Madonna begins her third decade of super-stardom with an album that continues along the same electro-path as her last effort of the past decade, the ground-breaking (for Madonna, not for music) Ray of Light. It’s impossible not to compare these two; Music, like its predecessor, is an album of pop songs with flourishes of techno blips, bleeps and beats. Music, unlike its predecessor, is mostly raw and sparse. Like other great minimalist music, the quality of these songs is derived more from songwriting than production, and it’s what isn’t in the mix that excites. Madonna and her producers may give you some drums, an acoustic guitar and a synth line; it’s your job to fill in the rest. It’s an effective move, especially in contrast to the busier production ideas on Ray of Light. Because of this approach these songs seem more personal, especially for an artist who continues to try to expand her musical palette, most notably by evolving into a confessional singer-songwriter. All but two of these tracks work, to varying degrees. And the variety of producers, textures, and styles keeps it interesting. If Ray of Light was a cohesive collection of spiritual and technological awakening, Music is an eclectic set, sometimes pointing you to the clubs, sometimes to your bedroom; sometimes to your heart, sometimes to your feet; sometimes to the past, sometimes to the future.
The minimalist tactic is exemplified by the collection’s first single, the killer-funky title track, which marches along to a groove that recalls 80’s Cameo and Midnight Star and arrogantly states its purpose to make "the people come together." It’s a great song, at once an homage to the simple arrangements of earlier Madonna dance anthems "Everybody" and "Holiday" from her first album (which was also her last true disco album) and a step into the future. "Do you like my acid rock?" Oh, is that what acid rock sounds like these days? Yes, we like it. We love it, in fact.
This track is produced by some French dude named Mirwais Ahmadzai. I don’t know who he is either, but Madonna describes him as (and I quote) "the sh*t." He’s responsible for five other tracks on this collection, the best of which is the thrilling, trance-like, hypnotic "Impressive Instant," a song equally inspiring to a bong hit or a boogie session on the dance floor. It’s like a musical fun-house, its climbing bass reminiscent of 70’s disco, Madonna’s voice treated a la Cher’s "Believe" to occasionally overdone (and surely mocking) effect, and a repeated synth line (or sample?) at once sinister and sexy. (The vocal tricks are particularly engaging on my favorite part of the song, the goofy lines "I like to sing-y sing-y sing-y / Like a bird on a wing-y wing-y wing-y / I like to rumba rumba rumba / Dance to a samba samba samba"). Another Mirwais track, "Paradise (Not For Me)," is an atmospheric Air-like opus meant for a quiet moment alone with you and your pipe.
The intended "heart" of the album, though, seems to be the three tracks that combine a sort of acoustic guitar folk sound with electro-beats and warm keyboards. Of these, "I Deserve It," "Don’t Tell Me" and "Gone," the latter is the best, a beautiful melody that finds Madonna harmonizing with herself and waxing philosophic ("selling out is not my thing..."). Any of these tracks could be performed with just the guitar elements in an acoustic setting and still be as good, another tribute to the quality songwriting on most of Music.
Likely to get a lot of notice is another strong highlight, Madonna’s first (pseudo-)feminist anthem "What It Feels Like For A Girl," a song that laments the struggles a woman faces as the "other sex." What keeps this track from being completely sappy is its hip-hop arrangement and a staccato organ sound that just keeps bopping along, complemented by flourishes of wind-like, airy synths rolling in and out -- the musical suggestion of angst. And Madonna sounds like she means it when she sings the line of her oppressor "when you’re trying hard to be your best, could you be a little less?" Imagine hearing this sentiment all your life; her vocal delivery makes you feel like you have. Planned as the second single from the album, if it’s not a huge hit, I, for one, will be very disappointed.
William Orbit, the musical mastermind behind Ray of Light, is here again on three tracks, including the aforementioned "Gone." The other two sound like leftovers, the stale club track "Runaway Lover" sounding like a poor man’s Ray of Light outtake, and "Amazing" from the Austin Powers-inspired "Beautiful Stranger" sessions. The latter is more effective, a 60’s-styled pop song with the same sort of vibrato guitar lines and upbeat drum sounds as its sister hit from last year.
The song "Nobody’s Perfect" is a complete waste, a boring ballad with an overly-exuberant keyboard player working the bend knob too hard, and almost all of Madonna’s vocal treated again with that annoying Cher-voice in an equally ironic but completely humorless way this time. The track sounds like it was created to be a ready-made "Hit Single!"; I pray (and beg) for a more daring choice like "Impressive Instant." Nobody’s perfect, true, and thanks to this song and "Runaway Lover," neither is this album, but as a continuation of Madonna’s flirtations with electronica and serious artistry, it’s close.
Madonna continues to be one of the biggest female stars in the world and Music was one of the biggest releases of 2000. Continuing the electronic danc...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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