BEYONCÉ
B'Day
Producers: various
Columbia/Sony Urban Music
Release date: Sept. 5

Beyoncé plays up both her naughty and nice sides on the follow-up to her multiplatinum solo debut, "Dangerously in Love." While lead single "Déjà Vu" was viewed by many as simply "Crazy in Love" part two, they've got another thing coming in terms of the album's other tracks. It's a rockier, edgier Beyoncé belting out her I'm-my-own woman perspective on such intense tracks as "Ring the Alarm," the Tina Turner-esque funk/rock fest "Suga Mama" and the slick, wicked "Kitty Kat." Beyoncé shifts into emotive mode on the ballad "Resentment," which calls to mind the subtle fervor and passion of the best girl groups of the '60s and '70s. Throughout, she romps with creative abandon, thankfully unafraid of stretching the boundaries lyrically and musically. And in the process, she tosses the age-old notion of a sophomore slump on its ear. -- Gail Mitchell