B'Day

1	Deja Vu 4:00
2	Get Me Bodied 3:25
3	Suga Mama 3:25
4	Upgrade U 4:32
5	Ring the Alarm 3:23
6	Kitty Kat 3:55
7	Freakum Dress 3:20
8	Green Light 3:29
9	Irreplaceable 3:47
10	Resentment 15:28

Barnes & Noble

On her aptly titled sophomore disc, Beyoncé parties like it's her B'Day. And with good reason -- the disc's release coincides with the No. 1 stunner's 25th birthday. Admittedly, the festivities got off to a shaky start with the lackluster, '70s-soul-informed "Déjà Vu." But boy, did Queen B set the party back on track with the second single, the artfully angry "Ring the Alarm" -- a siren sound-off to any girl trying to push up on her man (the rumor mill has it this sonic missive was fired at Jay-Z protégée Rihanna). Unlike Beyoncé's polished-yet-disjointed debut, Dangerously in Love, B'Day, recorded in just two weeks, is a grittier, more cohesive affair. The best tracks are geared for the club: "Crazy in Love" producer Rich Harrison checks in with two more sweaty rump shakers -- "Suga Mama," a juicy slice of back water blues that would make Tina Turner proud, and the bombastic "Freakum Dress" -- and Swizz Beatz turns up the heat with the funky nursery rhyme, "Get Me Bodied" (an extended version closes the disc) and the aforementioned "Ring the Alarm." Even when the tempo slows, you won't find any soaring ballads like "Dangerously in Love" here. Instead, on the military drill-inspired "Irreplaceable," Beyoncé forewarns her lover, "I'll have another you by tomorrow / So don't you ever for a second get to thinkin' you're irreplaceable," and on the doo-woppish "Resentment," Beyoncé sounds as if she's stepped into her heartbroken Dreamgirls character, Deena, as she struggles to forgive her man's cheatin' ways. B'Day may not be the album anticipated by fans who've grown accustomed to Beyoncé as a polite and picture-perfect Destiny's Child, but artistically, this is the refreshingly unhinged album she was destined to make. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

At least one tactic or event preceding the release of Beyoncé's second solo album inspired a bemused three-syllable exclamation from anyone who was paying attention. The lead single, the late-'70s-funk-inspired "Deja Vu," had the audacity to not be as monstrous as "Crazy in Love" -- its stay at the top of the charts was relatively brief, so clearly there was evidence of some drop-off there. This was quickly followed by "Ring the Alarm," an angered, atonal, and out-of-character song with an accompanying video that invited all kinds of perplexed analysis, along with debate on whether Beyoncé was being autobiographical or, as the singer claimed, channeling her Dreamgirls character. All of this gave the haters plenty of ammo when anything less than 100% polite, ladylike, and expected was bound to do the trick. Add to this an album title that can be pronounced just like "bidet," along with the advertisement that the album's ten songs were whipped up in two weeks, and you have yourself a career-killing train wreck. B'day isn't even close to that. While Beyoncé does sound like she's in a bit of a hurry throughout the album, and there are no songs with the smooth elegance of "Me, Myself and I" or "Be with You," it is lean in a beneficial way, propelled by just as many highlights as the overlong Dangerously in Love. Two collaborations with Rich Harrison swagger and preen: "Been locked up in the house way too long/It's time to get it, 'cause once again he's out doing wrong" (the blaring/marching "Freakum Dress"); "Don't give me no lip, let mama do it all" (the spectacularly layered "Suga Mama"). The Neptunes assist on "Green Light," an ambitious, fleet-footed number that continually switches tempos and sounds, as well as "Kitty Kat," a deceptively sweet, rainbow-colored track -- where what sounds like purrs are more like claws-out dismissals -- that could've been pulled from one of the first three Kelis albums. And even with an entirely bonkers line like "I can do for you what Marvin did for the people," "Upgrade U" is the most potent track on the album, a low-slung Cameron Wallace production where Beyoncé wears and buys the pants while making her proposition sound more like empowerment than emasculation. If the circus surrounding this whole thing -- which could take up to ten pages to document -- was an elaborate ploy to transform Beyoncé into an underdog, there really is some kind of genius at play, but it's extremely unlikely that anyone in her camp could've predicted that the expectations and reactions would be less rational than any of Beyoncé's decisions and actions. There is nothing desperate or weak about this album. Andy Kellman

New York Times

With an album as premeditated and as nutty as “B’Day,” Beyoncé now qualifies as a full-fledged diva. Jon Pareles

Entertainment Weekly

On her second solo album, B'Day, the songs arrive in huge gusts of rhythm and emotion, with Beyoncé's voice rippling over clattery beats; you'd have to search far and wide...to find a vocalist who sings with more sheer force. [B+] Jody Rosen