Page 2 - Everyone Is Stunned By Beyonce's Surprise Album, Most Of All The Critics [Pictures]

USA Today is impressed with both the album and the visuals, which delve deeper into the private world of Mrs Carter than ever before. Featuring both Jay Z (on the emotionally overloaded track Drunk in Love) and Blue Ivy (in the videos for Blue and Heaven), the album presents Beyonce not as “a scantily clad, cold and removed pop star; she's a smiling, relaxed mother. Awash in soft light for scenes of her and Blue Ivy, the videos, as well as the songs themselves, stand in stark contrast with the harder tracks on the album.”

This album reveals a rougher, more personal side to the pop star.

Andrew Hampp of Billboard’s lengthy, track-by-track review boils down to an extremely positive critique of Beyonce’s new effort. Much like the album’s unorthodox release strategy, the videos and most importantly musical qualities are original, experimental and they really do work. “But once the initial novelty and shock wears off of Beyoncé's impressive stealth-release feat, the brilliance and creative audacity of the album itself can sink in, Hampp says. “Though there are a few songs with traditional pop structures ("XO," "Blow" and "Drunk In Love" chief among them), many of the tracks are more experimental, half-rapped/half-sung songs with suites and interludes that pack more ideas (and more sexually explicit dialogue) than radio-friendly hooks at times.”

Still, the powerhouse pop star can be as sultry as ever.

The LA Times’ extended piece on the album also heaps praise on Beyonce and her work – not just the massive project that she managed to pull off in complete secrecy, but also the bold move to “torch the veil” of her carefully crafted public image.

On this album, we get to peer behind the mask.

“Songs on the album jump and dive between genres and are woven together with everything from spoken word and trap raps to the coos of her daughter Blue Ivy and vintage Destiny’s Child footage,” Gerrick D. Kennedy writes. “It's a lot to consume, but a revelatory look at the singer who has tirelessly calculated what she chooses to share (and it's not always much).”

Even the critics are duly impressed.

All in all, it’s a mind-blowing album in more ways than one. That’s probably why Bey wants her fans to hear it in its entirety – BEYONCE is only available in full, as an iTunes exclusive complete with 14 tracks and 17 videos until December 20th, when singles will be made available for purchase.

Check out the promo for Drunk in Love below.