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"Rebel Heart" Reviews [continued] - thread 2


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"It doesn't really sound like the Madonna of old, it doesn't sound like Madonna reinvented, it mostly sounds like a whole bunch of other people writing music for someone much younger, with Madonna contributing some pretty thin, overly-processed guest vocals."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Thin? Overly-processed? Guest?? :rant:

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Some of us DO care about reviews, just like others care about charts or her hair. If you're that bothered by it, don't read this thread, simple pimple

+1

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Next week, I guess. I saw this week's issue with Empire on the cover also at the grocery store and it didn't have a RH review in the music section.

Thanks for the heads up!

I'm hoping for a B+ or higher :)

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Norwegian tabloid VG published its review of Rebel Heart.

I won't translate the whole thing, but here are the main points:

- Confessions... was the latest Madonna album that was somewhat cohesive, mainly because Stuart Price co-produced allmost the entire album. Rebel Heart isn't as cohesive as Confessions..., but as a whole, it's stronger than Hard Candy and MDNA.

- The generic "Living for Love" was a weird choice of lead single. "Unapologetic Bitch", "Illuminati" or even "Bitch I'm Madonna" would have been much stronger lead single material.

- The overproduced "Iconic" and "Veni Vidi Vici" prove that Madonna and hip hop are an ill-matched combination.

- "Ghosttown", "Joan of Arc", "Inside Out" and "Wash All Over Me" are a beautiful counterbalance to the tougher songs. And Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are probably both wishing that they had been the one to come up with "Body Shop".

- Rebel Heart has its flaws and gets a bit too self-referential at times, but Madonna sounds great. Hearing her showing off her finest talent is such a relief.

Best song: Illuminati

Rating: 4/6

Original article (in Norwegian): http://www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/musikkanmeldelser/plateanmeldelse-madonna-rebel-heart/a/23408169/

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People has a small positive blurb in their Picks section as Glinda reported previously (they don't seem to do actual reviews anymore). They list her at number 3 of 12, with Kelly Clarkson at 1 :laugh:

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Some good news from Germany: The "WELT" newspaper and the "Stern" magazine, both popular and well-selling here, have very positive reviews on the album!

If you want me to, I can translate the main points later, but the gist of the reviews basically is that she's 'found herself' again after MDNA and that it's her best record since ROL. Interestingly enough, BIM too gets praised in one of them!

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Some good news from Germany: The "WELT" newspaper and the "Stern" magazine, both popular and well-selling here, have very positive reviews on the album!

If you want me to, I can translate the main points later, but the gist of the reviews basically is that she's 'found herself' again after MDNA and that it's her best record since ROL. Interestingly enough, BIM too gets praised in one of them!

Fantastic! Please do thanks.

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Good to see some positive German reviews. You (Germans) shouldn't read the horrible review at laut.de then...They even call her 'Vampirella-Madonna'. Seriously? lol I can't anymore

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Guest Pud Whacker

The Guardian UK: 3/5

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/05/madonna-rebel-heart-review

Same shit all over again.

thats a great one! love this:

There’s something bracing about Madonna’s insistence that she belongs in exactly the same place she’s been for more than 30 years – at the forefront of mainstream pop, asserting her supremacy over anyone who dares challenge her – and something impressive about her steadfast refusal to do the kind of things every other artist four decades into their career does: no unplugged shows with the singer sitting demurely on a stool and emoting to an acoustic guitar; no deviation into the Great American Songbook; no album that cravenly attempts to recreate the sound of her best-loved early work. You can understand why she sees that kind of thing as a one-way ticket to the knacker’s yard, why she’d rather prove she can still talk dirtier or come up with more outrageous braggadocio than any young pretender.

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I was thinking critics would pan Illuminati but most of them praise it. Surprisingly, this is good. But i don't get the hate for Unapologetic Bitch and why is the weakest album track on charts. :huh:

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Some good news from Germany: The "WELT" newspaper and the "Stern" magazine, both popular and well-selling here, have very positive reviews on the album!

If you want me to, I can translate the main points later, but the gist of the reviews basically is that she's 'found herself' again after MDNA and that it's her best record since ROL. Interestingly enough, BIM too gets praised in one of them!

yes, they're really good.

but laut.de has the same bad review like the last 10 years... 2 of 5

in the german Saturn you can buy the LP today... looks really good, but Amazon send my LPs tomorrow...have to wait!

in the german Saturn Maxi Charts LFL is on #3...on ITunes on #69....:/

Edited by Mr.Candy
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Guest Pud Whacker

I was thinking critics would pan Illuminati but most of them praise it. Surprisingly, this is good. But i don't get the hate for Unapologetic Bitch and why is the weakest album track on charts. :huh:

i cant speak for anyone but myself but when i hear it, like while driving yesterday, im like, 'Really?".

shes popping bottles that he cant even afford. if that truly is an insight into her psyche... :nocomment:

i mean, cmon. :rotfl:

save it for the super deluxe fan version.

