| |
Celeb News: '4' Review Thread (74 on Metacritic)
Member Since: 8/2/2010
Posts: 517
|
Where does the score stand at now? hopefully over 70?
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 3/30/2011
Posts: 6,553
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Sweet Dreams
Where does the score stand at now? hopefully over 70?
|
69 with 14 reviews in.
9 positive.
5 mixed.
0 negative 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/23/2010
Posts: 16,089
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Ace Reject
Any person who thinks Run The World is the strongest song on this album ... lacks a fundamental understanding/appreciation of who Beyoncé Knowles is as a pop star/artist/performer.
That review is analogous to the Tiny Mix Tapes one of Born This Way. They just don't get it.
|
Quote:
Originally posted by DG1
PITCH FORK - Beyoncé "4" Album Review
One of the year's best music videos was directed by Jay-Z and cost about zero dollars to make. The camera phone clip shows Beyoncé rehearsing her new album's opening eternal-love ballad, "1+1", backstage at "American Idol". There she is: eyes shut, standing in front of a mirror, singing her guts out while family and friends look on in quiet awe. The video has a similar impromptu charm to the many intimate, one-shot performance clips popularized by Vincent Moon's "Take Away Show", its appeal compounded by the shock of seeing such a notoriously manicured superstar without embellishment. "Help me let down my guard," she belts. And, as Beyoncé finishes the song, you hear her proud husband let out a joyous "woo!" It's all quite endearing and personal-- two words one might not often associate with this superhumanly talented and famous couple. "Sometimes you need perspective," wrote Jay in an intro to the video on his Life + Times website. "You've been right in front of greatness so often that you need to step back and see it again for the first time."
It's a fitting sentiment and song to introduce 4, which largely deals with monogamy and all that comes with committing to one person for a potential lifetime. Which, like a bad marriage, might sound boring, repetitive, staid. But, in Beyoncé's more-than-capable and still-in-love hands, a relationship that lasts can seem as complicated and rewarding as anyone would hope. "If I ain't got something, I don't give a damn/ 'Cause I got it with you," she testifies on "1+1"-- potentially dubious words from a woman who certainly has "something," but her mainlined vocals quickly dismiss mere logistics. The song boasts some of her finest-ever singing laid over a bed of warm and flowing synths, strings, and bass that manages to connect the dots between Sam Cooke and Prince without sacrificing any Beyoncé-ness. "1+1" is that rare wonder: a wedding song that pleases but doesn't pander.
The only recent pop ballad that comes close to its power is Adele's stunning "Someone Like You". But where that song-- and its massively successful corresponding album, 21-- wrung out the aftermath of young heartbreak, Beyoncé is aiming for something a bit more challenging with 4: love the one you're with, and have some fun doing it, too. The album's relative riskiness extends to its music, which side-steps Top 40 radio's current Eurobeat fixation for a refreshingly eclectic mix of early-90s R&B, 80s lite soul, and brass'n'percussion-heavy marching music. All of the album's best elements, thematically and sonically, burst ahead on Jay-Z ode "Countdown", a honking, stutter-step sequel of sorts to "Crazy in Love". The new track makes 10 years of loyalty seem just as thrilling as the first time, with Beyoncé offering her partner copious praise in that famed half-rap cadence: "Still love the way he talks/ Still love the way I sing/ Still love the way he rock them black diamonds in that chain."
The album's carefree retro sensibility pops up on three more highlights, including the Kanye West-assisted "Party", which combines a pitch-perfect André 3000 guest verse, a Slick Rick sample, bubbly 80s keyboard tones, and 90s girl-group harmonies. The track has Beyoncé infatuated once again while its mid-tempo bounce provides prime summer barbecue background. "Love on Top" lilts like a lost Reagan-era smash, its light-as-air bop recalling Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder at their sunniest. And "End of Time" is perhaps 4's most strident declaration of co-dependence; sounding like En Vogue remixed by a high school pep band, the song has Beyoncé finding the strength in two as she sings, "I just wanna be with you/ I just wanna live for you/ I'd never let you go!" That track-- along with most of 4's stand outs-- was co-written and co-produced by the star's other invaluable partner, Terius "The-Dream" Nash.
