Nicole Price

Slight country twist to a truly R&B album. Drop the country expectations and you may enjoy this album a lot, otherwise it will leave you confused, disappointed and even frustrated. To frame my perspective for this review, I like some country and some Beyonce music, and love fusion music. I do think she is incredibly talented, and respect her success, I love her voice, and how clever some of her songs are, just not a fan her style of R&B. I also looove it when artists experiment and push genres, and was super excited when I heard queen B was going to apply her amazing voice to country as I do like some country pop. Texas Hold'em is fun and I love the "brush" of the country twang in the few, select songs on the album, but was super disappointed with the fact it was 2% of the album. My initial impression is that she called the album country, without the slightest clue what country is and it was all done as a marketing schtick, which was a huge turn off. Then again, the album cover is a dead giveaway that it isn't country, as that is the stupidest pose I've ever seen on a horse! Lol Even on country songs the cadence (aside from Texas Hold'em) is purely R&B with country string accompanying but not even really a country "Beyonce interpretation", which I think she'd knock out of the park if she did/does know what country is. As a result, this album I think resonates very well with existing Beyonce fans, as it is a fresh variation of what they love, but is a big disappointment for semi-fans who were extremely excited to see what she could do to bridge another Genre. My visceral reaction upon first hearing this was that I was deceived, confused and very disappointed, even exploited to give it a listen. But upon reflection, aside from seriously being over produced, and misrepresented on its release, it is clever for her to do. Though calling it "country" her interpretation or not, is very inaccurate, and I think this is clearly reflected in the reviews provided. I think what made me sad listening, is her silky voice and amazing range would compliment some mind-blowing country pop songs that absolutely everyone would love, and that was what I was expecting and felt let down. It wasn't really as "explorative" into another genre at all, and comes across as appropriation for marketing, vs true artist exploration.