Why Beyoncé’s 4 Deserved Better
"The album is definitely an evolution.
It's bolder than the music on my previous albums because I'm bolder.
The more mature I become and the more life experiences I have, the more I have to talk about.
I really focused on songs being classics, songs that would last, songs that I could sing when I'm 40 and when I'm 60." That's how Beyoncé described her approach to 4, her aptly-titled fourth studio album, on her website upon the LP's release in the summer of 2011.
The album arrived at a transitional period in the superstar's solo career, a career that's since come to be clearly delineated by two defining eras.
(That is, if you don't take into consideration her prior work...
