Cowboy Carter stretches the definition of ‘country’. Which is no bad thing, as I’m not the biggest country fan.
Beyonce has
gone full King Gizzard. Her 2022 album Renaissance saw her switching to
a more dance-oriented sound (which she pulled off a lot better than Drake). Now
she’s dropped a country album. What next? A rock album? A jazz album? And will
all the album covers have her sitting on a horse in increasingly more awkward
poses?
Hold your
horses, Alasdair. As exciting as the idea is of harsh noise Bey handstanding on
a horse, we’re here to talk about Cowboy Carter - which despite the
cowboy-clothed promo photos and features from Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson is
‘not a country album’ according to Beyonce herself. And she’s right. There’s
definitely country music flavours all across it. But we also get a cover of the
Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’, a Thundercat-esque slice of pure funk titled ‘Desert
Eagle’, two kick-heavy rap tracks featuring Shaboozey and even Beyonce doing
opera on ‘Daughter’.
As someone
who’s never been much of a country fan beyond a few classics, this is a relief.
I was worried all the tracks were going to be like lead single ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’
– a stomp-clap-whistle anthem that I didn’t mind at first, but that I’ve slowly grown
to despise. It’s a lot more interesting than your average Garth Brooks song,
but it also embraces every country cliché to the point that it feels nauseatingly
contrived. Bey is a much more exciting artist when she’s experimenting with her
voice and hopping on adventurous production that isn’t neatly categorised into
a genre. And that’s why Cowboy Carter is so surprisingly fun.
By using
country flavours rather than creating a pure country album, Beyonce is able to
go off in all kinds of unpredictable directions and keep the album exciting. ‘II
Most Wanted’ is a country-flavoured pop ballad with some impressive vocal
harmonising between Beyonce and Miley Cyrus in which both take turns to sing the higher harmony. ‘Sweet * Honey * Buckin’ is a three
part dance track that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Renaissance
were it not for the lyrics about country boys and mechanical bulls. The infectious
bass line, breezy vocals and guitar solo of ‘Bodyguard’ meanwhile have a 70s
funk rock vibe that offer a taste of what a Beyonce rock album might sound
like.
I must admit
I’m not the biggest fan of the 'Jolene' cover. Even though the cover was likely Dolly Parton's idea,
it just seems like an unnecessary version of an already decent song. Its theme of
infidelity does however provide a nice setup for the track ‘Daughter’, which
itself provides a nice setup for ‘Spaghetti’ with its Italian opera singing. This
is something that this album does extraordinarily well – it’s able to play with
lots of different styles while linking them all together (and simultaneously
maintaining an overarching cowboy/country theme throughout). In this respect,
it’s perfectly crafted, even if some of the tracks like ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and her
‘Jolene’ cover are not my bag. (Cowboy) hats off to Mrs Carter!
★★★★☆
TRACK TASTER: