New book by Larry Connors Click here Improve your trading - See how
So, taking a page out of Philadelphia singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata's 2008 disc, Elephants . . . Teeth Sinking Into Heart, Beyonce expresses her dot-dot-dot duality with her new two-disc set I Am . . . Sasha Fierce (Columbia ***), on sale today.
The double-sided sobriquet is a pretension, but it turns out to be a useful one. That's because the album, which is being sold in both an 11-song "standard edition" and a 16-song "deluxe edition," is cleanly broken into two thematically and musically distinct parts, and one is clearly superior to the other.
The first part, I Am, whose leadoff single is the mildly gender-bending "If I Were a Boy," represents the multitalented Ms. Knowles -- she declines to use her last name when in music mode -- as she is "underneath all the makeup, underneath the lights, and underneath all the exciting star drama."
The second part, Sasha Fierce, is named after the alter ego of Beyonce, who stars as Etta James, alongside Adrien Brody and Jeffrey Wright, in Cadillac Records, Hollywood's version of the Chess Records story, which opens Dec. 5.
Sasha's first single is the seriously percolating banger "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," which was the grist for a Saturday Night Live skit this weekend with Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Paul Rudd.
The persona is a window into "the more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken side and more glamorous side that comes out when I'm working and when I'm on the stage," the singer says on her MySpace page, where I Am . . . Sasha Fierce has been streaming since last week.
The two-sides-of-Beyonce idea is, as she puts it, "to really step outside of myself, or shall I say, step more into myself, and reveal a side of me that only people who know me see."
It also, conveniently, allows her to work two sides of the commercial fence. I Am songs like "Disappear" and "Ave Maria" (a rewrite of the aria) are her chance to go for a Streisand- and Celine Dion-size middle-of-the-road audience. The soaring romances and weepers decorated with piano and strings eschew electro-beats. Their touchy-feely lyrics are cowritten by hired hands such as songwriter Amanda Ghost, who also co-wrote James Blunt's "You're Beautiful."
To Beyonce's credit, the songs are uniformly well sung. At 27, the newly married megastar wife of rapper-mogul Jay-Z seems to have outgrown the need for excessively showy vocalizing, and she almost invariably avoids the rococo ululating that marked her earlier, Mariah Carey-influenced efforts.
But all the restraint in the world can't make up for the bland and banal nature of the purportedly personal songs on I Am, which, if they truly represent the "real" Beyonce, suggest that she may not be worth getting to know after all.
Sasha, on the other hand, seems as if she'd be a blast to hang with. Like I Am, the album's flip side plays with gender roles. Whereas the softer disc proffers the wishy-washy "If I Were a Boy," the fiercer flip side serves up "Diva," a modal burst of feminist funk that nods to Lil Wayne's hypnotic summer hit "A Milli," and insists that "a diva is a female version of a hustla."
Sasha Fierce keeps close to the street, with a pretty much nonstop supply of machine-driven grooves that puts the evening gown in the closet and gets to business on the dance floor. The grooves are repetitive, the tempo is upbeat, the envelope is pushed on techno flirtations like "Video Phone," and even would-be ballads like "Hello" reach out with forward-pushing momentum.
"I think I'm in love with my radio," Beyonce sings on "Radio," a hooky grabber that will often be heard on its titular medium. " 'Cause it never lets me down."
On the disappointing I Am (**1/2) those words no longer seem to apply to their auteur's music. But when Sasha (***1/2) enters the picture, her fans get their Beyonce back.
Contact music critic Dan DeLuca at 215-865-5628 or ddeluca@phillynews.com.
Read his blog, "In the Mix," at http://go.philly.com/inthemix.
To see more of The Philadelphia Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to <a href=http://www.philly.com>http://www.philly.com</a>. Copyright (c) 2008, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
More News:
Market Updates |
Stock Alerts |
All Trading News |
Stock Index
About TradingMarkets | Contact | Advertise | Careers | Link to Us | Site Map | Help | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Return Policy | Testimonials | Feedback
The Connors Group, Inc. ("Company") is not an investment advisory service, nor a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and does not purport to tell or suggest which securities or currencies customers should buy or sell for themselves. The analysts and employees or affiliates of Company may hold positions in the stocks, currencies or industries discussed here. You understand and acknowledge that there is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities and/or currencies. The Company, the authors, the publisher, and all affiliates of Company assume no responsibility or liability for your trading and investment results. Factual statements on the Company's website, or in its publications, are made as of the date stated and are subject to change without notice.
It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable or that they will not result in losses. Past results of any individual trader or trading system published by Company are not indicative of future returns by that trader or system, and are not indicative of future returns which be realized by you. In addition, the indicators, strategies, columns, articles and all other features of Company's products (collectively, the "Information") are provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. Examples presented on Company's website are for educational purposes only. Such set-ups are not solicitations of any order to buy or sell. Accordingly, you should not rely solely on the Information in making any investment. Rather, you should use the Information only as a starting point for doing additional independent research in order to allow you to form your own opinion regarding investments. You should always check with your licensed financial advisor and tax advisor to determine the suitability of any investment.
HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING AND MAY NOT BE IMPACTED BY BROKERAGE AND OTHER SLIPPAGE FEES. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT ACTUALLY BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER- OR OVER-COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.
The Connors Group, Inc.
15260 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 2200
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
© Copyright 2009 The Connors Group, Inc.
