Disco de Destiny's Child: “Survivor”

Upon buying and playing DC's last album over and over AND OVER, of course I was anticipating their latest album, "Survivor." I don't buy many albums, in fact the last album I purchased was around 8 months ago, but I like DC and so of course I knew I would buy the group's next album when it came out. It should be already said that, simply, "Survivor" is no "Writing's on the Wall." That's a good thing and a bad thing. The album really has no stand out, catchy "everyone sing cause you know you know the words" unless you want to count Independent Women and Survivor which, still,can't be compared to "Bills, Bills, Bills" or "Say My Name." But I still can't put this album down, because they are still quite catchy songs. This is the type of album that you have to listen to about 3 times before you go "hey, this isn't bad" on some of these songs--at least that was my experience. But I'll give a quick rundown of some of the songs on this album:

"Independent Women (part 1)" and "Survivor": You've heard these songs a zillion times and have your own opinions on them, so I don't need to say more. "Bootylicious": I still think the title is rather "Huh? What?"-ish, but the song is a good dance song even if it isn't my favorite dance song on the album. "Nasty Girl": Love this song--the beat is tight and I find the words playing over and over in my head throughout the day. It's very catchy and a very good dissin' song. "Fancy": Very nice beat also, especially the latter part of the chorus. I'm sure everyone can totally relate to the words. "Apple Pie A La Mode": A song with a very sexy, seductive tone. Cute, but not my absolute favorite. But I can tolerate it, still. "Sweet Daddy": THE BOMB!! This is my favorite song on the whole album. I've played this one song more than any other on the album. The beat is awesome--you can't help but to move. "Independent Women (part 2)": I might find the little cartoon-ish music that goes with this song rather irritating on another song, but for some reason it seems to work here. Maybe because I love the message of the song. "Happy Face": Okay, this song gets kinda corny for me, but it's still a cute "happy, wake up and shine" song "Emotion": Very pretty song and I absolutely LOVE near the end of the song when Michelle comes in to sing her one or two lines. I wish she could've gotten the chance to sing the whole song because her voice is so beautiful on this song. In fact I fast forward to the end of the song and start at the point immediately before she sings. Sweet slow song, but... "Desperately in Love" is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE slow song on the album. It has so much emotion and power, even if Beyonce's voice once again overpowers the song and everyone else. It's a beautiful song. "Brown Eyes" is another pretty slow song. It's probably my second favorite slow song. "The Story of Beauty" is nice, but I don't listen to it much when I play the album because of the sad topic it discusses. So true, but still so sad. Overall, although Beyonce once again is in the leads, at least you do get to hear the other two girls occasionally and they come through nicely. The album is still good and a good follow-up even if it doesn't surpass or exactly meet the quality of their last album. I don't feel as if I wasted my money.

This was a great cd. It was their first after 2 lineup changes. It opens with the anthem "Independent Woman Pt. 1", then goes into the unrelenting "Survivor." The sexy "Bootylicious" and the virtuous (albeit hyprocritically)"Nasty Girl." These are 4 of the best cuts on the album. By track #6, it gets a little less stellar, but by #10, "Emotion" (the best collective vocal performance on the cd) brings the heat. As a nod to their spirituality, the do a gospel medley ending with a lackluster rendition of Richard Smallwood's "Total Praise." I enjoyed this cd, but if you want the definitive Destiny's Child, pick up the writing's on the wall. Also check out their solo albums, because they're worth a listen, especially Beyonce's.

This album is okay. There are only 3 really good songs: "Independent Woman Pt.1"(Pt.2 is just awful), "Survivor", and "Bootylicious". The rest is poorly written and full of really bad production. It just doesn't sound good. If you want a DC album get "The Writings On The Wall" that is good from start to finish. This is 3 singles and filler. Don't waste your time.

This is the third album of DC overall, and their first as a trio. I adore this album. Beyonce, Kelly, and Michelle take every track and make it theirs. Every song has the terrific 3-part harmionies and catchy choruses. Songs 10, 11, and 12 are ballads, and track 14 is a gospel medley, but the other 11 songs are very dancable and upbeat. Favorites include the title track, "Nasty Girl", "Bootylicious", and "Happy Face". The only songs I didn't really like were the "Independent Woman" ones. Haven't we heard enough of "IW Part I" on the radio?? And "IW Part II" sounded like: "Well, we made this song a part one. Hurry, let's make a part two so we can FINALLY close the door on this song!!". Another track I didn't really like was track 15 (The "Outro"). One member of the group addresses the other two, calling them "true friends" and "angels". Save it for the liner notes next time, ladies!! On the whole, this sounds better than DC's first 2 albums. They deserve high praise for this great effort.

As a songwriter, BK makes a great supermodel. But "don't hate 'em because they're beautiful" to paraphrase the old saying. Hate this album because it sounds like somebody's daddy let them into the studio to just do whatever yelling and hollering that they wanted. (Oh, isn't that just what happened?) Although the harmony is good, most of the songs are discordant and hard to listen to. And what is up with the "borrowing" of the intro music from Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen?" Were the girls even born when that song came out? Oh, and we get that you girls love each other, which is very touching but gets old after the 500th time that we hear it. On a positive note, Independent Women Part I is a great song. And the girls do a great job on the old Bee Gees tune (and it is SO obvious that Emotions was written by someone else!)