BEYONCÉ

Music made by committee for hairdressing salons.

Really? Beyonce? Christ, ok. aaaand it was just as shit as expected. Just r&b that sounds like it was made in a factory. Because it was. Naturally there are about 10000000 outside writers per song. Why does the music press pretend this shit is a personal statement about anything? Like oh yeah this really came from her heart.... and the hearts of about 500 dudes. 1/5 get the fuck outta here.

Uggghhhhh. I can't with this crap. There's no merit here. Beyoncé seems like more of a product to me than a person. When a massive team of people does all the work and you just show up to sing, I mean, where’s the artistry in that? It just feels so manufactured and artless.

I would like to thank whoever lent Beyoncé Knowles-Carter a copy of Yeezus, and I would also like to thank Jay-Z for pretty clearly having outright psychopathic dick game. BEYONCÉ is an erotic, playful, and personal—well, as personal as something with like 30 writers can be—record with a sound that gleefully defies expectations. There's some pretty sexy shit on here, but what grabbed me most was how much fun she seems to be having on the microphone, confidently busting out Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz references, I-run-this-shit chest beating and barely-disguised, Prince-esque sex rhymes in-between examining her self-image and serenading her newborn daughter. The second half can't keep up with the runaway momentum of the first (barring ***Flawless, it sounds more like what I expected going into the album, bland Drake feature and all), but this was a damn fine surprise overall. Key Tracks: Haunted, Blow, Partition

I never really understood the hype surrounding Beyonce, sure she has a good voice, but I tend to think her massive appeal and commercial success is more attributed to Beyonce the "product", rather than just the music. I'm always suspicious when you hear about an artist's personal life just as much as their music. I hadn't listened to her music more than what I've been force-fed on the radio and music videos and she is what she is. A above-average singer, with an above average hype machine behind her = the greatest singer of her generation...yeah, right.

It's modern mainstream pop music... These pop people are always kinda funny to me. They're like full grown adults most of the time (I guess she was ~32 when this was released) and they have to sing these ridiculous songs ("Blow" comes to mind) and dress in these crazy outfits all the time. Sure, she's only 32 at the time here and maybe "Can you eat my skittles?" and "Turn that cherry out" are actually the artistic statements she wants to make... Regardless, the lyrics on this album are just ridiculously cheesy. Whatever pays the bills I guess.

Look, I'll be the first to admit this isn't my scene, ok? But this ... thing ... is so unrelentingly synthetic and repetitive that it hurts my soul. I get the motivation behind it which is why it doesn't get a fully failing score. Bey wanted to git duurty. Sure. Maybe hire some studio musicians next time instead of just a stack of producers, though. Because, despite the vocal and lyrical talent, it's just frikkin' boring.

There's a lot of variety in the music, Beyonce always sounds the same. It might be a nice variety if you liked any of it but for me it's just messy. Beyonce loves a lick out. Sometimes a man chats. French woman also likes sex. There's a child on this. I don't get it

HAHAHAHHA FUCKING SHOPPING CENTER MUSIC LMAOOOOO. Da mi se sluša ova glupača ošo bi u arenu centar, a ne bio na ovoj stranici.

This album is incredibly pretentious without the chops to back it up. I just think about how she acted like she invented the idea of a surprise drop... the same year that Bowie and MBV did it.

vapid drivel, some of the worst music in a long time

Overhyped, overproduced, self-indulgent pretentious tosh!

Another one of my faves. I hadn't actually listened to this album in a while. It's starting to sound like a product of its era, the synth-pop sounds of the early 2010s. The entire album is a masterwork, telling stories of horniness, womanhood, motherhood and other delights. "Flawless" is such a tune and it takes me back to the summer of 2013/2014, when waking up like this was my goal in life (and still is, tbh). I also like that Beyonce kind of invented the "surprise album" era, gifting fans with no just a full album but also fully realised music videos for each track. "Drunk In Love" is also a fab track but I cannot emphasise how much of an absolute perfect tune "Flawless" is.

