MDNA Press Reviews

[tuckeye]

exactly! and it reminded me of most reviews of W.E. fair enough if u trash the album track by track and tell us why, not fair when u tell us shes this or that, who cares what u percieve her to be...tell us how the music sounds and makes u feel...obviously it made that reviewer feel, well, OLD

[GimmeSomeMo]

So I just read that Telegraph review. To be honest, everything she said have been my exact thoughts until very recently. I mean, I still feel like she's trying to act/look/young young (GMAYL, GGW, etc.) and I just think it's unfortunate.

I really don't see how Madonna is trying to act anything. Looking at the whole thing, it's clear this record is who she is at the moment. Part of her wants to rub up on men. Part of her wants to kill Guy. Part of her wants to sing a sweet ballad about her boyfriend being a superstar. It's the point I made in the Britney VOX thread ironically. Everything Madonna does is an extension of her. Even Hard Candy. It may not always be perfect but it's always authentic.

[Nikki]

Those track-by-track reviews were just "previews" based on listening parties. It wasn't a proper review. And how do you know they "asked" for a "new bitter review"?

well maybe they didnt, but the track by track preview is certainly a lot closer to an actual review than this one woman's opinion about an artist that somehow got counted as a new CD review..

[Ai Papi Si.]

Oh and if you agree with that wallop of verbose horse shit no doubt written by a middle aged frump with bingo wings, then kindly take a cue from Riverwide and find a new pop star to worship (and like him, I'm sure it'll be the wholly graceful and not at all hypocritical beacon of sincerity that is Lady Gaga).

I know im gonna get attacked for hating on Vocalism or that WE DONT LET PPL HAVE OPINIONS HERE (WAAAAAA) but I don't care tbh. This forum is a Madonna fan forum. There's a reason we keep ppl like Nightshade around ( who is pretty critical of Madonna but obviously loves her) and banish pol like Vanity or Riverwide who really just think they're smart or cool for constantly backhanding Madonna and acting like victims when we tell them to shut the fuck up. It's not just that ppl like Vocalism ate constantly posting feeble little swipes and bringing Lady Gaga into the first few posts they make- it's also the fact that they're just here to hear themselves talk.

A lot of money goes into this forum every month to make sure it runs so that Madonna fans can enjoy it.

[GimmeSomeMo]

well maybe they didnt, but the track by track preview is certainly a lot closer to an actual review than this one woman's opinion about an artist that somehow got counted as a new CD review..

I remember that all the track by tracks were like, we cant really post a review but we will do this for now so maybe a track by track doesn't count as a review. This Telegraph thing is moronic and completely off the mark (I fail to see how Madonna sounds tired or whatever shit she said) but it's not the first time something Madonna does is misunderstood. Thankfully, like 90% of the other reviewers 'get it'.

[Ai Papi Si.]

MADONNA LOOKS EXHAUSTED

THIS IS ENTIRELY PERTINENT INFO WHEN I AM REVIEWING AN ALBUM

[Shane]

MADONNA LOOKS EXHAUSTED

THIS IS ENTIRELY PERTINENT INFO WHEN I AM REVIEWING AN ALBUM

And where the fuck does she look exhausted? That piece of crap review by Helen Brown ranks as the lamest of the lame.

I, however, look exhausted and haggard at the end of this week of waiting.

[loowee]

I mean, I still feel like she's trying to act/look/young young (GMAYL, GGW, etc.) and I just think it's unfortunate.

What is she supposed to do at the age of 53?

Sitting on a wheelchair playing a guitar singing acoustic version of Justify My Love?

[Genevieve Vavance]

^

[Guest HaveASit]

By the way, who is the responsible for Madonna's Wikipedia page? The selected reviews exposed there are just..... disscusting. Why the hell choose the 2/5 from daily telegraph instead of the good ones?

[Guest LeJazzHot!]

By the way, who is the responsible for Madonna's Wikipedia page? The selected reviews exposed there are just..... disscusting. Why the hell choose the 2/5 from daily telegraph instead of the good ones?

They still have plenty of great ones, but they are missing quite a few reviews.

[Roland Barthes]

Be prepared for obnoxious and pretentious french reviews. I've just come to terms that every single music critic i know in major publications is gay and they have a problem with

3 things : 1/ the cliche of gays loving Madonna 2/mainstream music except when it's really really generic and bad because they can plead cynism to like it 3/ They never forgave the dismiss of Mirwais. Music is part of their look, their persona, they want to look original but it's all a construction. They are exactly like Lady Gaga, they found out they by dressing ridiculously they'll hide their natural average to ugly features and by liking obscure peruvian pop bands that they'll look original. It's never about Madonna but all about them.

[vocalism]

Bullshit. If she wanted to write about Madonna as a person she could have taken up a column in the celebrity trash section. When you're reviewing an album you review an album. Barely a lick of that dreadful review mentioned the album itself at all. Read it again. Its a manifesto about Madonna the celebrity, not MDNA. It's unfair because it's bad journalism.

