Nobody whips up a media frenzy like Madonna, but with her latest release, Confessions on a Dancefloor, the queen of pop will whip up listeners too with her hardest-hitting pure dance record yet. This time she's left behind the politics, the ballads, and the heavy-handedness, instead delivering a collection of frothy beat-driven numbers that celebrate one of Madonna's greatest passions: The dance.
It's easy to forget that Madonna the singer/actress/mother/wife/children's book writer/icon originally set out for New York City from Michigan with aspirations no greater than to be a dancer. Through the years these roots have been celebrated in some of her best hits: "Into the Groove" ("You can dance for inspiration"), "Vogue" ("Strike a pose there's nothing to it"), and "Music" ("Hey Mr. DJ put a record on, I wanna dance with my baby."). She may be the queen of pop, but she's the galactic empress of dance, having amassed 34 #1 hits on the club play chart, twice that of 2nd placer Janet Jackson. While obviously a mainstream phenomenon, Madonna's core audience remains the (hopefully) gracefully aging club-going set of gay and straight clubgoers that have shaken their asses through over 20 years of Madonna hits and remixes.
Working with Stuart Price, British DJ/producer who also goes by monikers Jacques Lu Cont and Les Rythmes Digitales, Madonna dives head on into the history of club music over the last 30 years, ressurrecting Abba, disco, new wave, synth, and '90s House influences, while Stuart Prices shakes and stirs these sounds with his deft techno touch to produce what she calls "modern disco," but what we'll just call damn good dance grooves. All twelve tracks are seamlessly mixed into one another, just like if you were listening in a danceclub. Deep bass, keyboards, and modern sound effects weave in and out vying for dominance with Madonna's voice, which is strong as ever.
No Madonna album has opened as strongly as Confessions' first three tracks. "Hung Up" is the album's poppiest moment, and it delivers a catchy, upbeat come-on laid over a brilliantly exploited sample of Abba's classic "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)." From there the music plunges into the darker, "Get Together," which obviously draws on Stardust's classic '90s house track "Music Sounds Better With You" (which appropriately drew upon her classic '80s dance classic, "Holiday"). It's the album's strongest track, pulsing with feedback-enriched deep synthesizer chords weaving in and out of the Housebeat and Madonn'a vocals. It's like a late-night version of Kylie's "Love at First Sight." From there, the beat races ever faster through the winsome "Sorry," currently slated as the album's second single.
After "Sorry," the album is still good, but with each successive song the album's flaw, which is one by design, begins to show: the songs lack distinction. That's not to say that they're bad. They're quite good, and grow on me with successive listens, but since the whole package is meant to be greater than its parts--one continuous night on the dancefloor--few songs are individually memorable. Still great moments can be found. "Jump" is a particularly strong Depeche Mode-esque number that deserves to be a single, "Push" swaggers onto the scene with a slower beat and cool voice modulation effects, "I Love New York" is a cheeky ode to the metropolis from which she launched. "Let it Will Be," which also owes its sound to late '80s Depeche Mode, is also good.
Least interesting of the bunch are the only Mirwais-produced track, "Forbidden Love," (not a remake of the Bedtime Stories, but Madonna over-vocoderized) and "Isaac," the now obligatory strange track, joining the legacy of "Act of Contrition," "Mer Girl," and "Paradise." The song is an ode to her spiritual practice of Kabbalah, but with its middle eastern sounds and strong male voice, feels out of place.
Not without coincidence, the previous Madonna album Confessions most resembles is Erotica, her underrated 1992 underground dance concept album that got caught up in the negative publicity generated by Sex and Body of Evidence. The spoken word openings of "Future Lovers" and "Jump" are reminiscent of Erotica's broad use of the technique. Perhaps Confessions will generate renewed interest in what I consider one of her top 5 albums.
Confessions closes with "Like it or Not," where she proclaims that she is who she is, lest we need another reminder. The rhythm is straight from "Personal Jesus," but bathed in rich synth strings and keyboards. The electronica lifts at the end though, to the sound of a single acoustic guitar, a reminder after all that whirlwind of modern disco, that the simple things are important too.
How Confessions stacks up: Quick Ratings of Her Other Albums
Madonna (1983) (3.5/5)
Very club-influenced, Madonna could almost sound at home on the radio now, given how promiment the '80s sound has become in current pop.
Like a Virgin (1984) (4/5)
The album that made her a star, and delivered several key hits.
True Blue (1986) (5/5)
Her first classic--a cohesive pop album that was serious ("Live to Tell"), controversial ("Papa Don't Preach"), retro ("True Blue"), and just plain fun ("Where the Party").
Like a Prayer (1989) (5/5)
Madonna drew on a broader musical tapestry and explored personal themes for this; often cited as a her best album.
I'm Breathless (1990) (3/5)
A '20s-style concept album that didn't quite live up to its goals, but still enjoyable, if only for its last track, the decidedly modern "Vogue."
Erotica (1992) (4/5)
Underrated previous dance concept album that explored a variety of rich sounds and dark themes. Time to give it a second chance.
Bedtime Stories (1994) (3/5)
Safe and lacklaster follow-up to Erotica, whose purpose was damage control and a guaranteed hit (which she got with the Babyface-produced "Take a Bow").
Ray of Light (1998) (5/5)
First and best forray into electronica, Ray of Light was a Madonna back on track with a newly-trained voice, daughter, and spirituality to inform the music.
Music (2000) (5/5)
Also electronic, but edgier than Ray of Light, Music was just as good.
American Life (2003) (3/5)
The bomb of the bunch, but still worth a listen, particularly for its willingness to explore different territory. "X-static Process" is Madonna sounding rawer than she ever has.
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