Not every part of the Beyonce package is to my taste. She's too musical theatre at times, too breathy and others, and sometimes just too darn slow. But grandiosity is her metier, and this trades artlessly in the language of significance from front-to-back. She sends a lackey to fetch Drake and Frank Ocean, reduces them to the prupose she has in mind, then flicks them back out the door. She's one of just a few artists who can pull off such pomposity. Maybe the only one of the current era. What keeps her grounded--like down and diiiiiirty grounded--is sex! sex! sex! "I can't wait till you get home so you can turn that cherry out" is great. But it's the way she replicates foreplay and climax in the pop song structure that makes this soar. And Partition may be the most accurate musical interpretation of a shaking booty ever.

no no no

Not great

Drunk in love, yall

Queen Bee sounds fine but too many of the songs are fillerish. When she hits she absolutely KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK. For me though it’s an inconsistent listen. There’s a lesson in there that Beyoncé learned in later releases with far better flow and function.

Considering she's the biggest recording artist in the world, nobody I've asked has ever been to name 5 Beyonce songs. I've asked a lot of people. I'll try to do it myself now... Crazy in Love (from like two thousand and fucking three) Erm...The put a ring on it one Erm...Halo? I can only think of Destiny's Child songs now..... Nope

This list is selling out

I should listen to more Beyoncé

Love me some Queen B

This album is a monster of singles, and at the same time so cohesive. This is one of the things that separates Beyonce from other similar artists. I think the thing that pushes it up to 5 is Partition/Yonce.

Beyoncé has an amazing voice but this album did absolutely nothing for me, I already forgot everything about what I listened to

this album is particularly gash. its a mish mash of shitty current rap styles with beyonces trademark warbling over the top with bags of #sass because #slay #queen. fucking awful from a loathsome dick head.

Creó que nunca había escuchado esta joya. Siento que no me quedó de otra más que ser que ser simp por Queen B. Me gustó todo el disco la verdad, pero llevo un par de horas escuchando Mine con Drake, va directo a mis canciones favs de los 2010s. Mood: I woke up like this

This is the album that really turned Beyoncé into the mega star she is today and it’s easy to see why. Almost everyone song was a major hit and they’re all good. Plus features from the biggest artists of the decade, especially if you swap some of the originals for the Deluxe remixes

It’s impossible to deny the talent behind this album, but it is very much the definition of “not for me”

Highly overrated in my opinion. It's fine but not gonna go out of my way to listen to this again

This sounds like the most expensive album I've ever heard. Hundreds of cowriters and producers involved and it stops it from being cohesive. Obviously she has a great voice but does nothing for me

I mean it's the queen of pop for the 21st century. I get that this was an event when it was dropped but again, it's just more bland R&B - at least the production is interesting that's what saves it. Just. Best Tracks: Pretty Hurts; Drunk In Love (feat. Jay-Z); Partition

I have many thoughts. But before the haters come for me - Beyonce has an amazing voice, I just don't like her music This was just bad. The rapping (not sure I can call it that?) was not good. I grew up listening to destiny's child, and I think Beyonce has some great songs from earlier in her career. But this album is a big no for me. I'd have enjoyed it more if she sang ballads rather than this generic radio crap Everytime I start getting into a song, the beat changes and it seems like a complete different song. Odd choice "I sneezed on the beat and the beat got sicker" - sounds like something a 13 year old would come up with. Speaking of the lyrics - so many people co-writing, and thats the best they could come up with? I hated drunk in love when it came out, and can confirm I still hate it now Flawless was particularly offensive on my ears. Terrible The only song I like is XO - and only because I love the John Mayer cover and I thought it was his original song Also the thought of her getting it on with Jay Z makes me unwell. I don't want to hear about it (blow comes to mind) The whole album seems like she's overcompensating and telling everyone how in love she is and how much sex she's getting. Like we all don't know her husband was cheating the whole time 2 ⭐️

No hay mucho que decir. Creo que es mi disco favorito de Beyoncé, no hay skips prácticamente y hasta la edición platino me parece que sí aporta. Beyoncé en control de tantas cosas, un control que no ha soltado en discos posteriores, su voz tiene tantos matices y las melodías, pegajosas y envolventes, se acoplan muy bien a ella. Favs: "Drunk in Love" (y el remix, muy bien, con su eterno enamorado: Kanye), "Blow", "No Angel", "Rocket" y "Superpower". 10/10

