Dangerously In Love - A Stunning Album From The Naughty Girl That Could
Written: Jul 06 '03 (Updated Jul 06 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Stunning voice, excellent production, pretty much everything really
Cons: For the first time ever I wish that Missy Elliot would just back off
The Bottom Line: If you want a soulful, beautiful album by one of the most talented artists out there, buy Beyonce's Dangerously In Love
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| Cartman_2k's Full Review: Dangerously In Love - Beyonce Movies |
Okay, so here we are three years after Destiny’s Child released their last album real album, Survivor (who cares about This Is The Remix, anyway?), and the other two members of Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams have already released their solo efforts. When I heard that Beyonce Knowles was releasing a solo album I had mixed feelings. I love Beyonce and all, but one of the things that was good on Survivor was that whenever Beyonce started flaunting too much, Kelly would always be the counterpart. I was afraid that this album would be used to show off how talented Beyonce is instead of focusing on the songs as well. Was I ever in for a shock after listening to the album!
A Closer Look At The Album By A Girl Which Is Dangerously In Love
Crazy In Love is definitely a grower. The first times I heard it (and quite a few of my friends as well) I thought it was really weird, and it lacked a good beat and a catchy chorus. After listening to it a couple of times you’ll end up loving it, appreciating it for Beyonce’s great voice and the fact that the song in its entirety is one of the best songs this summer.
Naughty Girl and Baby Boy are two excellent songs. Naughty Girl features a sample from the Donna Summer song Love To Love You Baby, which works out quite nice. Beyonce sings in a higher pitch than she does on the other songs; it sounds wonderful and just proves that Beyonce has a more versatile voice than the most of us. Baby Boy features Sean Paul. Even though I really can’t stand Sean Paul and Get Busy has to be one of the most annoying songs this year, everything that didn’t work on that song works out really great on Baby Boy. With its Asian influences, a tight minimalistic production and Beyonce’s voice prevents the song from being monotone (like Get Busy was.)
Hip Hop Star features Big Boi from Outkast and Sleepy Brown. It could have been a great song if it had a different and more melodic production. With the production it has here the sound is choppy and Beyonce’s voice sounds strained.
Be With You is a sweet midtempo song which basically sounds like a slower version of the Sugababes song Freak Like Me. The song itself is pretty alright, but Beyonce’s talent helps making the song better than it would have been if it had been sung by anyone else.
Me Myself And I is a mellow, laidback song where Beyonce sounds just as sexy as the production. The real gem here are the lyrics; with an excellent message to all young women who have been hurt by their men; be your own best friend and don’t depend on anyone else than yourself.
Signs featuring Missy Elliot has to be one of the worst songs Missy has ever produced! I strongly dislike this song, where Beyonce is terribly grating as she rants on about astrology and an awful production.
Speechless is an extremely erotic ballad with incredibly sexy music and Beyonce sounding hotter and better than she does on all the other songs. It’s one of those songs that you need to hear for yourself, and I’m pretty sure that you’ll be left Speechless.
The Closer I Get To You is a nice ballad featuring Luther Vandross. Both Beyonce and Luther sound fantastic, and the lyrics are sensual and sweet. I like every aspect of the song except for the production; it sounds like it was made in the late 90’s and a different production would probably make Beyonce and Luther shine even more than they already do.
Dangerously In Love 2 is basically the exact same as the version on the Destiny’s Child album Survivor. The only difference is that this version has some piano as well and features only Beyonce’s vocals. It’s not better than the DC version, but it’s not worse either; both versions are equally outstanding and perfect with some of the most mature and beautiful lyrics I’ve heard in years.
You are my raindrops
I am the seed
With you and God who's my sunlight I'm blooming, grown so beautifully
Baby I'm so proud
proud to be your girl
You make the confusion go all away from this cold and misty world
The three bonus tracks are Work It Out, 03 Bonnie & Clyde and Daddy. Work It Out from the Austin Powers OST and is an excellent and very funky track featuring wonderful production and awesome instrumentation. 03 Bonnie & Clyde is wonderful, even though the Jay-Z parts are too long and I would have wanted to hear more of Beyonce. Daddy is an ode to Beyonce’s father which doesn’t sound too bad even though it drags on for too long.
Track Listing
Crazy In Love (Feat. Jay-Z) (*****)
Naughty Girl (****½)
Baby Boy (Feat. Sean Paul) (****)
Hip Hop Star (Feat. Big Boi & Sleepy Brown) (***)
Be With You (****)
Me, Myself And I (****)
Yes (****)
Signs (Feat. Missy Elliot) (*)
Speechless (*****)
That’s How You Like It (Feat. Jay-Z) (**½)
The Closer I Get To You (Feat. Luther Vandross) (****)
Dangerously In Love 2 (*****)
Beyonce Interlude
Gift From Virgo (****)
Work It Out (Bonus Track) (****½)
03 Bonnie & Clyde (Bonus Track) (****)
Daddy (****)
Yes, You Naughty Girl, That’s How I Like It, You Left Me Speechless
I have to admit that after listening to this album for the first time I was left speechless. The album sounds totally different than what I would have expected from the girl, and I am also tremendously happy that she didn’t flaunt her voice too much. Dangerously In Love is filled with a lot of soul ballads inspired by the 70’s. Beyonce Knowles is truly a talented (and one of the hottest chicks I've ever seen) aspiring singer which I am sure we’ll be hearing a lot more from; and if her next efforts are as good as Dangerously In Love she’ll be around for years to come.
4 stars
Thanks for reading!
~Kent
Recommended:
Yes
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Cartman_2k
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