On her MySpace page, Beyoncé describes the concept for her double disc: for I AM… , she reveals to the world who she is “underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights, and underneath all the exciting star drama.” And “Sasha Fierce” is the “fun, more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken side and more glamorous side” that comes out when she performs on stage. She goes on to say that the double album allows her to “take more risks and really step out of myself, or shall I say, step more into myself, and reveal a side of me that people only know me see.”
It’s on the I AM… side of the album that Beyoncé takes the biggest risk by straying away from what has made her successful: the 808-heavy, beat-driven, club-friendly songs; instead she picks up where she left off with “Irreplaceable” and “Listen” to produce a different sound compared her previous album. With influences ranging from folk songs, acoustic rock, and alternative rock, I AM…Sasha Fierce is Beyoncé’s foray into further blurring the rock/R&B genre, and this is her attempt to get to the Whitney/Barbra Streisand status.
What’s a new Beyoncé record without a little controversy? Beyoncé’s lead single off of I AM…, “If I Were a Boy”, a certifiable smash hit, was originally written by BC Jean, and produced by Toby Gad (also produced Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry). Word has it that Toby Gad originally produced it for Ms. Jean, and ended up shopping it to major labels without success, and that Beyoncé’s strong-willed father/manager, Matthew Knowles, stiff-armed Jean to agree to give up the rights to the song, and apparently, to placate the up-and-coming singer/songwriter, a studio duet recording is going to be arranged for both Ms Jean and Beyoncé. You can check out Ms. Jean’s version of the song at her website, at www.bcjean.net.
Her other current single, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)”, has stirred a mild controversy on its own. Her video for this single apparently features a transvestite. I don’t see the big deal out of it, and if it were true (this is still an unsubstantiated rumor), she’s one hot mama. But the video itself, an homage to Bob Fosse’s “Mexican Breakfast”, is quite great, with its excellent choreography and its jazz dance influences.
One thing for sure, this girl’s on the top of her game, and she intends to stay on the grind and has no plans on letting up. She plans to release a Spanish version as well as video anthology for this album early next year (February 2009), in addition to a 110-day World Tour.
Here’s the skinny:
The Good: There are numerous outstanding tracks from each part of the album. The aforementioned “If I Were a Boy” has definite cross-over appeal, and has the potential to achieve the same success as “Irreplaceable” did. “Halo”, the scheduled second single, is produced by Ryan (OneRepublic) Tedder, and features heavy drums, claps, and the piano, the last instrument being one of the central elements of I AM.... “Broken-hearted Girl”, is where Beyoncé shines. From the same team that brought her international success (Stargate) in “Irreplaceable”, and with Babyface, Beyoncé beautifully sings the verses with vulnerability and resolve. I would’ve loved this to be her second single.
From the “Sasha Fierce” side of the album, there are definitely some banging single materials there, aside from “Single Ladies”. “Sweet Dreams”, leaked months before as “Beautiful Nightmare”, has that electronic feel that is a bit different from her previous sounds; I can see this going big in the international charts, and dominating the dance club airplay. “Video Phone”, produced by Shondrae Crawford and Sean Garrett, has that Southern Crunk feel to it, and in my opinion, should have been the second single from this album. My favorite track from this album would have to be “Diva”. This Lil Wayne-inspired track is driven by her free-styling syncopation, almost rap-like, singing.
The Bad: Seriously? 11 tracks for the standard edition disc? In today’s tough economic times, how exactly are you going to entice Hockey Moms, Teeny Boppers, and Ghetto Fabolous to cop your disc with that miniscule amount of tracks? At least the deluxe edition is a little better, with 16 tracks.
As for the tracks, I could’ve lived without “Ave Maria”. She sings it beautifully, but I just felt that it was lacking something; I found myself snoozing after listening to it. “Smash into You” seems like an album filler. The Jerry McGuire-inspired song, “Hello”, is a big schlop-fest. It did nothing for me, and it seems half-baked.
The Eh:
“Ego”, from the deluxe version, is the scheduled second single from the Sasha Fierce album. This up-tempo, old-school throwback produced by Elvis Williams and Harold Lilly (who produced Alicia Keys’ “You Don’t Know my Name”) seems a bit weak to be a second single, but perhaps, to spice it up a bit, rumor has it that Kanye West will be doing a remix; that ought to be interesting.
“Radio”, produced by Jim Jonsin (who produced T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” and Danity Kane’s “Show Stopper”), seems a bit simplistic, though it definitely has that radio-friendly vibe to it. Maybe it will grow on me on multiple listens.
Final Verdict.
Beyoncé apparently recorded over 70 songs over a course of a year for this album, before whittling it down to the 16 tracks. This is her first album without any collaborations/duets, and sure there are some obvious hiccups, but for the most part, she delivers. Go ahead and cop your copy of I AM…Sasha Fierce, available now on iTunes with a special bonus song “Why Don’t You Love Me” and in your friendly (and rapidly disappearing) big box stores, and online mp3 retailers.
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