Fridae

Step in a gay disco anywhere in the world and before you call it a night, I'm sure you would have heard at least one track from the "bootylicious" girls that make up Destiny's Child. If you didn't, you were probably in a place where they still think
I Will Survive and It's Raining Men are the best things that ever came over that side of Fagtown.

While their previous album (and still probably their best) The Writing's on the Wall emphasized their "commandments" to R&B culture, Survivor professes their one simple goal-to plainly "survive".

Survivor barely "survives" in this case, and a major part of what makes it listenable but not perfect comes from the fact that lead girl Beyonce Knowles scraped producers like Kandi Briggs (Bills, Bills, Bills) and Rodney "DarkChild" Jerkins (Say My Name) to write and produce most of the tracks.

If it weren't for Independent Women, Part 1 (Part 2 sounds like a jingle from "Ren and Stimpy") and the second title track single (which has Kelly and Michelle sharing the spotlight), the album would have not held up.

Although there are some noteworthy efforts like the remake of Samantha Sang's only hit Emotion and the poignant Brown Eyes (both of which are single material), there is no sign of other worthy chart toppers like Say My NameJumpin' Jumpin.

Listening to the first half of the album takes some effort compared to the second "more soulful" half. Tracks like Bootylicious and Fancy sound chaotic and lack a certain hook, making them hard to digest even to the most diehard of fans. The last track Outro (DC-3) Thank You wins the award for the most ridiculous attempt to put the album credits into "song".

The chorus of Survivor, "I'm a survivor / I'm not gon' give up / I'm not gon' stop / I'm gon' work harder" rings ironically true. Refreshing as the album is, I'd like to see them keep their words and "work harder" next time around.