Album Review: Beyoncé - I Am ... Sasha Fierce (4.5 / 5)

This decade has seen the emergence of two major pop singers--a man and a woman--who used to front pop groups. The man is Justin Timberlake, who, since departing 'NSYNC, has had two massive albums and multiple #1 hits. The woman is Beyoncé, who since stepping out from Destiny's Child has had similar international success, hitting #1 in multiple countries with songs like "Crazy in Love," "Irreplaceable" and "Beautiful Liar."

Despite these massive hits, when looking back at Beyoncé's albums, they aren't as strong as you'd think they would be. The 2003 debut, Dangerously in Love, opened with several great upbeat tracks and then quickly slumped into ballads for the rest of the album. While "Be With You" and "Me, Myself and I" were pretty decent, most of the rest were a disappointment. B'Day, by comparison, only had a couple of ballads, one of which, "Irreplaceable," was a real gem. While overall a better album than her first, its formula of beat-heavy, retro-inspired ditties was a mixed bag of great treats ("Get Me Bodied, "Deja Vu," "Green Light") and those that were too thin musically ("Upgrade U," "Ring the Alarm").

With her third album, I Am...Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé tries to further her credentials as a diverse pop artist at home on formats from edgy R&B to traditional adult contemporary. It's an ambitious two-disc set, the first a set of pop ballads and the second consisting of more upbeat R&B/pop. As such, it merges the styles of her previous two albums, and here's the good news: both manage to succeed in ways I was concerned they would not.

Let's start with the first disc. Since I was largely dissatisfied with the ballads of Dangerously in Love, the prospect of sitting through a whole disc of them was daunting. I couldn't have been more wrong though. It's refreshing to see how much Beyoncé's grown as a ballads artist as they are the best songs here. Torchy "If I Were a Boy" is a strong opener, its gentle guitar-backed verses breaking forth with its powerful choruses. It's a call to men to treat their women better through the guise of Beyoncé proclaiming that if she were a boy, she would know how to treat her woman better.

Besides "If I Were a Boy," there are lots of other highlights on the first disc. "Disappear" is a wonderfully understated song, one of several that show Beyoncé understands (unlike some of her peers) that a ballad doesn't have to be belted out at full force to be an effective song. "Broken-Hearted Girl" sounds as obviously destined for radio as "...Boy," backed by a lovely melody of tender strings and plodding piano chords. "Ave Maria" is stunning, inspired by the classic aria of its moniker. "Satellites" is gentle, graced lightly by acoustic guitar and low strings.

One of the best aspects of these songs is how well they showcase the degree to which Beyoncé has grown as a singer. She sounds as good belting out "If I Were a Boy" as she does on the lightly breathy "Disappear," the soaring "Ave Maria," and the restrained "Satellites." Any critic who's previously asserted that her pipes aren't up to the task are proven wrong here. The only drawback of this disc is "Halo." Penned by Ryan Tedder ("Bleeding Love," "Apologize"), its attempt at an epic sound contrasts too harshly with the other, gentler tracks, making it come off as overly bombastic.

"Ave Maria" isn't actually a recording of the classic aria, but a piano-driven pop song inspired by it. It's actually pretty good too. And I don't think Beyonce has sounded as good on a ballad as she does on "Satellites," which also shows a restrained touch with an unusual arrangement of synths and acoustic guitar. This sounds like something from the '70s.

The Ryan Tedder-penned "Halo," however, is a disappointment--too bombastic. It's interesting hearing Beyonce put so much emphasis on ballads this time--giving them their own disc. In the past, they've been her weakest songs, especially on Dangerously in Love, although she made headway last time with "Irreplaceable."

Disc two begins with the delightfully frothy "Single Ladies (Put Your Ring On It)." It's hand-clap beats and quick-fire approach are reminiscent of B'Day's "Get Me Bodied," but with modern synth effects. It's a good beginning to the upbeat set that, while less consistently good as the first disc, explores a satisfying range of sounds. "Radio" is a charging swirl of beats, deep synth lines and electronic effects. "Sweet Dreams" is underpinned with a deep, very '80s synth groove.

Less satisfying is "Diva," Beyoncé's bid to be a hip-hop artist. She alternately sings and raps, mostly just saying over and over that "A diva is a female version of the hustler." Thanks for the insight B. Telecommunications has always been a special subject for Beyoncé (remember when Destiny's Child sang about canceling their MCI long distance service in "Bug a Boo?"), and she stays current with "Videophone," where's she's subjected to being taped by someone's cell phone. She coos about the event over a tuneless beat arrangement.

The standard version of this album is 11 tracks, but an expanded 16-track edition is also available. While I generally subscribe to the less-is-more philosophy, the additional songs are generally as good as the others, and in the case of the second disc, round the set out rather well. Of the two additional songs on the first disc, "Smash Into You" is the better of the two. While I like the guitar sound of "That's Why They're Beautiful," the song never takes off like it seems it should. Disc two's extras include old school- flavored "Ego," an engaging blend of horns and harmonized vocals and mid-tempo "Scared of Lonely," both of which give the "Sasha" half of this album greater depth than the party-minded songs that precede them. "Hello," however, suffers from an identity crisis as it mixes a sweet piano and strings melody with fast beats and lyrics, creating a disjointed tempo.

Despite the fact that having the songs separated into the slow and fast buckets allowed me to evaluate Beyoncé's growth in both modes, I think this album would have been stronger had she mixed them together into one cohesive package and jettisonned the weaker tracks. And the gimmicky "Beyoncé" vs. "Sasha Fierce" persona division is really pointless, as Beyoncé has always been a rather private star, so the first disc isn't revealing in the manner its been purported to be, and Beyoncé's never hidden by a personal before when she's churned out stompers like "Crazy in Love" or "Deja Vu." As a marketing gimmick, it isn't needed in this era of download sales where most people listening to this will have all the songs in one playlist anyway. Overall though this is a really strong album that succeeds in showing off Beyoncé as a multi-faceted pop act.

Best: If I Were a Boy, Ave Maria, Disappear, Satellites, Broken-Hearted Girl, Single Ladies, EGO, Radio, Smash Into You, Sweet Dreams