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Madonna's Hard Candy - CD Review
 On Madonna's 11th album, Hard Candy, the queen of pop invites us to imagine her as a confectioner running a musical sweet shop.
But, after sitting through the 12 tracks on offer here, you'll begin to wish she'd stocked more than two varieties of candy.
Those flavours come from two of America's most bankable songwriting teams: The Neptunes and Timbaland, who between them have conjured up hits for the likes of Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Missy Elliot and Justin Timberlake.
Timberlake himself crops up on five of the tracks, posing a particularly pertinent question about who is running the show when he asks "Who is the master? Who is the slave?" as the album closes.
This sort of top flight production is an unusual step for Madonna, who has a reputation for seeking out relatively obscure dance producers like Mirwais, Shep Pettibone and Stuart Price to helm her albums.
This time round, however, the queen of reinvention is trying to win back the hearts of the US audience - who were largely unimpressed with her 2005 love letter to disco, Confessions On A Dancefloor.
It all starts off well enough. Opening track Candy Shop is an agenda-setting call to arms, with Madonna promising a "special connection" and "plenty of heat".
The minimal, skittering drums are punctured by colossal stabs of synth, while Madonna purrs weak sweet shop-related innuendos: "Don't pretend you're not hungry, there's plenty to eat... I got Turkish Delights."
You get the picture.
Things step up a gear with the Justin Timberlake collaboration 4 Minutes, which features the best use of cowbell in pop since Free's All Right Now, but sounds so futuristic it could realistically have been beamed in from the end of the world.
'Pop moments'
Lyrically, the album plays it safe. Madonna may have been inspired to make a documentary about the Aids epidemic in Africa when she adopted two-year-old Malawian orphan David Banda, but you would be hard pressed to find any social commentary in her music.
The main themes are love, revenge, sex and music - subjects on which Madonna surely has very little left to say at this stage in her career.
Hard Candy featurs five collaborations with Justin Timberlake
She even repeats herself, echoing Into The Groove when she sings "Don't you know, can't you see? When I dance I feel free" on Heartbeat.
Then again, Madonna has always been at her best when extolling the virtues of music as a release, and it is on Hard Candy's club-orientated tracks that she excels.
She's Not Me, a Neptunes production, feels like a five-minute musical summary of her career to date.
It kicks off with Chic-esque guitars that are reminiscent of Holiday before morphing into a pulsing club groove that could have been lifted straight from her last album.
Track three, Give It To Me, is already pencilled in as the album's second single. It is one of the record's few out-and-out pop moments, featuring a cute, bouncy beat and a sense of humour that has been missing from Madonna's music since her Dick Tracy days.
"If it's against the law, arrest me, if you can handle it, undress me," she chirps as the song builds to a blistering crescendo that will surely be the highlight of any future live set.
Blistering crescendo
But the song also showcases the fatal flaw in Madonna's battle plan. A middle section where she chants "get stupid, get stupid" instantly brings to mind The Neptunes' other female muse, Gwen Stefani.
Similarly, Timbaland's tracks are frequently reminiscent of his (superior) work with Nelly Furtado.
Madonna, a notoriously hard task master (she gave Justin Timberlake a vitamin shot when he appeared to be flagging during recording sessions) seems to have been unable to tame the idiosyncrasies of her omnipresent hitmakers.
Over and over again, she subsumes her pop sensibilities to their arsenal of clattering beats, hollered raps and over-fussy production.
On a ballad like Incredible, the overbearing din of an inexplicable electric guitar completely spoils an otherwise beautiful and delicate melody. It's almost like they threw everything at the wall to see what would stick, without realising it was a very sticky wall.
And that's a real shame because, if a handful of the tracks had been delivered to more producers with a touch more subtlety, Hard Candy could have ranked alongside Madonna's best.
As it stands, however, the album is more akin to Madonna's last attempt to harness the urban market
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Bryan Adams - 11
 Bryan Adams storms back with his 11th studio album, entitled ‘11’ packed full of unmistakeable rockers and signature ballads. The lead single ‘I Thought I’d Seen Everything’ is a Bryan Adams classic in the making - a rocky, mid-tempo track that has already gone onto radio playlists on both side of the Atlantic. ‘11’ was recorded largely in hotel rooms and backstage dressing rooms around the world during the past two years and feature the return of his long time collaborator Jim Vallance on three cuts. The Adams/Vallance partnership was responsible for many of Bryan’s classic hits including ‘Heaven’,’ Summer of 69’ and ‘Run To You.’
In support of the release of the album, Adams started a unique ‘11 concerts, 11 cities’ tour, taking in 11 different countries in just 11 days. The intimate shows at some spectacular venues saw Bryan perform an acoustic set, on stage, with just his guitar and harmonica.
To coincide with the album and tour, an exhibition of Bryan Adams photographs was also held at London’s historic National Portrait Gallery, entitled ‘Modern Muses’.
Bryan Adams has sold well in excess of 65 million albums worldwide. He is one of the true musical legends currently still performing and releasing new material.
Official Website: www.bryanadams.com
My Space: www.myspace.com/bryanadams
Track Listing:
1. Tonight We Have The Stars
2. I Thought I'd Seen Everything
3. I Ain't Losin' The Fight
4. Oxygen
5. We Found What We Were Looking For
6. Broken Wings
7. Somethin' To Believe In
8. Mysterious Ways
9. She's Got A Way
10. Flower Grown Wild
11. Walk On By
12. Way Of The World |
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Duffy - Rockferry
 Duffy has joined an elite band of female superstars, that includes Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Barbara Streisand, who have all held the UK number 1 position on the single and album charts simultaneously, something only 9 solo female artists have ever done in history.
Duffy is probably the most exciting prospect for 2008. Her ascent from the Llyn Peninsula to 2008’s pole position continues on April 14th when the 23-year old artist releases her debut album “Rockferry”.
A masterclass in mature, resonant pop, the album includes the singles "Mercy" and "Rockferry". Her soulful voice has already beguiled many of the nation’s musical tastemakers and news of its beauty and of the strength of her songs is spreading by word of mouth Now, as the comparisons fly (Dusty Springfield has emerged as the favourite), it’s time to discover her for yourself. Duffy was born and spent her childhood years in the north Wales coastal community of Nefyn, a place too remote to be driven by style wars or opposing music factions (the nearest record counter was a bus ride away and only stocked the Top 40). The upbringing she describes is one in which everyone had to rub along together, making do and mending, accepting each other and their tastes without prejudice.
'A star in the making' – The Sun
“Remember Duffy – she will be the sound of 2008” – Evening Standard
“The new soul-pop genius on the block” – Time Out
www.iamduffy.com
Album Track Listing:
Warwick Avenue
Serious
Stepping Stone
Syrup & Honey
Hanging On Too Long
Mercy
Delayed Devotion
I'm Scared
Distant Dreamer |
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