The review could have been better written and delved deeper, and I'm sure if she'd had more time to spend with the album, she might have been won over by many of the songs the way I personally have, but this writer clearly appreciates certain things about Madonna's work and wasn't finding those things here. I disagree with her review overall, but many of the things she's talking about are things many of us have complained about and they're perfectly valid.

What is she supposed to do at the age of 53?

Sitting on a wheelchair playing a guitar singing acoustic version of Justify My Love?

Yes, because that's the only alternative to singing lyrics like the ones in GGW and dressing up like a cheerleader. It's a much more nuanced and complicated issue than that and I know plenty of people on here understand that.

P.S. Has it been mentioned on here that the font for MDNA is the same as the one for Erotica?

in other news, i forgot to wipe my ass this morning.

[Guest HaveASit]

Yes. But my point is: if there are lots of great reviews out there, why choose almost ONLY the bad ones and expose them like a trophy?

Edited March 24, 2012 by Matheus

[Ai Papi Si.]

The review could have been better written and delved deeper, and I'm sure if she'd had more time to spend with the album, she might have been won over by many of the songs the way I personally have, but this writer clearly appreciates certain things about Madonna's work and wasn't finding those things here. I disagree with her review overall, but many of the things she's talking about are things many of us have complained about and they're perfectly valid.

Yes, because that's the only alternative to singing lyrics like the ones in GGW and dressing up like a cheerleader. It's a much more nuanced and complicated issue than that and I know plenty of people on here understand that.

P.S. Has it been mentioned on here that the font for MDNA is the same as the one for Erotica?

Except she never dressed up like a fucking cheerleader

Just give it up, please.

[Guest HaveASit]

In my opinion, every critic vehicle should judge an album based in the opinion of at least 3 "experts". Wanting or not, there will always be the subjective problem, which could be avoided with a groupal opinion.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Matheus

[loowee]

dressing up like a cheerleader.

Keep trying boo

[Ai Papi Si.]

I'll give Vocalism 1 thing- the Girl Gone Wild lyrics do suck, but only in the parts where she mentions Tanqueray and delves into cliches. BIG DEAL though. Madonna was 42 when she wrote Music which talked about her doing the same thing only without an alcoholic beverage. So you're saying 42 is like so young and hip and 53 is too old? She had 2 kids then too. And she was in a video with strippers. So what's the distinction here? Oh was Music more IRONIC or TRENDY? I'm sure you were probably bemoaning her image then too

As long as Madonna is the sexy and energetic person she continues to be, she's gonna sing songs about dancing, its not like she's singing about her booty like on the last album when I may have seen your point.

[GimmeSomeMo]

Yes, because that's the only alternative to singing lyrics like the ones in GGW and dressing up like a cheerleader. It's a much more nuanced and complicated issue than that and I know plenty of people on here understand that.

There are alternatives to singing lyrics like the ones on GGW. THEYRE ON THE ALBUM. There's something there for everyone. As for the cheerleader thing, I'm sorry but that whole Egyptian queen/american sports meld they did what FABULOUS and INSPIRED.

[Supernatural]

I'll give Vocalism 1 thing- the Girl Gone Wild lyrics do suck, but only in the parts where she mentions Tanqueray and delves into cliches. BIG DEAL though. Madonna was 42 when she wrote Music which talked about her doing the same thing only without an alcoholic beverage. So you're saying 42 is like so young and hip and 53 is too old? She had 2 kids then too. And she was in a video with strippers. So what's the distinction here? Oh was Music more IRONIC or TRENDY? I'm sure you were probably bemoaning her image then too

let's go back as far as Madonna the pregnant 27 year old teen

[Case39]

What is she supposed to do at the age of 53?

Sitting on a wheelchair playing a guitar singing acoustic version of Justify My Love?

Exactly

All this ageist crap is annoying as hell. What's she supposed to do, sitting in a corner and die?

Ageism is something that always annoyed me, even before i became a Madonna fan. People of ALL ages could be free of doing whatever they want without being judged!

Of course, i talk mostly for women here, since when it's men, it's not a problem of course

[Ai Papi Si.]

let's go back as far as Madonna the pregnant 27 year old teen

Or the 41 year old who rubbed her tits and strip teased for Austin Powers, or the 36 year old who had CORN ROWS, or the 41 year old who wore see thru tops and cowboy hats to her birthday parties,or the 32 year old who sang about pink lemonade.

Some fans got too comfortable with the age appropriate Madonna from 2000-2005 and forgot tha she was that way because she was trying to impress someone- HER WORDS. now that she's divorced, she's back to being wild, and if you're upset about it, say goodbye now.

