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MADAME X album reviews


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A friend of mine said he is enjoying every moment of this release because he doesn’t know how many of them there will be to come.  And I responded that I think we will see her recording music for years to come as she is so inspired and never wants to retire.  She may slow down, but I predict we get three albums in her 60s and they will all rank among her best as Madame X surely does.  And then she will release a masterpiece in her 70s mark my words!

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3 minutes ago, Msig said:

AllMusic Review by 

4/5

https://www.allmusic.com/album/madame-x-mw0003274282

Madame X is the rare album from a veteran artist that puts earlier records in a different light. Ever since the 1980s, the conventional wisdom about Madonna claimed she brought trends from the musical underground for the purpose of pop hits, but Madame X -- a defiantly dense album that has little to do with pop, at least in the standard American sense -- emphasizes the artistic instincts behind these moves. The shift in perception stems from Madonna embracing a world outside of the United States. While she's been an international superstar since the dawn of her career, Madonna relocated to Lisbon, Portugal in 2017, a move that occurred two years after Rebel Heart -- an ambitious record balanced between revivals of old styles and new sounds -- failed to burn up any Billboard chart outside of Dance singles. These two developments fuel Madame X, an album that treats America as a secondary concern at best. Madonna may address the political and social unrest that's swept across the globe during the latter years of the 2010s, but her commentary is purposely broad. Perhaps Madonna errs on the side of being a little bit too broad -- on "Killers Who Are Partying," she paints herself as a martyr for every oppressed voice in the world -- yet this instinct to look outside of her experience leads her to ground Madame X in various strains of Latinx sounds, trap, and art-pop, music that not only doesn't sound much like the American pop charts in 2019, but requires focused attention in a manner that makes the songs not especially friendly to playlisting.

Madame X has its share of colorful neo-disco numbers and shimmering chill-out tracks, but they're painted in dark hues, and they're surrounded by songs so closely cloistered, they can play like mini-suites. Case in point is "Dark Ballet," an ominous number that descends into a sinister, robotic rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Reed Flutes" section from The Nutcracker -- an allusion that recalls not the future, but the dystopian horror show of A Clockwork Orange. Such darkness hangs heavy over Madame X, surfacing fiercely in the clenched-mouth phrasing on "God Control," but present even on the bobbing reggae of "Future." The murk does lift on occasion -- "Come Alive" gains levity from its clustered polyrhythms -- but the somber tenor when combined with fearless exploration does mean Madame X can be demanding listening. The rhythms are immediate, but the songs aren't, nor are the opaque productions. While this thick, heady confluence of cultures and sounds may demand concentration, Madame X not only amply rewards such close listening, but its daring embrace of the world outside the U.S. underscores how Madonna has been an advocate and ally for left-of-mainstream sounds and ideas throughout her career.

I knew All Music would come through!  This and Boston Globe and The Line of Best Fit all within 12 hours!

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50 minutes ago, Shane said:

I knew All Music would come through!  This and Boston Globe and The Line of Best Fit all within 12 hours!

I can't find the Boston Globe review, can you post it?

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1 hour ago, frzndrwnwrld said:

I would love to know what you consider to be her best. 🙄

Like a Prayer, Ray of Light, Confessions, Rebel Heart are top 4

 

True Blue, Erotica or Bedtime Stories for 5th

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11 minutes ago, acko said:

I can't find the Boston Globe review, can you post it?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2019/06/13/madonnaalbum/IdjGquaCB1mDYgXgawpIGJ/story.html

Madonna unbound on ‘Madame X’

By Maura Johnston Globe Correspondent,Updated June 14, 2019, 12:00 a.m.

 

Madonna has always been pop’s reigning chameleon, with each album (and movie) in her body of work representing a specific epoch in her MTV-era reign over the genre. But on “Madame X,” her 14th studio album, she makes her multifaceted nature explicit, linking the title character’s many guises (secret agent, dancer, equestrian, nun, et cetera) to the hooky album’s overall concept.

