| HARD
CANDY |
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Review: Madonna's Hard Candy |
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by Caryn Ganz - Rolling Stone |
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| Madonna
has managed to keep most details about her still-untitled follow-up
to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor (due April 29th) under
wraps, but Rolling Stone got an early listen to five tracks today
and some behind-the-scenes info from producer Nate “Danja”
Hills. |
| Fans who
worried that Madonna might be losing inspiration as she approaches
fifty need not be concerned. The new album takes a few steps away
from the hyper-polished future disco of Confessions toward a more
urban-oriented, thumpy funk, featuring production by Timbaland and
Pharrell, as well as collaborations with Justin Timberlake. Danja
says he worked on the album in London, and that Madonna indicated
“she just wanted uptempo, dance, club [sounds] and everything
to have a hip-hop underlining.” He adds that Madonna was easy-going
and frequently in the studio putting in long hours alongside himself,
Timbaland and Timberlake: “She would come in and sit in her
chair in the corner and just vibe with us.” |
The
record’s first single is “4
Minutes to Save the World,” the track Timbaland partially
debuted during a Philadelphia Christmas concert in December. “4
Minutes” has a bit of a marching band aesthetic as blasting
brass play a scale-like riff, a hard, clanging beat enters and Madonna
sings that the “road to heaven is paved with good intentions.”
Timberlake and Madonna trade verses, and he appears on the chorus,
doing his best Michael Jackson impression while quickly crooning,
“We’ve only got four minutes to save the world.”
The track ends after a brief breakdown where everything drops out
but one of Tim’s signature Bhangra beats, some stabs of brass
and Madonna’s urgent tick-tock’s. It’s a loud,
busy, energetic track that is apparently getting an equally adventurous
video: As previously reported, the clip (which is still being completed)
is directed by hot French duo Jonas & François (Justice’s
“D.A.N.C.E.”). Timbaland makes an appearance, and Madonna
and Timberlake play superheroes tackling physical obstacles. The
clip features choreography by Jamie King, who worked on Madonna’s
Confessions, Re-Invention and Drowned World tours as well as her
video for Confessions‘ “Sorry.” |
The
Pharrell-produced “Candy Store”
opens with a big beat and Madonna’s invitation to “Come
on in to my store, I got candy galore.” The track is pretty
bare on the verses, but there’s a flash of brassy soul on
the chorus when harmonies join Madonna singing, “I’ll
be your one stop (one stop) candy shop.” The track is punctuated
with throbbing breaks filled with hypnotic synths, and Pharrell
jumps on the mike for a brief rhyme. |
The
most lyrical of the five songs is “Miles
Away,” a wistful tune about a long-distance relationship
with a melody that resembles Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds,
an album Danja says Madonna admired. “We would come up with
a track and him and Madonna would come and do lyrics and melody
together,” Danja explains. The song opens with a quickly strummed
acoustic guitar, then a stuttering beat drops in and the track slowly
swells until it’s filled with atmospheric synths. “You
always seem to have the biggest heart when we’re 6,000 miles
apart,” Madonna sings grandly, lamenting, “I guess we’re
at our best when we’re miles away.” The song has a more
airy aesthetic compared to the heavy beats on other tracks, which
reflects its more emotional lyrics. |
The
track that sounds most like a more urban, edgy continuation of Confessions
is the excellent “Give It to Me,”
which bumps along to a thick synth tone Danja employed on Britney
Spears’ Blackout. It’s an aggressive, clubby track with
a raw, house-y beat that’s ripe for remixing, and Madonna
sings, “When the lights go down and there’s no one left
I can go on and on.” It ends after a fast, killer breakdown
where she chants “Get stupid” over a xylophone chime
as the beat builds into a frenzy and she proclaims, “Give
it to me / No one’s gonna stop me now.” |
The
dance floor theme returns again on “Heartbeat,”
which boasts a thumping hip-hop beat with a sandpaper shuffle and
twinkling Eighties-reminiscent synths. Madonna opens up her voice
more, singing, “Can’t you see when I dance I feel free
/ Which makes me feel like the only one the light shines on.”
The song features a brief rap breakdown that recalls Nelly Furtado’s
chanty “Promiscuous” (”See my booty get down,”
Madonna speak-sings), but returns to its clubby roots in the end. |
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| Source:
Rolling Stone / Posted:
February 15, 2008, 5:05 pm EST |
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