Dangerously In Love

06/18/2003 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Dan Leroy

Some albums are just too big to possibly fail, and the solo debut from Destiny's Child leader Beyonce Knowles certainly qualifies. With the remainder of Columbia Records' fiscal year riding on the results, Dangerously In Love offers every move you'd expect--the Jay-Z duets, the dancehall dabbling, the overheated balladry--and each component helps the collection function like a precision watch, guided by the 21-year-old star's improving songwriting and force of will. Forget innovation: Beyonce is a star on the level of fellow one-namers like Madonna and Cher now, and as in their work, the thrill is seeing how cleverly she can appropriate from the real innovators. At that game, she proves masterful, going the brassy Roc-A-Fella pop hooks of Jigga one better on the majestic "Crazy in Love," or rocking up the Outkast swing of "The Whole World," with help from Big Boi, on "Hip-Hop Star." Most significantly, if unsurprisingly, playing Roberta Flack to Luther Vandross's Donny Hathaway on "The Closer I Get To You" draws out Beyonce's finest-ever vocal performance -- the capper on a certain blockbuster you can't help but love for its successful calculation.