“Madame X,” released on Friday, begins with Madonna whispering the cha-cha beat, the opening to first single “Medellín.” That song, when it debuted in April, was notable not only for its incorporation of Latin pop but for its relatively chilled-out vibe; Madonna, her voice digitally tweaked yet still bearing wistfulness, sang of feeling like a teenager once again, reveling in her naivete and, ultimately, feeling as if she’d freed herself from the shackles of constant scrutiny. Given that Madonna has been the pop-music equivalent of Don DeLillo’s most photographed barn in America almost since her crash-landing into MTV nearly four decades ago, feeling free of expectations — whether they’re to collaborate with the American pop chart’s current big names, as she did on her previous three albums’ lead singles, or to age “gracefully,” whatever that might mean to the person saying it — is a liberation with great consequence.

And, truthfully, Madonna’s recent work has been at its best when she’s allowed herself to get a little weird; take the kaleidoscope-dream aura of her “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” tie-in song “Beautiful Stranger,” the gnarled synths on her James Bond theme “Die Another Day,” or even the giddy soy latte-shouting rap on her 2003 single “American Life.” A good chunk of “Madame X” has Madonna collaborating with Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the producer-slash-muse who worked with her on the latter two songs, and their creative spark provides some of the album’s most compelling moments. “Dark Ballet,” another Ahmadzaï collaboration and the song that follows “Medellín,” is a chilly indictment of the world where Madonna is channeling Joan of Arc while also taking on 2019; its back half, which hinges on a synth-sparkle rework of Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Reed-Flutes,” hints at ominous things to come, imploring the cognoscenti wearing clothing by the cult streetwear brand Supreme to wake up, before returning to its refrain of “it’s a beautiful life.”

It is, to be sure, a lot. But it’s also nice to hear Madonna taking the lead in charting out pop’s possibilities after a few albums where she worked with collaborators who were almost too close to the current zeitgeist (Timbaland and Pharrell on 2008’s “Hard Candy”; Diplo and the late Avicii on her last album, 2015’s “Rebel Heart”). Latin beats and influences from her adopted homeland of Portugal abound. She does dip into the current zeitgeist of trap — on “Crave,” a collaboration with Swae Lee of the brotherly hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, but she bends it to her will, adding acoustic guitars and a wounded vocal performance to the genre’s insistent snares. But for the most part, “Madame X” lets Madonna run wild, whether it’s between the disco and the anti-gun protest on “God Control” or around the manic atmosphere of “Faz Gostoso,” a reworked version of the Brazilian-Portuguese singer Blaya’s hit. “Come Alive” is a steely protest song that opens up into a gorgeous chorale, its titular plea tweaked to sound like it’s resonating throughout the world.

 

Madonna may be pop’s pinnacle of shape-shifting, but she’s never stopped believing that pop songs can change the world. While it chafes against pop-musical expectations and outright defies them at times, “Madame X” does embrace that planet-altering ideal lyrically as well as musically, making it Madonna’s most compelling album in years.

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Guest eroticerotic

I hope those that have shown disapproval or disdain Towards those who heard the official tracks a few days prior to a world wide release dont listen to any leaked demos from previous eras. I believe she would hate that instead.

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I was just looking at Metacritic and saw this:

Madonna Madame X

Metascore: 73 Users Score: 91

Bruce Springsteen Western Stars

Metascore: 86 Users Score: 74

I think it's clear how biased are all these so called "professional critics", always underrating women while men get the higher rates easily. 

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2 minutes ago, Macromad said:

I was just looking at Metacritic and saw this:

Madonna Madame X

Metascore: 73 Users Score: 91

Bruce Springsteen Western Stars

Metascore: 86 Users Score: 74

I think it's clear how biased are all these so called "professional critics", always underrating women while men get the higher rates easily. 

They’re taking their sweet time to update hers with Boston Globe, All Music, and The Line of Best Fit, but those should elevate her.

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Guest Future feat Quavo

Line of Best Fit and Allmusic have been added

Metascore is still 73

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10 minutes ago, Macromad said:

I was just looking at Metacritic and saw this:

Madonna Madame X

Metascore: 73 Users Score: 91

Bruce Springsteen Western Stars

Metascore: 86 Users Score: 74

I think it's clear how biased are all these so called "professional critics", always underrating women while men get the higher rates easily. 