This is a pretty damn epic album, which does explain some of the worship given to Her Majesty. There were a couple of times my arms almost went up in the air in praise. We all knew she could sing, but here was a real VOICE. Anyone who can sing an ugly word like "ass" the way Beyoncé does in the opening line of "Rocket" is truly a virtuoso (virtuosa?). I almost felt overly voyeuristic in the more erotic numbers because they were so personal and intimate. But I suppose that goes for all of the emotions expressed in this album as well. "Pretty Hurts" is quite a message coming from someone who we all just sort of assumed reigned over the world with effortless beauty. The video is pretty gut-punching. And speaking of videos, I note that this album was meant to be accompanied by all the videos (I never saw an "Audio Only" warning on an album), but I was only able to sample a few today. It was time well spent.

"Music made by committee for hairdressing salons" says that other review. There's some truth to that hilarious negative take, I'm not gonna deny it. Yet if that's the case, that means that Beyoncé's salon is the most extraordinary hairdressing salon that has ever been built on the surface of this earth--with inviting nooks and crannies where all sorts of fun and kinky stuff may happen ; with lush decorations and night club lights that can elicit the most relaxing bliss in your mind or conversely thrill you enough to dance all night long ; with endearing memorabilia hung on the walls relating to Beyoncé's life course from Houston to New York; and with time-travelling portals transporting you to the most fascinating hip places, from NYC to Paris--all of this run by young nymphs and ephebes doing all they can to make you feel comfortable. This sort of salon is worth visiting, at least once. And if you can get a fresh haircut around your elated ears in the process, it's a win-win situation, clearly. More specifically, and all metaphors about hairdressing salons aside, this album is a playful exploration into groovy styles of all stripes : R'n'B, electronica, soul, hard funk, hip hop... The first three tracks create a perfect first act: opener "Pretty Hurts" displays effective soul-infused earworms from get-go, with quite interesting turns of phrase lambasting "perfection-at-all-cost" ; the Timbaland-produced "Haunted" is a nocturnal gem, with a simple melody that eventually turns into epic proportions, with many sonic details suggesting a cyberpunk, Bladerunner-like landscape found in the most expensive sci-fi flicks ; and "Drunk In Love", produced by the same Timbaland and Pharrell Williams, and propelled by a weird, Eastern-flavored sampled vocal hook, offers a shameless and immodest peep into Queen Bey and Jay-Z's intimacy--which could have turned out ridiculous if the music wasn't so sexy. After those three tracks, Mrs. Carter shifts gears several times, loses the thread at some other points (a flaw that's found in all of her last three blockbuster LPs--indeed written by committees and therefore a little haphazard as a result)... and yet she always gets back on her feet somehow. "Blow/Cherry"--with that striking one-liner about "turning cherries out"--foretells the post-disco endeavours of *Renaissance* ten years later or so. "Partition/Yoncé" is a two-part snapshot about lust and celebrity whose narcissitic impulses are redeemed by its dark yet pristine EDM flourishes--amazing how the digital basslines slap in this record, by the way : my hi-fi system is not high class, and yet those bass frequencies rumble like in almost no other record in my collection. As for "Jealous" and "XO", they are pop jewels that could have actually been expanded way beyond their short time count. In between those highlights, there's a couple of more meandering or demonstrative-for-their-own sake compositions (including one with a featuring by Drake where he somehow manages not sounding *too* ridiculous, lol). Yet fortunately, the last act is as strong as the first. *Flawless* is an trap-inspired, bombastic partytime dirge boasting about "perfection" with opera-like vocals in the background (maybe in a part-ironic fashion, just as in "Pretty Hurts"--given the snippet concluding it). "Superpower" is a subdued, "doo-wop 2.0" ballad that goes to interesting minimalistic places. And "Heaven" and "Blue" are other heartfelt cuts whose straightforward simplicity (foretelling the more intimate moods of Bey's next LP *Lemonade*) make them both memorable and endearing. Everything after "Blue" on Spotify are bonus tracks that are part of the record's "Platinum Edition" (mostly remixes and some extra featurings by Nicki Minaj and Kanye West). Nothing essential there, except from "Ring Off", a lively yet quite subtle number dedicated to Beyoncé's mother after the latter decided to part ways with her husband. So how should I grade this? 4/5? 4.5/5? The "writing-as-a-commitee" nature of this album often yields great results, but it's also probably the root cause of the few underwhelming moments in its middle section. Yet if you took away those underwhelming cuts, you'd still have a great album with a pretty satisfying length. My best guess is that the only problem Beyoncé has as an insanely rich artist curating and partly writing all these songs is that no one in her entourages dares question some of her choices, hence the "all-in-the-pot" nature of her LPs. But honestly, it's a very minor flaw for anyone interested enough in modern African-American music. I'm gonna round up my 4.5/5 grade to a perfect 5, then. Number of albums left to review: 381 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 281 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 146 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 199

