"Rebel Heart" Reviews [continued] - thread 2

[Guest Pud Whacker]

WOW @ all those great reviews today. This album deserves all the respect and praise!

theyre the same as yesterday. just read them all from beginning to end.

thats what they are: REVIEWS. what everyones been waiting for. xo

[Moka]

Actually, I have not seen negative reviews. Some of the reviews don't like some songs or aspects of the album but nobody gave bad reviews on the whole album. There's no review under 2.5/5, right?

[Routa]

ugh and Digital Sky doesn't count for Metacritic either wtf

I thoughed it does? :/

[Glindathegood]

I think it's fine for people (artists, fans, whoever) to ignore critics if they want to. But I don't put much value in artists' opinions of criticism's worth. Criticism has and always will be an essential part of "art," whether we or they like it or not. And there's different calibers of criticism, just like there's different calibers of art. Miley Cyrus is not Beethoven. And a random gossip blog is not The New York Times.

I feel criticism is more objective or even valuable when it concerns things like theatre, movies, books or even the visual arts than music. I think with music it's hard to be objective for a lot of people there are certain genres of music they really don't like and other genres they tend to love. For instance, for me as a critic it would be hard to be objective about reviewing country or reggae because I don't like those genres. Where I think with other art forms, people don't have the distaste for a certain genre to the same extent. No one says I really don't like historical dramas for example. Also I think with pop music. people tend to know a lot about the personality of the person creating it, and even if they try to put that aside they are very influenced by ideas they have about them as a person. Whereas with the other art forms, you tend to not know as much about the creator's persona outside of what it is they create.

Criticism is definitely more influential and essential to other art forms than music. Broadway plays can close right away if they get horrible reviews, but there are lots of albums and concert tours that still do great despite terrible reviews.

I also feel music is more emotional than those other forms in a way. We connect or don't connect to songs and musical artists a lot of times based on our personal experiences. I tend to be drawn to artists that I feel a personal connection due to shared experiences. So it's more subjective in that way. Appreciating other art forms isn't quite based on your personal life experiences in the same way. That is part of what makes music special and moving to me, but it also makes criticism of it less useful and less objective because the reviewer may not have the same personal connection to the artist or what they are singing about.

[Phineaspoe]

Thank you, Wunderkind!

[Soma]

"Rebel Heart capitalises on the comeback charm of 2012s MDNA, and in places repeats aspects of its success."

I choose to take this statement as a sampling of first rate British sarcasm.

Ziggy??! Is that really you??!

[5iVe Elements]

YASSSS!!! Eat that ageist radio people! The reviews are great.

[rebelvvv]

Not that it matters, but The Independent bumped metacritic up to 68, helped by a 75 from the Chicago Tribune!

Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/kot/ct-madonna-rebel-heart-review-new-madonna-album-20150306-column.html

3 out of 4 stars

The previous two Madonna studio albums, "MDNA" (2012) and "Hard Candy" (2008), have come off as transparent attempts at co-opting the latest waves of dance music. She used to be a step ahead of the mainstream, artfully cannibalizing underground danceclub moves and turning them into pop gold. Now she was playing catch-up.

She sounds less desperate on her 13th studio album, "Rebel Heart" (Boy Toy/Live Nation/Interscope). Though Madonna is celebrated and vilified as a button-pushing rabble-rouser, she has actually done some of her finest work in a more introspective vein. Her best album in the last two decades, "Ray of Light" (1998), was also her most atmospheric and inward-looking. And "Rebel Heart" is in many ways a distant cousin, an unusually personal album that seems less about keeping up and more about taking stock. At least three songs reference her past hits, but she's not celebrating herself all the time. On the contrary, she reveals insecurities that make her sound somehow more human and uncharacteristically vulnerable.

The album sags from an excess of songs and multiple personalities.

The 19 tracks on the deluxe version cram together Diplo's airhorn-blast ravers, wispier confessionals and a handful of daring outliers. Surprisingly, the keeper moments are the most inward-looking. That coincides with Madonna's increasing acuity as a ballad singer; the squeaky-voiced pop diva has developed a warmer tone as she's matured.

