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Music Review:
Dangerously In Love, Beyoncé
DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE
1. Crazy In Love (feat. Jay-Z)
2. Naughty Girl
3. Baby Boy (feat. Sean Paul)
4. Hip Hop Star (feat. Big Boi and Sleepy Brown)
5. Be With You
6. Me, Myself And I
7. Yes
8. Signs (feat. Missy Elliott)
9. Speechless
10. That's How You Like It (feat. Jay-Z)
11. The Closer I Get To You (with Luther Vandross)
12. Dangerously In Love 2
13. Beyoncé Interlude
14. Gift From Virgo
There are two things that Ms. Knowles wants you to know:
1. She's in love
2. And, most importantly, she's not the innocent girl next door; she's a sexy lady and she's not afraid to flaunt it.Girl, I ain't mad at ya. Handle yours.
I have been waiting for this CD to drop for the longest time. No, I'm not the biggest Beyoncé fan, but I've heard so much information surrounding her latest endeavor, I was curious to see if she would deliver.
To be honest, I really didn't have high expectations for this CD. Beyoncé can sing, but sometimes her voice lacks the range that most powerhouse R&B singers have. Well, looks like babygirl done showed me!! She challenged herself on this album and managed to pull off a deep smoldering voice, a full-bodied voice, and she also succeeds at singing in a breathy, sexy tone.
The first release, Crazy in Love, opens this CD, which is perfect. It is seriously one of the best songs on the album. I like the up tempo old skool flava with the horns, and I like that it flows into the new skool with the help of her man, Jay-Z (stop playin' Beyoncé, we know you love you some Jay-Z!).
This is such a make out CD. It is filled with songs about love and sex; wanting it and getting it. *You can definitely use this CD as the background music for your romantic escapades.
Beyoncé does a duet with the only man that can work a slow jam, Luther Vandross. The Closer I Get To You is a remake, but it's sooo good. Luther works his skills on this track. Beyoncé's voice works well with him, but we already know that he can do no wrong.
As stated to before, Beyoncé uses this CD to assert her new independent self. She displays her freakier, kinkier side on the song, Naughty Girl. I can't help but like this song because of the infectious, hypnotic chorus and the sexy 70's vibe. I know for sure some stripper will use this song in her act.
However, it is in the sultry song, Speechless, that she truly shows us how in love (or horny) she really is. She sings so softly on this song it practically sounds like she is whispering the words in her man's ear. It is so sensuous and beautiful, it is one of those songs that you would want to share with the person that you love.
Like most CDs out now, Sean Paul must be featured on at least one track. On Baby Boy, he lends his sexy patois and gives the song some added appeal.
After a few listens to the CD, I started to like it more and more. I am definitely feelin' the crazy ass song Hip Hop Star featuring Big Boi and Sleepy Brown. I wish I could describe how cool this song is. It is a blend of rock, hip-hop and R&B, but to me, it's a rock song. It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard lately. I have no idea if this would make it to the top ten, but I would totally vote for it on any countdown.
There were only a few songs that I had to skip. Signs featuring Missy reminds me of that Tyrese track, "Signs of Love Makin'." It's okay, but somewhat annoying. She actually names all the astrological signs in the chorus. I don't know if it is ambitious or foolish.
The title track, Dangerously in Love 2, is not a good song. I felt the same way even when I heard it for the first time two years ago on the Destiny's Child album. (On this CD it's just Beyoncé's vocals - sans Michelle and Kelly).
The CD is otherwise packed with radio friendly songs, which isn't exactly a bad thing. Just about every song can be released. I know she will release That's How You Like It featuring Jay-Z. Even though she has collaborated with him already, I think that it would be a smart move to release it (maybe after this summer - I'm still diggin' "Crazy in Love"). Its bouncy, fun quality has commercial success written all over it.
All in all, this CD is worth adding to your growing CD collection. Beyoncé is showing us that she is maturing as an artist and as a female. She's taken some risks with her voice and it works. She's in love, dammit, and this CD is a celebration of it. ¤ Michelle
DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE:
(out of 5)
