Beyonce's "4" Album Review

(For whatever reason, I always feel obligated to provide little caveats at the beginning of these reviews. And so... the Senator has been a Beyonce fan ever since she was saying "No, no, no" with Destiny's Child back in the 90s, okay? I've been following and supporting her solo career from "Work it Out" (which I loved) to "Why Don't You Love Me?" (loved even more). But I'm no stan. Believe you me, Beyonce can do wrong, and we'll examine just that on the forthcoming review of "4".)

Beyonce is an international pop phenomenon. She's more than just a singer, actress, and dancer, she's a brand. Mrs. Carter is the face of an entire generation of not only black, female entertainers, but music performers, period. Her showmanship is stuff of legend, and I immediately compare her to the iconic Tina Turner when it comes to performing. Beyonce is no slouch. Every choreographed step and vocal flare has been given the care and treatment that only a superlative professional could offer. When it comes to legacy and longevity, there's no doubt in my mind that she'll be around 20-30 years from now. Perhaps not as fit and physical, but certainly still beautiful and fantastic. 

As a live performer, there are few contemporary artists that can touch her. She's flawless. But her album material has always been a sticking point for me. She's not above embracing and releasing mediocre tripe. And in that, 'Beyonce the incomparable' is just like so many of her contemporaries. On "4", she sort of leaves the dance floor (though not completely) for an assortment of feel-good, love and lost love songs that are mostly middling and forgettable. There are some gems to be found, don't get me wrong, but for an artist of her caliber, she should be recording and releasing stuff that only she could put a stamp on. Sadly, most of "4" is run-of-the-mill, even when she experiments with other sounds. 

Let's start with the good: On "I Care", I'm in love with it's wonderful mesh of memorable vocals, a complimentary pop-ish production, and great lyrics. Here she gives us some very unpolished guttural wails at the end of each chorus that really lends authenticity to this performance. "I Miss You" finally gives us a softer, subtler Bee, harmonizing on a minimalistic and atmospheric production, it's easily one of the standout tracks from the album. This is a Beyonce song that only Beyonce can deliver. As for "Party", it was so not what I was expecting! With assistance from Andre 3000 and Kanye, Beyonce goes in on this mid-tempo, expertly paced, straight-up summer jam. You'll be BBQ'n to this one! Simple and catchy, "Party" shines because of its feel-good nature, and it's probably the best track on the entire album. 

A few years ago, Beyonce released a song called "Flaws and All". Well, let's take a look at the flaws on "4": "Rather Die Young" could have been a standout. At the beginning, it boats sick piano work (under the lyrics "drive too fast") and an ominous guitar, which do nothing but compliment her exception vocal; but it loses something in the chorus, which unnecessarily goes big and breaks the more intimate verses. "Start Over" is an exercise in holleration (which she does a lot of on this album), and her vocals are still swallowed up by the production and lack of melody (another recurring issue on "4"). On "Love On Top", she's unassuming and joyful. It sports a throwback beat and she's clearly trying to channel a bygone era, but it feels forced to me. In the end it's not an awful song, just forgettable. "I Was Here" is pure pop-schlock. And "Countdown" is busy, as well as gimmicky. No doubt the girls (and by girls I mean my black, gay brethren) will eat this up though. I can hear it in the club already. Personally, I was bored. The one standout up-tempo number on "4" is the tribal-sounding, percussion-heavy "End of Time". Where that track fails however, is in the totally forgettable vocals. 

Now let's visit the awful: Her stans will defend it until Sweet Minty Jesus returns, but "Run the World (Girls)" is a God-awful, sonic mess (and he'll tell you that himself when he gets here). Void of any melody or direction, she and her producers thought they were being all cutting-edge when they released it as a single, but what they were really being was foolish. This should have been one of those unreleased songs that usually never see the light of day. It's that bad. The only redeeming result of this dreck is that she was able to give some standout dance performances to it on stage. My ears bleed just thinking about listening to it otherwise. I guess "1+1" was her attempt at being a torch singer. Bee honey, stick to what you know. Honestly, this song is all fuss and no delivery. What she does is try to emote her way through the lyrics, melody be damned, and while at it she must have asked, "why not drop some awkward and forced "YOU!" high notes in there so I can sound all soulful?" It's very nearly embarrassing listening to this wanna-be baby-maker love song. Any real fan of hers already knows where to go to get a veritable baby-maker..."Speechless" on 'Dangerously in Love'. Lastly, the Rhianna-jacking "Best Thing I Never Had", a song so ho-hum and mediocre that it's been demoted to awful just because someone on her team thought she should record it. Seriously, this is cookie-cutter stuff here. This is not the finest Beyonce. You mean to tell me that out of 72 supposed tracks she sent to her label, this was one they picked out and said, "fire!"? No, I imagine they chose this because it sounds like a hit record, even if it's lazy and unimaginative (both musically and lyrically). Where was all this musical boldness Ne-Yo was boasting about a few months ago?

Well, this fan still thinks "B'Day" is the high-water mark for Beyonce, creatively speaking. "Dangerously in Love" was a great introduction and "I Am...Sasha Fierce" was an able vehicle for her international brand, but 'Day' is a classic effort. If I were a betting man, I'd contend that in two years (maybe sooner), "4" will be all but forgotten. I didn't hear but maybe one or two songs that would credibly fit into Bee's worthy catalog. There's no "Crazy in Love" or "Irreplaceable" or "Single Ladies" in this lot. Hell, I'm waiting on some more "Resentment"! Alas, this album may sustain her brand, but I doubt it builds upon it. With first single 'World' flopping all over the world and follow-up singles underwhelming, I imagine most of the general public ain't buying into it (the stans will love it though). Here's hoping she learns some valuable lessons for "5". ** (out of 4) stars 

Buy (or not) Beyonce's "4" here (on June 28th)!