June 22, 201114 yr Queen B’s powerhouse balladry remains untouchable when she really opens up. The number 4 means something to Beyoncé: it's the date of her birth, the date of her wedding; there are even four key changes in the final, teetering chorus of "Love on Top" to ram the point home. That the title was apparently crowd sourced from fans attuned to Beyoncé’s yen for numerology smacks of post-justification, but one fact pokes through – 4 is definitely her fourth album. Following schizo double I Am... Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé took a year off but has come back brighter. Dozens of songs emerged from the original 4 sessions and the promo circuit’s been leapt on with a vengeance, culminating – at least over here – in the intriguing Glastonbury headline slot (yet to wow us as we go to press). With 4’s best bold tunes, Beyoncé has spruced up an already handsome catalogue. She's got the armoury to trump husband Jay-Z’s perception-altering Pilton turn. "Run the World (Girls)" we know, twice over, in Major Lazer’s "Pon de Floor" and in its recent official and unofficial leaks. Strangely, it's tacked on like a bonus after the natural big finish of the Diane Warren-penned "I Was Here", when it would've nestled comfortably alongside the opulent M.I.A.-style cacophony of "Countdown" or "End of Time"'s startling vision of Animal Collective covering Lionel Richie's "All Night Long". No matter – the rest of 4 tips towards the powerhouse balladry that caressed her previous album. And these are exemplars of the form, "I Care" in particular emoting the house down over a sustained "Purple Rain" chord. Its near-equals "1+1" and "I Miss You" tug heartstrings too, the former over magnificent guitar bombast; the latter – a contribution from Odd Future's misfit soulman Frank Ocean – over the kind of subtle tension achieved by Alicia Keys' "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart". "1+1" offers a pointer to "Best Thing I Never Had" where Beyoncé really gets her soft rock on, matching Bon Iver's Beth/Rest in summoning up Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Now there's an odd future. Less successful are Kanye West and André 3000's interruptions ("You got the swag sauce / You drip the swagu," leers Kanye – oh dear) on "Party"'s slick 80s soul, while the overdone glitz of "Rather Die Young" drags. The rest of 4, though, sparks. Beyoncé slips from flirty to fragile to fabulous, and is in terrific voice throughout, reminding us that when she opens up there's no-one else in the game.http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zw4z If show business were high school (and isn't it, really?), Beyoncé would be a front-runner for valedictorian. She's a class act on and off the charts, a can-do girl who shares her gifts with everyone while keeping her beyond-fabulous life — the Obamas on speed dial, Jay-Z at the dinner table — largely to herself. Over the course of her three previous records, she's matured from Destiny's Child-hood into a formidable solo hitmaker with two of pop music's most transcendent chart-toppers, "Crazy in Love" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", tucked in the pocket of her Deréon jeans. So why does it feel like Beyoncé is struggling so hard to prove herself on 4? The album is an every-song-for-itself welter of conflicting ambitions: It wants to be cutting-edge but familiar, accessible but artistic, hot-blooded but strictly impersonal. Those tensions hurt most in its lumbering first half, a defiant bird flipped at anyone expecting out-of-the-box radio killers. Instead, we get a sleepy recital of ballads, kicked off by the arid Prince-ipality of "1+1" and "I Miss You", in which Bey pants and sweats and grunts (except, you know, sexy-like), her voice climbing ever higher in search of an octave big enough to hold it. 'I don't know much about guns/But I, I've been shot by you,' she yelps on "1+1", as if the love bullet were actually breaking skin. Vocally, she’s never sounded better — throaty and precise — but the songs here just aren't her equal. While those efforts at least aim high, a few of 4's lesser tracks feel like they were unsuccessfully bred in studio captivity for mass consumption. The familiar lite-FM bombast of "Best Thing I Never Had" proves her 2006 hit "Irreplaceable" is just that. "I Was Here", co-written by Diane Warren, reaches Lifetime-movie levels of schmaltz, while the promisingly named "Party", featuring Kanye and André 3000, turns out to be a slow-jam invitation to an after-work mixer with light refreshments. And when the 29-year-old mimics Luther Vandross and Diana Ross on the charmingly goofy one-two of "Love on Top" and "Rather Die Young", she gets lost in her idols' polyester-swathed shadows. Unsurprisingly, Beyoncé is at her best when she sounds like no one but herself. She takes her trusty freakum dress out of mothballs for the marching-band funk of "Countdown", which includes such joy-inducing non-lyrics as 'Me and my boof, and my boof boof riding.' On "Run the World (Girls)", the first single off the disc, she turns cheesy postfeminism into a martial foot-stomper that crackles like a burst of pirate-radio agitpop. (It bombed accordingly on the mainstream charts.) And the terrific "End of Time" seethes with off-balance harmonies, MJ-style Off the Wall horns, and a bionic Bo Diddley beat, all while Bey howls her eternal love to everyone and no one in particular. It's exactly the kind of genre-busting risk that few other current pop stars would even attempt, let alone pull off flawlessly with a no-big-thing shrug. With more moments like that, 4 might have been an album fully worthy of her talent. As it is, though, even star students get the occasional B.http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20504524,00.html You can also listen to snippets of the deluxe tracks here.
