Cowboy Carter
A Review of Beyonce’s Latest Album
I grew up in the ’70s and ’80s when terrestrial radio was everything. Albums by major artists were events and singles were judiciously released every few months so that one hit followed another over the course of about a year’s time, which kept the album high on the charts for all that time.
These days, streaming is king. Album releases are still newsworthy but there are fewer major artists who are relying on “the big album” to propel them. A few that do rely on the big album are Taylor Swift, Adele, Morgan Wallen, Drake, and maybe a few others. (It’s unusual, and perhaps welcome, that today’s big album artists are female. Back in my day, it was exceedingly rare for a female artist to be a big album artist — the exception was Carole King’s Tapestry, still a big seller today.)
And then there is Beyonce, who most definitely makes big waves when an album comes out. She has now collected 32 Grammy Awards for her work (I wonder where she keeps the trophies). It’s hard to believe the girl from Destiny’s Child has reached such heights.
At age 42, a time when most female pop singers have been put out to pasture by their labels, Beyonce continues to surprise and grow with each new album.
Still, it must be said, she has never reached the stratospheric sales figures that Taylor Swift and Adele…