Undeniably catchy and killer crisp production. Not sure where the album ended since the platinum edition was all Spotify had for me. I was gonna complain about how every song is just unending sexual euphemisms but that would make me seem like “old man yells at cloud.”

This album has extremely high highs, and while there are some definite lows, the highs dramatically make up for it. Side note: I really dislike people who hate pop music for no reason. Just because you dislike pop music doesn't mean you'll dislike every pop album. Take a fucking chill pill and stop being so pretentious.

Until today, the only time I ever listened to Beyonce on purpose was when I was learning to play Redemption Song so I was searching for live covers and found a version with her singing while Eddie Vedder handled the guitar. I quite liked that cover but I was never attracted to her own music; although from what I can see on this album, she doesn't write any of what I just called "her own music". I was expecting to hear some "poppy" songs, as might be typical for someone so popular but there aren't many here. I guess one positive thing to say is "At least it's not pop." Perhaps there is some magic in the lyrics which I didn't really pay attention to on my first listen. Since Charlie Watts passed today I'd rather play some Stones than spend another hour listening to this album to see if the lyrics justify a higher rating. Even if the lyrics are top shelf, they aren't her lyrics so I'm not sure they should move the needle higher.

Album die mij niet compleet aanstaad omdat het niet mijn genre is. Wel enkele bekende hits erop zoals drunk in love en partition.

A resplendent, beautiful minge, that you would be proud to eat your dinner off. Although I would eat every last crumb that would drop out of her vag and treasure it forever, her music doesn't really send my tastebuds into ecstasy. A rather bland and bitter relish smacks against my lips and leaves a nasty taste in my throat. Her beef lips, rubbery and ferocious as they may be, cannot mask the foul stench of her mediocre beats and limp lyrics that pour out of this unappetising banquet. A feast to forget, but a fanny full of flavour.

I'm sorry I have a strong grudge/bias against Beyonce ever since I had to do an entire unit on Lemonade my junior year of college. ok so this review turned out to be more of a rant. Is this album quiet? It felt way quieter than I am used to, I had to double check everything was set up properly. I'm not a fan of the 808 and synths (especially on Drunk in Love) they sound like default garage band synths. The synths in the background of Jay-Z's verse sound like wet farts. Partition also has annoying synths. Rocket really didn't need to be 6 and a half minutes. Actually a lot of these songs feel way to long and never really go anywhere dynamically. Flawless is a terrible song (I am really considering a 1 now). Superpower is so long and boring. (yeah I can't do this this is getting a 1) I tried I am sorry, there is very little I found enjoyable here. This is now a contender for one of my least favorite albums so far. I couldn't stand any thing past the first couple of songs. They all just meander for way to long and the production hurts this album so much. The last 7 songs all sound exactly the same and have no drive or anything to keep me interested. Overall, some very generic pop songs with some truly awful synths. The second half of this album just drags on forever there are like 0 choruses or anything engaging and they are just SO BORING. I also expected more from her vocally, everything seems pretty reserved (which is fine, but when the rest of the music is so boring I would like something to grab onto).

Surprisingly intolerable. People listen to this?

duh

five stars

About as sexy as pop music gets.

Amazing, as expected

very good obvi

I love Beyoncé

Epic. This was Beyoncé becoming a queen. This was the transformation.

WOW! There’s a reason she’s Queen Bey. Incredible album that tells incredible stories. Absolutely amazing!

