Madonna's 11th album, Hard Candy has been unleashed on the world today. It's her last studio album under her old deal with Warner Bros Music before she switches over to Live Nation, and she has teamed up with some of the hottest producers of the moment on the disc. Pharrell, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nate "Danja" Hills separately produced all of the tracks on the album, and it's apparent as to who produced which ones. I think this is a fun, pop album and it's worth buying, but there are a few things about it that bother me.While I think that Madonna is probably one of the inventive and trend-setting artists of my generation, she really seems to have gotten behind the trends with Hard Candy. Timbaland has produced some of the hottest albums and tracks of the last, well, 2 or 3 years and Danja is the one mainly responsible for all the hotness of Britney Spears' Blackout (which is great and you should still buy, even though Britney lost it.) This album almost sounds like a compilation of the biggest albums of the last few years... but not in a good way. The songs are fun, dancy and have that typical Madonna energy, but aren't very inspired. It almost seems like the 12 songs were sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting for someone to sing on them. Again, the songs are good and enjoyable to listen to, but seem to lack any umph, especially when paired with Madge's often juvenile lyrics. "4 Minutes" with Justin Timberlake is probably the strongest track on the album.
Here's a track by track:
"Candy Shop" - The first song. The one that's supposed to set the theme of the album. It's pretty boring and not as fun as you'd expect it to be. Thuds with Pharrell production.Basically I think Hard Candy is a fun pop/dance album, but doesn't have the power behind it like some of Madonna's former discs. Maybe it's just the dip in between monster albums, but Hard Candy seems to like the spirit of Confessions On A Dancefloor or some of her more popular releases. I guess you can't strike gold every time, right?
"4 Minutes" - The first single of the disc. Dancy, fun and filled with bass and funky horns.
"Give It 2 Me" - The second single. A twirling dance number. Sounds more like a Britney track more than Madge. Morphs into a Gwen Stefani "Wind It Up" sound in the bridge.
"Heartbeat" - A slower dance track. One of my faves on the album. Simple lyrics on how dancing/music is Madonna's heartbeat.
"Miles Away" - Acoustic guitar pop. Nice lyrics about long distance love. Good song.
"She's Not Me" - My second least favorite on the disc. Cool funky disco groove but the lyrics are just too "roses are red, violets are blue" for me. Can't take it seriously.
"Incredible" - Weird song at first. Feels like some R&B pop that popped up a few years ago. Track should start around 2:24 because then it gets good! Rework this into a single!
"Beat Goes On" - Much improved from the earlier leaked demo version. Disco groove again with a fairly generic rap by Kanye West.
"Dance 2night" - Another slower dance song with Justin Timberlake. Sort of like a "Rock Your Body" duet with a slightly grittier feel.
"Spanish Lesson" - Just the worst. It's Madonna saying "this means this" for 3.5 minutes over a Spanish guitar. Sounds like a teen pop song I'd hear from an opening act at the Nickelodeon All That music festival.
"Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" - Slower pop jam. Smacks of "What Goes Around..." or "Cry Me A River" by Timberlake. You could probably interchange the lyrics for each song and not recognize it.
"Voices" - Another slower, melancholy pop song. Has a minor tone throughout. Not a bad song the more you listen to it.
Have you heard Hard Candy? What do you think of it?
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