Review Summary: With R&B and hip-hop being the dominate music style in the American market it was only a matter of time before Madonna jumped on the trend. Hard Candy is a little rough on the eyes, but offers a decent album.
Style:Pop/Hip-Hop with some dance and rock elements
The opening track
Candy Shop which Madonna sings about how sticky and sweet her sugar sets the mood for the rest of the album a combo of hip hop and pop beats. Up next is
4 Minutes, the track that help her break Elvis’ impressive most #1 hit singles. Timberland uses his trademark beats while Justin Timberlake lends his voice. Horns blare and a drum beat play throughout the song as Madonna and Timberlake harmonize the pre-chorus yet their voices seem rather low for the song almost drowned out by the beats.
Give It 2 Me has a thumping drum beat with some dance-pop elements that make it a good party song. Madonna sings about how she can party all night long and tells us to “get stupid”.
Heartbeat is up next with a R&B vibe to the song the hip-pop sounds continues with this song as Pharrell shouts hey after Madonna sings the chorus, and goes on to say “see my booty get down”.
Miles Away is up next, the only acoustic track, on the album which could have been on previous
Music or
American Life album. This song is a fan favorite and has the potential to be a hit single which talks about how 2 lovers only seem to care about each other when they’re far away.
She’s Not Me is reminiscent of her
Confessions album. The guitar strums as her sings the verse and chorus chimes with bell chimes when she reaches she’s not me. The track slows down around 4:20, but continues with a haunting beat as Madonna repeats “she’s not and she never will be“. The
Confessions-like songs continue with
Incredible which has a piano melody blended in with the driving hip hop beats,. This is the 2nd song to continue with a different set of lyrics and beat sequences when the track hits 3:51.
Beat Goes On which is a completely different song from the leaked version that made its way onto the internet late 2007 features a mid tempo drum beat and descending bell chimes. Kanye’s rap is surprise well done, and adds some personality to the track.
The album slows the hip-pop beats and dance vibes with
Dance 2nite, which strangely reminds me of the Bee Gees. Timberlake sings to Madonna during the pre-chorus as she answer back and proceeds to the chorus with “let’s dance 2nite” . Madonna explains what various Spanish words and statements mean in
Spanish Lesson which no surprise has a Latin guitar and beats playing throughout the track.
Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You which sounds like Justin’s “Cry me a river” has dark beats somewhat to Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater”. The closing track
Voices, was a perfect way to end the record asking the question “Who is the master who is the slave?“ while continuing the dark hip hop beats from the pervious track.
With the help of Pharrell and Timberland
Hard Candy is a solid record. Not great, but it doesn’t fail either. Madonna’s drive to stay on top of the current music trends produced a decent album ,but her next effort should be more diverse or unexpected.
Recommended Tracks:
Give it 2 Me
Incredible
Dance 2nite
Devil
