Writing's On The Wall, The - Destiny's Child > Reviews > Thou shalt buy this album or die a painful death

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Lots of great songs, strong vocals
Disadvantages:	One or two weak fillers

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I am not a natural at writing opinions on music, and it shows, but this is my most-played album at the moment, and as it's this month's competition, why not?

Destiny's Child are a very well-known girl band hailing from Houston, Texas, consisting of Beyonce Knowles, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland. They've had more line ups than you've had hot dinners, but they're obviously talented and have gone far!

This is their second album, The Writing's On The Wall, where the band still had four members; Beyonce, Kelly, LaTavia and LeToya. The last two have since left and sued the remaining members twice over.

The album begins with the intro; their take on The Godfather. They lay down a set of Destiny's Commandments that will appear throughout the album before each song, such as 'Thou shall pay bills' for the song Bills Bills Bills. It ends with Beyonce saying, 'Isn't it obvious? The writing's on the wall' which explains the title of the album! A nice idea, but I skip it because there's no point to it!

The first proper song is SO GOOD, a light, summery song; hitting back at all the critics and backstabbers who had trashed Destiny's Child. This is definitely one of the best from the album - not an instant hit but it grows on you! Sticks in your head for ages afterwards and you can't help singing...

Next is BILLS BILLS BILLS, a heavy, man-bashing R'n'B song, the type that DC do so well! The girls are challenging a boyfriend who constantly sponges off them; taking advantage of them and their generosity. Can't imagine this song doing too well with the men! Very strong, catchy and almost anthemic with it's chorus.

CONFESSION was initially one of my least favourites, but this grows on you. It's a smooth, soulful track, confessing all to their boyfriend, such as kissing their ex to annoy him. The first minute or so is jerky, but then it kicks in properly and you can't resist singing along! Features Missy Elliot but she doesn't have much part in the song in general.
4/5

BUGABOO is another 'girl power' song, if you like! This time, it's a clingy, possessive boyfriend that needs kicking to the kerb. Sassy, with strong vocals and a drummy beat which makes it irresistable on the dancefloor! It reminds me slightly of country music for some reason, but I think that's just me!

After that comes one of the best on the album; TEMPTATION, a very smooth song with sultry, low vocals about meeting the perfect man, but you still have a boyfriend. Repetitive, but it works really well in line with the song, and the girls' voices are shown off to their best advantage. They sing perfectly in time with each other, and it really emphasises the smoothness of the song.

The pace slows down a bit with NOW THAT SHE'S GONE. This is a quiet, passive song with Beyonce and co being treated like second best by a boyfriend - hard to believe, seeing how gorgeous all of DC are, but apparently so! Quite morose and depressing, but the slick vocals make up for it.

I was quite disappointed with WHERE'D YOU GO, to be honest! What happened to the man-bashing, ladies? The empowered feminists have been replaced with tearful wrecks, begging their boyfriends to answer their calls and demanding to know what has gone wrong in their relationship. Still very listenable, and instantly catchy - just try to block out the cheesy lyrics, and it's a great song. This has a slightly more pop feel to it than R'n'B.

HEY LADIES is back on form here, with a guitar-twanging intro and loud, demanding lyrics asking things like 'Hey ladies, why is it that men can do us wrong?' This is a similar R'n'B tune in the same vein as Bugaboo, but slightly more mellow. Beyonce warbles dangerously like Mariah Carey though!

IF YOU LEAVE is a melancholy, subdued song about two people in love, but they are both attached. The first half is OK, but there is a duet near the end, which gets terrible because it appears that Beyonce and Next are trying to outsing each other! OK, but far from memorable.

One of the best known songs from the album, JUMPIN JUMPIN is next, and what's not to like? It's a lively R'n'B track with almost hip-hop overtones, about having a great night out. It's very memorable; you'll be singing it for ages afterwards, believe me! I defy anyone not get the urge to dance to this!

SAY MY NAME is yet another man-bashing track here, with a girlfriend on the phone to a boyfriend and she has just heard another woman's voice in the room with him. Very strong and catchy; I think this did fairly well when it was released, and still gets airplay today. I like it, but if you compare it to Bills Bills Bills and Jumpin Jumpin, it does seem a bit weak and repetitive.

SHE CAN'T LOVE YOU is bittersweet and soulful, the quintet are upset and jealous that their ex boyfriend has a new girlfriend, who just doesn't match up to the DC girls! Very smooth with husky vocals; it's a good song but not that memorable. Not my favourite from the album, but still fairly good.

STAY reminds me of Christmas, for some reason! It's soft, slow, with a twinkly background, begging a man to stay with them. This is a bit cheesy and not my favourite, but I don't feel the need to skip it! Good background music though, when you're doing your homework or on the computer and need a bit of peace and quiet!

Getting to the end of the album now, SWEET SIXTEEN isn't a bad song, but throughout the song, you are expecting it to kick in properly, but it never does! Light, pleasant enough to listen to, but unmemorable. Not a lot to say about this, as it's just so dull! I can't remember a single line from this song, and it has been played many, many times, when I can't be bothered to skip it! A definite filler.

The outro is their accapella (sp?) version of Amazing Grace dedicated to Andretta Tillman, not that I know who she is! I skip this, there isn't any point to it and sounds like something they'd knocked up together, slightly drunk, in a rush!

Erm - GET ON THE BUS - why? Their voices are very jerky, having been messed around with a computer, and is a terrible way to end the album. The stopping and starting, blurred voices and thuddy beats give me a headache! Rubbish, total rubbish. The album ends on a low point with this song.

This is overall a great album - out of fifteen tracks, excluding intros and outros, there are only one or two tracks I really have to skip through because I don't like them. It's not bad, is it?

If you're an R'n'B fan, then this is an absolute essential. Girl power? Destiny's Child show Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls how it should be done! It's a shame - their talent really shows through, and I hope the rumours that they have split are untrue!

My favourite songs are Temptation, So Good and Jumpin Jumpin - if you are thinking about getting this album, then download those three songs (whoops I didn't say that) and have a listen. If you like them, then give this album a go! It's relatively cheap these days, as it's been out for a few years now.