June 22, 201114 yr Deluxe version leaked :) I have a link to just the deluxe tracks if anyone wants, only if you promise to buy when it comes out :P Edited June 22, 201114 yr by Liаm
June 22, 201114 yr Deluxe version leaked :) I have a link to just the deluxe tracks if anyone wants, only if you promise to buy when it comes out :P I'm surprised, and very happy, that it's taken this long to leak! Only 2 days before the first official release of the album! :D
June 23, 201114 yr http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/PQAAAJqlemUtA2DgMqfPmZ8dpmxYPcGCQipI8juP-P8S7Cdq0WDocX3zcyIYDLQxX7sTPA-8QoJIhO87s3z6TmNE22oAm1T1ULBmYE_cZHtbSfo852jPCf8sJLD0.jpg ejXmum_rf5o
June 23, 201114 yr Beyoncé has maintained a certain distance from her fans. She’s largely avoided social media and adopted the Sasha Fierce persona as an excuse to act aggro onstage. On 4, she’s still missing a real sense of vulnerability but steps out from behind the club jams with beautifully nuanced mid-tempo production. Slow-burning opener "1+1" is an instant classic, melding soul orchestration and a looping guitar line that allow her to wring maximum emotion from her ambitious phrasing. There’s nothing predictable about her fluttering, grandiose vibrato, and her confrontational vocals are offset by subtle flourishes: the minimal beat on "I Miss You", "Start Over"'s gleaming synths, producer Kanye West's playful nod to 90s R&B on "Party", and the bonkers, Boyz II Men-sampling "Countdown". The track list finally falters with a flat, Diane Warren-penned ballad and the simplistic, Major Lazer redux "Run the World (Girls)", both of which seem cynically tacked on at the end to ensure radio play. RATING: 3/5 Top track: "1+1"http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=181414 Last month, Beyoncé Knowles made one of her frequent appearances in the lists compiled by Forbes magazine, this one being The Best Paid Celebrities Under 30. She had earned, Forbes claimed, $35m in the last year. The magazine felt obliged to add a footnote. She had only earned so little, it advised any readers perhaps worried about her ability to scrape by on $35m, because she hadn't released any records or toured. In fairness, being heralded as the Eighth Best Paid Celebrity Under 30 represents something of an anticlimax for Knowles in Forbes list terms: the last time she appeared in one, the magazine claimed she was more powerful than the first female speaker of the US House of Representatives, the secretary of homeland security, two supreme court judges and the prime minister of Australia. Nevertheless, a pop artist for whom a $35m salary represents a crushing disappointment is clearly a pop artist who can do whatever she wants. "They do not make mistakes: there is a feeling they have somehow gone beyond the foibles of being human to a place where perfection is effortlessly within their control," claimed the New Statesman of Mr and Mrs Jay-Z recently, having apparently hired Davros to write about them. Under the circumstances, what record company hireling is going to be brave enough to tell her to pull her head in? Excitingly, advance publicity for her fourth album suggested Knowles had decided to start fully exercising the power that selling nearly 90m albums brings. She apparently recorded 72 tracks. Among the producers and writers were not just old hands such as Rodney Jerkins and Tricky Stewart, but Frank Ocean of Odd Future, MIA producers Diplo and Switch, and noisy Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells. There was talk from one producer, Jim Jonsin, of a pronounced Depeche Mode influence, and, from Knowles herself, of employing the sound of Fela Kuti. You couldn't hear either on the single "Run the World (Girls)", but that scarcely mattered. What its frantic melange of dancehall rhythms and squealing electronics effects recalls is the futuristic R&B of a decade ago, when every new single by Aaliyah or Brandy appeared to have arrived not from America but Mars: when it crops up on daytime Radio 1, it sounds strange and disruptive. You could argue that anyone familiar with "Pon De Floor" by Diplo and Switch's Major Lazer project had heard almost everything on it two years ago, but more important is the fact Knowles chose to be influenced by a weird, experimental underground track rather than the vogue for music that sounds like David Guetta's brand of ravey pop house. If there's nothing like it in the charts, there's also very little like it on 4. "Countdown" rides a similarly disjointed military rhythm, its agitated Afrobeat brass stabs the one moment you hear anything resembling the influences mooted in the advance publicity. More often, 4 retreats into R&B's past. The fantastic "Rather Die Young" – written by, of all people, Luke Steele from the Sleepy Jackson and Empire of the Sun – refracts a dramatic Philly soul ballad through gauzy modern production, but for the most part, 4 heads straight for the 80s. Even opener "1+1", which sets out to make Knowles's link to the raw energy of 60s soul explicit, winds up in 1986. Her vocal is visceral and amazing, even if the lurches into falsetto occasionally seem less startling than startled, as if persons unknown have snuck into the vocal booth and goosed her. Still, it would have more impact if the backing was as gritty, if the concluding guitar solo sounded less like it was being performed by a man with a mullet and a white suit with the sleeves rolled up. The 80s influence isn't always a bad thing. It leads to the Frank Ocean-penned "I Miss You", a woozy update of an old-fashioned slow jam: it's probably pushing it a bit to call it an R&B equivalent of Ariel Pink's hypnagogic pop, but there's something enveloping and dream-like about it. It also leads to tracks that just sound dishearteningly like pre-crack Whitney Houston ballads, not least "Best Thing I Never Had", the most interesting thing about which is the curious image conjured by the chorus's lyric. Everything was going well, apparently, until the protagonist's former amorata "showed your ass", which somehow makes you think of Beyoncé rolling her eyes and tutting while a man drunkenly moons in a Wetherspoons car park. This isn't by any means a bad album. There's nothing wrong with a song such as "Love on Top", which is well written, has a great vocal and will doubtless help ensure Knowles doesn't have to manage on a mere $35m in the next 12 months. It's just that it isn't the album you might have been led to expect. The highpoints offer hints of what it might have been: it's hard not to feel that what it might have been sounds better than what it is. RATING: 3/5http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/2...