The electro-pop ballads "Ghosttown" and "HeartBreakCity" simmer in melancholy as Madonna reflects on a broken relationship (she ended a three-year fling with dancer Brahim Zaibat in 2013). "Joan of Arc" suggests that the steely air of self-confidence that has carried the singer through decades of stirring things up may be just a shield for deeper insecurities. The title track revisits some of the folk-rock tropes that have tripped up Madonna in the past, but the arrangement skips along with brisk strings and finger snaps while the singer psychoanalyzes herself as an individualist bedeviled by narcissism (who knew?). In addressing character flaws and missteps with unprecedented candor, she suggests how a onetime provocateur can mature and still remain interesting, if not remain at the center of pop culture as she once was.

She hedges her bets on the dance cuts. The coldly remote "S.E.X." should be subtitled "Y.A.W.N.," "Holy Water" conflates religion and erotica for the 3,243rd time in Madonna's career, and the reggae-tinged "Unapologetic B …" and the pumped up "B… I'm Madonna" come off as half-hearted attempts to keep up with the younger competition on the pop charts, including Nicki Minaj, who raps on the latter track.

How much better would this album have been without those missteps and a few more tracks that venture outside of Madonna's comfort zone? The wacky conspiracy theories and squelching video-game beats of the West-produced "Illuminati" and the low-key industrial-folk ballad "Body Shop" are welcome simply because they're so unexpected. They're part of a messily inconsistent but still-fascinating album, the type of Madonna release that no one could've predicted when she was in her "Like a Virgin" infancy.

[Macromad]

HAs anyone posted the Billboard review? Here it is: http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6487805/album-review-madonna-rebel-heart?utm_source=twitter

[slam3000]

The only review I've seen that was pretty scathing was in the NME which I think gave it 5/10. The rest have been pretty good and even when they've been a bit more critical, like in the Guardian, they've been reasonably fair and not resorted to the usual tactic of personally attacking Madonna.

[Guest]

Not that it matters, but The Independent bumped metacritic up to 68, helped by a 75 from the Chicago Tribune!

Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/kot/ct-madonna-rebel-heart-review-new-madonna-album-20150306-column.html

3 out of 4 stars

The previous two Madonna studio albums, "MDNA" (2012) and "Hard Candy" (2008), have come off as transparent attempts at co-opting the latest waves of dance music. She used to be a step ahead of the mainstream, artfully cannibalizing underground danceclub moves and turning them into pop gold. Now she was playing catch-up.

She sounds less desperate on her 13th studio album, "Rebel Heart" (Boy Toy/Live Nation/Interscope). Though Madonna is celebrated and vilified as a button-pushing rabble-rouser, she has actually done some of her finest work in a more introspective vein. Her best album in the last two decades, "Ray of Light" (1998), was also her most atmospheric and inward-looking. And "Rebel Heart" is in many ways a distant cousin, an unusually personal album that seems less about keeping up and more about taking stock. At least three songs reference her past hits, but she's not celebrating herself all the time. On the contrary, she reveals insecurities that make her sound somehow more human and uncharacteristically vulnerable.

The album sags from an excess of songs and multiple personalities.

The 19 tracks on the deluxe version cram together Diplo's airhorn-blast ravers, wispier confessionals and a handful of daring outliers. Surprisingly, the keeper moments are the most inward-looking. That coincides with Madonna's increasing acuity as a ballad singer; the squeaky-voiced pop diva has developed a warmer tone as she's matured.

The electro-pop ballads "Ghosttown" and "HeartBreakCity" simmer in melancholy as Madonna reflects on a broken relationship (she ended a three-year fling with dancer Brahim Zaibat in 2013). "Joan of Arc" suggests that the steely air of self-confidence that has carried the singer through decades of stirring things up may be just a shield for deeper insecurities. The title track revisits some of the folk-rock tropes that have tripped up Madonna in the past, but the arrangement skips along with brisk strings and finger snaps while the singer psychoanalyzes herself as an individualist bedeviled by narcissism (who knew?). In addressing character flaws and missteps with unprecedented candor, she suggests how a onetime provocateur can mature and still remain interesting, if not remain at the center of pop culture as she once was.

