Madonna: Hard Candy [Album Review]

I have been anxiously waiting for the release of Madonna's new album Hard Candy for months now. Finally, today I got to quench my thirst for new Madonna...and happily I was not disappointed. I'm not going to lie, I was very nervous when I found out that Madonna was working on a R&B influenced album. Okay, I was petrified when I found out she was working with Timbaland. Not that he is not an AMAZING producer, because he is...he's just a far cry from Madonna's William Orbit days.

We all know that the line between pop and R&B is a line that pop princesses don't typically cross successfully...and with good reason. R&B is not an easy genre of music to do and do well. There just isn't a very high success rate for that cross over, and even with all her gloriousness, this was a BOLD move for Madonna. Thankfully, Madonna crossed the line in all the right ways and blurred the line between R&B and pop beautifully.

Some the highlights of Hard Candy were:

4 Minutes -Obviously this is a highlight. Even if you hated the song the first time you heard it, the infectious horn driven groove grows on you and you find yourself singing along involuntarily. Face it, you  love the song. We all do.

Heartbeat - 80's Synth mixed with a hot hip-hop beat=perfection. The synthesized vocal had me feeling it in my heartbeat.

Miles Away - Haven't we all been there? An unrequited love song, about how distance sometimes makes the heart grow fonder. Absolutely beautifully done.

Incredible - THIS SONG IS INCREDIBLE. There are so many elements layered on top of one another, none of which over powering the other. The vocal is perfect, the beat is thumping, the synthesized backdrop against piano is mixed to perfection. It's a little long...and starts to get a little annoying by the end of the song (all the "Boom!"s in there are really annoying), but it's worth the full listen.

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You - Reminiscent of her Ray of Light days with it's orbital sound effects layered over a R&B groove. The piano melody in the background of the song is beautiful, and this was Madge's strongest song on the album vocally.

Voices-As the song started, I was reminded of Erotica and Justify My Love, then was pleasantly surprised with it's airy melody against a really great beat. Then she mixes it up again in the chorus and adds a little Middle Eastern flavor to the melody. A definite favorite for me.

Buy this record. It's going to be out on tasty Tuesday 4/29...and it's definitely been worth the wait. Madonna is still the queen on pop now and forever.