-4-album-review “It sucks to be you right now,” sings Beyoncé on "Best Thing I Never Had", a brassy Eighties-flavoured showtune in which she reads the riot act to an errant suitor. The sassy girl-power sentiment is the kind of thing we have come to expect from the first lady of r&b pop, delivered with technical verve, her growly soul voice gliding skyward before concluding with a typically daredevil display of swooping and diving. All her vocal pyrotechnics, however, can’t quite distract from the dullness of the song itself, which proves to be the problem with much of the Texan’s prosaically titled fourth album. Whether laying down the law like a ball-busting disco diva ("Countdown", "Run the World"), prostrating herself at the mercy of an indifferent partner on old-fashioned power ballads ("I Miss You", "Rather Die Young", "I Care"), or just calling her ladies out to celebrate on the dance floor ("Party"), Beyoncé’s almost aggressively accomplished vocal style is the only real constant. In some ways, Beyoncé might appear to be the superstar who has it all: abundantly talented, utterly gorgeous and married to one of the biggest power players of the modern music business, rapper Jay-Z. But there is a lingering sense (certainly not shared by her more focused husband) that she still hasn’t quite found her own niche. In the years since she rose to the top with Destiny’s Child, other strong female pop artists such as Lady GaGa, Rihanna and Adele have moved in to occupy territory (21st-century showgirl/urban hottie/soulful singer-songwriter) in which Beyoncé might have expected to reign supreme, and now the diva scene is starting to look rather crowded. Beyoncé’s last outing was schizophrenic double I Am…Sasha Fierce, in which she conjured up an alter ego to give some coherence to her stylistic uncertainty. Reports that Beyoncé recorded some 70 songs before selecting 12 for this follow-up suggests she remains confused about her musical identity. Only her charismatic sassiness straddles the divide between her taste for gushy ballads, percussive hip-hop chants (blatantly attempting to replicate the success of her "Single Ladies" hit) and Broadway style showtunes, full of jazzy noodling and theatrical flourishes. It’s more Glee Club than cutting edge pop queen, and, as is so often the case with big pop albums, too many production teams spoil the froth. It doesn’t quite suck to be Beyoncé right now, but this is not the blockbuster she needs to keep her crown. Download this: "End of Time" RATING: 3/5http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/c...f-the-week.html Scans of the booklet: http://twitpic.com/5fgiab http://twitpic.com/5fgitk http://twitpic.com/5fgjfv http://twitpic.com/5fgju6 http://twitpic.com/5fgkbq http://twitpic.com/5fgl1q http://twitpic.com/5fglsi http://twitpic.com/5fgmkd http://twitpic.com/5fgnpj http://twitpic.com/5fgnyy http://twitpic.com/5fgolc http://twitpic.com/5fgpix http://twitpic.com/5fgsh3 Beyoncé and Stevie Nicks dominate pre-order charts Beyoncé's 4 and Stevie Nicks' In Your Dreams top this week's retailer pre-order charts. Beyoncé's 4, out next week, is number one in HMV's pre-order chart, the second highest new release in the Amazon charts and number two with Play.com. Nicks' In Your Dreams is also looking strong, number one in the Amazon pre-orders, and at four in HMV charts. The Kooks' Junk of the Heart is at the top of the Play.com chart.http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?section...1045667&c=1
June 24, 201114 yr Current album positions on iTunes: 01 Beligum 01 Ireland 01 Luxembourg 01 Netherlands 01 Switzerland 03 Australia 03 Norway 04 Germany 05 Sweden 07 Finland 08 Austria
June 24, 201114 yr secretly hoping that the Destiny's Child rumours are true and no-one buys this album :ph34r:
June 24, 201114 yr secretly hoping that the Destiny's Child rumours are true and no-one buys this album :ph34r: There are rumours that they could reuniting at Glastonbury. Beyoncé will definitely be performing DC hits, so they very well could join her. Fingers crossed. :D
June 24, 201114 yr Summary: The queen reigns over her kingdom, a place where cynicism and romanticism don't have to be enemies, where love is the only real battle worth fighting for. And damn, she can sing. It's tempting to say that in this day and age, "pop music" as a concept has become meaningless, since, given the rise of file-sharing and basic Internet-driven buzz, it's easier than ever for consumers to have a decently high level of discernment. And so popular music - music intentionally made for the mass public to enjoy - is a frustratingly difficult idea to wrap one's head around, because if we take its definition literally, just about everything is pop music. Yet it's obvious that this isn't the case. "Pop", as a genre, often seems to be clearly defined, with countless artists aping one basic framework, but its actual most prominent attribute is its constant stylistic motion. Try to imagine a time when bass wasn't in, when pop music made active use of slippery guitar solos instead of energetic, short synth hooks - it isn't easy to do. As is the case with any other genre possessing one crucial demographic, pop has a constant ebb and flow, with trends coming and going at varying speeds determined by their performance on the genre's ultimate focus group - charts. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Femme Fatale, Cannibal, and Loud, three of the most prominent pop albums to be released in the past twelve months, are all dominated by Eurotrash beats, cut-up vocals, and occasionally pseudo-dubstep bass. They're trendy records, barely deviating from formula. Sure, Born This Way went against the grain with its unique brand of techno-metal, but it sucked. 4 isn't a trendy record, but it's hardly unusual - which, after witnessing the sheer ineptitude of Lady GaGa's attempts at "experimentation", may be a good thing. Taking its main stylistic cues from Prince's intoxicatingly sexy R&B (as well as some more traditional pop balladry), Beyoncé's most recent album is a largely low-tempo set that finally gives that gorgeous voice room to breathe. There are few recent pop albums that begin with three slow-burning tracks in a row, but 4's opening trio of "1+1", "I Care", and "I Miss You" is a strong and effective statement of the album's overall purpose: Beyoncé is in love and will do whatever it takes to see that love reciprocated. Hardly an original concept, but it's at least a nice counterpart (and complement) to the militant not-quite-feminism of lead single "Run the World (Girls)", which opens with an unsubtle play on an obscenity: "Who run this mother?" While I'd venture that the song has been unjustifiably maligned and actually works well as the climax of 4's majestic build, it serves as a hugely misleading first single, suggesting "Single Ladies" rather than "Irreplaceable". Far better as a summation of the album's sound on the whole is "1+1", a gorgeously produced ode to love and desire - "make love to me," Beyoncé practically moans over and over again. It would be annoyingly trite if it wasn't utterly undeniable, if that guitar break at the song's midpoint wasn't unexpectedly moving. Which is par for the course across almost every song here, save the unlistenable "Best Thing I Never Had", a glaring misstep that sounds like the kind of ballad a soulless pop singer might put on a record as a cheap grab for "emotional significance". Lyrics take a backseat to the album's occasionally delirious throwbacks to silky-smooth R&B and funk - "Party" and "Love on Top" are two nearly perfect examples, their shamelessly artificial horns and unabashedly cheesy key changes making up for constant, mind-numbing refrains of "We like to party". Indeed, Beyoncé's commitment to her clichés helps rid them of their tendency to induce vomit - her utterance of "you're my James Dean / you make me feel like I'm seventeen" on "Rather Die Young" is made tolerable by her honeyed vocal slides. Certainly, the "bad boy" Beyoncé is in love with is more a physical representation of countless painfully banal fantasies about guys who "drive too fast" and "smokes too much", but at least it feels tangible. For once, the pop song trying to make a connection with its listener doesn't feel like a total fraud. Forget Lady GaGa's song about her relationship with her father or Britney Spears' lullaby to her babies - here, I'm convinced, if only for a moment, that Beyoncé really would rather die young than to live her life without her lover, that she cares, even if you don't. This doesn't fully explain why 4 is as enjoyable as it is, but it does convey just how convincing Beyoncé can be when given the right tools - and it turns out that those tools consist of not much more than Beyoncé's voice itself. You'd be loath to find any straight-tone singing here, but 4 is also refreshingly absent of indulgent melisma or showy mannerisms. When Beyoncé does let loose, as she does on the aforementioned key changes of "Love on Top", which force her into a rarely-used high range, the results are absolutely magnificent, serving as a perfect catharsis for the burgeoning sexual passions of the album's first two thirds. It's appropriate, then, that the album closes with some more uptempo cuts, all of which are irresistible; the "Countdown" makes particularly successful use of its namesake and its dancehall influences. But perhaps even more notable is the record's penultimate track, the Ryan Tedder-produced "I Was Here". Tedder is arguably one of the most irritating people working in pop today, and considering his track record, it's not a surprise that "I Was Here" is the most contemporary-sounding song off of 4. What's surprising is just how good it is. The production is predictably icky, making that increasingly common mistake of using distant footsteps and reverbed guitar to convey a clichéd sense of "epicness". But then there's Beyoncé, at the center of the mix, intoning in an uncommonly hushed tone, "I wanna leave my footprints in the sands of time." Instead of gnashing my teeth, I listen closer, wanting to hear this shockingly affecting elegy directed for once not at one specific lover, but the world that allowed her to express that love in the first place. Oddly enough, the song reminds me of Lars von Trier's best works, which provoke actual emotional reactions while being, on paper, contrived pieces of $h!t. "I Was Here", and 4 in general, is that kind of a work, objectively middling, subjectively magnificent. It's the best kind of pop album, familiar yet unique, ambitious without having to step uncomfortably far outside of its firmly established territory. The overdramatic militarism that pervades throughout this album is the hyperbole-inviting sound of Beyoncé marching towards a