Smooth, sexy, powerful, and empowering. I feel like kicking the patriarchy's ass today. More so.

I don’t listen to Beyoncé much…really just when a tunes pops on the radio or something. I found some songs quite pretty and some quite sexy. Her voice is so smooth and can really draw you in.

should have won album of the year at the 2015 grammys, it's insane I still have to pick my fave song because it changes each time like she's so sick for this excellence

Yeah this album slaps.

A game changer

Oh goodness I hope I like this. I feel like Pretty Hurts is trying to making a grand statement and I'm missing it. Okay, HAUNTED I get. Powerful. Geeze. I don't know if I've ever listened to a more danceable album. I expected vapid pop. The time changes! The key changes! The production value! wow. Haunted, Flawless, XO, Jealous, Blow, what a a great album!

Wonderful

One of my favourite albums ever.

Just more evidence that she's one of the greatest of all time.

Marvellous

yeah this is one of my favorite beyonce albums for a reason. just hit after hit, and some really great producers doing some of their best work. also, it alone is the reason why albums release on fridays now instead of tuesdays, which is a fun fact.

Great at every turn. I was expecting this an album to feel a bit dated (it is already ten years old). But it doesn’t at all. “Rocket” is now far and away my favorite Beyoncé song.

Beyoncé fans don’t play bruh. This wiki page is FAT. Loving this so far. XO is the first track that’s meh to me. Not bad just seemed a little flat especially compared to the rest of the album. God damn the remixes and bonus tracks are heat, I feel like it’s rare for the deluxe tracks to ever be good. The kanye feature 😍😭 First time I wish I could give half stars. Easy 4.5 A couple misfires but besides that it was really great. Imma give beyonce her flowers cause I get it now

Pretty Hurts is a lackluster tracks because of the hook, but I am digging the sonic landscape queen B is putting out. Haunted and Drunk In Love are killer, though I think Jay-Zs verse in it is weak. Blow rocks, No Angel is an impressive vocal line but I'm not taken with the song. Partition is fine but Jealous is so good. Rocket is so good! She is so masterful in her control of rythmic dissonance. Heaven is minamilist lyrics wrought to devasting effectiveness. what a killer record.

Great lively record

utter perfection.

Smokin' hot. 5 stars.

A defining and landmark album both for the artist and for how albums are released.

Iconic, love her and it’s awesome to hear a song like Haunted turn into Renaissance 10 years later. Crazy crazy

The amount of 1 star reviews with ignorant as fuck comments this album got is appalling to me. People calling it 'Department Store' or 'Hair Salon' music.... are you for real? This was the first album where Beyonce stopped caring about number 1 hits and just did what she wanted to do creatively. She has continued this trend in her career ever since. Also folks saying other people do all the work and she just shows up to sing.... literally watch 5 minutes of any documentary about her and you will see she is one of the most hardworking women in the industry. She's a perfectionist. She has final say on everything and is an incredibly savvy businesswoman. This isn't even my favorite album of hers and it's fine if this isn't everyone's cup of tea....but to completely dismiss it as 'top 40 pop' is absolutely ridiculous. Drunk in Love and Partition are two of the most iconic songs of the last 2 years without a doubt. Where are all my girls and gays at ffs

Don't think this is perfect, but the highs are so good and it's such an ambitious piece of work that it's hard to justify any less than the full 5

Rating: 10/10

Each album of Destiny's Child / Beyoncé solo always contained a couple of killer songs but I always struggled to listen to their albums in one go. This album is different - it is great from start to finish.

This transcends generations. A great album.

🎤let me hear you say heyy ms. carter 🗣️ hey ms. carter🗣️ 🎤say heyyyy ms. carter 🗣️heyy ms. carter🗣️

I mean...its beyonce

cool

Surfbword This album is full of bangers, don’t try and fight it. Not sure there’s a miss on here. Fave Tracks: Pretty Hurts, Drunk in Love, Blow, Jealous, XO, Blue 4.8/5

So. Many. Bangers.

I see what all the hype is about.

