Music Review: Madonna - Hard Candy
Published April 26, 2008
Now for the good news. “Four Minutes” is a great lead single, although heavier on the Timberlake than I would prefer, that manages to get stuck in your head. If the case of Hard Candy is to prove that Madonna can still keep up with the youngsters on the radio then “Four Minutes” is great supporting evidence. “Give it Me,” the purposed second single, is another catchy bouncy treat, if not terribly original. “She’s Not Me” is a disco fidelity epic that would do her "Like A Virgin" producer and Chic frontman Nile Rodgers very proud. Dripping with handclaps, dramatic violins, and funky guitar riffs, the song is at once defiant and danceable.
“Miles Away”, the best song on the record lyrically, profiles a strained relationship hurt by distance. ”Heartbeat” is a classic Madonna get-on-the-dancefloor track. She generally seems to be having fun as she whispers “see my booty get down” and it’s infectious. “Dance 2 Nite” is another floor-filler with Justin Timberlake that’s thankfully more “Into the Groove” and less “SexyBack”. Speaking of JT, slipped in towards the end of the album is “Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You” is another collaboration that recalls his “What Goes Around (Comes Around). It’s the closest thing Hard Candy has to a ballad and it’s a damn fine one.
So the bottom line is this - Hard Candy is at once an overcooked record with too many uninspired chefs in the kitchen and an addictive piece of ear-candy handmade for the headphones. Filled with triumphs, frustrations,contradictions, risks, and vanities, it’s pure Madonna, like it or not. And if you’re not crazy about this incarnation, stick around.
25 years listening to Madonna have taught me to never expect the same thing twice and Hard Candy proves she far from finished evolving.
![Hard Candy Special Edition [Candy Box]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31vXKLsX9oL._SY90_.jpg "Hard Candy Special Edition [Candy Box]")
- Music Review: Madonna - Hard Candy
- Published: April 26, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Pop
- Writer: Sean Paul Mahoney
- Sean Paul Mahoney's BC Writer page
- Sean Paul Mahoney's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
I'm sorry but i dont share your point of view. I think working with timbaland/williams was a mistake.
Those guys have talent but they are music factories that produce over and over the same music for years.
Take the songs, replace madonna by another singer the result will sound the same.
There's nothing original in this album. Too much noise not enough music. Take 4mn as an example, vocals are way behind the "music" and madonna is just featuring Timberlake.
It wont be reminded, in 6 months it will be over im pretty sure.
Too bad, i've always been a fan of madonna because she knew how to evolve.
Well at least, it's not her last album, let's hope the next one will be better
yes the album is pretty boring... i hated the first listen. thought it grew on me on second listen but i haven't had even the slightest desire to listen to it after that - something very unusual with me and a Madonna record. what a way to end her contract with Warners! and the saddest part is reading her interviews where she talks about the songwriting process on this album - i don't think it is worth talking about and this is coming from a 25-year-long fan. Music and American Life were great and Confessions had some gems. this is just so NOT her. big disappointment even if it ends up selling 10 million - the music on it will still sound the same. and she better get her moves going cause if the 40 minutes show she's been pulling is anything remotely similar to what she plans for her next tour then it's gonna be a major disappointment in that area too. still, i think she's gonna bounce back with something so unbelievable and unexpected with her next album. till then - sorry...
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/76209)
Outstanding disc, easily the best of her career. It's a little early to say probably but it seems obvious enough for me to say it. "Heartbeat" is the only track I don't care for (she looses me with the ridiculous cliche 'booty get down')and it's still a decent enough song. All the other 11 tracks are remarkable - they all stand out.
I read somewhere recently someone alluding to Madonna being "pop music's greatest showoff." Hard Candy is exactly that - Madonna showing off in spades why she is the greatest pop star of her generation and why she still commands the attention of a substantial segment of teenagers who find room for her new record on their shelves alongside Beyonce and Rihanna. They know, as Madonna proclaims on "She's Not Me" that she "can do it better."