The pair first combined forces on super hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", but their collaborative relationship fully blooms on this album's ramped-up back half, including the bombastic, Major Lazer-sampling empowerment tract "Run the World (Girls)". As a songwriter, The-Dream has a way of drawing out a side of Beyoncé that's both more personal and brash, and, as seen on his several brilliant solo albums, his production style routinely references past greats while standing in the now. Tellingly, without his help the album stumbles, as on the overblown "I Was Here", a faceless, theoretically-inspirational slog written by veteran schlockmeister Diane Warren. (Unsurprisingly, "I Was Here" is the only cut on the record that wasn't co-written by Beyoncé herself, too.) Elsewhere, Babyface spearheads the decent "Irreplaceable" retread "Best Thing I Never Had", which probably wouldn't sound out-of-place on a Vanessa Carlton album, and Sleepy Jackson/Empire of the Sun leader Luke Steele worked on the ungainly "Rather Die Young", which ruins its Philly soul vibe with a theatrical Broadway glaze. (Steele also contributed an awful hook on Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 trash-can bait "What We Talkin' About"-- can we get him away from this couple, please?)
Ironically, 4's deluxe edition comes with three bonus songs that would easily count among the proper album's finest moments. Chiefly, The-Dream co-written/produced "Schoolin' Life" is an irresistible Prince tribute that's much more motivational than "I Was Here" could ever be: "Who needs a degree when you're schoolin' life?" struts Beyoncé. The singer has said she recorded more than 60 songs while making 4, and some of the wrong-headed inclusions are lazy attempts at re-creating her past hits. But they are few. And the lion's share of the album-- along with its excellent deluxe tracks-- has one of the world's biggest stars exploring her talent in ways few could've predicted, which is always exciting. After 2008's I Am... Sasha Fierce, which saw Beyoncé catching up to trends when she wasn't trying Streisand-wannabe ballads, 4 is more akin to her wily sophomore solo album, B'Day. But where that record was preoccupied with the club, 4 is happy at home; on Off the Wall-style bonus track "Lay Up Under Me", the contented 29-year-old gushes, "You ain't gotta worry 'bout a club, just come on lay up under me tonight." If anyone can make a quiet Friday night come off like an open-bar blowout, it's Beyoncé.
RATING: 8/10
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15585-4/
— Ryan Dombal, June 28, 2011
|
 Now that's what I'm talking about!!! They know it, I love seeing these kind of reviews where 1+1 is indeed outed as the best thing on the album and pure perfection.
Quote:
Originally posted by satellites™
They gave her last album a 5.2  |
Which it deserved. Don't get me wrong, it's not just because the album doesn't do it for me, it was just not up to bey's other records. IMO of course.
Ace may aswell be a prophet.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/28/2009
Posts: 26,465
|
Quote:
Originally posted by BnPac
|
or an employee 
|
|
|
|
ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
|
Told ya.
And thanks for that Geezy. You never know. 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/22/2009
Posts: 50,646
|
1+1 is cute, but it's not the best. 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
THE ONION (A.V. CLUB) - Beyoncé "4" Album Review
By Genevieve Koski June 28, 2011
The lead-off single “Run The World (Girls)” is an odd harbinger of Beyoncé’s literal-titled fourth album, 4; not because its skittering, Major Lazer-sampling beat has proved much less radio-friendly than what the reliably radio-friendly artist is known for, but because it’s a sparse, futuristic, aggressive oddball of a song from an album full of lush, emotional throwbacks. But even though “Run The World (Girls)” sticks out sonically, it fits within 4’s overall milieu, which sees Beyoncé exploring the more remote corners of her comfort zone, dipping toes into early-’90s R&B, rock balladry, classic soul, and even world music. With the exception of the strutting dance track “Countdown,” which could easily slot in on any of her previous albums, the songs on 4 display Knowles’ desire to expand beyond the boundaries of her established pop-friendly persona, albeit in a safe, pop-friendly way.
