I’ll make a prediction right now: Beyoncé’s “Homecoming,” her live album from her performance at last year’s Coachella, will win a Grammy this coming year.
Now, it’ll probably be for one of the less glamorous Grammys, namely the ones about production and sound design, but a Grammy nonetheless.
Before we get much further into this, some context: “Homecoming” was dropped as a surprise last week, accompanied by a Netflix documentary of the same name that looks at the lead up to the performance and the performance itself.
This article is only a review of the album. I’m not a film reviewer, and I also haven’t actually watched the documentary yet, so my opinions are limited to what appears on the record.
And what appears on the record is some of the best recording that I’ve ever heard on a live album. This isn’t an exaggeration, nor does it come from a place of naïveté; I listen to a lot of live records.
This one is nothing short of an achievement. The recording sounds so crisp and clear, never losing any quality like live records are sometimes wont to do. However, it also still maintains the feeling of live-ness that a good live record has. The crowd sound is just as crisp and clear as Beyoncé and her band does, which allows the listener to feel immersed in the crowd.
And while I could go on all day about how beautiful the sound on this record is, I suppose I should save some column inches for Beyoncé herself.
As always, Beyoncé herself is masterful. One of the most incredible things about the record is the way she re-imagines some of her greatest hits. Through much of the show, Beyoncé is backed by a marching band, which brings a new layer to these songs that we’ve all heard a million times.
One could assume that a performer of Beyoncé’s caliber wouldn’t simply sing over a backing track, but to effectively rewrite each song from top to bottom to have it performed by a live marching band goes above and beyond. It makes these classics fresh, new and engaging all over again.
And Beyoncé crams a lot of songs into this performance, thanks to her skillful blending of some of the tracks. Despite the fact that the album doesn’t quite crack two hours, she packs a full 40 (yes, 40) songs onto the album. The quick and breezy transitions between the tracks prevents the show from ever feeling overlong, and instead makes the album just feel, well, fun.
Honestly, there isn’t a single complaint that I could make about this record. In my opinion, it immediately shoots up the list of some of the best live records of all time. The only people who won’t enjoy it are the ones who don’t like Beyoncé to begin with.
But in 2019, who doesn’t like Beyoncé?