She hedges her bets on the dance cuts. The coldly remote "S.E.X." should be subtitled "Y.A.W.N.," "Holy Water" conflates religion and erotica for the 3,243rd time in Madonna's career, and the reggae-tinged "Unapologetic B …" and the pumped up "B… I'm Madonna" come off as half-hearted attempts to keep up with the younger competition on the pop charts, including Nicki Minaj, who raps on the latter track.

How much better would this album have been without those missteps and a few more tracks that venture outside of Madonna's comfort zone? The wacky conspiracy theories and squelching video-game beats of the West-produced "Illuminati" and the low-key industrial-folk ballad "Body Shop" are welcome simply because they're so unexpected. They're part of a messily inconsistent but still-fascinating album, the type of Madonna release that no one could've predicted when she was in her "Like a Virgin" infancy.

nice review...but full of shades....

[Katypatra]

For those who think this record lacks cohesiveness and theme, this explains it ALL.

Yes, I also think it would be really weird to have rebel/sex songs one after another and then suddenly have the second half of the album with heart songs. First, people who prefer heart songs would probably not even get through the rebel/sex songs and by the time they'd get close to the heart songs, they'd just turn it off. I think the songs being all mixed in makes it way better. People would continue listening because they'd realize that the album consists of different moods and they wouldn't give up just because of one or two songs they didn't like.

[Arnian]

Wonderful to see these big positive reviews coming out!

So close to getting into the 70's on Meta

[Shane]

We can safely say that Rebel Heart is a well reviewed album. Not a single negative on metacritic yet, and the only out and out disaster of a review (NME) still counts as mixed.

Still to come are the New York Times, LA Times, Boston Globe, Consequence of Sound, The AV Club, All Music, Pitchfork, and PopMatters for metacritic, plus Washington Post, PopJustice, and numerous local papers for non-meta reviews. And we'll see whether Spin does a proper review.

[Glindathegood]

I live in DC and I'm dreading the Washington Post review. Chris Richards who does their pop reviews is such a jerk, especially towards women. He already said something about her Revolution of Love intro at the Grammys and how it was unconvincing and not even reviewing the actual performance. He also slammed the Sleater Kinney concert which was one of the best shows I"ve ever been to. He makes me so angry!! Hopefully, the others will be decent.

[Shane]

I live in DC and I'm dreading the Washington Post review. Chris Richards who does their pop reviews is such a jerk, especially towards women. He already said something about her Revolution of Love intro at the Grammys and how it was unconvincing and not even reviewing the actual performance. He also slammed the Sleater Kinney concert which was one of the best shows I"ve ever been to. He makes me so angry!! Hopefully, the others will be decent.

Is he possibly the only critic in the country to slam SK?

[ashtangi74]

most reviews seem to love the heart side of rebel heart more then the rebel side..

[Glindathegood]

Is he possibly the only critic in the country to slam SK?

I think so. He had some weird logic about how they sold out because they look happy and don't look angry enough!

[Shane]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/artsbeat/2015/03/06/madonna-is-still-madonna-on-rebel-heart/?referrer=

Not the official review but worth a read. I want to hear the Jon Pareles podcast.

I LOVE the line that says that this album reminds you that "her ballad voice was one of the ubiquitous pleasures in American pop 25 years ago."

Love writers who GET Madonna.

I hope Ann Powers reviews this album.

[Arnian]

most reviews seem to love the heart side of rebel heart more then the rebel side..

Some fans do as well, in this very thread there are fans disparaging "Where Life Begins."

I personally love when Madonna sings about sex, being a bitch, or telling someone to "not hang their shit" on her. That's who she is and who she is as an artist. Express Yourself and Human Nature represent her more than Live to Tell but they are both still her. I honestly don't see how people can love Madonna and not love the Bitch/Express Yourself side. It's quintessential Madonna

[Glindathegood]

most reviews seem to love the heart side of rebel heart more then the rebel side..

Yes, but that's because most reviewers like more serious music. But if the whole album was heart it would be depressing and boring. I need some fun pop Madonna in my life! I think the fun in your face songs and the ballad songs are equally her. She's both!

[Shane]

Some fans do as well, in this very thread there are fans disparaging "Where Life Begins."