A diva of the first order, Beyoncé sells whatever she’s singing, and 4 sees her stretching out vocally, particularly on the heart-rending “I Care.” She’s a skilled chameleon who can whiplash from portrayals of epic neediness (“Rather Die Young”) to empowered kiss-offs (“Best Thing I Never Had”) to late-night randiness (“Party,” which also finds guest Kanye West coining the unfortunate term “swagu”). She brings conviction to even the most tortured and banal love-and-heartbreak lyrics—of which there are many, courtesy of a litany of co-writers. Among them: Diane Warren, contributing the uncomfortably overwrought “I Was Here.”
The hired-gun production, on the other hand, is solid-to-great throughout, and while the mostly mid-tempo album lacks any first-listen earworms, with the possible exception of the delightfully breezy retro-soul number “Love On Top,” 4’s skilled deployment of horns, unexpected synths, tribal drumming, and arena-rock piano and guitar becomes more appealing—or in some cases, more cloying—on repeat listens. Beyoncé’s artistic maturation on 4 features some growing pains, but the album’s polish and her poise go a long way toward masking those flaws.
RATING: B-
http://www.avclub.com/articles/beyonce-4,58148/
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/27/2007
Posts: 7,915
|
How do you convert B- to 67/100? :-/
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 6/1/2010
Posts: 65,177
|
Thanks DG1, for the links and articles.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/7/2006
Posts: 7,761
|
It's weird pitchfork didn't give the "Best New Album" score since it is already 8
I guess sometimes they get great scores but no best album title
it has happened to some of my faves too 
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 5/7/2009
Posts: 53,753
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES - Beyoncé "4" Album Review
Beyoncé Knowles isn’t worried chasing fads, though she’s well aware of them. Over the years, she’s learned how to harness them so effortlessly that they seem like her ideas. Take the standout track on her new album, “4,” “I Miss You,” a slow-burn jam of desire co-written by Odd Future-affiliated crooner Frank Ocean. In its beginning moments, the song draws on the sparse wave of recent music by British band the xx by using silence as a weapon, a notion that extends across the 12-song album.
At its best, “4” pushes at the edges of pop, but unlike on her best songs, “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” she does this more with seduction than sauciness. The first four tracks are ballads, each of a different variety, and each striking in its own way. “Best Thing I Never Had” sends drum rolls through an echo chamber in a defiant track destined to offer solace in heartbroken bedrooms around the world. Even “Party,” co-written by Kanye West and featuring Andre 3000 of Outkast, is a slow-paced number that sounds like a half-speed remix of a Human League song.
The second half of the record, however, picks up, and upends the silent contemplation with the kind of dance floor fury the Queen of R&B does best. Taken together, “4” is a surprising, confident turn, even if the surprises are of a subtler variety.
— Randall Roberts
RATING: 3/4 STARS
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/musi...eyonces-4.html
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Kisuke
|
That's not really CNN's review, but they just posted Entertainment Weekly;s review.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 8/23/2010
Posts: 16,089
|
Was this posted?
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...w_album_4.html
Quote:
Beyoncé, woman warrior, finally lays down her sword on her new CD.
For her fourth solo work, assigned the informational title "4," a singer long obsessed with self-empowerment finally lets herself play pining wretch or devoted lover far more often than her usual role of answer-back queen or preening pinup.
She fleshes out the role not only in the CD's lyrics but in its pace, which mainly slackens into ballads.
The de-escalation of the Beyoncé Liberation Front didn't come out of nowhere. Despite the declarative, drag-queeny title of her last CD, "I Am Sasha Fierce," that disk made key breaks with its predecessors. It worked in softer sentiments and more fluid melodies, breaking up what had been a nearly nonstop run of militaristic beats and heavily defended lyrics.
