hard candy

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-13
Not her best, but still makes you want to move.
Songs on this album are all definitely "sticky and sweet." I still loved her last album- mostly for the amazing transitions between songs- but this one has a different appeal. She once again has reinvented herself.

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-12
The Mid-Life Crisis Album from Madonna
Madonna has never been a remarkable musical talent; she has simply always been a remarkably astute observer and creator of culture. She is the consummate chameleon with the correct response to every trend. I have always believed there is a streak of true depth to Madonna, despite her comfort in the superficial, and that depth lies in her commitment to the principle of free self-expression.

Madonna has lost that depth and the kernel of her genius in this album. Her "self" never emerges through the carefully packaged, retro-dominatrix club motif. For the very first time, we have no idea what Madonna is trying to tell us.

"Hard Candy" attempts to draw heavily on vintage Madonna. The sounds are produced enough to be squarely within our decade, but the song packages are reminiscent of the mid-80s. Even the album cover, with its neon and leather, is 1985. And yet the impetuous, creative, but curiously soft-spoken young woman from 1985 who relished her ability to stir the public with sharp edges is now so entrenched within her cocoon of status as a politically correct, music-industry legend, she has no motivation to manipulate us with this album.

All we hear are formulas. All we see are the hottest names in the business floating around the album to entice us to associate Madonna with contemporary musical power. It is all package, and no substance.

If there is any message here, the message is, "I may be pushing 50, but I am still a pop star". Like the stereotypical middle-aged man enduring an obvious mid-life crisis with a poorly conceived purchase of a flashy sportscar, Madonna is not conscious here of the narcissism she is projecting.

When "4 minutes" was released, (an odd mixture of the trendy global consciousness in Madonna's conceptual style and Justin Timberlake, who is just there because he is Justin Timberlake), my first response was to realize how much better "Blackout" is, and how terribly ironic it is that I am hearing songs from Madonna instead of Britney because while Madonna is a shrewd and confident master of public image, Britney is mentally ill.

Here, however, in Hard Candy, the limits of disingenuous posturing are seen; for once, formulas and shrewd marketing cannot take sail without any vulnerable and real person behind the package clamoring for expression.

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-11
Surprise
Every time a song by Madonna comes out it seems like she has reinvented herself. This time is no different. A bit of the beginning sounds of Madonna mixed with her later music. Her voice is clear and sounds as if it is embedded into the music. The flow is great as well as some of the people she has on this CD. Listen to the words on this CD, they are clear and understandable, unlike some other recently produced albums. Madonna by far has outdone Mariah and Janet. Leona Lewis is on her tale though - check her out too.

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-10
Gonna kick your arse but you'll love it
At the beginning of the year people were talking about this year was gonna be the battle of the Diva's........my girl Mdolla comes out with a total HOT and ROCKIN album and her theme is boxing.....with TITLE belt.......as if to say no need for a battle I AM THE CHAMP!!!! and she proves to us why this is......at almost 50 (in Aug) she racks up another #1 album.......4 minutes went number one and stayed there for weeks and Give It 2 Me is now the second #1 from this totally smoking album.

This album features Pherrel, kayne West, Timbaland.....and my favorite Justin (bringing sexy back) Timberlake............you deffo do not want to miss out on Hard Candy.

For old schoolers to the younger crowd this album will make you get up get down.....see my bootie get down right.
Madonna takes us on another roller coaster ride that is Madonna's music....buy it today.

Rating:
Date: 2008-07-10
Perfect for its time
This album is a garish, loud time capsule for what will be 2008. An amalglam of throwback sounds and robotic futuristic tones. The consensus of this album is as usual...mixed... hate it or love it, someones going to love this album. The work on it is cold, danceable, and on repeated listenings fantastic. I personally love all the tracks here. The producers fill the tracks with little quirks, noises, beats, and blips to make any dance fan go crazy and there's nothing wasted here. The highlights for me are "Incredible", "Spanish Lesson", "Candy Shop" (which I thought was mixed incorrectly at first...no bass hits whatsoever), "Heartbeat" and "Beat Goes On". These songs are all pitch perfect and are another great addition to Madonna's ever changing repetoire. I see all the haters out there as usual, listening to samples and acting like they bought the record. I heard it pre-release and was into it. I'm a music junkie...unless you want me to listen to and like bands like Daughtry or Nickelback (Ick.) or something I just can't relate to at all (like Neal Diamond or Barry Manilow.) and have to give anything a chance. The only major offense to me about this album is the Garish, disgusting cover. I had the same problem with Janet Jackson's Discipline...hideous and wet...but it to was an amazing piece as well...I believe that Madonna will continue to do as she pleases because she is a headstrong woman who's been around the block of the music business for a long time. She won't care about reviews, and she knows that fans will enjoy this as much as she probably did making it. And to quote the queen herself..."Get Stupid, Don't stop it...see my booty get down like uhhh." Classic...

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