place where cynicism and romanticism don't have to be enemies, where feminism can afford to be reduced to simple bullet points, where love is the only real battle worth fighting for. And for forty-six minutes, that seems to be a pretty damn good place to be. RATING: 4/5 = 80/100 - EXCELLENThttp://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/44167/Beyonce-4/ Album Review: Beyoncé – 4 4.5/5 stars Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make: Pop music has found its Alpha and Omega. Please ritualistically burn any remaining offerings from Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa, Ke$ha, and whatever other false idols may be spinning on your iPod. There is only one true warrior-priestess worthy of your pitiful calls of devotion, only one with an album of pure pop excellence that will surely stand above all other female pop records for the remainder of 2011, if not longer, and that album is Beyoncé‘s 4. Her fourth solo effort, 4 continues the Beyoncé tradition of making amazingly catchy, anthemic records with some of her best songs to date. Yes, even the glory of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" pales in comparison to the 12 tracks that comprise this LP. Influenced by everything from Fela Kuti Broadway musicals to the stylings of Teena Marie, 4 is a succinct and powerful demonstration of a woman at the top of her game, working with some of the industry's best writers and producers (including Kanye West, Frank Ocean, The-Dream, Diplo, Babyface, and more). Thanks to all of that influence (and a bit of her own genius), she has created a mesmerizing ensemble of R&B ballads, club bangers, and throwback sensations, all filled to capacity with heaps of heart and straight-up soul. Her last album, I Am…Sasha Fierce, was jam-packed with hits, including "Radio", "If I Were a Boy", and "Sweet Dreams". But unlike that album, there's something more substantial, an extra bit of pop oomph that makes these tracks seem less like overly shiny hunks of studio magic and more like solid, content-rich odes to love and life. Case in point: "Best Thing I Never Had" and "Rather Die Young". The former is the super-powered female call to arms a la "Single Ladies". It's got a sort of wit and openness to it, a truly powerful moment of self-realization enhanced by Queen B's vocal performance as wounded bird turned resilient lioness. "Rather Die Young", on the flip side of that sentiment, is the most R&B-laden, old-'60s-doo-wop-referencing hit Mrs. HOV has ever spun. Sure, the "I need you more than life itself" thing has been done to death by Beyoncé over her entire career, but here it feels fresh, with a previously unreached level of funk to it. Even on some of the weaker tracks, like say the girl power anthem "Run the World (Girls)" or the too-saccharine-for-its-own-good "I Miss You", the album shines. But the truly dazzling aspect of the record is what it does with minimal production and simplistic lyrics. "Party", featuring production from Kanye West and a verse from André 3000, is as simple as a Beyoncé song gets: a low-key, synth-y beat paired with inspired vocals by Beyoncé and a killer, fluid verse by Mr. Benjamin (including the line "I got a homeboy named Butta and another homeboy, that **** named Cheese/**** wit' me baby, I make it milk 'til it drip down yo' knees"). But as far as demonstrating the power of a stripped-down Beyoncé and how devastating that can be, the winner is "Countdown". The track, like so many pop offerings, is everywhere on the genre map, but it features a chorus of staggering simplicity and effectiveness: "My baby is a 10/We dressing to the nine/He pick me up at eight/Make me feel so lucky seven/He kiss me in his six/We be making love in five/Still the one I do this four/I'm trying to make a three/From that two/He still the one." Any way you do that math, it's a winner. Between doing more of the same old goodness and boiling everything down to its most essential lethality, Beyoncé also makes room on the album for more grandiose tracks that would sound right at home in Broadway musicals, like the marching band-fueled funk/operatic space ballad "End of Time". Both of these directions show that in the steel cage match that is modern-day female pop music, the champion from here on out is Beyoncé.http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/06/albu...view-beyonce-4/ When Beyoncé Knowles killed off her alter-ego Sasha Fierce last year it probably didn’t carry the same import as David Bowie doing for Ziggy Stardust in 1973, but in both instances the motivating factors were the same: a signal that fresh musical ground needed to be turned. 4, then, is a bold musical statement, even if you can't escape the feeling that her label took control of the second half of the album to try and rein in the giddy adventurousness of the first half for the sake of radio play. Vocally Beyoncé is on her very best form on the single-in-waiting, "Start Over", but for all its sense of not conforming to expectations, there is a pall of self-consciousness hanging over some of the tracks here. Lock her in a room with Rick Rubin for the next one, I say. Download tracks: "I Care", "Start Over", "Countdown" Rating: 4/5http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/thetic...4299491372.html
June 24, 201114 yr I think the bonus tracks are better than most of the albums, I can't stop listening to them, they are great especially 'Schoolin' Life' and 'Lay Up Under Me' Edited June 24, 201114 yr by Davidson
June 24, 201114 yr Ooh, End Of Time is next? Great choice tbh, great catchy track and one of my faves on the album! Sadly there are no obvious hits left, after Best Thing I Never Had - EOT should do OK though. 'I Was Here' could do well I think, like 'Halo' did. I wanted that as single #3 but single #4 will do nicely.
