****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Madonna brings us her latest album Hard Candy and it does not disappoint. The album is full of dance club hits with a splash of r and b mixed in. This is another good album from the biggest selling and Most Successful Female Recording Artist In History. I meant to give this album 4 out of 5 stars but I can not change it. If you are expecting a genius record like Ray of Light, Music, Confessions, or American Life (yes that was a great NOT political album at all) you will be disappointed, but if you are looking for fun care free music you will really enjoy this.CANDY SHOP is a great song to start off the album. The song is a very energetic song that is similar to the version that was leaked months ago, but this one has more beats and layers added to it. She seems to be having a blast singing this and brings back lots sexual innuendos for this song. Madonna sings "All the suckers are not all we sell in the store. Chocolate kisses so good you'll be beggin' for more. Don't pretend you're not hungry I've got plenty to eat. Come on in to my store cause my sugar is sweet!" This is a great song that will get you in the mood for the dance club or for working out at the gym. I do wish the album would have opened with a stronger song though because this one is a bit weak for an opening song.4 MINUTES was the first single from Madonna's Hard Candy album. The song is a very energetic radio friendly track that stays in your head. After being ignored by U.S. radio stations with her last 2 albums American Life, and Confessions on A Dance Floor, Madonna decided to take a different direction and work with hit makers Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. The result forced radio to no longer ignore Madonna and 4 Minutes became her most radio friendly hit in years. Madonna sings "I want somebody to speed it up for me then take it down slow there's enough room for both." The song peaked at 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Madonna's 37th top ten hit pushing her past Elvis Presley as the artist with the most top 10 hits in history. 4 Minutes hit 1 on the Hot 100 Digital Song charts and is expected to bring her total sales for the single to over 1 million in just 5 weeks out it being out.GIVE IT TO ME is the next single to be released. The song also has a catchy beat that will sure get the dance floor crowd going. Once the chorus starts the club feel kicks in with the synths and Madonna sings "Give it to me, Yeah No one's gonna show me how. Give it to me, Yeah No one's gonna stop me now." This is a great choice as the second single and shows Madonna still can come out with one heck of a killer dance tune! The remix that is on the Hard Candy Deluxe edition from Itunes is a great remix, and makes me wish believe the remixes of some of these songs might just outshine their originals.HEARTBEAT is one of my many favorite tracks on the new album. The song opens with a heartbeat sound and some synths, and has an amazing beat. The song has a great r and b/dance feel to it and is sure to heat up the charts and the clubs. Madonna sings "This complicated life I try to do my best. I always tell myself it's all just a test. For me it's an escape cause dancing makes you beautiful." Heartbeat is classic Madonna in top form and one of the best songs on the album! I wish Madonna would have stayed more in tune with songs like this on the new album.MILES AWAY is the closet thing to a ballad on the album. It starts out with a guitar and then turns in to an upbeat song with some sad lyrics in which Madonna sings "When no one's around then I have you here. I begin to see the picture, it becomes so clear. You always have the biggest heart, when we're six thousand miles apart." This is one a beautiful slow songs Madonna, but lacks the power of her true ballads.SHE'S NOT ME has a funky beat to it in which Madonna describes is about the ultimate jilted lover. Madonna sings "She started dying her hair and wearing the same perfume as me. She's started reading my books and stealing my looks and lingerie." This Madonna song brings us back to those Thief of Hearts Erotica days.INCREDIBLE is another great song that I really dig. It has a very positive message and an amazing rhythm. Madonna sings "Remembering the very first time you caught that some ones' specials eye. And all of your care dropped, and all of the world just stopped." The song takes a interesting turn at the 3 minutes and 53 second mark when the synths once again kick in and the song gets a little more dancy. I think if the song jumps around a bit too much, and if it would have stayed more consistent or been shortened by a minute or two it would have made the song that much better.THE BEAT GOES ON is a much better version than the song that was leaked a few months ago. This is a groovy song that seems to have a Marvin gay feel to it. Kanye West makes a special rap cameo on this track and it surprisingly works really well. Madonna sings "You don't have the luxury of time you've got to say what's on your mind. Your head lost in the stars, you'll never go far it's time for you to read the signs." This is another song I ended up enjoying even though it has a rap sequence in it.DANCE 2NIGHT is a mellow song with a funky 80's retro beat to it is which Madonna once again sings with Justin Timberlake. Madonna sings "You don't have to be beautiful to be understood. You don't have to be rich and famous to be good. You just gotta give more more more than you ever have before." When the song reaches the 4 minute and 22 second mark it sounds like something off of Justin Timberlake's last album. Good song but something seems to be missing and it just seems to be a bit too bland for what we have come to expect from Madonna.SPANISH LESSON has a very urban tribal beat to it. To me this is the albums weakest song and my least favorite song on the album. The beat is very interesting to say the least but the silly lyrics and the beat just don't seem to do it for me. Madonna sings "If you do your homework maybe I will give you more. When you do your homework get up on the dance floor." I think this song takes away from the quality of the album, and wish there would have been a better song put in its place.THE DEVIL WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU is a song a lover who can fool everyone but their partner. The song has samples of thunderstorms and rain that add to the very dramatic beat of the song. Madonna sings "Waiting underneath the stars there's something you should know. The angels they surround my heart telling me to let you go." This is a song that takes close listening to the lyrics to really appreciate this gem. The song sounds very similar to Justin Timberlakes "Cry Me a River."VOICES is a slow song about a person who seems to enjoy playing with others emotions. Very nice beat with Madonna singing in a monotone sort of voice. Madonna sings "First you say you love me. Then you wanna leave me. Then you say you're sorry you play the game so well. I bought your illusion you're the greatest salesman. How could I refuse you when you sold it to yourself?" To me this is one of the weaker songs on the album and one of my least favorites.The album is very good, but it is no Ray of Light. By no means is this a bad album, but she has had better ones. After listening to it just seems like Madonna's voice is all over the place. I know the girl can sing, (think Ray of Light, Express Yourself, You'll See) but it seems like here her voice is not showcased to the best of its abilities, and comes across at times as very teeny bopper and a just plain weak. I love Madonna and really wanted to give the album five stars, but in all fairness she has done better albums and I expected more from her. I will say it's hard to believe Madonna has been with us forever changing and evolving for over 25 years. Very few artists have had the staying power this woman has had. It is nice to see someone who has not become a victim of celebrity, but a true survivor who leads a clean life and is one heck of a business woman. Even as she approaches 50 she still teaches us all that it's never too late to become a better version of yourself!!!
