Album Review: Beyoncé 4

Download Beyoncé 4 

Beyoncé 4 (2011) Official Tracklist:
1. 1+1
2. I Care
3. I Miss You
4. Best Thing I Never Had
5. Party
6. Rather Die Young
7. Start Over
8. Love On Top
9. Countdown
10. End Of Time
11. I Was Herey,
12. Run The World (Girls)

***Bonus Tracks***

1. Lay Up Under Me

2. Schoolin' Life

3. Dance For You

Okay, I'm going to start off by saying that we live in times where women are no longer praised because of their ability to not only write their own music, but to sing...nay, to deliver it with nothing but SOUL. 

Beyonce's album (with the exception of a few songs) seems to have taken things back to the late 70s, early 80s  for inspiration.  

"4" is like a soft, lingering kiss of an album. While other...lesser divas are busy putting out albums about S&Ms, being Mattel barbies, and riding disco sticks, Beyonce brings in the romance; I'm not a fan of Jay Z but if he's got her putting songs like this on an album he gets a nod of approval from me.

It's a mix of ballads, slow jams, and quick tempo'd songs that prove you don't need to recycle the same tired beats to make people happy *cough* Kanye *cough* 

I love the emphasis on meaningful lyrics and smooth vocals; giving '4' a "timeless" feel.

I've been kind of undecided when it comes to Beyonce...one minute I like her the next I don't, but this album has re-ignited the little bit of love that I still had for her in the pits of my heart.

1+1

When I first heard the guitar playing, my heart immediately opened. When I heard "If I ain't got nothin'..." I instantly thought about Alicia Keys; with a twist of the blues and country.

This song is something you'd play during your first dance at a wedding

...I can already imagine the bridemaid's dresses! Woo lawd! 

'1+1' reminds me of the innocence of love; not caring about anything else...not wanting to know anything else except for the fact that you love someone and will do anything for them.

I love the guitar. I love the subtle, scratches in the back while she sings that make it sound like a moderately used record. I love the vocals.

I love the whole song.

I Care

For some reason before Beyonce started to sing, I was expecting Chris Brown's 'Beautiful People' to start playing.  

In this song it's the all-to-common tragedy; Beyonce is pleading with her man to stay with her...telling him how much she loves and cares about him while he just doesn't give a damn.

'I Care' definitely sneaked its way into my head and now I can't stop singing it.

I love the menacing bass, layered vocals, and cymbals.

The chorus couldn't get any more simple but it's hypnotic nonetheless.

It reaches out to that pathetic, lovesick loser lurking in all of us...but I wouldn't call it single material.

I Miss You

This song seems like it was lifted straight out of my journal...there is so much rawness and honesty to this song that just finds it's way into my heart. 

"I thought that things like this get better with time. But I still need you, why is that?" Beyonce muses...girl, if you find the answer, let me know.

Frank Ocean, who helped her produce this work of art, deserves a lot of credit for having a part in this beautiful song.

Best Thing I Never Had

This is the album's second single. This song left me speechless...again, I state that Beyonce read the book of my life and made it into a song. It's rare that I have a song that not only brings me to tears, but has me belting out all kinds of vocals. 

I think the lyrics strike a chord with people fresh out of bad relationships that have come to the realization the person they were with...sucked.

I love the piano. I love the melody. I love the passion with which it is delivered.

Party

Okay, I'm just going to say that the beginning of the song had me a little dizzy; my mind couldn't handle Kanye talking, the beat coming up, and men talking in the background.

I got a little bit of Justin Beiber and Jaden Smith's 'Never Say Never' in certain parts.

Kanye brings his usual swaggo to this fun yet relaxed hip hop/pop song.

Beyonce sounds great on the fun chorus and it's refreshing to hear her sing something frivolous after the emotional songs that come before 'Party'.

I'm not too in love with the song. It's something I'd expect to hear at a boring house party while trying to avoid a guy by nodding my head, sipping on something nice, and pretending to text someone important.

Rather Die Young

This sounds like something I would hear in a Diana Ross album. Sounds very classic.

The lyrics are heart wrenching "I'd rather die young than live my life without you." THIS is Motown. It's big hair. It's sequined gowns. It's romantic, oozes soul, screams passion and it is the anthem of those that are love-struck. 

I can picture drag queens everywhere performing this for decades to come.

However, the song is a bit too depressing for me; easily my least favorite song.

Start Over

Beyonce turned to the giants of yesteryear for inspiration on "4", so it's no surprise to see her channel R&B legend La Toya Jackson on "Start Over". Not only is the title a clear homage to Toy's recent autobiography soundtrack EP, the sound has the same breezy, tropical sound that she coined in the early 80s. The only difference is the tone. 

There's something haunting about "Start Over", which is strange because it's a love song. 

It's a pretty song and it's soothing, but it's definitely forgettable. 

Bey we did not just go from begging him to stay, to saying he wasn't anything special, to giving him another chance! This album gives all stages to a good and bad relationship.

This is definitely my second to least favorite song. 

Love On Top

If happy and chipper Beyonce is what you like to hear, then look no further...this is your track!

This song is adorable; it reminds me of the late 80s-early 90s. Skipping down the street, twirling around...feeling on top of the world because you're in love!