[GimmeSomeMo]

She still twirled around a pole, gave a mini lapdance and molested a mechanical bull on the DWT

Let's face it, Madonna is a sexual person. Or at least she likes to express herself in a sexual way since I don't think she's particularly whorey in her personal life but that's a different discussion.

[Case39]

She still twirled around a pole, gave a mini lapdance and molested a mechanical bull on the DWT

Let's face it, Madonna is a sexual person. Or at least she likes to express herself in a sexual way since I don't think she's particularly whorey in her personal life but that's a different discussion.

I don't think she is either. She said herself in a recent interview that she prefers to read a book than going crazy all night.

[GimmeSomeMo]

SHE'S A SINNER WE LIKE IT THAT WAY

[Plaything]

Bullshit. If she wanted to write about Madonna as a person she could have taken up a column in the celebrity trash section. When you're reviewing an album you review an album. Barely a lick of that dreadful review mentioned the album itself at all. Read it again. Its a manifesto about Madonna the celebrity, not MDNA. It's unfair because it's bad journalism.

Amen! Let's fuck.

[Louise Oriole]

Bullshit. If she wanted to write about Madonna as a person she could have taken up a column in the celebrity trash section. When you're reviewing an album you review an album. Barely a lick of that dreadful review mentioned the album itself at all. Read it again. Its a manifesto about Madonna the celebrity, not MDNA. It's unfair because it's bad journalism.

That "review" was utter shit.

[tuckeye]

lets just gang bang the posters on here that hate everything this era!

i dont know, reviews r reviews i suppose, and if anything, madonna will show them all ONCE AGAIN, so they can eat it! as pud would say

[Case39]

lets just gang bang the posters on here that hate everything this era!

i dont know, reviews r reviews i suppose, and if anything, madonna will show them all ONCE AGAIN, so they can eat it! as pud would say

Preach it!

[Guest LeJazzHot!]

CHICAGO TRIBUNE Album Review: Madonna, 'MDNA'

3 stars (out of 4)

On her 2008 album, Hard Candy, Madonna let her A-list producers steer. Timbaland and the Neptunes were hired to give her some club-banging hits, but all they really did was bury her personality. It continued a decade-long string of relatively uneventful Madonna releases, as Rihanna, Katy Perry, Beyonce and Lady Gaga surpassed her on the charts.

MDNA (Interscope), her first studio album since then, is a different story. It finds Madonna once again in charge and apparently motivated, cowriting and coproducing every track and this time, the cocredits arent just cosmetic. Its her best album since Ray of Light in 1998, an album that balanced introspection and pop dazzle in collaboration with U.K. electronic artist William Orbit. Not coincidentally, Orbit returns for the first time in a decade to play a key role on the new album.

Orbit splits most of the production with Italian DJ Marco "Benny" Benassi and French techno maven Martin Solveig. Benassi and Solveig focus on the dancefloor, and they service the machine while recycling Madonna-isms from decades past.

Benassis Girl Gone Wild starts with a confession: I detest all my sins… I want so badly to be good. The singer was flirting with the naughty Catholic girl imagery in the 80s, and she doesnt take it anywhere new here, unless the vocoder-soaked vocals count as progress. The disappointing Solveig-produced single Give Me All Your Luvin turns on a silly cheerleader-style chorus (Toni Basil got there first, 30 years ago), and brief cameos from Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. Every record sounds the same, you got to step into my world, Madonna sings, without giving us a single compelling reason why.

The Madonna-by-numbers up-tempo romps (Addicted, Turn up the Radio) dominate the first half of the album, but she excels on the Orbit tracks. Gang Bang is a slice of Tarantino-like Grind House spectacle, with Madonna as an abused lover-turned-avenger. The ominous, minimalist soundscape, flavored by whipcracks and screeching tires, makes for top-tier club drama. On Im a Sinner, which blurs Saturday night grime and Sunday morning grace, her voice projects both vulnerability and defiance.

Like few Madonna albums in the last decade, the album has an emotional center, informed by the latest upheaval in her personal life. In 1998 for Ray of Light, it was the birth of her first child that colored that albums more open tone. On MDNA, its the dissolution of her marriage to movie director Guy Ritchie.

Love Spent the rare disco track to prominently feature a banjo -- addresses the divorce: Love me like your money … I want you to take me like you took your money. The Spanish-flavored ballad Masterpiece meditates on what might have been. Madonna takes some shots at her ex, but the overall tone set by the last quarter of the album is one of sadness and when was the last time we could say that about Madonnas music?

Falling Free ends the album on a bereft note. Were both free to go, Madonna sings. Unlike anything in her catalog, its a woozy, almost psychedelic slice of chamber pop. At points, Madonna sounds like shes channeling the 60s Brit-folk ballads of Sandy Denny or Anne Briggs. Its a contemplative wind-up to an album that starts in the disco and finishes at home, in solitude.

Greg Kot

Music critic