It's no surprise Beyoncé would choose to play that part for so long. Starting with Destiny's Child, she virtually defined the sound and style of modern women in R&B. She was confident to the point of being almost anti-*romantic, and sonically hard enough to stand up to the he-men of hip hop.
Now, however, with hip hop far less prevalent on the pop singles charts, there's no longer such incentive to play tough. Also, there's an inevitable desire by a star this talented to mature.
In some ways, she has done so masterfully: "4" extends the most emotional parts of "Sasha Fierce," with the role model for many songs being that CD's "If I Were a Boy."
Like "Boy," "4" takes its cues from classic pop, running roughshod over any remaining hints of R&B. There's just one exception: the very off-message single, "Run the World (Girls)."
Like Alicia Keys' latest work, Beyoncé's "4" falls hard for pop of the '80s, with no end of allusions to Phil Collins (ick) and period corporate rock (ack!).
"I Miss You" contrasts a soft bed of synths and heavily echoed drums, à la such Collins' songs as "In the Air Tonight." In "I Care," Beyoncé's vocal mimics a guitar solo that could have spun off a Journey hit.
Luckily, the melodies of the ballads often redeem their quasi-cheeseball arrangements - enough, in fact, to earn the massive airplay they're likely to inspire. "Best Thing I Never Had" boasts a soaring tune and a clever lyric about dodging the bullet of bad love. "Rather Die Young," like many cuts, has a choir of Beyoncés that recall the harmonies of the Emotions.
Not every song shifts to a down, or mid-, tempo. "Countdown" has the percussive horns of old, while - stand warned - "Party" will surely be a top-down anthem for months to come. Otherwise, Beyoncé seems to have conceived "4" as a bid for Celine Dion territory, with a dewy Diane Warren *ballad to prove it.
Of course, there's a taste issue involved in that, one which inevitably limits Beyoncé's claim on greatness. Yet, there's no denying the growing brilliance of her vocals. They're muscular, but not insensitive. Powerful, but - at last - no longer power-mad.
Rating: 4/5
So LA and CNN both gave her 75.
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 12/5/2009
Posts: 9,974
|
Quote:
Originally posted by Linnen Armani
How do you convert B- to 67/100? :-/
|
B+ = 83/100
B = 75/100
B- = 67/100
|
|
|
|
ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
|
Damn, Jim Farber is one tough ass critic who mostly hates all melisma-led divas. (Read one of his Mariah reviews, and you've read them all!)
Good job Bey!
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
Billboard Magazine:
Beyoncé, "4"
June 24, 2011
By Gary Graff
Ironically, it's songwriter Diane Warren and not Beyoncé herself who defines the diva's fourth album, "4," with a line like, "I want to leave my footprints on the sands of time." Less flashy but just as ambitious as 2008's "I Am . . . Sasha Fierce," the new set finds Beyoncé in genre-blending, career statement mode, weaving together mostly pop and R&B flavors in these dozen tracks. The album is quieter and torchier than its predecessors, with the singer delivering uniformly stellar vocal performances. Rich but not over-sung, she ruminates on love ("1+1"), lost love ("Best Thing I Never Had") and the gray areas in between ("I Care," "I Miss You," "Start Over"). Messy arrangements trip up "Party" (with André 3000 and Kanye West) and the Boyz II Men-sampling "Countdown." But the track "Love on Top" is a buoyant slice of girl-group pop and "Run the World (Girls)" is the expected shout-out to the independent women who may or may not have put a ring on it since Ms. Fierce last reared her head.
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/magazine/album-reviews
---
I'm not sure if this the full review. You need subscription to see the review, but someone on BWB posted this. So another positive review
|
|
|
|
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
|
Quote:
Originally posted by BnPac
So LA and CNN both gave her 75.
|
CNN just posted Entertainment Weekly's Review...
|
|
|
|
|
|
