"A Diva Is The Female Version Of A Hustla" Beyonce's On Crack Anyone? (I Am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce)

Member Name: GramiWay

Product:	I Am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
Date:	03/06/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 'I Am' side is quite good

Disadvantages: 'Sasha Fierce', the abomination that is 'Diva'

Beyonce is one of those singers that will always sell well regardless of what trash they release [cough Madonna and 'Hard Candy']. Her reputation proceeds her and though I've never been a huge fan she has had her odd redeeming moments such as 'Irreplaceable'. Starting out as the lead singer
of American girl group Destiny's Child, Beyonce slowly built up her own solo career starting with 'Work It Out' in 2002 - a track that appeared in the third installment of the Austin Powers series. From there she's released two solo albums 'Dangerously In Love' and 'B-Day' and has defined the decade with classics such as 'Crazy In Love' and the aforementioned 'Irreplaceable'.

Autumn 2008 saw Mrs Jay Z unleash her third album upon the world - the aptly titled 'I Am Sasha Fierce'. We all know Mariah Carey did the bizarre alter-ego thing first though what would the music scene be without a good bit of bandwagon riding?
Sasha Fierce is supposedly the 'other' side of Beyonce. The record as such is split into two halves. 'I Am...' introduces the more slick, laid back and RNB sounding songs with a lot of ballads and different musical directions whilst 'Sasha Fierce' explodes with mainstream, uptempo songs. There's 16 songs altogether [8 on each disc], though as many artists do these days in a bid to make us part with as much of our cash as possible, there's various deluxe versions and iTunes 'exclusives' floating around as well.

With that split firmly aside its safe to say that Beyonce has made an album here that is original and extremely creative but in terms of its actual quality there isn't a lot that propels you to want to listen to it again.



I Am -
This is by far the better half of the record in my opinion. Maybe it's just because I enjoy a lot more slower RNB songs than the hideous music you sometimes get from America that hoodie wearing teens will no doubt be blasting out on the bus for weeks to come.
'If I Were A Boy' kicks off proceedings and is famous for being another number 1 for Beyonce here in the UK as well as her biggest single to date here even outperforming all of Destiny Child's hits... The lyrics are rather cheesy and hold a stereotypical view of what a relationship is like and the notion that men behave horribly whilst women are all honourable and respectful. It has a slow and gorgeous beat that wraps itself around Beyonce's voice and really warms you inside. Vocally she is on fine firm as the song is drenched in emotion.

'Halo' has to be my favourite Beyonce track thus far. Produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, Beyonce does get a bit too whiney on this track and at times it feels as if the emotion isnt really genuine. But this song displays the traditional Tedder mood. Dark and passionate with a lot of broody instruments and a very mysterious production as well as Beyonce's repeated bellowing of 'Halo, Halo, Halo'. I'd say though that it's more an honour to Mr Tedder's writing and production skills than Beyonce's singing.
The rest of this disc has typical down tempo and rather bland RNB tracks. 'I Disappear' combines that infectious and childlike beat that is evident in a lot of songs from the genre and Beyonce's vocals don't really work that well with it. There's a strange innocence to the track that makes it all the more captivating. 'Broken Hearted Girl' and 'Ava Maria' rely heavily on a piano and Beyonce's gorgeous and sultry vocals. She really does sound outstanding on these two tracks and its the best I've ever heard her sing. The emotion oozes through and really moves you and the melodies are so haunting and enriched with a magic that sets them apart from anything else currently on the market. Seems to me as if Beyonce is trying to get that ballad crown back from a certain Ms Lewis.
The disc should get extremely boring as you're hit with slow track after slow track but the quality is shockingly consistant with 'Satellites' being a very beautiful and deep affair that pulls you in with its lyrics and then infects you with the slowest and most heartfelt melody.

'I Am' gets a huge thumbs up from me and really surprised a normal Beyonce hater. Sadly when switching to the other disc to see what Beyonce's alter-ego had on offer my love of the album soon turned to despair and in the case of one or two of 'Sasha Fierce''s inhabitants a lot of disgust.

Sasha Fierce -
'Single Ladies' kicks off the second installment of Beyonce's third studio album. It's an instant shock to the system as the song is miles away from it's partner CD with a ridiculously catchy beat but sadly the song just doesn't do it for me. The stupid chanting and Beyonce's warbling vocals just put me off. It's a huge comedown for a record that was doing so well. Things improve slightly for 'Radio' but it just seems that Beyonce is grabbing hold of as many mainstream beats and such as she can and adding her own whinging style of singing to them. There's not really one good track here at all. 'Sweet Dreams' is the best as it has sexy vibe oozing from it with Beyonce's bitter and angry vocals bouncing around over the seductive harmonies and the blinding melody that accompanies it. Like 'I Am...', 'Sasha Fierce' has a very repetitive style to it but in this instance it's very bland as Beyonce does this horrible thing with her voice to try and sing such uptempo songs and it doesn't suit her at all. This and the fact that she seems to have really selected the worst tracks possible to make up the second half to this release. Proof of this comes in 'Diva' which I'm sorry but I had to leave the room and cover my ears when I heard it. It's the most disgusting piece of music I've ever heard. I don't think words could describe what ear rape it is so I've included a youtube link at the end of the review. The lyrics are just as cheesy as possible and the song sounds so dated. It has that hideous little chipmunk voice whining 'Divvvvaaaah' over Beyonce's monotone and bland vocals. The song has no substance and reminds me of the local chav mob's driving anthem or something.

This disc is just leagues apart from 'I Am...'. Beyonce is not able to be relied on when it comes to making more uptempo and dancey tracks as is seen here. With one or two reasonably OK offerings the disc isn't a complete disaster but most of what's included is just absolute rubbish that I'm sure even Paris Hilton would turn down.

Overall Opinion -

'I Am Sasha Fierce' is not the best of Beyonce's albums in my opinion but is still a pretty solid effort and that's coming from someone who doesn't really like her...
The record oozes passion and style as Beyonce proves that she can twirl her way through any style or genre she sets her mind upon. It would be better if there wasn't two discs as it might be nicer to hear the songs mixed up on the same CD, though the album is also a great idea for people that have constant mood changes and might feel like soppy, love songs one day and then a soundtrack to get ready for a night out the next. With a great production team and the occasional ray of lyrical genius, Beyonce has still got her claws firmly into that star at the top of the charts and even though there's a few abominations on the record, most of the tracks more than make up for that. Beyonce has a huge array of storming singles and radio friendly hits on offer here that will wet the mainstream audience's appetite but this record also shows a lot more depth and a true passion for music. Just one thing Bey - What the heck were you thinking when you recorded 'Diva'? SERIOUSLY! If I were her I'd put Sasha Fierce back where she belongs...

Tracklisting:

I Am CD

01 - If I Were A Boy
02 - Halo
03 - I Disappear
04 - Broken Hearted Girl
05 - Ava Maria
06 - Smash Into You
07 - Satellites
08 - That's Why You're Beautiful

Sasha Fierce CD

01 - Single Ladies [Put A Ring On It]
02 - Radio
03 - Diva
04 - Sweet Dreams
05 - Video Phone
06 - Hello
07 - Ego
08 - Scared Of Lonely

Diva Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t16EiI4cb08

^^^ Watch if you DARE!!!

Summary: A mixed bag from Beyonce