And according to Kworb, the album is #1 on Itunes in 44 countries, while his album is #1 in 13. 

He is actually #1 in USA, though.

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5 minutes ago, Future feat Quavo said:

Line of Best Fit and Allmusic have been added

Metascore is still 73

It didn't go up because they also added Rolling Stone's 60.

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Guest Future feat Quavo
Just now, Lament said:

It didn't go up because they also added Rolling Stone's 60.

Messss I just noticed. Hope Globe's score is high (I'm not sure how they determine the score for reviews that don't list their own scores)

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46 minutes ago, Lament said:

It didn't go up because they also added Rolling Stone's 60.

Why did they wait so long to add Rolling Stone? Strange. Anyway, my prediction for the final score is 75. Which would be pretty fantastic.

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59 minutes ago, runa said:

And according to Kworb, the album is #1 on Itunes in 44 countries, while his album is #1 in 13. 

He is actually #1 in USA, though.

She’s 2 with deluxe and 11 with standard...

 

AB357EE3-619C-4058-855C-125468D8D06E.jpeg

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/markbeech/2019/06/14/madonnas-madame-x-is-bizarre-and-brilliant-review/#1ec0f00068bb

Madonna’s ‘Madame X’ Is Bizarre And Brilliant: Review

Madonna’s Madame X is a prime example of an A-list artist who knows she can do what the heck she wants – and boy, she does.

Her 14th studio album could just play it safe with the sort of infectious music that has taken dance floors by storm since the 1980s. It doesn’t, though this was implied by the first single, a duet with Colombian reggaeton singer and songwriter Maluma. “Medellín” came blasting out with so-fashionable Latin pop. The track pretty much defies you to keep still. You think Luis Fonsi had the market nailed? On the album,, we find Madonna, again with Maluma, doing a Latino workout on “Bitch I’m Loca.” Songs like this are straightforward enough.

Madame X is not Madonna playing it safe after four years away. Instead, she takes risks, some of which pay off brilliantly. While it may baffle some and not be so commercially-friendly as some predecessors, Madonna has been here before. Hands up, those who remember American Life in 2003 which mixed the mainstream, even her Bond theme “Die Another Day,” with daring concepts that were perplexing to some and misunderstood by others.

Straight after the “Medellín” opener, Madonna kicks into her “strange days” mode with the next two tracks.

First, “Dark Ballet” has a six-minute video with images of Joan of Arc. The lyric is incendiary too: “people tell me to shut my mouth, that I might get burned.”

Then “God Control” is also six minutes, starting with a languid rap and then breaking into choral backing, strings and lyrics such as “This is your wake-up call/ I’m like your nightmare/ I’m here to start your day… People think that I’m insane/ The only gun is in my brain/ Each new birth, it gives me hope/ That’s why I don’t smoke that dope.”

Madonna feels free to add some serious political comment with “Killers Who Are Partying.”

We perhaps had inklings that this was going to be a challenging Madonna album, from the time she announced that the Madame X persona was its cornerstone concept. For those who don’t know, Madonna has explained that “Madame X” was a nickname given to her by her dance teacher Martha Graham, who told the 19-year-old Madonna Louise Ciccone: “Every day, you come to school, and I don’t recognize you.” Madonna says that it gives her the chance to be a chameleon: anybody from a mother to a head of state, saint, nun or whore.

Albums where stars get weird on us or divert from their normal style can divide the critics: Bob Dylan’s Street-Legal, U2’s Achtung Baby, Radiohead’s Kid A. If anyone is dismissive, the creator can say that they are being ironic and usually win some kudos for trying something different rather than being stuck in the same creative rut.

Madonna, at 60, is definitely not stuck in a rut and is always interesting even with the flaws. Anyone who expects her to be making another Like A Virginis both misguided and outdated. This is not a classic album to sit alongside Like A Prayer or Ray Of Light, may not win her many new fans and may not set the charts alight, but that’s not what this is about.