It's a retrotastic mid-tempo jam with sweet lyrics like "your lips taste like a night of champagne". A lot of fans are calling for this to be a single. I think the old school, Motown inspired production would scare radio programmers but I'm on board just to see what she comes up with in the video. For me the highlight of this deliriously romantic pop song is the vocal. Beyoncé sounds like Mariah circa "Emotions". 

Her voice takes you around the world; from soft whispers to full out wails that would make Mariah proud. 

I love it. 

Countdown

After a slight dip, "4" gathers serious steam with the mind-blowingly amazing "Countdown". This is EVERYTHING "Get Me Bodied" wanted to be but couldn't quite pull off. Don't get me wrong! I love that jam but it needed a beefier chorus and slightly less drag-tastic lyrics to be the chart-ruling anthem Bey needed at the time. 

"Countdown", on the other hand, has a glorious sing-a-long chorus that sits perfectly between the fierce verses that spill some of the best lyrics in recent memory. 

It's hard to pick a favorite line but "All up in the kitchen in my heels - dinner time!" and "Grind up on him gurl, show him how you ride it" would be right up there. 

When this song comes on, I immediately commence my two step...and you cannot tell me anything.

I am just sitting here waiting for a video!

End Of Time

I was a bit skeptic at first because I knew she did a track with Justin Timberlake that had the SAME title, but I gave it a chance anyway. I'm glad I did!

Hands down my favorite song on the entire album. I can listen to it 30 times in a row and then some; 3 minutes and 45 seconds couldn't be any shorter!

 It's a truly original blend of genres and sounds that sounds like it was concocted by a mad scientist in a lab somewhere. I love the driving drums, heavy brass and fierce vocal. 

This is breathtaking pop music that pushes boundaries and more important the killer beats.

This song is the type of love I want! This song is upbeat, catchy, and meaningful. 

Beyonce sings:

I just wanna be with you

I just wanna live for you

I'll never let you go

Bring your love to me

And just like that, my heart melted...I tear up at that part.

This is easily a hit...and my favorite song on the album.

I Was Here

I don't know about "I Was Here". The idea of Diane Warren and Ryan Tedder contributing to the same song makes my blood run cold. 

The potential for saccharine lyrics and recycled beats is enough to make Celine come out of retirement. The finished product, however, is surprisingly understated. It is a pretty song but I think someone who is yet to achieve greatness - like Lady Gaga or Katy Perry - should have sung it. 

This is about leaving your mark on the world.

I do like that she gets to unleash her powerful pipes but again this is one of the songs I would have swapped with one of the killer bonus tracks. 

I like the song nonetheless. 

Run The World (Girls)

What can I even say about this mess? It sounds like five songs thrown into a blender without a chorus. 

I think the song was added to the album to give her something "anthemic" to sing on Oprah and the BBMAs because compared to the other songs on the album it's out of place.

It took me A WHILE to begin to like 'Run The World' (Girls)...I actually had to watch the video before I began to like the song. I can't lie, I love that catchy recycled animated voice in the background also.

Ghetto Bey Bey brings it hard, singing about girl power. 

One of the songs of the summer.

However, this is another song for hoodrats to justify their actions. smh.

*****BONUS TRACKS*****

Lay Up Under Me

Once the song started, I instantly thought about Lionel Richie's 'All Night Long'. 

I love hearing songs about making love that don't sound so sultry and haunting, but more upbeat. This is probably the album's most commercial track. 

Co-written by Stargate and Sean Garrett, Lay Up Under Me' is another blindingly romantic love song about making your man happy.

Only instead of being a standard ballad, it's a quirky mid-tempo affair complete with trumpets and a cute chorus that harks back to the late 80s. 

'Lay Up Under Me' is flawless pop music.

My question is...why wasn't this on the album instead of 'Rather Die Young'?

Schoolin' Life

"This is for those 20 somethings!" Hey now Bey! 

This adorable Prince inspired synth-fest is a very odd pop song. Beyonce basically gives out life lessons over a beat that could have been lifted from "Lovesexy". 

She tells the 20-somethings "time really moves fast, you were just 16" and the sexy-somethings "that body ain't always get you out of everything". It shouldn't work but it's pop perfection. 

I just wish you all could see me doing my modern electric slide to this song!

What does she tell the 40-somethings and 50-somethings? These pearls of wisdom are too important not to heed! One of my favorite songs on the album. 

One of my favorite Beyonce songs to date.

Dance For You

If anyone ever has the nerve to ask me what separates Beyoncé from the rest of the urban-pop crowd, I would slap them and then play "Dance For You". 

This gorgeous, 6 minute long mid-tempo ballad is a masterpiece. It has been described as an update of Destiny's Child's "Cater 2 U" and that's true to a certain extent.

Bey brings the romance in a very adult way. It's about showing appreciation and gratitude - topics that are all but ignored in modern music. 

I can't even get my head around Beyoncé's vocal on this. She goes from spitting out lines like a machine gun to swooning and cooing, before giving her pipes a full work out. 

This would be a brilliant single if they can edit it down by two minutes without ruining it. Absolutely beautiful.

xoxo,

Miss Nwoka