When Destiny’s Child announced that they were taking a break to concentrate on establishing solo careers, everyone assumed that it would be Beyonce who was first off the mark with a solo album. But her fellow bandmates beat her to it, with both their albums proving huge successes while Beyonce’s debut solo single, Work It Out (the theme to Austin Powers 3) did not make the significant impact that everyone expected.
So what’s a girl to do? If your name’s Beyonce, you take a leaf out of best friend Kelly Rowland’s book and hook yourself up with the nearest badboy rapper you can find to give yourself a bit of street-cred- in Beyonce’s case that would be Jay-Z. And what a good move that has proved to be! Dangerously in Love opens with the current No.1 Crazy in Love- a thundering, funky and catchy number which features Jay-Z and showcases Beyonce’s new found sexual confidence. And this isn’t bubblegum pop sexuality- it’s rampant, frantic and animalistic! With an album
cover showing her looking fantastic draped in diamonds and not much else, and a video featuring her writhing provocatively, it’s clear that this little girl has done a lot of growing up recently. Funky, sexy, and with all the elements that make a perfect club tune, this is a fantastic album opener- if you don’t like this song don’t even think about buying the album!
Naughty Girl continues in the same vein, sampling Donna Summer’s oh-so-sexy Love To Love You Baby and Baby Boy uses an Indian-style beat and guest stars Sean Paul (who had a recent hit with the incredibly annoying Get Busy), giving an exciting, exotic summery feel and, for me, is the best track on the album. Hip Hop Star has a seductive, powerful beat and a grinding bassline, and the guest stars manage to make a real impact on this track, giving it a fresh, urban feel while Beyonce croons sexily over it.
Dangerously in Love begins full of life and promises to be a fantastically thrilling album. However, it fails to live up to its potential and sags like a ten-year-old mattress in the middle with a series of dull, uninspired ballads which starts promisingly with Be With You and Me, Myself And I (which has a funky Aaliyah-inspired sound) and reaches it’s lowest point with The Closer I Get To You, a duet with Luther Vandross. Maybe Beyonce wanted to prove her talent as a singer in the Mariah Carey vein but there’s really no excuse for this! We all know that vocally Beyonce kick’s J-Lo’s amply proportioned rear end, she doesn’t need to use tired ballads to display this!
The fact that Missy Elliott features on Signs idicates that this track is ging to be something special, but no- it fails to lift itself above the dull tracks which surround it. Yes and Speechless are two of the most mind-numbingly boring tracks I've heard in a long time and I suspect it would be difficult for any track to sound good snuck between these two!
If you’ve made it through the wilderness that was the ballad section you’ll emerge at Dangerously in Love 2, which shows what a laid-back track should be like- heartfelt without overdosing on the sugar!
Listening to Work It Out it’s difficult to understand why this single wasn’t as successful as expected. A fantastic slice of sexy 70s funk designed for grinding on the dancefloor! The final track, Bonnie & Clyde ’03, pairs Beyonce with Jay-Z again and gives a laid-back groove to close the album.
With an album that relies so heavily on the appearance of guest artists (Jay-Z, Sean Paul, Missy Elliott, Luther Vandross, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown), it’s difficult not to wonder what happened to the girl who proudly declared herself an ‘independent woman’ in Destiny’s Child. That claim seems to ring slightly hollow after listening to Dangerously in Love and Beyonce certainly seems to miss the powerful harmonies provided by Destiny's Child. But it’s clear that Beyonce has the talent and charisma to become a superstar and if you’re into girly RnB/hip-hop such as Aaliyah or Ashanti then this is a must-have summer album, and with 15 full tracks (plus 1 skit and 1 bonus track) and an inlay filled with photos worthy of a place on any glossy fashion mag, you can’t deny it’s good value for money. But let’s hope that in the future she acquires the confidence to truly go it alone.
Track Listing: 1. Crazy in Love 2. Naughty Girl 3. Baby Boy (featuring Sean Paul) 4. Hip Hop Star (featuring Big Boy and Sleepy Brown) 5. Be With You 6. Me, Myself and I 7. Yes 8. Signs (featuring Missy Elliott) 9. Speechless 10. That’s How You Like It (featuring Jay-Z) 11. The Closer I Get To You (Duet with Luther Vandross) 12. Dangerously in Love 2 13. Beyonce Interlude 14. Gift from Virgo 15. Work It Out 16. Bonnie & Clyde ‘03
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
i must say it was well written and very true in relation to the fantastic album but i feel it was too lenghty and rather boring to the end
Pmshack99 11.02.2005 13:12
Great review, this was a bit of a disappointment to me, I expected so much more from beyonce but i really love dangerously in love 2 - one of the few ballads i;ve heard which is actually good! paula x
BabyGirl 01.10.2003 23:26
Omg I said the exact same thing about Me, Myself & I sounding like something Aaliyah would produce. This album to me was a huge disappointment, but it's shocking cuz this album could have been brilliant! gREAT op! :D xx
It's hyped up, rush-released to avoid piracy and full of stars--but is Beyoncé's solo ... more
albumDangerously in Loveworthy of all the expectancy? Yes. Her individual break from Destiny's Child has been predicted for the last four years, butDangerously in Lov...
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It's hyped up, rush-released to avoid piracy and full of stars--but is Beyoncé's solo ... more
album Dangerously in Love worthy of all the expectancy? Yes. Her individual break from Destiny's Child has been predicted for the last four years, but Dangerously in ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Some brilliant songs, Beyonce has geniune talent. Disadvantages: Loses it's appeal half way through, some very disappointing collaborations.
Jul 17th, 2003
(Jul 23rd, 2003)
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