At its best Madame X has some moments that rate with her finest, such as the mid-pace, catchy Spanish-guitar tinged “Crave.” She croons “you’re the one I crave, and my cravings get dangerous.” Long may she remain a dangerous lady.

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3 minutes ago, boy skeffington said:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markbeech/2019/06/14/madonnas-madame-x-is-bizarre-and-brilliant-review/#1ec0f00068bb

Madonna’s ‘Madame X’ Is Bizarre And Brilliant: Review

Madonna’s Madame X is a prime example of an A-list artist who knows she can do what the heck she wants – and boy, she does.

Her 14th studio album could just play it safe with the sort of infectious music that has taken dance floors by storm since the 1980s. It doesn’t, though this was implied by the first single, a duet with Colombian reggaeton singer and songwriter Maluma. “Medellín” came blasting out with so-fashionable Latin pop. The track pretty much defies you to keep still. You think Luis Fonsi had the market nailed? On the album,, we find Madonna, again with Maluma, doing a Latino workout on “Bitch I’m Loca.” Songs like this are straightforward enough.

Madame X is not Madonna playing it safe after four years away. Instead, she takes risks, some of which pay off brilliantly. While it may baffle some and not be so commercially-friendly as some predecessors, Madonna has been here before. Hands up, those who remember American Life in 2003 which mixed the mainstream, even her Bond theme “Die Another Day,” with daring concepts that were perplexing to some and misunderstood by others.

Straight after the “Medellín” opener, Madonna kicks into her “strange days” mode with the next two tracks.

First, “Dark Ballet” has a six-minute video with images of Joan of Arc. The lyric is incendiary too: “people tell me to shut my mouth, that I might get burned.”

Then “God Control” is also six minutes, starting with a languid rap and then breaking into choral backing, strings and lyrics such as “This is your wake-up call/ I’m like your nightmare/ I’m here to start your day… People think that I’m insane/ The only gun is in my brain/ Each new birth, it gives me hope/ That’s why I don’t smoke that dope.”

Madonna feels free to add some serious political comment with “Killers Who Are Partying.”

We perhaps had inklings that this was going to be a challenging Madonna album, from the time she announced that the Madame X persona was its cornerstone concept. For those who don’t know, Madonna has explained that “Madame X” was a nickname given to her by her dance teacher Martha Graham, who told the 19-year-old Madonna Louise Ciccone: “Every day, you come to school, and I don’t recognize you.” Madonna says that it gives her the chance to be a chameleon: anybody from a mother to a head of state, saint, nun or whore.

Albums where stars get weird on us or divert from their normal style can divide the critics: Bob Dylan’s Street-Legal, U2’s Achtung Baby, Radiohead’s Kid A. If anyone is dismissive, the creator can say that they are being ironic and usually win some kudos for trying something different rather than being stuck in the same creative rut.

Madonna, at 60, is definitely not stuck in a rut and is always interesting even with the flaws. Anyone who expects her to be making another Like A Virginis both misguided and outdated. This is not a classic album to sit alongside Like A Prayer or Ray Of Light, may not win her many new fans and may not set the charts alight, but that’s not what this is about.

At its best Madame X has some moments that rate with her finest, such as the mid-pace, catchy Spanish-guitar tinged “Crave.” She croons “you’re the one I crave, and my cravings get dangerous.” Long may she remain a dangerous lady.

 

So who's gonna ask: 'Does it count?' 🤩

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https://www.breatheheavy.com/madonna-madame-x-review/

MADONNA IS MANY THINGS ON NEW HER ALBUM, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY… SHE’S ‘MADAME X’ (REVIEW)

(can't get it to paste)

 

 

MADONNA IS MADONNA IS MANY THINGS ON NEW HER ALBUM, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY… SHE’S ‘MADAME X’ (REVIEW)MANY THINGS ON NEW HER ALBUM, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY… SHE’S ‘MADAME X’ (REVIEW)

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2 hours ago, eroticerotic said:

I hope those that have shown disapproval or disdain Towards those who heard the official tracks a few days prior to a world wide release dont listen to any leaked demos from previous eras. I believe she would hate that instead.

I have never listened to a leaked song on my life, so yeah.

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