The first wave of reviews for Beyonce’s first country album – Cowboy Carter – are in, and they shower Queen Bey with praise.
Cowboy Carter is the 42-year-old Houston native’s first foray into the genre, which has already raised eyebrows with covers of Dolly Parton’s Jolene and The Beatles’ Blackbird.
The album dropped at 12 AM ET/9 PM PT on Thursday, with one review even claiming the singer could ‘revive’ the country music genre altogether.
The critical praise comes just a month after the lead singles Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages were big streaming hits… but weren’t being played on country radio stations across the country.
An Oklahoma radio station – KYKC – came under fire when an email to a listener went viral after they stated they refused to play Beyonce’s songs… later reversing course and claiming they didn’t realize Beyonce released country songs.
While both Texas Hold ‘Em and 16 Carriages were immediate streaming hits, Billboard reported that only eight of the 150 country stations that report to Billboard had played Texas Hold ‘Em.
The first wave of reviews for Beyonce ‘s first country album – Cowboy Carter – are in, and they shower Queen Bey with praise
Cowboy Carter is the 42-year-old Houston native’s first foray into the genre, which has already raised eyebrows with covers of Dolly Parton ‘s Jolene and The Beatles ‘ Blackbird.
The album dropped at 12 AM ET/9 PM PT on Thursday, with one review even claiming the singer could ‘revive’ the country music genre altogether
That review comes from Page Six critic Nicholas Hautman, whose opening line of the 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.
One of the most anticipated tracks is Bey’s cover of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic Jolene, which includes Parton herself bashing the now-infamous ‘Becky with the good hair’ before the track.
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,’ he adds.
The Times’ Will Hodgkinson admitted that the album is ‘too long,’ but, ‘has a refreshing sense of fun and adventure.’
‘When news came that Beyoncé was releasing a country album it raised all kinds of debate over the genre’s African-American roots, and her co-opting of patriotic American imagery on the cover. And she seems to have guessed it would when she came up with the songs in the first place,’ he added.
‘”There’s a lot of talking going on while I sing my song,” she sings on American Requiem, an epic that falls somewhere between country lament, psychedelic ballad and modern pop. “Can we stand for something?” she asks,’ he says.
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
One of the most anticipated tracks is Bey’s cover of Dolly Parton’s 1973 classic Jolene, which includes Parton herself bashing the now-infamous ‘Becky with the good hair’ before the track
Hodgkinson admits the album is, ‘stylistically all over the place,’ but adds that it also, ‘broadens Beyonce’s reach.’
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.’
Petridis admits that songs like Daughter (‘a murder ballad-esque storytelling’) and 16 Carriages (‘recasting her early years in Destiny’s Child in Nashville-friendly terms’) can be ‘laying it on a bit thick,’ though he admits they’re both ‘great songs.’
Since the second half of the album, ‘goes nuts,’ he wonders if Bey might have been better off splitting this into two albums,’ though, ‘Cowboy Carter still proves Beyoncé is impressively capable of doing whatever she wants.’
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,’ adding that Cowboy Carter is the second album in her Renaissance trilogy.
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!“’
The Guardian ‘s Alexis Petridis also praised American Requiem, adding it’s more of a, ‘state-of-the-nation address;
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 also echoed Beyonce’s statement that, ‘This isn’t a country album. It’s a Beyonce album,’ while demonstrating how she turns the genre on its ear.
‘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,’ Savage says.
He adds, ‘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.’