June 26, 201113 yr http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4793/43815666.jpg Executive Producer: Beyoncé Knowles A&R: Ty Ty Smith, Teresa LaBarbera Whites Album Mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound, NYC A&R Operations: Meaghan Lyons Marketing: Scott Greer and Naima Cochrane Creative Director: Jenke-Ahmed TAILLY Creative Consultant: Melina Matsoukas Art Director: Adam Larson Photography: Ellen Von Unwerth, Greg Gex, Tony Duran Glam Team: Francesca Tolot, Kimberly Kimble, Neal Farinah, Lisa Logan Fashion Director: Ty Hunter Stylist: Raquel Smith _ _ _ _ _ ¤ 1+1 ¤ Written by Terius Nash, Christopher Stewart and Beyoncé Knowles Published by: 2082 Music Publishing (ASCAP) administered by WB Music Corp. / EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) / RZE Music Publishing administered by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP) Photography by Tony Duran Produced by Beyoncé Knowles, Terius “The-Dream” Nash for RadioKilla Nation since 1977 and C. “Tricky” Stewart for RedZone Entertainment Recorded by Pat Thrall and Brian “B- LUV” Thomas at The Studio at the Palms, Las Vegas, NV and Triangle Sound Studios in Atlanta, GA Vocals recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios, NYC Assistant Engineers: Mark Gray, Jason Sherwood, Steven Dennis and Pete Wolford Mixed by Tony Maserati for Two Chord Music, Inc at Jungle City Studios, NYC Assistant Mix Engineer: Val Brathwaite Guitars by Pete Wolford Drums by Nikki Gallespi Strings by Lee Blaske _ _ _ _ _ ¤ I CARE ¤ Written by Jeff Bhasker, Chad Hugo and Beyoncé Knowles Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC / Way Above Music (BMI) / Universal Music - Careers / Raynchaser Music (BMI) / EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) Photography by Greg Gex Produced by Jeff Bhasker Co-Produced by Beyoncé Knowles Recorded by Mitch Kenny and Jeff Bhasker at Record Plant and Enormous Studios, LA Vocals recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios, NYC Assistant Engineer: Ryan Kelly Mixed by: Jordan" DJ Swivel" Young at KMA Studios NYC. Assisted by: Serge Nudel Drums by Nikki Gallespi Baritone by Drew Sayers Rhythm guitar by Chad Hugo Background vocals by Billy Kraven Keyboards, Guitar solo and drum programming by Jeff Bhasker _ _ _ _ _ ¤ I MISS YOU ¤ Written by Frank Ocean, Shea Taylor and Beyoncé Knowles Published by Heavens Research (BMI) / Bug Music (BMI) administered by Bug / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing (ASCAP) / EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Shea Taylor Recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios, NYC Assistant Engineer: Gloria Kaba Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford _ _ _ _ _ ¤ BEST THING I NEVER HAD ¤ Written by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio Dixon, Patrick "j.Que" Smith, Beyoncé Knowles, Shea Taylor, Larry Griffin, Jr. and Caleb McCampbell Published by Faze 2 Music administered by Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI) / Muzik / EMI April Music Publishing (ASCAP) / EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) o/b/o itself and / B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) / Christopher Matthew Music / Hitco Music Publishing (BMI) / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing (ASCAP) / Roc Nation Music o/b/o Vohndee's Soul Publishing administered by / EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth Produced by Beyoncé Knowles, Babyface, Antonio Dixon, Shea Taylor and S1 & Caleb for Soul Kontrollaz Productions, Inc. / Very Good Beats, Inc. Recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios & KMA Studios, NYC Assistant Engineers: Pete Wolford, Serge Nudel & Gloria Kaba Mixed by Tony Maserati for Two Chord Music, Inc Assistant Mix Engineer: Val Brathwaite Mixed at Jungle City Studios, NYC Guitar by Rob Suchecki _ _ _ _ _ ¤ PARTY [featuring André 3000] ¤ Written by K. West, Jeff Bhasker, Beyoncé Knowles, André 3000, Dexter R. Mills, Douglas Davis and Ricky Walters. Published by Please Gimme My Publishing, Inc. (BMI) / EMI Blackwood / Way Above Music (BMI) / Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI) / EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) / Chrysalis Music / WEDONTPLAYEVENWHENWEREPLAYINSONGS (ASCAP) / Get Ya Frog On Publishing (BMI) / JTC Atlantic Pacific Partners (BMI) / Slick Rick Music Corp. (BMI) Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Kanye West Co-Produced