Not so fierce!! (I Am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce)

Member Name: SweetTooth93

Product:	I Am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
Date:	04/07/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: some good tracks, Beyonces fantastic voice, not too expensive, brilliant cd booklet

Disadvantages: some weak tracks, don't show off her voice

Beyonce
Beyonce (Beyonce Giselle Knowles) was born on the 4th of September 1981 in Houston, Texas. Beyonce first became famous in the late 90's, where she took the lead singer in girl band Destiny's Child. After leaving the band her solo career rocketed, and she became a phenomenon! In June of 2003, she released her debut solo album, called Dangerously in Love. On her first album was her incredibly famous song "Crazy in Love". From then on her career has taken some fantastic paths, and many more albums have been released. Her most recent album was released on the 18th of November 2008, named, "I am...Sasha Fierce".

'''Why "I am...Sasha Fierce"
"Sasha Fierce" is Beyonce's supposed Alter Ego.

**
'''Disk 1'''

'''If I were a boy'''
When I first heard the song, I was very surprised. This song is incredibly different from Beyonce's previous songs. It is much more ballad-ish, and not as R&B or up-tempo as her others. Beyonce here sings about, how, if she was a boy, she'd be a much better man and treat girls with respect because she knows how it feels to be hurt by a man and taken for a granted. I really enjoy this song. It begins very quickly, with very little introduction music at the start which I found very unusual, but quite enjoyable. The music in the background is fairly simple and plain but really lovely and a nice tune. The song is quite long at 4 minutes and 10 seconds.
'''Halo'''
Halo is the next song. This song has been given a slightly longer introduction at the start which is really enjoyable- the music starts off slow and then you hear the beat and it quickens its pace. This song again is different from Beyonce's previous music. The song is fairly downbeat and actually quite a "sad" song. In this song she sings about her boy and how that is all she needs. I really enjoyed this song and found myself listening to it around four times in a row. Again a fairly long song at 4 minutes and 21 seconds.

'''Disappear'''
Disappear is a beautiful song. In my opinion it is a slower version of Halo. This song really shows a different side to Beyonce's voice. Instead of "shouty" her voice is very calm, soft and actually very beautiful. I have to say it isn't one of my favourite songs on the album, but it is certainly listenable! At 4 minutes twenty eight seconds this is another long song .
'''Broken Hearted Girl'''
Broken Hearted Girl is slightly different from the previous three songs, although it isn't the same as Beyonce's earlier songs on her other albums. I think this song actually resembles something Leona Lewis would sing. A lovely song, and really easy to listen too. Beyonce sings about how she doesn't want to be broken hearted.

'''Ave Maria'''
I was originally fooled into thinking that Beyonce would sing the original, and I was quite disappointed when I listened to it and I heard her singing in English, however she sang the song perfectly, hitting every note to perfection. Her voice is really soft here and absolutely mind blowing. She really captivates you when she sings this and this is possibly in my top two favourites on the CD. A slightly shorter song at 3 mintues 39 seconds.
'''Smash into you'''
I wasn't overly impressed with the start of this song. It is fairly boring and Beyonce isn't very impressive. Fair enough her voice is beautiful again, however the song doesn't do much for me, and it stays pretty much the same the whole way through, only getting slightly faster paced (still very slow) in the middle. Probably my least favourite from the whole album! Although the song is over 4 and a half minutes long, I was bored by about 1 and a half!

'''Satellite'''
Again, I wasn't overly impressed with this song. With only a guitair playing behind her the song does show her amazing voice off however the song is pretty boring and doesn't really get any more exciting as the song progresses. Another amazing vocal but not much in terms of excitement. At just over three minutes long it is considerably shorter than her others on the album.
'''That's why you're beautiful'''
After an unimpressive, boring previous few songs I was actually really relieved when this song was good. It really is a well written song- from the lyrics to the music! Although the song stays pretty much the same music-wise the whole way through, it is actually quite effective and is really easy to listen too. Another spectacular vocal from Beyonce! This song is quite long again at 3 mintues and 45 seconds long.

'''Disk 2'''
'''Single Ladies'''
Definitely one of my favourite songs from the CD. The song begins very upbeat, a lot different from the other songs on this album. I loved the song- it was full of excitement and I think Beyonce suited this song much better than some of her other slower songs. There are some nice twists and key changes in this song which I found gave the song an edge over the others. I found myself listening to this song over and over again, and found my feet-a-tapping! A very enjoyable 3 minutes and 12 seconds.
'''Radio'''
I don't think that this showed off Beyonce's vocal talent to the extent of the other songs, however her voice was still fab! This song was similar to the previous, in that it was fairly upbeat and "dancy". While listening to this song, it reminded me of all the songs on exercise DVD's and such like and I think it would be perfect too work out too! Another enjoyable 3 minutes and 37 seconds.

