Amazing. Beyonce delivers an album that is consistent with the rest of her career: successful. The main gripe that I have is that it only has 12 tracks. When I heard the rumor that she submitted 72 songs to the record label for this album, I was hoping to get a lengthy project. (I’m fairly certain that there will be a deluxe edition that will contain “bonus” tracks, so I’m not completely disappointed.)
But in all honesty, I have no complaints about the 12 tracks on “4”. For every song that I don’t absolutely love (which is very few), I know that it will grow on me. The album has a little bit of everything. It’s smooth. It’s for the club. It’s for the car. It’s for the fans of her ballads. It’s exactly what I thought it would be.
I must admit, I think that the girls will like this album more than the guys will, but I don’t really think that’s surprising. Every song sounds like it’s going to be amazing whenever she performs them on a tour. It’s almost makes me want to start searching for tour dates even though nothing has been announced. The album is full of strong beats and suave melodies that come together and create great songs.
I know that everybody didn’t like “Run the World (Girls)” and I understand why, but I loved it. I understood what she was trying to accomplish with that track and I applaud her for aiming to create anthems, not just hits. I also think that it was a good choice for a first single, mainly, because her performances of that song have been great, not only for this album’s promotion, but for her career as a whole. (Did you see her Billboard awards performance? Classic.)
Her second single, “Best Thing I Never Had” is a great follow-up. I’ve heard people call it the “2011 version of ‘Irreplaceable.’” It definitely has that similar vibe of a woman’s independence and freedom. But it’s smooth and her vocals are amazing (as usual).
As of now, I’m pretty sure that my favorite song on the album is “Party,” which was produced by Kanye West and features Andre 3000. I honestly hope that it’s the next single. The “La Di Da Di” sample is genius and it’s just a “feel good” kind of track.
Some of my other favorites include “End of Time”, “Countdown”, “Rather Die Young” and “I Miss You” (which was penned by the new phenomenon Frank Ocean). “Start Over”, “Love On Top” and “I Care” provide the smoothness of the album while “1+1” and “I Was Here” allow Bey to flex her vocal skills.
It’s unfortunate that “4” leaked so far before the album hits the shelves, but I hope that everyone who downloaded will still go out and buy it on June 28th. I will.
Les is more ;)
