YES YES YES !!! (Destiny's Child - Destiny's Child)

Member Name: 150983

Product:	Destiny's Child - Destiny's Child
Date:	09/07/01 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Voices , Some good tracks

Disadvantages: some broring

Destiny’s Child first appeared on the scene with their first self-entitled album “Destiny’s Child” and unlike many thought, “The Writings on the Wall” was not the first album, this was! Released in 1997/8, this album included the girl’s first releases “With Me” and “No No No” although they didn’t do too well, they built the foundations for a great girl band who now are the biggest girl band in the world! The band originally consisted of cousins Beyonce Knowles and Kelle Rowland, Le Toya and La Tavia.

The first song off the album is “Second Nature” beginning with a country style guitar intro, you begin to think “Oh dear, I’ve got the wrong CD!” but this is not the case, as soon as you hear Beyonce start singing, you know that everything will be just fine. This is a rather slow and sexy song which has a nice backing from the rest of the girls which is sung rather breathlessly creating the sultry mood. The Ooohoo’s and hey’s are also an effect addition to the track. This song has a nice beat and on the whole is a nice introduction to the album, not as good an intro as the other two albums mind you which are more impressive. 6/10

The next track, one of the releases “No No No” part 2 (there's two versions!) I think got to number 10 in the UK charts is another RnB fuelled track. It begins with a nice intro and then ahhhs from the girls. Wyclef Jean features on this track and raps in section. This song is much better than the first track. It has a funkier and louder beat and the singing is much better especially Beyonce’s method of singing as in recent releases where she sings very fast and it works well here. It’s a good demonstration of what was to come. The song then suddenly change to a much more guitar fuelled track which slows down a bit and then has Wyclef giving a rap section and then had Beyonce warbling
on top. This is definitely one of the highlights of this album. 8/10

The other release off this album and the next track off it, “With Me” part 1 is another good RnB track. With a nice piano-syncopated beat in the background along with the drumbeats they compliment the song. The singing again is good in this track and in this song, it is the chorus which is most worthwhile listening to. Jumaine Dupri features in this track who raps near the end and also co-wrote it. 8/10

“Tell Me” begins in a slow and sexy way with a nice guitar intro with a soft beat in the background. This song is a bit boring in the sense that nothing is special in the song apart from Beyonce’s voice which always manages to shine through well. Again, the other girls backing gives the song a fuller and more polished sound which is a good thing. 6/10

“Bridges” begins in a strange way also, it begins with a brass instrument, I think it’s a trumpet and then a bass enters, it gives the impression of and old fashioned band with basses made up of soap boxes. A saxophone is more evident later on in the song. This song although having old-fashioned blues/jazz influence’s in it, has also an urban feel to it also combining them both together well. The chorus is a catchy part to the song as well as the backing vocals that are very impressive on this track especially the harmonic ooohs and the extras sections also. The middle eight to this track is also a great addition to this I really like this song, it’s rather different in style than the others. 7.5/10

The next song the other version of “No No No” is part 1. This is a slower paced track that is more flowing as well as mellower. It is surprising how different each version sounds, the one with Wyclef has rapping and as well as being faster, has a fuller urban type beat. The other version on the other hand has still an urban type beat but it is softene
d as well as the vocals in the same way. I myself prefer the first version as its funkier and the beat and pace is much better and suits the song and words a bit better. 7/10

Like No No No, With Me also has another version –part 2 which features Master P this track is more similar to the other version, it involves the tune being played in a different key which make the sound off key. This is a clever method, which is used to create a contrast to the other version. The Master P adds his own bit to the song with bit of raps. The girls use a bit of the No no no song by incorporating the word no three times in the song. On times the syncopated piano part is more evident than in the last version which is also good. The song finishes abruptly and works well. 7.5/10

A big funky beat is what introduces us the next track “Show Me The Way”. The lyrics include “ Can I be all you need? Can I be all you need. Can I be your everything, baby the time is now if you just show me how, baby show me how”. This demonstrates the girls’ voices again well. 7/10

“Killing Time” like Second Nature, begins with a guitar intro along with a wooden block giving the sound of a dripping tap. Another slower song, the strings accompany the singing well giving it a more ballad sound. This track is nothing special again, the Spanish acoustic guitar is a good accompanying instrument though The song does pick up a bit nearer to the end and the harmonies and singing become fuller in sound. Beyonce’s voice is really good nearer the end of this song. 6/10

One of my favourites on this album “Illusion” includes some of the old Fugee group – Wyclef and Pras it’s a funky little number with a catchy chorus. There is a good melody in the guitar part which keeps the chrous part. The first verse of this track is sung by one of the other girls and the chorus is really great, the ooh ooh aaahs in the re
sponse to the verses are really good and echoed well. I really like this song, It is joint number one in my view with the next but one track. There then is a rap as the middle eight of this track. With a funky beat also, this song can do no wrong. I really like the same that is used in this song, Beyonce uses the tune of an Egyptian dance whilst warbling which is really good. 9.5/10

“Birthday” begins in a mellow tone, with strings gently playing in the background. This is another non-special track which is perfect though for a slow dance a rather slushy number which would be perfect for guess what! A Birthday! I think all the girls get a chance to sing on this song.
Not many surprises here. 6.5/10

My other favourite on this album is the cover of Lionel Riche track “Sail On” I loved the original as my mother used to play one of his albums a lot and when I heard this version I was amazed at how good it was. I love this track, Beyonce has a great voice and it is just perfect for this track the harmonies that are used on this track are amazing and it deserves a listen to. The piano accompaniment is just great and the whole song is perfect. The girls’ voices on this song are demonstrated on this song well. The song has been altered slightly but not that much. The beats on occasion are stronger and more RnB and the echoes and so on are used on occasion also as well as Beyonce adding her vocal twists. In some respects, this cover is better then the original! 9.5/10

The next track “My Time Has Come” is a nice track. Beginning with a piano intro, the song is rather slow and slushy and raw in the sense that it is bare as there is only the piano and soloist to start, but as the song progresses, cymbal russtles and reverbs are used and then strings and backing vocals join in. A very soft and gentle song that is a nice change to the other heavily influenced RnB track that has a much softer beat and rhythm.
8/10

Another funky track “Know That” ends the album. The beginning is reminiscent of another song which has doo doo’s in the intro no, not Doo Yoo’s, doo doo’s!. A good base beat and good vocals. This song is a good track but there isn’t much to say about it. It is the most urban track here as it has a rawer sound and the whoop sample and beats are used in this track. 7/10

This debut from Destiny’s Child doesn’t hold many surprises but some of the songs are good and demonstrate the potential of the group. The best songs include the cover “Sail On”, “Illusion” and the two releases. I think that the weakness in this album is the fact that Beyonce had hardly any imput into the songs apart from performance wise. The newest albums “Survivor” and “The Writings on the Wall” show Beyonce taking the reins and Writing the tracks and also helping to produce them. It wasn’t until the second album was released when they were more widely noticed. Beyonce brought an new flavour to music with her own style and if she was allowed more input into this album with regards to the song, this album would have been an amazing debut instead of an OK one. 7.5/10

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