"B'Day" is Beyonce's second solo album and is the follow up to her huge first solo album "Dangerously in Love." Prior to her solo career Beyonce made up of a third of American r n b girl group "Destiny's Child" and even from the start was clearly the leader both vocally and talent wise. Her ... Read review
B'day - Beyoncé
History may prove Beyoncé'sB'Dayto be a rare double-whammy of an achievement. Not only is ... more
it destined to hold up as one of the thumpingest, most polished-sounding discs of 2006, it's also bound to loose a new phrase into the popular lexicon: a "freekum...
B'day - Beyoncé
History may prove Beyoncé's B'Day to be a rare double-whammy of an achievement. Not only ... more
is it destined to hold up as one of the thumpingest, most polished-sounding discs of 2006, it's also bound to loose a new phrase into the popular lexicon: a "freek...
A review by blonde_girl774 on Beyonce - B'Day November 2nd, 2006
Author's product rating:
Originality
Average
Lyrics
Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks
One hit and lots of B-sides
Value for Money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
A couple of great ballads, some okay club tunes .
Disadvantages:
Rather too similar sounding, not an overly gripping album .
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
"B'Day" is Beyonce's second solo album and is the follow up to her huge first solo album "Dangerously in Love." Prior to her solo career Beyonce made up of a third of American r n b girl group "Destiny's Child" and even from the start was clearly the leader both vocally and talent wise. Her first album found her great success as a solo artist worldwide but even prior to this album being released in the UK there was an immense amount of criticism flying about regarding the quality of it. I was a huge fan of her first album and so decided to have a listen to her second album to see if it lived up to my expectations…
"Déjà Vu" is the first song up on the album and it's as catchy and sexy as I imagine any opening track of Beyonces to be. It's an upbeat song that you won't be able to resist dancing around the room to, not completely different to her previous hit "Crazy in Love" it's a duet with Jay Z. Their two sounds complement each other perfectly, her more upbeat soulful voice partnered with his smooth rapping tones of r n b. It's not the most relaxing tune to listen to but would make an ideal song on a night out or to lift your mood. It's about trying to get over someone and the fact that sometimes you just can't as almost everything creates a sense of deju vu in that it reminds you of the past. "Baby seems like everywhere I go, I see you, from your eyes, your smile, it's like I breathe you, helplessly I reminisce, don't want to compare nobody to you."The next track up is "Get Me Bodied" which is much less pop sounding than the opening track and focuses more on the r n b sound. It sounds like a typical r n b club track which suits what it has been produced for - dancing to, albeit somewhat inelegantly unless you have the moves of Beyonce. There's very little backing music to the track apart from a guy continuously repeating "hey" about every three seconds which ruins the song somewhat in my opinion. I have to say I was disappointed by this track and it will be one that I tend to skip from now on. "Mission one, I'm gonna put this on, when he sees me in this dress I'm gonna get me some."
"Suga Mama" is next up and has a somewhat softer, calmer feel than the previous two tracks - it's still one you could dance to but also one I could see myself listening to while in the car. It does sound strangely like "Work it Out" at times and in my opinion is another slightly weak track on the album. "Let me be, I wants to be, gots to be, your suga give mama some suga mama." This is followed by her second duet with Jay Z on the album entitled "Upgrade U." Again I have to add some criticism to this track as it just wasn't really that big a hit with me, it just feels like it's lacking a certain spark that I've come to expect from Beyonce. If I'm honest this is something that I feel with quite a few tracks on the album. In contrast this song is one that I could listen to and is an improvement on the previous two tracks of the album so it does bring some slight relief to the ear drums. "Notice you the type that like to keep them on a leash though, I'm known to walk alone but I'm alone for a reason, sending me a drink ain't appeasing, believe me."
"Ring the Alarm" is set to be Beyonce's second single from this album, her first being the opening track. It's one of those songs that is quite loud and intense, with the sound of alarms frequently ringing and therefore will be one of those tracks that you either love or hate. I have to say I actually really like this song, although after hearing the alarm sounds a few more times this may well change! It's upbeat and sassy with the added sex appeal that seems to be added to Beyonce's voice when she's singing a lively track. It's about her seeing a boyfriend with another girl and how it rings alarm bells in your head, "I been through this too long, but I'll be damned if I see another chick on your arm, won't you ring the alarm." The sixth track on the album is "Kitty Kat" which I really like; it's got a slight jazz feel to it mixed in with the classic pop and r n b sound. It's the first track on the album that you can clearly hear her voice and the lyrics as well so it's a welcomed change in that it's slightly more downbeat and softer. It's quite mellow compared to Beyonce's typical sound and works well to break up the album I think. "You know I hate sleeping alone, but you said that you would soon be home, but baby that was a long time ago."
