BUCK C. COOKE
| 11.19.2008
IT SEEMS THAT EVERY TIME you turn around, an artist is releasing his or her “most intimate and personal album yet.” Well, now it’s our girl Beyoncé’s turn, but at least she puts her own spin on the concept with the release of “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” a two-CD release that gives fans insight into two sides of her personality.
Even back in the days of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé has always described her on-stage persona as “Sasha,” a free spirit ready to give in to the power of the music and the crowd to transport her into the frenzied, hedonistic performer we see when Beyoncé takes the stage. Sasha is strong, commanding, outrageous, and, well, fierce.
Beyoncé explains the differences between the two halves of her personality on her MySpace page.
“Sasha Fierce is my alter ego," she writes, "and now she has a last name. I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am.
“That's why half the record, ‘I Am …,’ is about who I am underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights, and underneath all the exciting star drama.” she continues.
TO KICK THE DOUBLE-ALBUM off with a bang, Beyoncé released two singles, one from each CD. From “I Am …” comes “If I Were a Boy.” “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” is taken from “Sasha Fierce.”
“Boy” is a soul-searing ballad about relationship doubt, but the song contains a singer/songwriter feel for most of the track thanks to the acoustic guitar and sparse instrumentation. The track eventually swells with emotion and grand orchestration.
“Single Ladies” is a bouncy, buoyant track about a man taking too much time to get serious. Of course, he waits too long, and another man comes along and snatches up the woman, who is, as we know, quite the catch.
The video puts Sasha front a center with only two back-up dancers and some flashy choreography. The dancing for the video was inspired by legendary choreographer Bob Fosse, and a portion of the video features “J-Setting,” which is a popular black gay dance form.
The rest of “I Am …” is beautiful, but part of it comes across as rehash. “Halo” is gorgeous, but it sounds a lot like “Better in Time” by Leona Lewis. “Ave Maria” is not a cover of the vocal standard, but it does incorporate elements of the melody and the lyrics into the track. Despite some weaker moments, “I Am …” is a solid collection of R&B with Beyoncé’s special touches.
WHILE THE FIRST CD feels like a coherent package, “Sasha” is more hit-or-miss, depending on your taste. “Radio” is a high-energy track about Beyoncé’s childhood that has “hit single” written all over it.
“Diva” is, sadly, not what you would fantasize about as a gay fan of Beyoncé. In a video clip on her MySpace page, she describes “Diva” as her “gangsta” style: “Diva is a female version of a hustler.”
“Sweet Dreams” is a great song, but it sounds almost exactly like “Hello Heartbreak,” a single from for Destiny’s Child band mate Michelle Williams’ “Unexpected.” Oops.
The deluxe edition of “I Am … Sasha Fierce” contains five bonus tracks. Two songs were added to the “I Am…” disc, and “Sasha Fierce” grows by three songs. The extras are worth the price, since the regular discs are kinda sparse.
Beyoncé is likely to add to her impressive resume with “I Am … Sasha Fierce.” She already holds eight Grammy Awards, has had 10 No. 1 singles on various charts. Her first two solo albums reached No. 1 on the Hot 200 Album Chart.
With a turn onscreen coming up playing the one and only Etta James in “Cadillac Records” and covers “At Last,” we will get to see just how fierce Beyoncé really is.
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