When Beyoncé released her seventh album, Renaissance, in 2022, it was billed as Act I of a three-part project. After a few listens to the opulent, star-studded dance-pop epic, conversation naturally shifted toward one question: What would Act II and Act III sound like? Anyone who bet on a country record would likely have felt satisfied when, during the Super Bowl in February, Beyoncé dropped “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” two songs that transported her straight from Studio 54 to the Bluebird Cafe. Now, Beyoncé has released Cowboy Carter, a record that uses country as a jumping-off point to explore vintage Nashville sounds, classic rock, contemporary rap, and R&B, all while interrogating cultural ideas of “Americanness.” It’s not a move without precedent: The centerpiece of 2016’s Lemonade was the haunted bluegrass jam “Daddy Lessons,” and, years before that, she had a hit with the timeless country-R&B crossover “Irreplaceable.”
Cowboy Carter is a sprawling, 80-minute odyssey that uses the conceit of a fictional country radio station called KNTRY to dip into a handful of different styles and collaborate with notable figures like Willie Nelson, who hosts a show called Smoke Hour, and the Black country icon Linda Martell. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s frequently a blast. Here are seven things that stand out on first listen.
Shining a Light on Black Country
Beyoncé has said that the creation of Cowboy Carter was inspired by “an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcome,” with most people assuming she was referring to her 2016 CMAs performance of “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks. The Nashville firmament has long been hostile to outsiders and Black country stars, despite the long, rich history of Black country music. On Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé attempts to trace the Black country lineage from legends like Linda Martell—the first Black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry, who appears on “Spaghettii” and “The Linda Martell Show”—through to young Black country artists like Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and Tiera Kennedy, who appear on a cover of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” and Virginia country-rap artist Shaboozey, who appears on “Spaghettii” and “Sweet ★ Honey ★ Buckiin’.”
Beyoncéfying the Classics
The immediate head-turners on Cowboy Carter are the reinterpretations of two of pop’s most enduring classics: the Beatles’ “Blackbird” and Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” The former, a straight-ahead cover, is an opportunity to showcase the divine voices of Adell, Spencer, Roberts, and Kennedy. The latter is a little more distinctive: Beyoncé adds new lyrics to the original, transforming it into the kind of fiery rebuke that would fit right in on Lemonade. As if to ward off skepticism from country purists, Beyoncé’s “Jolene” is introduced by Parton herself, who nods to “Sorry” in a spoken word interlude: “You know that hussy with the good hair you sang about? Reminded me of someone I knew back when, except she has flamin’ locks of auburn hair, bless her heart. It’s just hair of a different color, but it hurts just the same.”
Elsewhere, on the rowdy “Ya Ya,” Beyoncé samples Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made for Walkin” and interpolates the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