Really great. Beyoncé has the kind of vocal agility I dream of — I feel like she can do anything with her voice, strong like Adele or floaty and dreamy. And it was fun to have a modern one. Side note, for some reason I thought Beyoncé made wholesome family music, but I guess not. 9/10

A masterclass of production. I'm indifferent to Beyonce as an artist, but this album is a marvel of hip hop and R&B, with swooping pans, background synths and vocals fading into the background, each track doing unexpected things. Truly a marvel of modern pop production. While I only listened through fully once, this is an album that warrants multiple play throughs to digest.

This album is iconic. Every song slides into the next like butter and it’s even better when paired with the visual album. Bey sings about womanhood, motherhood, sex, and infidelity?? This album shocked the world in many ways but most notably the way she dropped it at midnight on iTunes with no prior announcements…and it still went number 1. Beyoncé not only inspired dozens of trends from this album but also dropped bangers that I still listen to frequently. 9.8/10 Faves: Pretty Hurts, Haunted, Partition, XO, FLAWLESS REMIX!!

This is perhaps Beyonce’s horniest album. Surfbord. 🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️ Drunk in Love Blow Partition Rocket ***Flawless 7/11

It’s so fitting that we’re listening to this right as Cowboy Carter is released, as this album solidified for many, myself included, that Beyoncé can simply do whatever she wants to and it will end up as magnificent work. That is a testament to Beyoncé’s very apparent insistence and obsession with forming each detail of each track to be exactly how she envisions it alongside her co-conspirators. This album is a fabulous exploration of women’s sexuality, love, insecurity, and confidence. Due credit must be given to Beyoncé for centering and celebrating black female sexuality in particular in mainstream music and hip hop, where the male gaze has historically dominated how we see black women and their bodies. Musically, the album is beautiful, powerful, sensual, electric, and commanding. Bey’s vocals are, as usual, stunning and magnificent. Despite all of the experimentation this album contains and straying a bit away from her previous music, Beyoncé succeeds once again is creating art that can be described as nothing less than iconic. Faves: Pretty Hurts Drunk in Love Blow Partition Rocket XO Flawless (and the remix, of course) Superpower

Don't come at me but I'd only really heard Beyoncé's radio hits before this, but I still knew she is queen. Even so, I was very surprised how much I enjoyed this album, it was way more atmospheric than I expected (again, after only hearing her radio hits). Her voice is obviously killer. Like Lauryn Hill, I enjoy the storytelling intros to some songs. I liked the backing tracks, they were often grandiose without overshadowing the vocals. Disk 2 has some fun bonus additions but I will be mainly rating the album as Disk 1 from start to finish, as I feel it really wraps up into a perfect little package. Top songs: Pretty hurts Haunted** Partition XO Heaven Blue Ring off

Easy 5.

Genius move by the list owner if he's fed me this in line with the release of Cowgirl Carter last week, cause I fucken loved that and was very happy to dive into this. Wishing I paid any attention at all to this in 2014. Interestingly triple j have evolved to playing Beyonce now but weren't at that point in 2014 (at that time triple j was my primary source of new music so this never came across my radar). To be fair 2014 me would've spat the dummy at jjj playing Beyonce anyway. Glad I (or at least my music taste) has got to a point where I can appreciate this without the "I hate all pop without exception" shtick because there honestly isn't a bad song on here. Partition holds up to any heavy hitters of its time (Rocky, Clipping etc), Blow is sexy af, the work on Rocket is perfection. I instinctively want to hate the Drake verse on Mine but even that's pretty good (especially the juxtaposition it brings). XO has got 2014 Kevin Parker/Tame written all over it too - based on this and Cowboy Carter she's a master at capturing the sound of the time and making it absolutely her own.

B was horny asl in 2014. All bangers.

It’s so interesting listening to this album knowing that in 2 years she drops Lemonade. This whole vibe of this album is like “you’re bad, im bad, look how sexy i am but also maybe you’re cheating on me but look how sexy I am we can get through this”. She is honest and trying to hold it all together. then she loses her mind in Lemonade… starts to explore other parts of her identity and allows herself to get mad at JayZ. Favorite songs: partition and flawless (which almost belongs in Lemonade). My only criticism is that sometimes the songs seem to stretch out unnecessarily but I imagine that is purposeful because that’s how she’s feeling in life at this moment

Beyonce She makes great cohesive albums that tell stories. I like how she has interesting forms and transitions. Drunk in love is so great. Other favorites are Blow, Haunted, superpower, rocket. Great album but least favorite is the Drake song- I think it’d be better without it.

este álbum no es mejor que el sexo este álbum ES el sexo. really strong 9/10.

