Take her at her word and it would seem the “real” Beyoncé

Far from attempting to reconcile them, her new double album I Am . . . Sasha Fierce embraces that division. Drop the first disc - the I Am bit - into the CD tray and, according to Beyoncé, you will hear the purest expression of the person she is “underneath the make-up”. Take her at her word and it would seem the “real” Beyoncé of soft-scented power ballads such as Halo and Satellites bears scant resemblance to the 22-year-old who, in 2003, lit the touchpaper on her solo career with Crazy in Love.