t's a step in the right direction. It's not going to be as timeless as her earlier hits, nor will it move as many people, but given the horrible sales of her last album, this time around the power of the dance beat will, in one way or another, prove useful. I'm talking about the latest album from Madonna, 'Confessions On a Dance Floor.'
You wouldn't believe how many people have been asking me about this album. As many of you know, I completely ( and rightly so ) trashed her last time around. 'American Life' was an all time low, replete with her faccent ( my new word for her fake accent ) . It wasn't a bad album technically, but it had a horrible message. And the people spoke with their dollars—she barely sold a half-million copies. She usually does much better. Much, much better.
Bitterness aside, 'Confessions' is all about positivity. A definite step in the right direction. The first single, with its ABBA sample and Eurodisco sound ( another one of my new favorite words; Eurodisco ) that people are loving these days is doing quite well. The rest of the album emulates that same flavor, fusing disco drums with wildly humming digital synths and a lot of digitally filtered vocals. Madonna-VOX-in-a-box if you will.
Despite the claims that there are no ballads on this album, clearly 'Forbidden Love' is ballad-esque, laden with dance beats. 'Sorry' is fun, and if you listen closely behind the words, you can hear the musical strains of 'Can You Feel It' by the Jackson Five. That's a mash up just waiting to happen.
While you listen to the ethereal 'Future Lovers' you can hear the rolling bass-line of 'I Feel Love' by Donna Summer. Nope, I wasn't kidding about the Eurodisco thing. It's right there, and that's the magical part about this album. A lot of it, a WHOLE lot, sounds familiar.
Madonna shouldn't have rhymed 'New York' with 'dork.' 'I Love New York' is my least favorite. Pity, with a title like that I was hoping for more. On 'How High' she muses, 'I spent my whole life wanting to be talked about... will any of this matter?' There we go, a confession, and some introspection. Positivity. 'How High' is one to put on repeat a few times. It's quite good.
On my first full listen through the album I came across a song called 'Jump' that nearly blew my mind. It was so good that I learned the words almost immediately. It's my spotlight track for this album. The strings in the background are so perfectly blended with the beats and a pop hook that will bounce around in your head, it made the entire album for me. I'm praying that there will be more remixes of it soon.
Despite what you hear from anyone, get a copy of 'Confessions On a Dance Floor.' Madonna is on the right track this time. Damn it feels good to say that.
"Jump"ing in 4/4,
Peter Mavrik
peter@windycitymediagroup.com