Writing for Page Six, Nicholas Hautman’s opening line of to his review is, ‘Country music is on life support.’
He adds that Cowboy Carter is, ‘the revival that country music so desperately needed,’ calling the 27-track album, ‘instantly timeless.’
The review adds Cowboy Carter is a, ‘soulful celebration of Southern values and the genre’s African American roots,’ adding that the singer has stated she recorded the album after feeling ‘unwelcome’ while presenting at the 2016 CMA Awards.
Referencing Beyonce’s cover of the 1973 Dolly Parton classic Jolene, he adds that Bey, ‘pours gasoline on its already fiery lyrics, with menacing changes including, ‘I can easily understand why you’re attracted to my man/ But you don’t want this smoke, so shoot your shot for someone else.’
The review also highlights her cover of Blackbird, The Beatles’ 1968 classic that Paul McCartney wrote about racial tension in the American South.
‘Her tearjerking rendition is a career highlight, an impressive feat for a superstar whose back catalog is chock-full of unforgettable moments.’
The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis also praised American Requiem, adding it’s more of a, ‘state-of-the-nation address’
He also spoke of Jolene – mentioning that Parton herself has long lobbied for Bey to record her own version – commenting on the new lyrics.
He states this Jolene boasts, ‘a new middle eight and coda alongside fresh lyrics that substitute swaggering menace and threats for the original’s desperate pleading.’
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Robert Moran adds that Cowboy Carter, ‘functions much like 2022’s Renaissance, Beyonce’s reclamation of dance music’s Black roots.’
He also praises Daughter as, ‘an evocative murder ballad that straddles flamenco and fado,’ and Spaghetti, ‘a drill-meets-Sergio Leone cut where Beyonce furiously chants ‘I ain’t in no gang, but I got shooters and I bang bang!”
Moran adds that he, ‘can’t wait to hear how country radio or the Grammys handle Sweet Honey Buckin, an epic track that opens with Beyonce reverently covering Patsy Cline’s I Fall To Pieces and ends with her chanting ‘Buck it, like a mechanical bull!’ over a stomping Jersey Club beat.’
BBC’s Mark Savage wrote: ‘This isn’t a country album. It’s a Beyonce album.
‘Over 27 interlocking songs and interludes, Cowboy Carter throws a lasso around country’s sonic signifiers, and spins them into something unique: Appalachian fiddles are spliced with pop melodies, and lap steel guitars underscore rap verses with speaker-crushing sub bass.
‘That the genres overlap so seamlessly is evidence of Beyoncé’s technical mastery, but also of her central thesis: That Nashville’s marginalisation of outsiders, and black women in particular, weakens the music in the long run.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk