Madonna: Sticky & Sweet

Whip out your dancing shoes and get ready to party! Madonna’s back with her 11th studio album Hard Candy, her final project with Warner Brothers, the record label with whom she has been signed to for the past 25 years. “Not a lot of people can say that,” as Madonna pointed out during a recent ceremony inducting the artist into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Referring, of course, to her unprecedented long-standing business relationship with the music giant. Hard Candy is Madonna’s way of saying au revoir – in a big way – to the place she called home her entire music career. 

The carrier single, 4 Minutes, may lead one to think that Hard Candy is a departure from the classic Madonna sound we have become accustomed. Relax, it isn’t! Working with music heavyweights – Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes & Nate “Danja” Hills – the Pop Icon proves her versatility knows no bounds. Although Hard Candy is heavily influenced by her collaborators’ previous work, its core is distinctively Madonna’s signature old-school pop/dance style. But there is not a lot of self-introspection here and the Electronica vibe of her last three albums seems to be a thing of the past. Instead, the 11-track record offers loads of craziness, sexy vocals and cool beats.  It is purely a Pop album, more so than 2005’s Confessions On A Dancefloor, despite its overall hip-hop/urban feel. 

Candy Shop is a mid-tempo song that serves as the perfect introduction to the album. Madonna invites the listener to come inside her store and taste her candy with its easy going synth hooks, experimental beats and some serious basslines. Candy Shop is laden with naughty sexual innuendoes we haven’t heard from Madonna since 1992’s Erotica. Pharrell Williams, whose chemistry with Madonna comes naturally, provides back-up vocals.

4 Minutes starts off the dance party with its sexy, hip-hop/urban beats and of course, Justin Timberlake (need we say more?). As of this writing, 4 Minutes has become Madonna’s 37th entry into the Billboard’s Hot 100 list, breaking the record only held previously by Elvis Presley. 4 Minutes is also Madonna’s 13th #1 single on the British singles chart, making her the only female artist to have that many #1 singles in the UK.

Give It 2 Me takes the party to perverse heights with its killer drums, catchy hooks and dizzying loops. This will be the second single, which Madonna has just completed filming a music video for. The beats explode as she affirms, “When the lights go down and there’s no one left, I can go on and on and on...” The queen of the dancefloor does not intend to relinquish her crown just yet!

Heartbeat starts off with the sound of a beating heart which then launches into some serious hip-hop beats. Singing about her affirmation of love, “You know you feel it in my heartbeat.” Somewhere along the way, she borrows from Rhianna as she repeatedly chants, “See my booty get down/See my booty get down!”

Miles Away does nothing to downplay the recent rumors of a rift in her marriage. It’s a beautiful mid-tempo song that could very well have been arranged as a ballad with its sentimental message about a distant lover and his ability to be a better person when they are miles away from each other. Judge for yourself as she sings, “You always love me more miles away/I hear it in your voice miles away/You’re always at your best when we’re miles away.”

In She’s Not Me, Madonna takes us back to the 80’s with its familiar toots and beeps reminiscent of Lucky Star and Holiday. It is one of the best songs on the album. She sings about a lover who strays and the competition involved. On the other hand, it can also be interpreted as a summation of her entire career as she sings, “She can love you in the shower/the flavor of the moment” but ”she doesn’t have what’s ours/she’s not me/she doesn’t have my name/she doesn’t have what I have,” referring maybe to all the wannabe’s that have tried to mimic her style.

Incredible is fresh and full of optimism with lyrics like, “Can’t get my head around it/I like to think about it/Life is beautiful.” Madonna has never made a song like this before. It’s a feel good song that reminds me of the laid back hip-hop sound of the mid-90s.

Beat Goes On is my personal favorite. It literally blew me away as it sounds nothing like its previously leaked demo version. Featuring Pharrell Williams, Beat Goes On is sure to become a big hit if released as a single. Madonna gets kinda preachy, “You don’t have the luxury of time, you have got to say what’s on your mind.” The melody and lyrics fit together like a glove, its varying loops throughout are like multiple orgasms! A surprise appearance by Kanye West spices things up.

In Spanish Lesson Madonna offers literal translations to common Spanish phrases like “yo te quiero” and “mucho gusto,” in a backdrop of traditional Spanish music. The song starts the same way as Justin’s Like I love You with a progressive strumming of a Spanish guitar and handclaps.   

The Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You and Voices were both written in the first chunk of time she had writing with Justin. Devil is apparently a song about a person who everyone has in their life – a person who gets away with everything. Voices is about people playing mind games and who go on ego trips. The line, “Are you walking the dog or is the dog walking you?” asks who’s controlling whom? These last two songs really make you think and there’s something very orchestral and lush about them.

By constantly reinventing her image and product, Madonna has managed to consistently stay at the top of the game, her most favorite position! Hard Candy is fresh and new, but is yet another reinvention of the ever-evolving Madonna we’ve come to know. The Material Girl has just pulled another trick from her many hats. You know what they say about fine wine? Well, the same concept applies to Madonna. The little girl from Michigan has gotten better with age.

Note: The writers are self-proclaimed fanatics who did everything in our power to procure a pre-released copy of the album. This is for all our fellow fanatics. The CD will hit the racks on the 29th. A world tour in support of the new album is scheduled to kick-off in London this Fall. Dance on!