On her 11th studio album "Hard Candy," Madonna channels Lara Croft and plays tune raider as she mines from current pop tarts to offer a mixed bag of treats with only a few new tricks. With her 50th birthday on the horizon, her royal Madgesty seems to be struggling not to become an immaterial girl by recruiting the flavor of the month producer Timbaland as well as boy toy boy-band refugee Justin Timberlake to freshen up her image.
The debut track "4 Minutes" is an over-complicated dance song that may have been left over from Gwen Stefani's last album. Timberlake steals the beats from Madonna and does what used to be impossible; he forces Maddy into the background.
Sex seems to be on the material mom's mind with "Give it 2 me," but the beat heavy song is like a soda without the fizz. It almost seems like she is just going through the motions rather than getting back to her erotic self.
Madonna claims she is "tired of the same old thing" on "Beat Goes On," but not even Sonny and Cher would touch this bland song, which is a repetitive thumping track that goes nowhere.
On the flip side, "Miles Away" is a nice blend of classic Madonna a la "Lucky Star," "Everybody" and electronica that should make fans happy and remember why they fell in love with her in the 80s. And "Dance 2 Night" reinforces the love of dance floor grooves offering a sugar high that makes you want to grab a hairbrush and lip-sync in your mirror.
The queen of pop seems to be more worried about losing her crown than creating new sounds. Has she run out of re-inventions? I tend to think of this as her keeping all her new recipes for when she heads over to her new label, Live Nation.
"Candy" is her last album with longtime partner Warner Bros. and much like what fellow pop pioneer Prince did with his last WB album "Chaos and Disorder," Madonna seems content with leaving the label with jawbreakers rather than bubble gum.
Some may think I am being too harsh on the eclectic singer/actress/producer/designer, but it is only because we have come to expect so much more. Maybe if Madonna wasn't so busy adopting African children and ruining her husband's once promising film career, she would have time to devote to her music.
At this point in her career, Madonna is nearly bullet and review proof. Her legion of fans will follow her anywhere and her radio friendly collaborations will keep her on the charts; "4 Minutes" is already a top ten in her arsenal.
Whenever I count her out Madonna comes back swinging. "Hard Candy" is hardly a dud, but with a market flooded with Madonna-wannabes, we need the Everlasting Gobstopper of pop to show them how it's done.
The debut track "4 Minutes" is an over-complicated dance song that may have been left over from Gwen Stefani's last album. Timberlake steals the beats from Madonna and does what used to be impossible; he forces Maddy into the background.
Sex seems to be on the material mom's mind with "Give it 2 me," but the beat heavy song is like a soda without the fizz. It almost seems like she is just going through the motions rather than getting back to her erotic self.
Madonna claims she is "tired of the same old thing" on "Beat Goes On," but not even Sonny and Cher would touch this bland song, which is a repetitive thumping track that goes nowhere.
On the flip side, "Miles Away" is a nice blend of classic Madonna a la "Lucky Star," "Everybody" and electronica that should make fans happy and remember why they fell in love with her in the 80s. And "Dance 2 Night" reinforces the love of dance floor grooves offering a sugar high that makes you want to grab a hairbrush and lip-sync in your mirror.
The queen of pop seems to be more worried about losing her crown than creating new sounds. Has she run out of re-inventions? I tend to think of this as her keeping all her new recipes for when she heads over to her new label, Live Nation.
"Candy" is her last album with longtime partner Warner Bros. and much like what fellow pop pioneer Prince did with his last WB album "Chaos and Disorder," Madonna seems content with leaving the label with jawbreakers rather than bubble gum.
Some may think I am being too harsh on the eclectic singer/actress/producer/designer, but it is only because we have come to expect so much more. Maybe if Madonna wasn't so busy adopting African children and ruining her husband's once promising film career, she would have time to devote to her music.
At this point in her career, Madonna is nearly bullet and review proof. Her legion of fans will follow her anywhere and her radio friendly collaborations will keep her on the charts; "4 Minutes" is already a top ten in her arsenal.
Whenever I count her out Madonna comes back swinging. "Hard Candy" is hardly a dud, but with a market flooded with Madonna-wannabes, we need the Everlasting Gobstopper of pop to show them how it's done.
Source: Valley Life
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