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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
History may prove Beyoncé's B'Day to be a rare double-whammy of an achievement. Not only is it destined to hold up as one of the thumpingest, most polished-sounding discs of 2006, it's also bound to loose a new phrase into the popular lexicon: a "freekum dress" (n.), as described on a same-named track halfway through this excellent CD, is a "right-fittin'" garment owned by every woman; "when they act wrong, that's when you put it on." Linguistic hijinks aside, here is Beyoncé as the public rarely sees her: fully liberated and artistically fearless. "Ring the Alarm," a big-banging, fire-alarm-clanging wake-up call to a cheating man, finds her seething; "Kitty Kat," a feline-like size-up of a stale relationship helped along by the still innovative Neptunes, shows her spurned; the womanly, fire-in-the-belly come-on "Suga Mama" gets her way, way worked up; and the crackling, vocally volcanic "Resentment" steeps her in Aretha-caliber soul. For all the disc's solo trailblazing, though, where it really soars is on one of two duets with Jay-Z: While "Up Grade U" chugs along entertainingly enough about the good life ("I'm talkin' spa bags and fly pads and rooms at the Bloomberg"), opener "Deja Vu" blasts out a bomp-bomp beat nobody with a head to nod could resist. Cake, candles, and Cristal or no, B'Days rarely get this good. --Tammy La Gorce

More from Beyoncé and Destiny's Child

Dangerously in Love, Beyoncé	#1's, Destiny's Child	Destiny Fulfilled, Destiny's Child
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Customer Reviews: Read 43 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

4-3-07... B'Day! April 3, 2007
23 out of 25 found this review helpful

The release of the original version of B'Day came at the perfect time in my life. It came out the day before I had to return to work after my summer break and I was depressed, not only by that, but also by other things going on in my life. On September 5, 2006, I went to the music store and bought two copies. (I now own four copies, including the deluxe edition). I opened it and shoved the CD in my car stereo. What I heard changed my life. The songs were flawlessly produced and Beyoncé's vocal delivery was energetic, enthusiastic, swaggering, powerful and charismatic. Every song was amazing. Never have upbeat songs been graced with such beautiful, complex harmonies! It is now my favorite album of all time, even though I have had countless people shake their heads and laugh at this statement. (I plan to have many more after posting this review, too.) This album offered me an escape from my problems that even Mary J. Blige's My Life and Me'Shell NdegéOcello's Bitter couldn't bring to me, and for this I am thankful.

Considering this, I promise to give an absolutely truthful review that will answer the essential question at hand: does it live up to, or is it better than, the original? I feel no need to review songs from the original because you've most likely heard them on the radio, bought the album and/or seen the videos. Plus, I pretty much thought it was flawless.

There has been some confusion and I'd like to clear it up. The deluxe edition is a two-disc set. It comes with the expanded version of the original and a bonus disc with Spanish songs. It does NOT come with all of the videos. To obtain the videos recorded for each song, there is a DVD that you must buy separately from the CD set, which is exclusively available at Wal-Mart stores and on their website, or at least for the time being. (By the way, the DVD is definitely worth the purchase. The videos are amazing and very amusing.) Now that we've got that cleared up... let's move on to the new additions.

"Beautiful Liar," which was initially leaked on the Internet with only Beyoncé's vocals in November, is a little disappointing. It has a great theme and the song is alright, but the production is a little stale and uninspired to me. I also don't think Shakira's vocals mix well with Ms. Knowles'. Either way, it is pretty enjoyable and the dramatic, almost opera-like vocals from both women are nice. Can't say it fits the environment of the overall album, though.

The next new track, "Welcome To Hollywood," is simply a version of Jay Z's "Hollywood" with only Beyoncé singing. Nothing more, nothing less. (Good thing she left him out, because he already appears on here twice.) I wasn't a big fan of the song in the first place and always found the production to fall flat, but this version is an improvement. I love her blasting vocals and she gives the song a more cohesive sound.

Now "Flaws & All" is what I'm talking about! A common complaint towards the original B'Day was it barely had any ballads that made her debut such a hit. Here, B delivers a beautifully confessional song where she admits she has flaws and glitches. In the first few seconds of the song, she declares "I'm a train wreck in the morning / I'm a b---h in the afternoon." Wow! She has ups and downs, but her man (cough cough, Jay Z) loves her anyway, and that's why she loves him. It truly is beautiful and the melody is amazing. This is a welcome addition to the album, for me.

"Still In Love (Kissing You)" is another superb ballad, which was originally done by Desiree for the Rome + Juliet soundtrack. Beyoncé inserts some of her own lyrics to make the song more personal and she definitely does the song justice. It took a few listens to get used to because the production is very minimal, but it is a beautiful track nonetheless. In the last few seconds of the song, she proclaims that she loves her man "more than music." And we know how much she loves music. It's very touching and romantic.

The last new addition to the first disc is a hidden track that comes after "Listen." It is titled "World Wide Woman," which leaked on the Internet earlier this year. It has a very laid-back, spring/summer feel to it and I personally love it. It doesn't necessarily fit with the rest of B'Day, but I suppose that's why it's hidden. I'm glad it was included, though.

