Review of Music
By Abhijay Prakash
Madonna generally manages to avoid the expectations game that hampers other big time artists by constantly reinventing herself. That way, nobody ever knows what to expect and can't pin her down (who's that girl?) to a specific sound, style, or standard. The one catch is that whatever she does has to be hugely popular and daring like 1997's critical and popular smash, Ray Of Light. Although techno-savvy producer William Orbit (what a cool name!) and Madonna lay down some interesting instrumentation in slower tempos and go all out on two ultra-clubby tracks on her latest release, Music, they can't capture the magic of Ray of Light on this trip to techno-funkytown.
First off though, I gotta admit that I do love the opening title track. It is a low-down, dirty, funky, booty-shakin' romp with a seriously sexy video (ladies, limos, and lapdances? I'm burnin' up!). It also has a classically silly Madonna chorus (“the bourgeoisie”? What the hell is this – the communist manifesto?), and successfully introduces her latest look (I am feeling this cowboy thing!).
However, the rest of the album doesn't quite justify your love like this song does. For one thing, the high-impact aerobics dance sound that Madonna goes for in the beginning of the album is very different from most of the rest of the album. On the remaining songs, the former University of Michigan dance student waxes on topics of love and life over a layer of bouncy beats. These slow-tempo ballad type songs are hampered not by their interesting techno-plus-acoustic-guitar sound or pace, but by Madonna's voice and disappointing lyrics. Perhaps Guy Ritchie just isn't as inspiring as the lovely Lourdes, I don't know.
"Nobody's Perfect" is a good song, but the annoying chorus with it's "Sorry! But…" interlude begs for mockery. "Don't Tell Me" has a promising beginning with a clever fake skipping effect, but doesn't go anywhere after that due to Madonna's flat, lifeless voice. The infusion of European influence in the form of a British-accented introduction to "What it feels like for a girl," and the French verses in "Paradise (Not For Me)" aren't enough to rescue them. Even though "Amazing" lifts its music straight from "Beautiful Stranger," the lyrics and vocals almost make it sound like the ugly twin of the Austin Powers's hit. Part of me wishes that I could take my CD back and have her redo all these songs because I think they could be good if she worked a little harder. The other part of me wishes I could hand the tracks over to Beth Orton (the pop-folk songstress who also uses William Orbit as a producer) for her next album.
Different people have different album-buying rules, and I have to say that I violated my own three-song rule (you know, must hear three good songs before buying the album) for Madonna on this one. Her effort on Ray of Light was so stunningly good across the board that I had elevated her to instant buy status, but now she's been downgraded like a bad dotcom technology stock, subject to the same rules as everybody else. Madonna's Music shows promise, but its potential is largely unrealized.
Mood:
Driving Music
Hear it?:
Download the MP3's
