Madonna
Hard Candy

THE REVIEW

24 hours after its official release (in Italy), Hard Candy already appears monumental in the eyes of the media. MTV & Co. are buzzing with specials and videos on Heavy Rotation, newspapers start exclaiming Madonna!, radios blast anything that belongs to the international Madonna (and I'm not talking about religious mystical figures, just to be clear), and the very first hundreds of reviews begin to appear as if they were snowflakes in January.

Hard Candy, Madge's latest effort for Warner Bros, is already a success even without waiting to see the Billboard Hot 200. But without too much reverence, let's get to the point.

The entire album was produced by Chad Hugo, Pharrel Williams (7 tracks), and Justin Timberlake accompanied by the evergreen Timbaland (5 tracks). And it shows. It's not that it's wrong; it's just that from a talent scout like Ciccone, perhaps relying on already ultra-famous producers (even if still "à la page") who have saturated the market for some time now, is not the move we would have expected from someone who makes originality their profession. That's all.

Candy Shop is the first track, the one that gets the most attention, the one that doesn't spare critical or particularly condensed praise. But Madonna passes fairly well. A track all in all of old style, a minimal beat in the background and (thank god!) lyrics close to the term "cutting" (my sugar is raw!).
Then it's the turn of 4 minutes produced by the duo Justy & Timbo, very catchy, tinged with that Blackclub electronic beat that has been breaking through for a few years now (remember Promiscuous Girl? Exactly).
The party continues with Give it 2 me, candidate as the second single and summer hit, not much different from the previous track. Perhaps not the most successful song of Hard Candy, but the remix by Paul Oakenfold at the end of the CD rocks.
Only at the fourth motif do things start to seem really interesting. Heartbeat obviously has immediately sampled a heartbeat that yes, brings us back to the vintage rhythms of Confessions on a Dancefloor, but at the same time, it is the first little surprise of the album.  
Miles away is one of the most beautiful tracks of this latest work, as well as one of the few ballads in Hard Candy. It tells the story of a love grappling with a physical distance that makes a difference. It recalls the days (artistically really productive) when Madonna relied on the hands of Mirwaiz, to be clear, the Franco-Turkish DJ who produced Music, American Life, and Confessions on the Dancefloor.
Immediately after comes what can be interpreted as the answer to Robbie Williams's She's Madonna. So much so that the song is called She's not me. A little parody of herself, it seems to have come out of the previous album, no additional remixes needed.
Incredible challenges modern, even ultra-modern sounds, comparable to the latest productions of Basement Jaxx or Audio Bullys. From a phonetic-productive point of view, impeccable. At times tacky.
For the eighth track, Madonna managed to gather big names like Timbaland, Pharrell, and Kanye West in the same recording studio. Beat goes On largely aspires to be one of the best tracks on the album. And not just for the synco-pop rhythm, but also for the lyrics that embrace the best intentions of Madge (Say what you like, do what you feel...). For the occasion with a truly impeccable freelancer Kanye West.
Downward hyperbole for Dance 2 night perhaps too justin-like. Certainly of that glam of which Justin is a master but which he has overused. Also because this isn’t Futuresex/Lovesounds return. Madonna's Latin blood pushes her to create practically in every album a space for Isla Bonita. Which can seem annoying if it weren't that this time with Spanish Lesson the beat is curious. All in all noteworthy.
The best part comes now. Devil wouldn't recognize you is absolutely the most authentic track on the album. Forget everything and completely offer yourself to this ballad of modern times. Dedicated to a type of artificial candor that not even the devil could unmask. It would be a first-degree crime not to release it as a single.
Coming to the end, one wonders who is really the master and who is the slave (Who is the master and who is the slave??). It's unclear whether it's Madonna dominating the scene for over 50 minutes or if it's the scene that has dominated her. Voices is thus the last track before reckoning with sensations and comparisons.

When all is said and done, Madonna doesn't overturn, doesn't shake up a new reality, and doesn't confuse as she is used to doing. This time she doesn't revolutionize but rather involves us in a journey that is interesting, at the very least, and of course, reaffirms herself as a great artist.

1- Candy Shop  7/10
2- 4 Minutes     7/10
3- Give It 2 Me  7/10
4- Heartbeat     7.5/10
5- Miles Away    8/10
6- She's not me   6/10
7- Incredible      7.5/10
8- Beat goes On   8/10
9- Dance 2Night    6.5/10 
10- Spanish Lesson 6.5/10
11- Devil wouldn't Recognize You  8.5/10
12- Voices            7/10

Overall Rating: 8/10