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Yes bitch she is poppin bottles that he can't afford

That line is hot. Her pussy is on fire.

I want M to brag more.

ITS NOT THAT DEEP PUD RLY

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AlexisPetridis.png







Half of Madonnas 13th album seems concerned with proving she can keep up with the kids. The other half is mature, reflective and far more affecting

Its release has been plagued by controversy over piracy, the term artistic rape, claims of cultural appropriation and the vexing question of whether or not its all right to laugh at a 56-year-old woman falling on her arse midway through a dance routine. But the most immediately striking thing about Madonnas 13th studio album is rather more prosaic: its extremely long. The deluxe version features 19 tracks and lasts for the best part of an hour and a half. The super-deluxe version adds a second disc, featuring another raft of songs and remixes anyone planning to listen in full is advised to first ensure their will is up to date in case they die of old age before they get to the end.


Theres obviously no reason why an album cant contain both. But on Rebel Heart, the two dont quite gel, perhaps because you get the sneaking feeling that the former might represent the music Madonna wants to make, while the latter is the music she feels obliged to make, in order to compete with whoever the big new female pop star is: listening to a track called S.E.X., youre struck by the sense of a woman dutifully going through the motions.



Elsewhere, however, things go awry. Bitch Im Madonna is a fantastic title in search of a song. In lieu of one, producer Diplo comes up with a kind of hybrid of EDM and happy hardcore and throws Nicki Minaj at her most hyperactive into the mix; the result genuinely sets your teeth on edge. There are moments when Madonna appears to be frantically chasing after other artists or trends. The hook of Inside Out is perilously close to that of Rihannas Diamonds, while Devil Pray a bit of anti-drug sermonising that offers the deeply improbable image of Madonna indulging in solvent abuse is a pretty transparent attempt by Avicii to come up with something along the lines of his hit Wake Me Up. Veni Vidi Vici, meanwhile, starts out a fascinating memoir of Madonnas early days in New York, before disappointingly devolving into a plonking list of her hits: I justified my love, I made you say a little prayer/ They had me crucified you know I had to take it there. Mercifully, this grinds to a halt before it can start exploring the less celebrated areas of her oeuvre: I did Evita too and also Hanky Panky/ And in Sex there was a photograph of me having a wanky.


This review is fairly professional but the ignorance is still so transparent. What does singing about sex have to do with keeping up with the kids? That makes absolutely no fucking sense. At least the critics are blatantly hating the rebel songs, which makes the intention of these songs more clear, since some of her fans don't even understand why she's singing these vulgarly silly lyrics on this record.

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A good review by a Swiss newspaper. They trash MDNA and Hard Candy but they praise Rebel Heart. They say she is finally back and the record won't disappoint. I won't detail everything they say but their last sentence sums up the idea : "As she says in Iconic and Bitch I'm Madonna : the queen is back. Turn up the volume!".

http://www.lematin.ch/culture/musique/Madonna-rebelle-de-corps-et-d-esprit/story/13569888

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i cant speak for anyone but myself but when i hear it, like while driving yesterday, im like, 'Really?".

shes popping bottles that he cant even afford. if that truly is an insight into her psyche... :nocomment:

i mean, cmon. :rotfl:

save it for the super deluxe fan version.

It's one of the best songs on the album though. And certainly one of the catchiest. But as you said, I can only speak for myself...

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Guest Pud Whacker

Yes bitch she is poppin bottles that he can't afford

That line is hot

I want M to brag more

ITS NOT THAT DEEP PUD RLY

oh, i know. just discussing, stephen.

people are asking why? im giving insight from a fans pov since 1983.

i will take my own advice and shut my hole!!! :rotfl:

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The Guardian UK: 3/5

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/05/madonna-rebel-heart-review

Same shit all over again.

The super-deluxe version adds a second disc, featuring another raft of songs and remixes – anyone planning to listen in full is advised to first ensure their will is up to date in case they die of old age before they get to the end.
:dead:
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yes, they're really good.

but laut.de has the same bad review like the last 10 years... 2 of 5

in the german Saturn you can buy the LP today... looks really good, but Amazon send my LPs tomorrow...have to wait!

in the german Saturn Maxi Charts LFL is on #3...on ITunes on #69....:/

WAIT SERIOUSLY???

You can already get the CD in Saturn stores???

Omg I'm gonna go there NOW!

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I tried at Saturn and Media-Markt but neither would sell it today.

Oooh ok, that makes sense.

Think I'm gonna check it out anyway, it's worth a try!

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