Madonna -- Hard Candy

[lazarus]

Leaked, suckas!!

Back with a review later.

 

[one4u2]

where's the leak

 

[Zoomerang96]

four minutes is great.

 

[lazarus]

four minutes is great.

The ladies seem to appreciate it more when you can at least get to ten.

 

[Zoomerang96]

i wouldn't have a bloody clue.
once i'm finished, i'm happy. and if i'm happy the rest doesn't matter, gang.

...you wit me now?

 

[lazarus]

I think only a few of these track are real. The rest are b-sides and rarities that sound like they were remixed.

Oh well, at least I can enjoy Candy Shop!

 

[Jack In The Box]

"4 minutes" is just great, kicked my ass the first time I heard it

and the Bob Sinclair (Bob Sinclair Space Funk remix) remix is so sweet

 

[Saracene]

I hope the rest of the album is better than the first single.

It's not bad, but to me it just sounds like an average Timbaland track with Madonna as a guest vocalist.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

The ladies seem to appreciate it more when you can at least get to ten.

 

[pgv]

I hope the rest of the album is better than the first single.

It's not bad, but to me it just sounds like an average Timbaland track with Madonna as a guest vocalist.

I agree It's okay, but it's not amazing - like the first time I heard hung up I just knew that confessions would be a brilliant album. I don't really know what hard candy is going to be like based on 4 minutes.

 

[U2isthebest]

Laz, did you want the mods to merge this thread with this one? http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=5087110#post5087110 If not, that's fine!

From what I've read, the other tracks all sound promising, and like I said in the other thread, I'm loving "4 Minutes"

 

[lazarus]

Okay, for real, it's leaked.

I'm positive I have the actual songs now.

Not as catchy as most of Confessions, but I think it's a deeper record. The production sounds a little cheap and unoriginal at times, but maybe it's because I've heard so much Timbaland and know what to expect. It certainly didn't take me by surprise like his work with Nelly Furtado (whose last album I have to say is a tad better than this). I'll have to see the actual credits to see who did what because I know Pharrell lent a hand as well.

It's definitely a consistent album, and I'd place it above American Life and Confessions. But this still didn't blow me away like Music or Ray or Light did.

Highlights:

Give it to Me (SICK track)
She's Not Me (nice little guitar part)
Incredible (starts a bit generic but really takes off)
Beat Goes On (Kanye on autopilot is still Kanye)
Dance 2nite (funkiest beat on the album)
Voices (this shouldn't be a surprise as she usually closes her albums well)

 

[U2isthebest]

I've heard "Give it to Me" and "She's not Me", and they have me so excited for April 29th.

 

[phanan]

I'll have to check this out. It'll be hard for me to believe this can be better than Confessions, which I thought was excellent.

 

[corianderstem]

I absolutely LOVE Confessions, so it'll be really hard to top that. I'm really looking forward to the album and will avoid the leak.

 

[lazarus]

Cori's back!!

And you can't hide from THE LEAK.




That sounded worse than I meant it to.

 

[corianderstem]

Can I hide from a leek instead? I don't like them.

 

[lazarus]

The question is, can you hide from a link?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU





I didn't think so.

 

[corianderstem]

I prefer a California roll to a Rick Roll.

 

[lazarus]

But I live in Calif--

 

[corianderstem]

Is this an appropriate time for a Young Frankenstein joke?

Roll in ze hay! Roll! Roll! Roll in ze hay!

 

[lazarus]

Put...the candle...back!

 

[corianderstem]

OVALTINE!

 

[LDM007]

Coming from a huge Madonna fan, I have to say that "Hard Candy" is one of her weakest albums. Coming off the brilliant "Confessions on a Dancefloor," it's rather disappointing that only 6 out of 12 tracks are any good.

What is very interesting is how the general consensus amongst critics and Madonna fans who have heard the album already think that it is very good. What I think it is lacking is consistency. While some tracks like "Dance 2night" and "Miles Away" are outstanding, there are some pieces of garbage like "Spanish Lesson" and "Incredible" (again, both critics and fans generally seem to like it).

Another interesting thing is how most seem to think that the work of Pharrell on the album is far superior than the stuff co-produced by Timbaland. While the music from Pharrell is much more experimental than Timbaland's, I do not find it better. I think that Pharrell should have used someone to better edit the tracks. In a six-minute song like "She's Not Me," only the last two minutes are interesting in the slightest bit.

The following is the list of what I consider to be the good tracks on the album:

"4 Minutes", "Give It 2 Me", "Miles Away", "Dance 2night", "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You", and "Voices".

Unsurprisingly, only "Give It 2 Me" is from Pharrell.

 

[Aygo]

Coming from a huge Madonna fan, I have to say that "Hard Candy" is one of her weakest albums. Coming off the brilliant "Confessions on a Dancefloor," it's rather disappointing that only 6 out of 12 tracks are any good.

What is very interesting is how the general consensus amongst critics and Madonna fans who have heard the album already think that it is very good. What I think it is lacking is consistency. While some tracks like "Dance 2night" and "Miles Away" are outstanding, there are some pieces of garbage like "Spanish Lesson" and "Incredible" (again, both critics and fans generally seem to like it).

Another interesting thing is how most seem to think that the work of Pharrell on the album is far superior than the stuff co-produced by Timbaland. While the music from Pharrell is much more experimental than Timbaland's, I do not find it better. I think that Pharrell should have used someone to better edit the tracks. In a six-minute song like "She's Not Me," only the last two minutes are interesting in the slightest bit.

The following is the list of what I consider to be the good tracks on the album:

"4 Minutes", "Give It 2 Me", "Miles Away", "Dance 2night", "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You", and "Voices".

Unsurprisingly, only "Give It 2 Me" is from Pharrell.

Not a surprise that you find Timbaland more-than-clichéd production much inferior to Pharell's production. It's not hard to find errors in Pharell's production (talking about his career in general as a producer), but his work and ideas are much more interesting.

You're not the only one to find this album weaker and not cohesive. Some critical reviews pointed that, giving the album 3 out of 5 stars, unlike Confessions that received 4 out of 5 in all reviews.

 

[phanan]

Still haven't listened. Perhaps tonight.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

'Give It 2 Me' is awesome - the rest... meh... they may grow. I really didn't think much of American Life at first - but seeing the live versions on that 'I Want To Tell You A Secret' doco got me well into that album.

Rumour is she is in Australia in November...

Consdering the last visit was with that pile of shit 'The Girlie Show' tour (I actually paid $204 back in 1993 for 'Gold Circle' seats) I think we are owed a corker of a show!

And may I ad she better fucking do 'Like A Prayer - full choir, black Jesus, aborted Pepsi tie in - I want the works!

 

[Aygo]

'Give It 2 Me' is awesome - the rest... meh... they may grow. I really didn't think much of American Life at first - but seeing the live versions on that 'I Want To Tell You A Secret' doco got me well into that album.

American Life is Madonna's best album and is one of the most underrated (and unfairly panned) albums ever, by the public and by the critic.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

I agree that American Life is underrated and unfairly criticised, however I'd argue Like A Prayer is her most consistent album, with American Life a close second. Then maybe Erotica.

 

[Saracene]

Rumour is she is in Australia in November...

Ooooh I like this rumour, that would be amazing! I'd love to see Madonna live,