FEATURE:
Vinyl Corner
Beyoncé - B'Day
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THIS is one of these recommendations…
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Evan Agostini
where one might have to pay a little more than expected for the vinyl copy. I am focusing on Beyoncé’s 2006 album, B’Day - which I would urge one to buy on vinyl -, as it is a fantastic album. I have featured the albums of Beyoncé a bit on the site (I focused on 4 for Second Spin earlier in the year). B’Day is Beyoncé’s second solo album, and it followed the stunning Dangerously in Love (2003). I think B’Day is an underrated album that contains some of Beyoncé’s best tracks. In 2002, she had productive studio sessions while making her debut album where she recorded up to forty-five songs. After the release of Dangerously in Love in 2003, Beyoncé had planned to produce a follow-up album using several of the leftover tracks. In 2004, Columbia Records announced that Beyoncé had put her plans on hold in order to concentrate on the recording of Destiny Fulfilled, the final studio album by Destiny's Child. Beyoncé also landed the lead role in Dreamgirls. Wanting to focus on one thing at a time, where was this three-year gap between albums, but I think that acting role and finishing with Destiny’s Child gave her new impetus and inspiration for her second studio album. Dangerously in Love showed that Beyoncé could stand as a solo artist and successfully transition from Destiny’s Child. After the big reviews for her debut, there was a bit of pressure to equal the weight of that album on B’Day.
With songs like Déjà Vu (ft. JAY-Z), Ring the Alarm, and Green Light, Beyoncé was delivering these incredible confident songs that could appeal to fans of her Destiny’s Child work and everyone else! B’Day is such a varied and interesting album that anyone can pick it up and get something from it. There are a couple of more delicate moments on the album, but the emphasis on B’Day seems to be energy and independence. I think Beyoncé would explore more emotional depth on later albums, but that was something that split critics; some feeling her ballads were her weakest point, whilst others welcomed a bit more maturity and growth. I think Beyoncé really hit a new high on B’Day; it is an album that turned her from this R&B star into a worldwide megastar who was ruling the world! There are some mixed reviews for the album but, before I bring in a couple of more positive ones, it is worth noting that B’Day debuted at number-one on the US Billboard 200 - selling over 541,000 copies in its first week of sales; scoring the second-highest debut-week sales for Beyoncé. It is clear that her role in Dreamgirls inspired songs about feminism and empowerment, and there is also a great array of different genres and styles utilised throughout B’Day – from Funk and Hip-Hop to Soul and R&B. I do really like the blend of sounds and how everything mixes together really well. B’Day has one or two songs that are not to the high standard of the rest, but that never detracts from the quality and consistency of the album.
I want to highlight a couple of reviews to show how critics perceive the album. There was some mixed reaction, where some felt that Beyoncé was not hitting her true heights or the songs were not as classic and instant as what we heard with Destiny’s Child. I think B’Day is a great album that is among her very finest work. Arguably, she found her true voice on later albums such as Beyoncé (2013), and Lemonade (2016) - but B’Day is a solid and appealing album that should be picked up on vinyl. In their review, this is what AllMusic had to say:
“While Beyoncé does sound like she's in a bit of a hurry throughout the album, and there are no songs with the smooth elegance of "Me, Myself and I" or "Be with You," it is lean in a beneficial way, propelled by just as many highlights as the overlong Dangerously in Love. Two collaborations with Rich Harrison swagger and preen: "Been locked up in the house way too long/It's time to get it, 'cause once again he's out doing wrong" (the blaring/marching "Freakum Dress"); "Don't give me no lip, let mama do it all" (the spectacularly layered "Suga Mama"). The Neptunes assist on "Green Light," an ambitious, fleet-footed number that continually switches tempos and sounds, as well as "Kitty Kat," a deceptively sweet, rainbow-colored track -- where what sounds like purrs are more like claws-out dismissals -- that could've been pulled from one of the first three Kelis albums.
And even with an entirely bonkers line like "I can do for you what Martin did for the people," "Upgrade U" is the most potent track on the album, a low-slung Cameron Wallace production where Beyoncé wears and buys the pants while making her proposition sound more like empowerment than emasculation. If the circus surrounding this whole thing -- which could take up to ten pages to document -- was an elaborate ploy to transform Beyoncé into an underdog, there really is some kind of genius at play, but it's extremely unlikely that anyone in her camp could've predicted that the expectations and reactions would be less rational than any of Beyoncé's decisions and actions. There is nothing desperate or weak about this album”.
Although Pitchfork were more mixed in their reaction to B’Day, they did highlight one particular song for recommendation:
“Ironically perhaps, this switch delivers its biggest pay-off, and B'Day's best song, with the ballad-of-sorts "Irreplaceable". It's as if, having lost the Midas touch of gleaming pop perfection, Beyoncé has opened up the possibility of stumbling on brilliance by accident. "You must not know 'bout me/ I can have another you in a minute/ Matter-fact he'll be here in a minute," she boasts to a swiftly exiting lover, in a hopelessly unconvincing attempt at callous indifference. Before, Beyoncé's approach to heartbreak was always literal, her voice and her words declaiming her feelings with a studied earnestness that at times was difficult to believe, let alone connect with. "Irreplaceable" is the first song in which Beyoncé lies to herself, and the way her voice perfectly betrays that lie (revealing a giveaway tremble in the stiff upper lip of the lyrics) simultaneously renders it her most sophisticated and her most honest performance to date”.
I think B’Day is an album that has been under-appreciated, with many feelings there were too many weak moments. I think it is a hugely important step and transition from Beyoncé. She was still exploring her true potential as a solo artist, but there are fantastic glimpses of who she would become a few years later. 2006’s B’Day has more than its fair share of highlights, and it is…
WELL worth some time and attention.