I Am...Sasha Fierce [Deluxe Edition]

Recording information: 2nd Floor Studios, Orlando, FL; Bangledesh Studios, Atlanta, GA; Chung King Studios, New York, NY; Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY; GAD Studios, Ibiza, Spain; Germano Studios, New York, NY; Mansfield Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Patchwerk Studios, Atlanta, GA; Roc The Mic Studios, New York, NY; Silent Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA; Soapbox Studios, Atlanta, GA; South Beat Studios, Miami Beach, FL; Strawberrybee Productions, New York, NY; The Boom Boom Room, Burbank, CA; The Campground, Los Angeles, CA; Tree Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA.
Photographer: Peter Lindbergh.
I AM. SASHA FIERCE represents another change of pace for Beyoncé. Unlike the relatively streamlined, retro-soul inflected B'DAY, I AM... is a sprawling two-disc set designed to reflect two conflicting sides of Beyoncé's musical personality. The first disc sports reflective, sometimes moody ballads, while the second, attributed to Beyoncé's brash alter ego, Sasha Fierce, is loaded with propulsive dance-floor fillers. Except for this stylistic divide, I AM. pays only nominal attention to its supposed concept, focusing instead on a set of excellent, radio-ready songs--neatly avoiding the possibility of I AM. becoming some sort of Chris Gaines-style conceptual disaster. Though the second disc, which boasts the synth-drenched lead single, "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," is more immediately gratifying, the impeccably produced ballads of the first disc represent a vast improvement on the often awkward torch songs that weighed down Beyoncé's first solo record.