R&B recording artist, Beyonce Knowles, has found a great deal of success with her solo career, racking up three number one albums since the break-up of Destiny’s Child. With last week’s release of her fourth studio album simply titled, 4, Knowles will surely earn her fourth number one album once the official charts are released. Beyonce has created an album that contains more ballads than her previous efforts, relying more on vocals than beats. Even though the first two singles off the album, “Run The World (Girls)” and “Best Thing I Never Had”, have underperformed, be sure to expect great things from this much anticipated album from one of the best-selling artists in the business today.
The twelve track album three years in the making begins with promotional single, “1+1”. The song is a simple story of love, a topic heard in many of the artist’s work over the years. The vocals are some of the best shown throughout her entire career, but when the track progresses it sounds like there is no flow at all. The track is good, and a nice way to open the album, it just is not anything amazing. The R&B feel of the effort gets turned up when “I Care” comes up. The song deals with the results of a hurtful break up, the opposite vibe of the previous track. The vocals are great once again, material is nice, but the progression of the song is where it is hurt. I am sure people will be surprised at the talent emitted through this song, but not very impressed. On “I Miss You”, the shortest track off the whole album, the artist goes through the song as slow as possible evoking a sense of vulnerability and heartbreak. The song is a departure from Beyonce’s upbeat tracks heard over the years, but it works here. The track is something simple, I commend it for the beautiful vocals and experimentation, I just do not think it work in its entirety. The current second single, “Best Thing I Never Had”, is a bright moment for the album; it is the sound that we have come to expect from the artist, but with a few changes to bring the music to date. After the flop of the first single, this track will surely sustain the sales of this new album. The subject matter may be a little depressing, but strength is shown throughout to make it one powerful anthem. “Party” is the only track that features any guest vocals. Andre 3000 from Outkast is brought in for a song that contains an urban vibe dating back a few decades. The title is a little deceiving because you should not expect to hear a summer jam that will get you up and dancing. Honestly, the song is not that great, Andre actually overshadows Beyonce and I thought that could never happen. The album continues with another ballad, “Rather Die Young”, another love song that is done in a different way. Inspiration from the female artists of the 70s and 80s is heard and Beyonce is able to compete with them all. The track may be a bit more successful than the slow jams that preceded it, but it does not compare to her previous work. It is nothing new, but good for what it is. The artist wishes to mend the broken fences in a relationship on “Start Over”, a song that takes the album back on a positive route. The artist’s vocals sound better than ever, a true powerhouse, the performance just takes the lyrics to a whole new level. I feel that anyone can relate to the song and would not be surprised if this track saw an official release in the future. “Love On Top” again takes the listener back through time for an experience that may be a little dated for the artist’s audience. The meaning behind the song is beautiful, but that is the only positive criticism that I can give it. The track is uninteresting, I can hear the different genres that Beyonce said she ventured into, but they sadly do not come together effortlessly. It is not a horrible song, just filler. The uptempo beats are finally revealed on “Countdown”. The song was needed in order to keep the album from being dominated by ballads. The change in pace is nice; it keeps he listener from becoming bored and I feel the artist comfortable moving through the track. The sound heard is traditional Beyonce and it is just a taste of what the album could have been; just a simple fun song. Heavy drums back up some brilliant vocals on “End of Time”. The song is a nice pop ballad that has enough of an upbeat sound to make the listener rock their head and sing along. The songwriting presented is some of the best on the album and I cannot help to assume that the artist’s personal life had an effect on the music. Half ballad, half uptempo pop track, the song proves successful. “I Was Here” may not have been written by Beyonce, but that does not really matter once the song begins to play. The artist reflects on her life as she belts out an impressive vocal performance that brings the whole track together nicely. The song does shine bright and it is evidence as to why the artist has had longevity in her career whether it be with a group or solo. The album closes disappointingly with the first single, “Run the World (Girls)”, a female empowerment anthem that did not impress me when it was released. The song was an unsuccessful start for promoting the album, the song only peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and I was scared to see other’s reaction. I love the concept, some of the lyrics are great, but the finished product sadly fell flat and the impact disappeared fast.
4, in my opinion, is Beyonce’s weakest of the four solo album that she has released throughout her career. While the vocals heard are some of the artist’s strongest, the songs just do not live up to the hype and expectation that surrounded the album’s release. Experimenting with different sounds and beats is always commended, but some of the tracks featured on this effort were a bit lackluster; nothing new or special. Beyonce is an artist that has immense talent, and the album will surely hit home with her huge audience, the reception may not be as great though. For some brilliant tracks and one of the strongest voices in the industry, the album receives a 79%.
Tracks to Hear: “Best Thing I Never Had”, “Start Over”, and “I Was Here”
Beyonce Knowles - Best Thing I Never Had
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