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(More customer reviews)SUMMARY: Madonna's final album for Warner Brothers is by no means her best, but it's a fitting swan song for the artist who anchored the label for the past quarter-century. A lot of the reviews for this album are missing the mark, either overzealous in its defense, or obtusely critical in the hope of shining the spotlight on another artist. 'Hard Candy' is a mixed bag of true gems and questionable choices, but it's quintessentially Madonna.
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: When Madonna hits the mark, no one does it better, and even her detractors would be hard-pressed to name another artist of her caliber. Despite what others have said, no two Madonna albums are the same, which is why she has remained one of the most relevant artists in the past twenty-five years. While a few of the songs here are reminiscent of earlier works (in a good way), they're also very much current and a part of her ever-evolving musicality. 'Hard Candy' is thus at once an homage and a contemporary statement. There's no shortage of danceable material here, and few artists are willing to take the chances in which Madonna revels.
WHY YOU WON'T: Several of the tracks are overproduced, and Madonna's vocals are all but lost in their delivery. Noticeably absent is the vocal maturation she has consistently displayed since Evita. Her voice is high and thin - as it was in the early days, and which is unfortunately drawing comparisons to Britney Spears (who really is nothing more but a poorly-conceived clone) - but she mostly makes it work for these tracks. 'Candy Shop' is truly an abysmal song, despite its irony, and was a poor choice to open the album. The less said about '4 Minutes', the better, but don't make the mistake of judging the entire CD by its lead single - the whole of 'Hard Candy' has a distinctly different flavor than this disposable track.
BOTTOM LINE: Madonna is not interested in repeating herself, so fans who are expecting 'Confessions II' will be vastly disappointed. Many are proclaiming that Madonna is simply reproducing the recent efforts of the bevy of pop songstresses (Mariah, Britney, Christina, Nelly, Gwen, etc.) currently populating the landscape. Not true. She was here long before them and, in the cases of many of them, will be here long after they fade away; it is they who owe a debt to her. Those who understand Madonna, however, and who get her sense of humor, her irony, her deliberateness, and who know enough to look beneath the deceptively simple lyrics, will be pleased to add this to their collection. Standout tracks include 'Heartbeat' (which should be the next single), 'Miles Away', 'She's Not Me', and 'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You'.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Hard Candy Special Edition
It is a DVD-sized hinged box containing the CD (with 2 extra remix tracks), a 16-page full-color booklet, and a package of Starlite Mint candies.The package is jewel case width, 8 inches tall, and 1 1/2 inch deep....has hard candy in the package.
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