I think I'm at a 4.5 that I'm gonna very graciously round up to a 5, even though I don't think it's /quite/ at a 5. It’s probably unfair, given that I listened to RENAISSANCE and COWBOY CARTER earlier this year, and I think those albums are absolutely spectacular, so I’m being a little biased in comparing this release from 9 to 11 years earlier to those albums, but… yeah. It’s very clear to me that this is an absolutely fabulous album, but for my tastes, there's just /something/ that falls a little flat on this album, and I’m not sure what it is. It’s not her vocals; her vocals are great. It’s not her lyricism, because her confidence after having Blue Ivy shines through brilliantly on these lyrics. I don’t even know if it’s the production; I thought there were great beats throughout this album and some stellar production work, especially on the Pharrell-led tracks… but there are a few songs with that sort of early 2010s pop feel that hasn’t aged as well to me, for some reason. I love Counting Stars, for example – Ryan Tedder produced XO – but if it came out in 2024, it wouldn’t feel as good, you know? In other words, I’m looking at these through a 2024 lens, which is a bit unfair, but ultimately, most of the tracks succeed at keeping a super contemporary feel, even now. Regardless of anything I just typed out, I REALLY liked this album. It’s super enjoyable, but for some reason or another that I just can't place, I’m just stuck on a 4.5, but I'd be a little rude to not round it up -- it's certainly higher than a 4.

The hype for this album following its' surprise release was legendary. As for the music, yeah, it lives up to the hype. Beyonce's voice is always a treat to listen to, plus the fact that some of these beats are stellar makes a very easy 5 for me.

Big beats with heavy bass. Good intro clips and rap interludes. Strong range demonstrated with vocals and styles rap, soul, r/b. Impressive features and remixes on platinum edition. Pretty hurts, drunk in love, Jealous, flawless, heaven, ring off

because i'm a broken person i have a hard time appreciating glossy, expensive, and frankly *talented* pop music when i can instead listen to some clanking, lumbering, uncomfortable song that makes you work for the relief of the melody. basically what i'm saying is that beyonce isn't someone whose music i had ever had any real impulse in pursuing, assuming it to resemble her earlier pop career. i guess all this time she's been making surprisingly exploratory neo-r&b that sounds like if if you gave carpenter brut some ketamine. i don't know how this happened and i don't know why i was unaware of it before. on a lot of levels this is really not my thing, and i wouldn't seek this out but it's kind of the ideal outcome of exploring music outside of your wheelhouse; this is not an album for ME and yet it impressed the hell out of me.

BEYONCÉ does not quite reach my threshold for a 4-star album. But I want to elevate it from the average stuff I put in the 3-star bucket. Good production and no filler track.

my first Bey :) 2014...was listening to a lot of Sara B, so...this is pretty pop for me, even now i think. I'm not sure how well the audio dialogue works here. now i know timbaland was fairly involved in this really contextualizes it. hate that drake track. ryan tedder wrote XO 🥰 needed to relisten to no angel after seeing Polachek on the cred. (don't really feel it) will listen to some Solange and Kelly R for some supplementals - the Kelly album is too meh for me. now Solange, i had a feeling she's easy to love. 2016 album is my jam

We love beyonce

I got the itunes LP that followed this, Lemonade, after a zillion critics said it was the best release of the year, but it didn't really hold my attention. This one I like. The production is complex and captures many different moods. They get quite experimental at times with samples and some nice dark synthy bits. Beyonce has a velvety voice, the guest singers and rappers spice things up nicely, but she is still the center piece. The lyrics are mature and personal (sex with hubby, for example). Compared to the recent 1001 offer by that other female pop icon whose albums we don't buy (Madonna) I think Beyonce's release is deeper, more rounded and a greater accomplishment (even if you leave out the short films that apparently come with every song).