"Freakum Dress" reverts back to the incessant and loud beat that is Beyonce's typical sound on this album it would seem. It could possibly work well as her third single release off this album but I do worry that she faces the problem of all of her singles becoming somewhat monotone. It is more catchy that the previous club beats on the album and I do actually like it, however the whole feel of the track is somewhat samey in a sense to the rest of the album. It's quite simply about a dress she has that "freaks" everyone, "Soon as you saw me, turned on by how the dress was fitting right, short and backless." "Green Light" is next up and was produced by the Neptunes, it's a little immature sounding in a sense to Beyonce's typical sound and does sound more like something safe a newcomer may produce. It's quite slick and could work as a dance track in a club but isn't really one that sticks in your memory once you've heard it. It talks of green in a figurative sense like when she's in a club and someone approaches her and she likes them, "You got the green light, you the king right, you holdin up traffic, green means go."
The penultimate song on the album is "Irreplaceable" and the album finally starts to show its true colours. This track is much more of a softer sounding ballad and is fantastic - you can hear her voice so pure yet sexy sounding and it's a fabulous relaxing track that I can't see myself ever tiring of. The guitar backing suits the mellow feel perfectly and really shows the true beauty of her voice, possibly the best song on the album in my opinion. "So go move your bags, let me call you a cab, standing in the front yard telling me, how I'm such a fool, talking bout how I'll never ever find a man like you." The final track is "Resentment" which again is a softer ballad and features her Destiny's Child band members also. It was actually created for Victoria Beckham but she never released it and talks of her heart ache over a previous cheating boyfriend. It's pure and a great ballad to end the album with. The lyrics are so true and yet beautiful at the same time, "Loving you was easy, once upon a time, but now my suspicions of you, have multiplied and it's all because you lied."
So what do I think of the album? Well if you regularly read my music reviews you'll probably realise that this one is quite a bit shorter than the normal ones and the reason for that is that I simply don't have as much to say on this one. The tracks don't really appeal to me and I've found it quite hard to give an in-depth review of some of them as quite frankly I don't like them. For me the final two tracks on the album are by far the best which is very unusual, normally the latter tracks of an album are generally the poorer ones.
I also feel slightly let down by the length of the album, there's only 10 tracks on this album which although it isn't unheard of I do generally expect around 12 or more tracks for my money. Compared to her first release back in 2003 this one does leave me feeling short changed and more than a little disappointed with the quality of her music these days. The songs are somewhat likeable on the surface but it certainly isn't an album that will be played over and over again in my collection. After hearing "B'Day" I can only presume she put more effort into planning her actual birthday than she did producing this album.
Advantages: REal Club Bangers Disadvantages: Doesn't bring anything new to the R'n'B scene
...were slow numbers. However Beyonce is back and there is hardly any slow songs in sight. She says the album was done in two weeks and it was inspired by her character Deena from her upcoming film 'Dreamgirls'. She made the records as statements that she wish Deena would have done in her life. So lets review the cd:
1) Deja Vu(feat JayZ) - A good first single. It is a commercial song with a great beat and can easily get stuck in your head for a good ... ...song and it feels like Beyonce is in the room singing to you. Not many effects used on this track and it's just got a simple instrument playing in the background. For all those who doubt B then this song reassures you she can sing so good.
11) Check On It - We all know this song. It's hip hop, it's catchy and it was for her film 'The Pink Panther'. Not one of my favourite songs as i feel like it's just another average R'n'B song.
12) Listen - oh ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Upbeat catchy tunes Disadvantages: shes shouting on half the songs
I just bought this album after i heard De javu and Irreplaceable - These two songs i loved.. so went and bought it from virgin megastores..heres wat i think of each song
1. De javu - This was her 1st single which she realeased here in the uk and rightly so..its a catchy upbeat tune ---8/10 2. Get me Bodied - Didnt like this one..again another upbeat one - i always skip it -----4/10 3. Suga Mama - another average upbeat song- didnt like this one ... ...- I loved this one..it has a great tune to it really catchy -----9/10 5. Ring the alarm - This was her 3rd release in the uk I HATED this one as all shes doing is shouting and screaming..and dont like the tune either - ---3/10! 6. Kitty Kat - This is sorta slow..its kinda nice after hearing it a few times..-----7/10 7. Freakum Dress - Love this one has a great beat you just wanna get up and dance----- 9/10 8. Green Light - Great upbeat song..(love ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Nice music Disadvantages: could be more tracks
Beyonce bday Remember to comment and rate...
