You knew this was coming. Yes, Madonna released her 13th studio album last week. I've had some time to soak it up, and figured it my duty as a loyal fan to give a slightly biased opinion.
Before you even listen to the record, you know it's going to be a dance album. With a title like "Confessions on a Dance Floor" and a cover decked out in disco balls, you know she's gonna bring it. Madonna likes to refer to it as "dance music for the ages" or "future disco." I think it's the true return to dance music that everyone said "Ray of Light" was supposed to be. Don't get me wrong. "Ray of Light' is a masterpiece and probably my favourite of her albums; but most people confuse "dance music" and "electronica." Just because a song has electronic enhancements, doesn't make it dancey. But, I digress.
So, on to the album itself. The first track is the ABBA-sampling "Hung Up." I have to admit, when I first heard this song, I wasn't too keen on it. But it's definitely grown on me, especially after hearing it within the context of the whole album. But, wait. It gets better. The second track, "Get Together" is full of Daft Punk-y warmth and definitely makes me shake what my Momma gave me. The flow goes on to "Sorry," which has it's slow moments, but is still a great track with probably one of the catchiest choruses ever.
Things come to a screeching halt with "I Love New York." The song itself sounds good enough, with tympani and sleek production, but the lyrics are so bad, it's difficult to appreciate it on any level.
From there, things have a hard time of regaining their momentum. That is, until "Jump." This is probably Madonna's best pure dance song since "Vogue." It's not only a call, but a demand to get up on the floor. It totally revives the waning second half of the album.
Madonna enlisted Stuart Price, also known as Les Rythmes Digitales, as co-producer for this round. If you've ever heard an LRD track, you can see why Madonna snatched him up. The high production of this album kind of counteracts the thin production of "American Life," and it's sometimes so overwhelming that it almost tosses Madonna into the background. Another interesting thing about "Confessions" is that each track is mixed into the next, so it flows nicely, and if you want to have people over to your flat to boogie down, you don't have to worry about dead air between songs.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with this record, though I doubt she'll ever put out anything as great as "Ray of Light" ever again. It's definitely worth purchasing, and makes for great Friday-night, pre-clubbing music.
1 comment:
Dude, totally. I don't know about the rest of her stuff, but I've wanted to get ray of light since it came out in like 98 or whenever. I still haven't got it. I'm going to though. Just 'cause as a kid I thought she was the sexiest woman alive.
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