Beyonce, B’Day – To be fair, I was a proclaimed hater. I enjoyed the radio hits from Destiny’s Child but tired easily of Beyonce’s solo effort. I wrote her off as another pop/r&b singer with some talent that was wasted on trying to create for the masses. Dangerously In Love used a tired and repetitive theme and wore me out with trite lyrics and limited song structure. And an over-abundance of ballads. Thus, when B’Day was released, I was the first to write her off. Even if I did like “Deja Vu” – live instrumentation, bass groove driven, no unnecessary wailing. But the Jay Z added verse was too much of a tell tale sign of corporate(and romantic) collaboration for the purpose of selling a single. And then I heard “Get Me Bodied”.

“Get Me Bodied” is still blowing my mind. I can’t stop freaking out when I hear this song on the radio or in a club. It is the perfect mix of contagious and silly. I’ve never been inspired to learn dance steps to an extended mix before and now I constantly show off my prowess on “Patting my Weave” and “Doing the Naomi Campbell walk”. Once I realized that Beyonce had the potential to be crazy (not in love), I instantly liked her. The whole album is full of these witty, silly jokes set to a non-stop groove that has put a hold on me. The titles say it all – Freak Um Dress, Kitty Kat, Sugga Mama. You could easily mistake this as Beyonce reincarnating her image as Foxxy Brown. And she does it well. Especially considering it is rumored to have taken only 2 weeks to record (after Dreamgirls but before Kelly Rowland’s release – scandal!). She even sold me on two ballads – the now ubiquitous “Irreplaceable”and gospel tinged, tricky, 9/8 timed “Resentment”. Both are to the point and don’t belabor the point. She gets a little showy, but I guess she had to prove that she could still sing after cooing and funking up the majority of the album. I got to hand it B, I’m hooked. The turn towards camp and full blown dance diva works. Seriously, what does “Get Me Bodied” even mean? That’s how good you are!

Aretha Franklin, Aretha Arrives - Yep, another first album from a well respected (and prolific) artist. I know the hits, but what a difference it makes to hear original recordings. It’s like being invited into the anticipation and excitement of first hearing her voice. That voice. You never forget the way her voice made you feel the first time you heard it. Aretha Arrives only magnifies that sensation with the added rustic appeal from the 1967 Atlantic recording techniques. It’s just this powerful and emotive wall of sound (not as dramatic as Phil Spector) that is…intense. In that great kind of way. I mean, come on, Whitney Houston’s mother was one of her background singers. Completely unfair. She performs a wide spectrum of covers, starting with the The Stones’ “Satisfaction”, turned into this funk inspired jam, hitting even Sinatra’s “That’s Life” for an inspiring gospelified R&B anthem. She covers the spectrum of R&B material and styles with equally amounts of technique and unbridled emotion. Simply, this is a wide-eyed, head shaking, awe inspiring album. Such a shame that is not in print in America anymore (thank you to Offbeat Music for importing this and letting me purchase the last copy!)