This album was great; as soon as I herd Deja Vu I knew I would like her album. Beyonce is a great musician and I think she will achieve a lot. Beyonce has a nice mixture of songs in here, they all seem to be in a different genre not just dance or rnb but soul hip-hop, rap and some slow songs. This is great because no one wants to listen to the same types of tracks and even her voice vaiates which majes ... ...and also get me bodied.
Beyonce is a born performer if you have seen her perform great if you havent go on you tube and check her out. I like her performance to either ring the alarm or get me bodied.
The album includes:
Irreplaceable - I did like it at first but I've heard it over and over and over again, so it is a bit annoying but is a good track and deserves 7/10. This song is catchy "To the left to the left".
Green Light - This was a song ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: something new and refreshing with a sound beat Disadvantages: only appeals to a certian customer, you either love it or hate it.
Beyonce has a new kind of sound in this album. She cleary gets across her love for Jay-Z in the songs she has writeen and you can tell she has grown up alot since the last album. Some songs want to make you get up and dance, while others you would just rather skip. She is showing her audience that she has grown into a woman now, and is completley sperate from the girl we knew in Destineys Child. She is breaking new boundries with a new kind of style ... ...african decent. She has no nerves about this album and it shows that she is not trying to please critics, but her fans. She is trying new styles and new things and she obviously doesn't care what the conventional people think. I say go girl! she has gone a little too far on some songs though, they often sound mundane and have no real life to it. Although this happens with experiments, some go right and others go wrong. Atleast she is breaking out ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: A couple of OK songs Disadvantages: Album stuck in a time warp!
...Liar.
Déjà vu is typical Beyonce and that is why it is good. But correct me if I’m wrong, aren’t artists supposed to get better after every album?
Upgrade U is the only real song in this album that deserves to be there. This song is up a class from the others, but the rest of the album is back in a time warp. The songs on this album would have been good 5 years ago, but not today when you have Nelly Furtado and Rihanna breathing down your back. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great variety of tracks Disadvantages: Very short album in terms of the length of the songs.
...'B'Day' is the 2nd Solo Album by the fabulous American born RnB artist Beyonce' Knowles and after very much enjoying her first album and also her work with her group Destiny's child I obviously HAD to get this album. B'Day was released worldwide on September 4th 2006 and apparently only took Beyonce 3 weeks to complete. Which just goes to show that when an album is an emotional one from the heart (which this seems to be) then a work of art does not need to take years.
The album has a total of 13 tracks and lasts an average of 45 minutes (which is not very long for a full length album)------ and this is my opinion of the tracks?.
Déjà vu
This hit the number 1 spot in the UK but did not stay there for long. It is a very funky track, which features Jay Z, Beyonce's husband 'so the newspapers say'. It begins with a very angry...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Mediocre RnB Disadvantages: Not original and no stand out tracks
...Firstly, I want to say that I was disappointed with this album at first. I love Beyonce and I think she's great but I had higher expectations.
Straight off the bat there were no stand out tracks for me, as most of the tracks on the album you have to grow to love. Compared to other artists today, the production was not great and none of the songs were memorable. I only started to like the songs after they were released or played on the radio.
Her first single, 'Deja Vu' was alright but nothing like 'Crazy In Love'.
The best tracks are:
Track 1: Beautiful Liar ft Shakira; This song has an arabic belly dancing feel along with the video and you can dance to it which is good.
Track 2: Irreplaceble; When I first heard the album I skipped this track, as it was slow and didn't grap my attention. After hearing it a hundred times...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great tunes and you get the music videos too Disadvantages: none
...Wow! As a big beyonce fan i was not dissapointed by B'day deluxe addition as it has a lot of sas and some great songs that make you want to get up and dance.It has all the songs that the original Bday album comes with such as Irreplaceable and Dejavu and includes the newly released songs such as Beautiful liar and Ring the Alarm. The album has a combination of fast beat pop songs with classic R'nB and one or two slow ballads. My two favourite tracks have to be Flaws and All- a love ballad with a fresh twist , and Get me bodied- a fast upbeat song,perfect to listen to before you go on a night out.
If the insanely great range of music wasn't enough the Bday deluxe edition also has dvd versions of some of Beyonces videos.(Some of the videos included are Irreplaceable, Flaws and All, Freakum Dress, Ring the Alarm and Beautiul Liar which...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
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