It was originally intended that Beyoncé would release a Spanish album, but that apparently fell apart. To not put the tracks to waste, some of them were put on the bonus disc, which is pretty much here just for added value. It includes the "Spanglish" version of "Beautiful Liar," which was actually the original version before Shakira stepped in. It features Sasha, Beyoncé's alter-ego, on the Spanish lines. I personally prefer this version to the original. The "remix" is not much different from the original, kind of useless. Same background music and everything. The version of "Beautiful Liar" completely in Spanish, "Bello Embustero," is also included. "Irreemplazable," the Spanish version of the ten-week number one hit "Irreplaceable" is very nice. The beautiful tone of her voice is preserved even when she is singing in Spanish and it sounds quite authentic. The same applies to "Listen (Oye)." I was rather impressed. "Amor Gitano" is enjoyable. But the real treat is the Nortena Remix of "Irreemplazable." It has accordions in it! Quite a refreshing combination!

So, back to the essential question: does it live up to the original? Was it worth it? As a fan, I was ecstatic for some new material. But for the casual music listener... it may not be necessary. "Still In Love (Kissing You)," "Flaws & All" and "Worldwide Woman" were welcome additions, but I would've preferred to have tracks such as "Creole," "Lost Yo Mind" or numerous others to replace "Beautiful Liar" and "Welcome To Hollywood." (I wish she would release an album of all the songs not released and call it B'Sides... eh?) Also, the addition of the new songs sacrifices the cohesive environment which existed in the original. The bonus disc feels out place. It is really not essential and it would've been much better if the DVD were included, even if it did raise the price tag a bit.

Bottom line: Overall, it's still great, but it doesn't live up to the original for me because now there is some filler that pollutes this album. If you are a fan, this is excellent. If you are more of a casual listener and you have already purchased B'Day, I would listen to samples (which are readily available all over) and see if you think it's worth it. You probably won't find it absolutely necessary, even though the price is right, kids!

1 out of 5 stars

"B" Should Sting Latino Listeners April 10, 2007
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Beyoncé is a prime example of what has become of the music industry as a whole: profit over artistic integrity. One has to seriously question the timing and the genuiness of her ventures in recording in Spanish, featured in this "Deluxe Edition".

As a recent television appearance proved, Beyoncé has virtually no knowledge of the language and had to be taught phonetically to sing the Spanish lyrics. This hardly sounds like someone who has a long time appreciation for the language.

This may be an opinion held by only a few, but these Spanish language tracks are nothing more than a business move and a shameless attempt to capitalize on the recent surge in sales of music made popular by Latino audiences. She is only fleecing this sector of the music buying public.

It would be almost a certainty that, if music popular with Russians was currently dominant on the charts, Beyoncé would be on TV expressing she has always had a love of Russian culture and "this is for all my Russian listeners!" If there should be a lull in Latin music popularity in the future, she will quickly change her tune.

As detestable as it might have been, it would have been better for Beyoncé to confess that this Spanish phase on the "Deluxe Edition" is a mere marketing ploy instead of disguising it as a sincere love for the culture. The title of her recent single may aptly describe Beyoncé at this point in time: a "Beautiful Liar".

1 out of 5 stars

GREEDY!!!!! April 3, 2007
8 out of 13 found this review helpful

Why did Beyonce re-release B-Day? Did she have a need to? Wasn't the previous version selling? The last time I checked, the first version of B-DAY has sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. It pisses me off when an artist re-release their album and the previous version is doing so well. Usher and Mariah Carey did the same thing. One word....GREEDY!!!!! I would've understood if the original version of B-DAY wasn't selling, but it is.

I can also understand the other reason why Beyonce re-release this album. It's so obvious. She's trying to get the attention focused back on her. Normally when Beyonce is involved with a project, she gets all the attention and she loves being in the spotlight. Who's been getting all the attention lately? Jennifer Hudson. Beyonce thought she was going to be the star of DREAMGIRLS, but she thought wrong. For once, there's a female artist out there who's getting all the attention besides Beyonce.

I'm sure that the new version of B-DAY is great, but Beyonce isn't getting anymore of my money...she's greedy.

2 out of 5 stars

O.K. Beyonce take a break. April 4, 2007
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

I love beyonce, I truly think she's is talented but way over exposed. You can turn a corner without seeing or hearing her. Her new re-released B'Day was just toooo much. Beyonce needs to take a break and come out with music like she did on her first album "Crazy in love". B'Day Deluxe Edition is just a way to make more money.

2 out of 5 stars

why???? April 9, 2007
7 out of 11 found this review helpful

i am an honestly big fan of beyonce. i have both of her cds and have always loved destiny's child. i even love her new song "beautiful liar". but i think that it is illogical for her to re-release this album, escpecially since releasing it in april defeats the purpose of naming the album "Bday" because her birthday is in september. but still, i can't help but love her new song. and i think that she did a great job with shakira. it is an unlikely collabo between two of the most successful artists of the decade, which makes it a great song. but shakira totally steals the spotlight with her stronger voice. i think this track should belong to shakira and she could use it as one of her tracks for her next album.

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