by Jeff Bhasker Recorded by Andrew Dawson at Avex Honolulu Studios - Honolulu, HI Vocals recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at KMA Studios & Roc The Mic, NYC Assistant Engineers: Gaylord Holomalia, Christian Mochizuki, Serge Nudel & Edwin Delahoz André 3000's rap verse recorded at SlumDrum at Strong Mountain Studio Stone Mountain, GA 30087 Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford Background vocals by Kanye West and Consequence "The Superpower Horns": Cole Kamen-Green (trumpet), Josiah Woodson (trumpet), Nick Videen (tenor and alto saxophone), Drew Sayers (tenor and baritone saxophone), Alex Asher (trombone), Morgan Price (tenor and baritone saxophone) This track contains a sample of the recording “La Di Da Di” performed by Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew. Written by D. Davis and R. Walters, published by JTC Atlantic Pacific Partners (BMI)/Slick Rick Music Corp. (BMI). Courtesy of Danya Records Ltd. Kanye West appears courtesy of Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC / Island Def Jam André 3000 appears courtesy of LaFace Records. _ _ _ _ _ ¤ RATHER DIE YOUNG ¤ Written by Jeff Bhasker, Luke Steele and Beyoncé Knowles Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI) / Way Above Music (BMI) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing / EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) Photography by Tony Duran Produced by Jeff Bhasker Co-Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Luke Steele Recorded by Jeff Bhasker at Enormous Studios, LA Vocals recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios and KMA Studios, NYC Assistant Engineers: Pete Wolford , Ryan Kelly and Serge Nudel Mixed by Tony Maserati for Two Chord Music, Inc Assistant Engineer: Justin Hergett and Jon Castelli Mixed at RMC Studio, Los Angeles "The Superpower Horns": Cole Kamen-Green (trumpet), Josiah Woodson (trumpet), Nick Videen (tenor and alto saxophone), Drew Sayers (tenor and baritone saxophone), Alex Asher (trombone) Horns arranged by: Shea Taylor Guitar by Luke Steele Background Vocals by Luke Steele and Billy Kraven Keyboards and Drum programming by Jeff Bhasker _ _ _ _ _ ¤ START OVER ¤ Written by Shea Taylor, Beyoncé Knowles and E. Dean Published by DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing (ASCAP) / EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) Peermusic III, Ltd. / 2412 LLC / Dat Damn Dean Music (ASCAP) administered by Peermusic III, Ltd. Photography by Tony Duran Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Shea Taylor Recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios and Jungle City Studios, NYC Assistant Engineer: Pete Wolford and Ramon Rivas Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford _ _ _ _ _ ¤ LOVE ON TOP ¤ Written by Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash and Shea Taylor Published by EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) and 2082 Music Publishing (ASCAP) administered by WB Music Corp. / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing (ASCAP) Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Shea Taylor Recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios, NYC Assistant Engineer: Pete Wolford Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford "The Superpower Horns": Cole Kamen-Green (trumpet), Josiah Woodson (trumpet), Nick Videen (tenor and alto saxophone), Drew Sayers (tenor and baritone saxophone), Alex Asher (trombone) Alto Saxophone by Shea Taylor Guitars by Robert "R.T." Taylor and Pat Thrall Drums by Nikki Gallespi _ _ _ _ _ ¤ COUNTDOWN ¤ Written by Terius Nash, Shea Taylor, Beyoncé Knowles, E. Dean, Cainon Lamb, Julie Frost, Michael Bivins, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris Published by 2082 Music Publishing (ASCAP) administered by WB Music Corp. / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing (ASCAP) / EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) and Cainon's Land Music Publishing (ASCAP) and Totally Famous Music (ASCAP) / Peermusic III, Ltd. / 2412 LLC / Dat Damn Dean Music (ASCAP) administered by Peermusic III, Ltd. / Universal Music Corp. o/b/o itself and Biv Ten Publishing (ASCAP) / Mike Ten Publishing Inc. (BMI) Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Shea Taylor Co-Produced by Lamb for Lamtrak Productions Inc. Recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios, NYC Assistant Engineers: Pete Wolford and Ryan