'''Diva'''
This song begins rather weirdly- almost DJ'ish. This song was almost a rap- and definitely didn't suit Beyonce's voice. It was actually quite "weird"...you just don't imagine Beyonce singing something like. After listening to it once, I decided I wouldn't do so again! 3 minutes 21 seconds of rather uncomfortable listening.
'''Sweet Dreams'''
Starting off fairly doubtful however when Beyonce started to sing I could tell it was going to a decent track. I definitely wouldn't say it was one of my favourites on the CD but it's definitely in the mid section. Towards the middle of the song, especially around the chorus, the song does have quite catchy music and I found myself listening to the song again. Another brilliant vocal from Beyonce but it doesn't show her voice off that well! 3 mintues 28 seconds of decent music!

'''Video Phone'''
Again, when it started I was doubtful and I was right to be. I think that this song was very boring and didn't have much excitement to it at all! I definitely wouldn't choose to listen to it. Again, I was upset to find it didn't really do Beyonce's voice much favours either! It sounded like a slowed down version of Fergie's songs.
'''Hello'''
As soon as the song started I knew I was going to enjoy it. It was quite similar to Beyonce's amazing song ''Irreplacable''' which she released earlier in her career. It was really easy to listen too and probably one of my favourites on the whole CD. Her voice is shown off really well here and she shows her range here too! I definitely would recommend this song! I have listened to it many times! 4 minutes 17 seconds of pure genious!

Ego
Again when it started I knew I was going to enjoy it. At the very started it sounds quite like a show song- very jazzy. I really enjoyed this song- it was brilliantly written with lots of twists and truns in the music. The chorus was very easy to listen too aswell and I had learned the words too it after only 2 or 3 listenings too! Toward the end of the song she shows of her talented voice further with many "oooohs" "ahhhs" and "yeh's". I would definitely recommend this song and at 3 minutes 56 seconds it is the perfect length!
'''Scared Of Lonely"'
When this song began I didn't really know what to make of it. It was quite fast at the beginning and I found it quite hard to keep up with the lyrics but as the song progressed I began to really enjoy it. By the centre of the song I was loving it! The lyrics were really quite interesting to listen too and the music was fantastic too. I thought this song was very different from her previous songs- it wasn't totally upbeat and dancy, yet it was downbeat and sad! I really enjoyed this song and it was really easy to listen too. Another decent lengthed song at 3 minutes 43 seconds!

**
'''What did I think of the album'''
I was really excited about the album, however I was let down slightly. Beyonce focuses mostly on downbeat, more emotional songs on this album which although suits Beyonce to an extent, I personally don't think it is as good as her upbeat party tracks.
Around half of Beyonce's downbeat songs were good however the other half were pretty dire and not very interesting. I do think they showed off Beyonce's vocal talent incredibly though, and it was a lot more noticeable than in her more dancey tracks.
I think Beyonce's previous albums have been a lot better than this one and I think they will be slightly more successful than this one. It was interesting seeing how Beyonce dealt with more emotional songs, and having done so, I think she should stick to her upbeat songs, and her songs similar to "Irreplaceable" and "Baby Boy".
Beyonce's voice however was absolutely stunning. In almost every song I would give her voice either 9/10 or 10/10 however there was the occasional song which although she was good in didn't make her sound as amazing as she actually is.

'''Who should buy this album?'''
I would recommend this album for Beyonce fans of course, because although all of the songs aren't strong there are a few traditional Beyonce type ones which any fan would enjoy. I think I'd also recommend the album for anybody who likes artists such as Leona Lewis because their voices aren't very alike, some of the styles of songs are and so I think they would be enjoyable.
'''Where and how much?'''
I bought this album from £10.99 from HMV in our local shopping centre. I have seen the CD in supermarkets two (Tesco and Asda) and I'm sure they were retailing for roughly the same price although I remember seeing a £12.98 sticker somewhere (think it must have been Asda). I think that the CD was worth the money- even for Beyonce's voice alone! I would suggest shopping around for a bargain though as I am sure you could find it for cheaper if you tried!

**
The album cover was really striking I think, even though it wasn't very colourful. Beyonce is on the cover of course, looking incredibly beautiful and very natural with no clothes (you only see her top half...and she is covering up what shouldn't be seen), and her hair doesn't look like much has been done too it. Although it doesn't look as though she has any make up on (apart from maybe a little mascara), she looks utterly gorgeous- a natural beauty! On the bottom left hand corner of the front cover BEYONCE is written in silver writing and it actually blends in with the picture almost. The name of the album is "I am...Sasha Fierce" however on the front only "I am..." is written.
There is, as with most albums, a booklet provided in the case. When I took mine out its case I noticed it was really thick. On the back cover of the booklet there is another beautiful picture of Beyonce though this time she is slightly more glammed up- with make- up and all! Inside the book there is information about each song such as its writer of the songs- I was quite surprised to learn Beyonce had actually written most of the songs herself! There were also lyrics written inside the book for each song however I found the writing was a little small and required some glaring at to actually be able to read them! Throughout the booklet, there are various pictures of the stunning Beyonce. What I found clever was that the pictures started off very natural and with each picture, more make up was added and some fancier clothes were. Very clever indeed!


Overall I would recommend the CD however it definitely isn't her best!!

SweetTooth93

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