{"id":117682,"date":"2024-04-04T09:40:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T13:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=records&p=117682"},"modified":"2024-04-04T09:48:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T13:48:02","slug":"beyonce-cowboy-carter","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/beyonce-cowboy-carter\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyonc\u00e9 – Cowboy Carter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I confess that I hesitated to write a review of Cowboy Carter<\/em>. Because so many others have already done so, and because Queen Bey often leaves me ambivalent. I find her hypersexualization of questionable taste; she embodies, in her own way, the excesses of the American dream, with her financial worth of $800 million, according to Forbes magazine. To which we must add that of her partner Jay-Z.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In my humble opinion, the diva’s music has often been uneven, although commercially profitable and much appreciated. For a long time, I preferred her younger sister, Solange, who was more introspective and musically innovative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But here’s the thing: Beyonc\u00e9 has had a huge impact on women and on black communities in the United States… and elsewhere. She symbolizes feminist freedom, unrestrained and the result of a lot of hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s worth adding that on the musical front, the lady is becoming increasingly audacious. First with her live album Homecoming<\/em> at the Coachella Festival (2019), where brass instruments were showcased with innovative arrangements. And then with Renaissance<\/em> (2022), a sophisticated ode to the world’s dance music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With Cowboy Carter<\/em>, Beyonc\u00e9 played with social networks: she made us believe in the arrival of a country album, which instantly provoked debate in polarized American society. Can a black woman be celebrated by Nashville’s elite and played on country radio stations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Later, she modified the shot: “This record is not a country album, it’s a Beyonc\u00e9 record.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In fact, Cowboy Carter <\/em>is an album of Americana and soul music, with elements of country. More specifically, it’s a record by a woman who grew up in the Third Ward in Houston, Texas, a middle-class black neighbourhood surrounding the University of Houston, which I had the opportunity to visit. Where its inhabitants were open to all styles of Texas music and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beyonc\u00e9 wanted to highlight the black presence in American music, particularly folk and country. A presence that is real: the banjo was invented by black people before being appropriated by white people. Johnny Cash has always said that he grew up listening to gospel music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did you know? Cowboy Carter is an excellent opus, despite a few long-winded moments. It’s a carefully crafted concept album, built like an inclusive puzzle and radio show. Above all, Beyonc\u00e9’s voice is very authentic, and empathetic. Strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It starts with American Requiem<\/em>, a mix of rock, folk and beats built in collaboration with Jon Batiste. Followed by a harmonized version of The Beatles’ Blackbird<\/em>, featuring the excellent singers Tanner Adell, Britanny Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are twenty-seven tracks on this opus. We’re not going to describe them all. You can hear Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, great icons of country music, giving Beyonc\u00e9 a moral underpinning. She also covers the emblematic song Jolene<\/em>, giving the text a more feminist touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also rapper Shaboozey, banjoist-composer Rhiannon Giddens, pop singer Miley Cyrus, composer Willie Jones and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can hear hip-hop, folk, an 18\u1d49 century opera aria, a bass that evokes Thundercat, samples from the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry… and country!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Over the past week, Cowboy Carter <\/em>has become a cultural object dissected at length by every American media outlet. It’s been compared to Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of <\/em>Life or the Beatles’ Abbey Road. There’s even talk that the album is an attempt to reconcile politically divided Americans through music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clearly, Beyonc\u00e9 has succeeded and will continue to get richer. Could she use this album for more political purposes, in this US election year? For the moment, it’s unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But let’s not deny ourselves: Cowboy Carter <\/em>is well worth a listen. It’s the second disc in a trilogy. We’re already curious about what’s to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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