"Can we stand for somethin'?
Now is the time to face the wind
Now ain't the time to pretend
Now is the time to let love in"
-"AMERIICAN REQUIEM" on COWBOY CARTER (2024)
This Time It All Started With…
My curiosity.
When an artist like Beyoncé releases a genre-crossing, genre-bending album like COWBOY CARTER (2024) you can't sit to the side and pretend it does not exist. You have to grab your headphones with eagerness and press play.
Confession time: I have never listened to a full album by Beyoncé.
Have I listened to her music? Yes.
Are there specific tracks I have loved over the years? Yes (12 to be exact, if you look on my Spotify).
But I have never been so entranced by her music that I felt the need to listen to an entire album. Until COWBOY CARTER (2024).
Released on 28 March 2024, containing 27 tracks and features numerous well-known and loved artists from country (Dolly and Willie) to Pop (Post and Miley). This album is a collection of Beatles musical nuances, references to the activism that showed her face during the 60s, and numerous artist statements about being confined and defined by a genre.
In all honesty, this all started with the "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" trend on TikTok. I'm sure you've all seen a video or two from that trend (if not, watch here).
The whole world was shocked to hear Queen B dip her musical fingers into country after she had spent so many years in the RnB world. If you told me at the beginning of 2024 that I would be sitting here listening to Beyoncé covering "Blackbird" by the Beatles (listen here), adding her twist to Dolly Parton's "Jolene" (personally, one of my favorites, but more on that a little later) and duet with Willie Nelson - I would have told you "in your dreams!".
There are even rumors that Taylor Swift features as a backing vocalist on track 8...
Amongst all the little stabs at America's history and choices made by some of the leaders over the years, there are humorous moments as well on this album.
My favorite artistic statement made by Queen B on this album is her take on the country queen's iconic song: Jolene by Dolly Parton.
Before we get into the analysis, I suggest you go listen to the original quickly, dear reader: listen to Dolly here.
Dolly's "Jolene" is filled with anguish and desperation for this woman with auburn hair to leave her man alone. Throughout the song, Dolly pleads with this girl, begging her to stay away.
Beyoncé kicks off the song with her fierceness almost immediately by changing the tone of desperation to a tone of warning: "I'm warning you, don't come for my man" (Queen B) vs. "I'm begging of you please don't take my man" (Dolly).
Beyonce's fierceness and confidence do not surprise me - it inspires me.
Although the music might sound the same due to the use of the iconic guitar licks known by country listeners, Beyoncé made good use of her artistic license by rewriting most (if not all) of the "Jolene" lyrics we are used to.
"You're beautiful beyond compare
Takes more than beauty and seductive stares
To come between a family and a happy man.
Jolene, I'm a woman too
The games you play are nothing new
So you don't want no heat with me, Jolene."
Queen B's "JOLENE" is filled with personal references to her marriage with Jay Z and the life they have created together, adding more insight to her life for us as listeners and thus she's creating a stronger bond with us as the creator/artist.
Perhaps one of the most iconic moves by Beyoncé on this album (as an artist) was to include a recording of Linda Martell (the first commercially successful black female artist in country music) saying the following:
"Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they?
In theory, they have a simple definition that's easy to understand
but in practice, well, some may feel confined."
Not only is this the opening lines to one of the most genre-bending tracks on the album, but it is also a statement made about genres and in reference to Spaghetti Westerns.
Spaghetti Westerns, originating in Italy, embraced the classic American Western style while occasionally challenging its established themes. Despite questions of authenticity, these films gained immense popularity. Beyoncé's nod to this genre in COWBOY CARTER (2024) hints at the creative potential of blending genres, even if it ruffles the feathers of traditionalists.
I highly recommend listening to the beginning of "SPAGHETTI" to experience the quick shift between genres on this album (listen here).
Although I have listened to this album from track 1 all through to track 27, I am still not completely certain whether I will listen to her other albums in their entirety. This listening experience was interesting and forced me to question the idea of why musicians create albums.
Is it to release a large body of work filled with numerous songs that fans can listen to on repeat? Back when people were still buying physical CDs this made sense, however, today people stream music and might as well just create playlists of all the songs they enjoy listening to instead of downloading entire albums.
I think Beyoncé's approach to an album makes more sense for today's listening experiences: creating a body of work that not only addresses but also challenges the conventions surrounding specific genres and pushes the musical comfort zones of her listeners.
Dear reader, if you feel like pushing outside of your musical comfort zone for 80 minutes, I highly recommend you grab your headphones and press play on Cowboy Carter (2024).
You might not like every track, but I promise there will be more than 3 tracks that might surprise you.
To listen to the entire album on Spotify, click here.
To listen to the entire album on YouTube, click here.
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