easily forgettable, upbeat pop. If placed within the context of an album without a packaging ploy, there’d be little evidence that Beyoncé is making a radical progression or being any more bold than before. It would, if anything, be notable as the least R&B-oriented batch of songs she has made — that is, if it wasn’t for the I Am half, essentially a small set of adult contemporary ballads. Acoustic guitars, pianos, strings, contemplative soul searching, and grand sweeping gestures fill it out, with more roots in ’70s soft rock than soul. Beyoncé feels each line to the fullest extent, which almost rescues the set’s staidness. “If I Were a Boy,” while sounding like the watery backdrop for a singing competition finale, turns out to be the album’s standout, both for its lyrics and Beyoncé’s tormented performance. It could have been the song that broke an unfairly neglected adult-R&B singer like Heather Headley into the mainstream, and don’t be surprised if a country artist nabs a CMA Award by covering it.
The Deluxe Edition, released simultaneously with the 11-track version, contains a thicker booklet with more photos and five additional songs, including “Smash into You” (an answer song to Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash into Me”?) and “That’s Why You’re Beautiful” (notable for resembling, bizarrely enough, the melancholy sides of early-’90s indie rock bands like Tsunami and Versus).
I’m tired of saying this every time I read one of your reviews, Mr. Kellman, but you’re honestly the greatest music critic currently working.
It honestly is refreshing to read reviews written by someone who actually KNOWS what he’s talking about. Thanks so much for doing what you do.
such a bland record!!! this aint soul it has none its no r+b cause there is nothing to groove to !! beyonce needs headphones straped to her head with tina turner betty davis best ofs blaring!!!
It’s indeed refreshing and inspiring to read your reviews. Definitely inspiring as I’m a reviewer as well with lots of writer’s block at times. Keep the good work up!
Yes, the review is excellent, but I would’ve liked to hear the same thing about the album! Seems like it is a little overworked, (like her debut) and the complete opposite to B’day - which was a spontanous one-week jam-session of her and a couple of great producers and resulted in her best bunch of songs, yet. But I’ll have to take a look at it myself.
ps: Hey Andy, what happened to Jason Birchmeier? It seems like you took over his niche (R’n'B, Rap) some years ago, but do you cover extreme-metal, too?
Cosign the comments above. Well done, Mr. Kellman.
J-Wlo said:
“…B’day - which was a spontanous one-week jam-session of her and a couple of great producers and resulted in her best bunch of songs, yet.”
J-Wlo,
I think you’re making Bidet (sorry, I couldn’t resist the infantile name-mangling) sound far more organic than it really was.
Erykah Badu’s “Worldwide Underground” could accurately be described as one long jam session with a couple of great producers. B-Day was the biggest pop-star in the world getting a bunch of talented producers in a weeklong competition for the crown of “Most Rich Harrison-Sounding Beatmaker.”
From “Deja Vu” to “Freakum Dress” to “Green Light”, 80% of that album sounded like a series of attempts to recreate the magic Harrisson brought to “Crazy in Love” (or in the case of the latter, Amerie’s “1 Thing”).
Nooo! I wanted this to be a good album. B’day was such a gut-blast masterpiece I was hoping she would continue. Maybe I would like this a little more than the reviewer if he thinks Put A Ring On It is a mere retread - I think that song is hot, kind of menacing. I may still buy this, if only to nab the special edish of B’Day and her first album in a single, frantic Beyonce-spree.
YO BEYONCE’S VIDEO IS REALLY FLY. A VERY STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN.
OH SPEAKING OF INDEPENDENT YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT NE-YO’S JOINT MISS INDEPENDENT.
http://hot923.com/cc-common/ondemand/player.html?program=vod&track_id=20710 CHECK IT OUT
Andy Kellman you must have a terrible taste in music and seem to be very small minded. Beyonce’s cd is excellent and your review is simply a cheap chance for a hater to bash an amazing superstar like Beyonce. Her cd gives you a chance to take things slow in a relaxing way and get it up with the press of a button. It was unnecessary to make a review saying nothing but insulting things about her album.
Beyonce is the worst. I cant stand her singing style, so full of extra notes - i guess trying to hide the fact that at best she is mediocre. I’m not surprised her album is nothing special, Hopefully people will start to realize…Cute girl…Media hound….nothing new or special about her.
wow!!!
that album is fly…kip it rollin..,
and as for those who cant stand beyonces achivements…try yours and lets see if you get to that standard
Okay - this may sound like a stupid question, but i bought the new Beyonce CD but there’s only one CD inside. It lists two CDs being inside the case. it was brand new and I unwrapped the cellophane myself. Did I hit upon a batch of bad CDs at my Wal-Mart or am I missing something? Thanks - Cyndie
All the reviewers and their reviews and ratings on this site I agree with for the most part, (well except when it comes to choosing which songs are track picks) but these people seem to know what they are talking about. He was completely right in the fact that Beyonce abandoned the R&B sound which in my opinion was what worked best for her. Her latest was her worst album yet. While yes the B’Day album had a very good set of songs with only one rotten apple in the bunch (Resentment)I don’t think she will ever make another album as good as Dangerously in Love, which I think was her absolute best album. I’ll admit that there are songs on I Am that I don’t mind listening to every now and again, but they are easy to tire of and can even be a little annoying when you hear them too much.