Kelly Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford "The Superpower Horns": Cole Kamen-Green (trumpet), Josiah Woodson (trumpet), Nick Videen (tenor and alto saxophone), Drew Sayers (tenor and baritone saxophone), Alex Asher (trombone) This track contains a sample of the recording “Uhh Ahh” as performed by Boys II Men. Written by M. Bivins, N. Morris and W. Morris, published by Universal Music Corp. o/b/o itself and Biv Ten Publishing (ASCAP)/Mike Ten Publishing Inc. (BMI). Courtesy of Motown Records, under license from Universal Music Enterprises. Used by permission. All rights reserved. _ _ _ _ _ ¤ END OF TIME ¤ Written by Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash, Shea Taylor, David Taylor and Wesley Pentz Published by EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) and Switch Werd Music (ASCAP) / 2082 Music Publishing (ASCAP) administered by WB Music Corp. / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing (ASCAP) Photography by Ellen Von Unwerth Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Terius “The-Dream” Nash for RadioKilla Nation since 1977 Additional Production by Switch and Diplo Recorded by Pat Thrall at MSR Studios, NYC Vocals recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young at MSR Studios, NYC Assistant Engineers: Chris Soper and Pete Wolford Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford "The Superpower Horns": Cole Kamen-Green (trumpet), Josiah Woodson (trumpet), Nick Videen (tenor and alto saxophone), Drew Sayers (tenor and baritone saxophone), Alex Asher (trombone), Johnny Butler (tenor saxophone) Bass Guitar by Jack Daley _ _ _ _ _ ¤ I WAS HERE ¤ Written by Diane Warren Published by Realsongs (ASCAP) Photography by Greg Gex Produced by Ryan Tedder and Brent Kutzle for Patriot Entertainment, LLC Vocal Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Kuk Harrell Recorded by Ryan Tedder and Brent Kutzle at Patriot Studios (Denver, CO), Boston Harbor Hotel (Boston, MA) and Lear 60/G2 Studios Vocals recorded by Kuk Harrell at Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA Assistant Engineers: Smith Carlson, Eric Aylands and Jon Sher Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford Drums by Ryan Tedder Cello and Guitar by Brent Kutzle Piano & All Additional Programming by Ryan Tedder and Brent Kutzle Background vocals by Beyoncé Knowles and Ryan Tedder _ _ _ _ _ ¤ RUN THE WORLD [GIRLS] ¤ Written by Terius Nash, Beyoncé Knowles, Wesley Pentz, David Taylor, Adidja Palmer and Nick van de Wall Published by 2082 Music Publishing (ASCAP) administered by WB Music Corp. / EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and B-Day Publishing (ASCAP) and Switch Werd Music (ASCAP) / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing o/b/o / I Like Turtles (ASCAP) / Music By Tafari, Inc. (BMI) o/b/o Jack Russell Music / The Royalty Network, Inc. o/b/o Talpa Music c/o Tenyor Music (BMI) Photography by Greg Gex Produced by Switch and Terius “The-Dream” Nash for RadioKilla Nation since 1977 Co-Produced by Beyoncé Knowles and Shea Taylor Recorded by Jordan “DJ Swivel” Young and Pat Thrall at MSR Studios, New York, NY Assistant Engineer: Pete Wolford Mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, VA Engineer for Mix: John Hanes Assistant Mix Engineer: Phil Seaford This track contains a sample of the recording "Pon De Floor," as performed by Major Lazer. Written by Nick van de Wall, Adidja Palmer, Wesley Pentz, and David Taylor. Published by EMI April Music Inc. o/b/o itself and Switch Werd Music (ASCAP) / DLJ Songs / Downtown Music Publishing obo I Like Turtles Music (ASCAP) / Music By Tafari, Inc. (BMI) o/b/o Jack Russell Music Ltd. (PRS) / Tenyor Music (BMI). Courtesy of Downtown Records, LLC and Interscope Records, under license from Universal Music Enterprises. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
June 26, 201113 yr Author For some reason I did buy the album Friday. I was expecting the worst..but it's quite ok at first listens! Even Girls is growing on me after hating it the last couple of weeks :o 7/10 atm! And...love the photo's inside the booklet :heart:
June 26, 201113 yr I have decided this is nowhere near as bad and disappointing as I orginally thought. I have also found a new found love for 'Start Over' and 'Love On Top'. I am still not keen on 'I Miss You', 'Party', 'Rather Die Young' and 'Run The World' though, which are all 6/10's apart from 'I Miss You' which is only a 5.
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