Drops: Beyonce's haphazard '4'

Beyoncé has reached a point in her career where she is in control. She can do what she wants. However, "4" (Columbia) shows why that's not necessarily a good idea.

It's not that "4" is bad. It just seems haphazardly made. The odd "1+1" goes from soul ballad to Prince-ly guitar solo for no good reason. The overwrought "Rather Die Young" stretches to be a late '70s soul jam and comes up short. Even worse is the self-important, Diane Warren-written ballad "I Was Here," which features straight-up laughable lines like, "When I leave this world, I leave no regrets, leave something to remember so they won't forget I was here." And we've already seen how the edgy "Run the World (Girls)" has failed to connect in the way her other envelope-pushing hits like "Crazy in Love" or "Single Ladies" have.

Those mistakes overwhelm some good songs, including the current single, "Best I Never Had," which covers the same ground as "Irreplaceable," and the truly adventurous "Party," an impressive old-school jam that Andre 3000 livens up and eventually steals from B. Even when she succeeds on a song, as she does on the Al Jarreau-ish "Love on Top," it's hard to understand what she was trying to prove.

Beyoncé's "4" sounds like it was meant to be an album for her, which she's certainly entitled to. Unfortunately, it really doesn't do much for everyone else.

BEYONCÉ

"4"

THE GRADE B-

SEE PHOTOSBeyoncé through the years

BOTTOM LINE B looks back and gets a little lost