Beyonce — B'Day

B'Day

Columbia/Sony BMG

Kevin Ritchie (CHARTattack)

09/05/2006 1:48pm

An R&B record with less than five producers is a rarity, so it's no surprise the liner notes on Beyonce's sophomore solo disc, B'Day, lists a whopping seven beatmeisters (Darkchild, check; The Neptunes, check). Much like her first album, two sort-of hooky singles ("Deja Vu" and "Ring The Alarm") stand out while the remaining eight tracks amount to unmemorable, status quo R&B. Beyonce tries to expand our cultural zeitgeist with catch phrases in "Get Me Bodied" and "Freakum Dress," but these songs — aside from being utterly meaningless — rely heavily on aggressive cut-ups and confusing beats that don't gel at all with her usually clear and forceful voice. Moreover, the constant vocal layering on B'Day reduces the budding diva's powerful pipes to a relentless, headache-inducing wail that will make you want to stab your eardrums. Whitney Houston may have stepped out as the angry diva to some success a few years ago, but the shtick fails miserably here because it's never clear why Beyonce is so bitter. As a result, B'Day is little more than a superficial, contrived and over-produced mess.

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