I personally love when Madonna sings about sex, being a bitch, or telling someone to "not hang their shit" on her. That's who she is and who she is as an artist. Express Yourself and Human Nature represent her more than Live to Tell but they are both still her. I honestly don't see how people can love Madonna and not love the Bitch/Express Yourself side. It's quintessential Madonna

Excellent points! It goes the other way as well, though. There are those fans who thrive on her rebellious and sexy side and dismiss some of her ballads and downtempo songs as boring, always saying "I feel like dancing" etc. Madonna means different things to different people, and there are so many sides to her discography.

[Shane]

Yes, but that's because most reviewers like more serious music. But if the whole album was heart it would be depressing and boring. I need some fun pop Madonna in my life! I think the fun in your face songs and the ballad songs are equally her. She's both!

We just posted almost the same thing

[Glindathegood]

I have to admit I'm slightly more of a fun sexy pop person though! I like ballads but not too many!

[Dickens]

I honestly don't see how people can love Madonna and not love the Bitch/Express Yourself side. It's quintessential Madonna

Well, let me see if I can explain.

You have to remember that for those of us who were fans from the very beginning, there were ten years--from "Everybody" in 1982 up until Erotica in 1992"--when she didn't release a single song containing expletives or truly explicit sexual language.

Yes, there was "Like a Virgin," but saying that you feel "like a virgin" as a way of talking about a new relationship is hardly sexually explicit, in my opinion, especially when compared to the lyrics of songs like "S.E.X." or "Holy Water." Indeed, no album or song of hers had a parental advisory warning up until Erotica, which was, again, ten years after her first release.

I'm not saying that none of her fans--or even many of her fans--from the very beginning object to expletives or sexually explicit language, just that such things were simply not an element of her music for a very long time and therefore not a quintessential part of her music for a very long time.

By the way, I love "Express Yourself," which of course contains neither expletives nor sexually explicit language, unless your consider talk of "satin sheets" or "bed" to be sexually explicit, which I do not.

[Glindathegood]

She may not have used explicit language in songs, but she always used naughty words and sexual imagery in her stage shows. What about the whole of Blonde Ambition?

And what do you think she is singing about in Borderline? So sex is a huge part of her persona from the beginning!

[Katypatra]

Some fans do as well, in this very thread there are fans disparaging "Where Life Begins."

I personally love when Madonna sings about sex, being a bitch, or telling someone to "not hang their shit" on her. That's who she is and who she is as an artist. Express Yourself and Human Nature represent her more than Live to Tell but they are both still her. I honestly don't see how people can love Madonna and not love the Bitch/Express Yourself side. It's quintessential Madonna

To me, the essential Madonna is "Ray of Light", "American Life" and "Confessions on the Dance Floor". You could summarize it all with "I'm Going To Tell You A Secret". The "Human Nature" Madonna is an illusion. It's a character. In real life she is a total metaphysical nerd. This is not to say that she is not sexual. Of course she is. But it most certainly does not define her as a person. Her children, her love for Malawi, her passion for the world, art, freedom, these things define her.

Btw, when people asked her which one album she would says defines her best, she said Ray of Light. She also said that her favorite album was American Life.

[Mooncrown11]

the independent

4 stars

I think it counts for Metacritic

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/madonna-rebel-heart--album-review-a-confirmation-of-madonnas-sustained-musical-relevance-10090878.html

they compare her beautiful voice with karen carpenter.

Yes! I am so glad critics are starting to pick up on her voice evoking the late great Karen Carpenter. I always thought her rich lower register in particular has that quality. Great review!

[swimtoshore]

Yes! I am so glad critics are starting to pick up on her voice evoking the late great Karen Carpenter. I always thought her rich lower register in particular has that quality. Great review!

I had never thought about that before but there are definite similarities! I adore Karen's vocal tone and Madonna's also - two of my favorite voices of all time from a tonal perspective

[Jazzy Jan]

I think people are taking things the wrong way when some people don't love a song that may have sexual lyrics. It often has to do with not liking the melody as in my case. It does not mean they don't love or appreciate her rebellious or sexual side. I love all sides of her but don't love every song she records - although love near enough to all of them. People are over-thinking things too much and seem to almost be accusing people of thoughts they are not having.