CD Review: Madonna - Hard Candy

HARD CANDY
Madonna

Madonna's new CD is not a failure because, as some people suggest, she's working with big-name hip hop producers and allowing them to have too much control over her sound. After all, her producers have always had a ton of influence on her music, from the top 40 stylings of Patrick Leonard in the '80s to the electronica-pop of William Orbit and Mirwais in the late '90s.

Rather, Hard Candy is a failure for a much simpler reason: The songs suck. Too much style and no substance. Exhibit A is the lead single, "4 Minutes." Timbaland and Justin Timberlake create a hypnotic marching band loop, but it's not long before that gets annoying. And all that's left is an awkward track with flimsy lyrics about saving the world.

This project is very much like Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, in that Tim & JT created most of the beats. But while that album featured a handful of killer tracks (even the haters can't deny the brilliance of "Summer Love"), the beats here are pretty stale. Few of these songs are deserving of a second listen. "Candy Shop" - boring. "Dance 2night" - boring. "Voices" - boring.

The most tolerable track is "Incredible," which sounds more like Madonna's typical dance-pop sound and less like hip hop. The Pharrell-produced tracks are better than the Timbaland tracks, but even some of those are suspect - "Spanish Lesson" features an exotic-sounding acoustic guitar riff that is blatantly ripped off from Pharrell's own N.E.R.D. track "She Wants to Move."

I'm a Madonna fan, so much so that I even liked American Life. But Hard Candy isn't doing it for me.

Brand new Madonna song with Justin Timberlake

The upcoming Madonna duet with Justin Timberlake has leaked out. Early reaction to "4 Minutes to Save the World" has been mixed, but the song has really grown on me after a few listens. I'm loving the horns. The hip-hop influenced track is produced by Timbaland.

Madonna hasn't hit #1 on Billboard since "Music" in 2000, but I'm betting this song returns her to the top of the charts.

To hear it, play this clip NOW because Warner Music has been pulling these videos down from YouTube and other sites all day. The link certainly won't work in a few hours.

November 7: Thumbs up/thumbs down

THUMBS UP:
Kenny Chesney. The best country songs are not the ones about how your wife cheated on you and your dog left you and you're at the tavern crying about it, but those that deal with real-life emotions that everyone can relate to, like "I Hope You Dance" and "Two Teardrops." Chesney's latest single, "Don't Blink," is one of those songs, dealing with how your life flies by and you need to appreciate the moment. An unexpected highlight from a guy who hadn't recorded a good song since "How Forever Feels" in 1999.

Billy Ocean. Yeah. Just because. He's the new Lionel Richie. The '80s R&B dude who was laughed at back then, but now you look back at the discography and realize, wow, there's tons of good shit there! I've always been partial to Caribbean Queen and When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going, but lately I've been on more of a Suddenly kick. It's a cheesy ballad... which means I love it. And, yes, that's what he looks like now. You have to give it up for the old man dreads.

THUMBS DOWN:
Sarah McLachlan. I was just listening to Mirrorball the other day and realizing how great those songs were. And that was 10 years go! Where the hell have you been, lady? One new (subpar) album from you in the past ten years just ain't cutting it! Stop resting on your Lilith Fair laurels and give us some new music, pronto.

Timbaland.There's a song called Apologize that is credited to Timbaland featuring OneRepublic. Except that OneRepublic, an R&B vocal group, are the only ones on the track. Timbaland produced it. So what? That doesn't give him the right to claim artist credit on it. And certainly not as the featured artist! If anything, it should be OneRepublic featuring Timbaland. I cannot support this ego stroke. As far as I'm concerned, the song is by OneRepublic, period.