COWBOY CARTER

Beyonce

explicit

Released on 3/29/24 by Parkwood Entertainment - Columbia
Main artists: Beyoncé
Genre: Country
Distinctions: Album of the week Pitchfork: Best New Music

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This may be the "Beyoncé goes country" record—but, in truth, she's always been here. A Houston native and rodeo fan, she released countrified "Daddy Lessons" on 2016's Lemonade then upped the ante with a Chicks remix that was met with industry backlash. But no one puts Beyoncé in a corner, and Cowboy Carter is her gracious "told ya so" moment. First single "Texas Hold 'Em" saw her become the first Black woman to top Billboard's Hot Country chart, and it's a joy: echoing the Chicks' and Shania's C&W pop, but also Rhiannon Giddens' mountain folk (that's her playing banjo on the song) as well as all-American sweet soul music. The excellent Raphael Saadiq is a co-writer, and his touch shows. And damned if the affecting ballad "16 Carriages"—grand in the "Halo" tradition—doesn't sound like an autobiographical recounting of Beyoncé's career start as a teen. "At fifteen, the innocence was gone astray/ Had to take care of home at an early age/ I saw Mama cryin', I saw Daddy lyin'/ Had to sacrifice and leave my fears behind," she sings, chillingly, against crackling percussion and Robert Randolph's pedal steel.

No wonder Dolly Parton blessed the cover of "Jolene," intro-ing that song with a comparison of her own titular character to the notorious Becky with the good hair. Beyoncé layers on the twang and tweaks the lyrics: "Jolene, I know I'm a queen, Jolene/ I'm still a Creole banjee bitch from Louisianne (don't try me)." Willie Nelson shows up as a radio DJ spinning samples from Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Son House. "Spaghettii" opens with a spoken intro from pioneer Linda Martell—the first Black woman to perform on the Grand Ole Opry, in 1969, but who also faced racism on the road and returned to South Carolina to be a bus driver. Over drill beats, Beyoncé shows off her rap skills in a stunning display ("Just a fishin' expedition, dumb admission/ In the kitchen, cookin' up them chickens/ Extra leg, but I ain't even tryna kick it/ Cunty, country, petty, petty, petty/ All the same to me, Plain Jane, spaghetti"), joined by Shaboozey. He also guests, as does Pharrell, on wild bull ride "Sweet Honey Buckiin,'" which starts with Bey crooning Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces."

The Cowboy Carter guest list is dizzying: rising star Willie Jones (gospel-inflected "Just for Fun"), Miley Cyrus (ride-or-die R&B ballad "II Most Wanted"), Gary Clark Jr. (sun-streaked yacht rocker "Bodyguard"). Post Malone joins the party for slow-burn flirt "Levii's Jeans," produced by The-Dream and Nile Rodgers. A goosebump-inducing cover of The Beatles' "Blackbird" showcases four of the most exciting young Black women in country music right now: Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts. There are sweet lullabies ("Protector"), giddy-up grind ("Tyrant") and Beyoncé singing a bit of the aria "Caro Mio Ben" ("Daughter"). And "Ya Ya" is an absolute jaw-dropper—packed with Tina Turner energy and interpolations of Nancy Sinatra and the Beach Boys—that slides into a snippet of Chuck Berry's "Oh Louisiana" reworked as a psychedelic blues fever dream. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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COWBOY CARTER

Beyoncé

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