good evening boys & girls! i’ll admit i was slightly worried about madonna‘s new album not living up to my high expectations but i’m extremely happy to report that hard candy is excellent (i’ve totally tossed mariah carey‘s new album E=MC2 aside for the moment – i needed a break from mimi anyways) however i don’t think madge’s latest outing tops her last album confessions on a dance floor but it’s really solid (tracks 1-8 are awesome and 9-12 are decent) and thankfully way more dancey than i thought it was going to be! you’ve probably heard by now that although the album doesn’t release until april 29th – the tracks started leaking out over the weekend and i was able to download the entire thing earlier this afternoon (it certainly wasn’t very hard to find at all…) however i’ve already pre-ordered the album on itunes and of course i’ll also be picking up the special edition version!
two tracks that immediately stand out are she’s not me & incredible – both are over six minutes long (and produced by pharrell williams) they definitely take you on a journey – getting twisted up into sonic urban/dance landscapes that both tip their hats to madonna’s early work! i’m also digging on give it 2 me which will be the second single and again was produced by mr. williams (the timbaland produced tracks are rockin’ too (except dance 2night which is probably my least favorite off the album) but i think overall pharrell did an amazing job) madonna (who turns 50 in august!) better get her tour on again – gosh i must see her play live again! popbytes over & out for now…xxoo!
PS even with all that hoopla & drummed up buzz over her engagement to boyfriend pete wentz and possible pregnancy – nobody seems to be talking about ashlee simpson‘s new album bittersweet world which drops tomorrow…the timing of all that ‘press’ last week was way too coincidental…and didn’t pay off like papa joe simpson was hoping it would (however i’ll probably pick up her album since i got suckered into loving that song outta my head)
01 candy shop (madonna, pharrell williams) – 4:15
02 4 minutes (w/ justin timberlake) (madonna, mosley, hills, timberlake) – 4:04
03 give it 2 me (madonna, williams) – 4:47
04 heartbeat (madonna, williams) – 4:03
05 miles away (madonna, mosley, hills, timberlake) – 4:48
06 she’s not me (madonna, williams) – 6:04
07 incredible (madonna, williams) – 6:19
08 beat goes on (w/ kanye west) (madonna, williams, kanye west) – 4:26
09 dance 2night (madonna, mosley, lane, timberlake) – 5:03
10 spanish lesson (madonna, williams) – 3:37
11 devil wouldn’t recognize you (madonna, mosley, hills, timberlake, joe henry) – 5:08
12 voices (madonna, mosley, hills, lane, timberlake) – 3:39
