In my honest opinion, Beyonce Knowles has outdone herself with 'I Am...'. The concept is not a new one, Janet Jackson explored the alter-ego of Damita Jo in 2004, and now Beyonce is doing the same, with Sasha Fierce. Here though Beyonce pulls it off with great style and substance.
The Beyonce Side includes tracks like 'Halo', 'Smash Into You', 'Broken Hearted Girl' and 'If I Were A Boy' - primarily mid-tempo ballads which showcase some of Beyonce's best vocals to date. The emotion is there to hear in 'Smash Into You' and 'Halo' especially, and gives the album a more mature tone than Beyonce's previous work.
The flip side is Sasha Fierce, full of fast, sassy songs like the smash hit 'Single Ladies', 'Sweet Dreams', 'Diva' and 'Ego'. There are influences of gospel, soul and urban all mixed to make really interesting and stylish songs that make you want to strut and dance along with Sasha.
Overall it feels like a more grown-up and polished album than Dangerously In Love or B'Day, but it still has the swagger and power that Beyonce is famous for.
The Platinum Edition also includes some nice bonus tracks like 'Why Don't You Love Me?' and 'Ave Maria', and a bonus dvd of the video singles including 'Single Ladies', 'Halo', 'Broken Hearted Girl' and 'Sweet Dreams'. Sadly the video for 'Video Phone' is not included. The dvd also includes a 30minute documentary on the making of the album and videos with Beyonce.
Also, if you're a fan of Beyonce be sure to check out the 'I Am...' World Tour Dvd + CD. You Won't Be Disappointed.