Album Assessment: Madonna ~ MDNA

Face it, she's Madonna and that's why - like most everyone else - I have to weigh in with an opinion on her latest album, the record breaking MDNA. Please bear in mind that most of what I wrote below was during the start of a fever so I've tried to edit it up into some sense as best I could, but I think i prefer it this way anyway (indeed my original opening was "I stink of Madonna. Probably because I think I stink of fever - not the Madonna song - so I have rubbed my personal areas with the Like A Prayer album cover. Patchouli Oil scent it is for me then!" GOOD GOD - this may actually have happened. I know I had Madonna on the brain during my more feverish dreams. One was about Madonna and Bette Midler having a Peggy Lee 'Fever' off on the RuPaul's Drag Race main stage and both looking exactly the same age. The other was about that Cherish b-side song Supernatural and I was being pestered by that rapey ghost...) Anyway, here is a general overview of my very first listen to MDNA...

• GIRL GONE WILD ~ I love a good prayer at the start of a song (which now makes me want to listen to Simon Curtis' Pop Messiah). It's very Sorry via Revolver but in the style of Rihanna. It's a bit "chart-chasing" - by which I mean that it seems quite on trend and could've been sung by almost anyone (see also Alexandra Burke's Elephant). However, it is incessantly catchy and there are moments of pure Madonna that elevate it. Definitely a grower - I find myself grooving to it more and more on a daily basis...
• GANG BANG ~ I don't know whether I'm disappointed that this isn't a Black Lace cover or just disappointed with this song in general. It seems to try a little too hard, wants desperately to be cool (which seemed to be the general view of the Hard Candy period). Should not be the next single. However even a disappointing Madonna track has it's moments - it's got a gritty edge to it and the "I'm going straight to hell" lyric is pure dynamite. (check out Chantal Claret's song Pop Pop Bang Bang as a credible alternative to this)
• I'M ADDICTED ~ Benny Benassai is ensuring Madonna stays firmly confessing on the dance floor with this zesty number. It's all a bit off kilter, slightly chaotic and bonkers but it totally works with it's relentless beat and Ibiza-esque grooves. Reminds me somewhat of Kylie Minogue's Rippin' Up This Disco and that ain't a bad thing...
• TURN UP THE RADIO ~ Wouldn't this have been tremendous if this had been some marvelous updated cover of the Tommy Page classic (though that was on not up)? No? Just me then. Regardless, this is phenom and should definitely be a single. Martin Solveig does a (gang) bang up job here - it's just bursting to top the charts, yet doesn't imitate anything else that is there at the moment, which is how a true Madonna single should be. It's euphoric and glorious, growing through a pulsing beat and genuinely lovely melodic quality to the entire song. Reminds me of a modern take on her early dancefloor days and I'm totally burning up...

• GIVE ME ALL YOUR LUVIN ~ I think I'm in the minority here but I fucking love this song. Love it as the first single and still love it quite a lot to this day. I think it's Madonna's take on a fun, frothy pop song - it's perky, bouncy and enjoyable. The addition of Nicki Minaj & M.I.A is genius with their respective rapped middle 8s - Nicki comes off as a modern day Betty Boo while M.I.A creates a nice counterbalance by practically sneering her way through the swag shit. Essentially it's all about celebrating Madonna and this will end up being one of my songs of 2012 whatever anyone else thinks about it...
• SOME GIRLS ~ not a Rachel Stevens cover, repeat, not a Rachel Stevens cover! (Neither is it a Bananarama cover) What you do get here is Madonna trying to rewind the hands of time as she gets playful and girlish over a relentless beat and annoying electro-clash effects between the verses and choruses. On the plus side, it does have that sort of rallying call to arms feel about it & may well yet grow on me...
• SUPERSTAR ~ Obviously not the Geri Halliwell track. Or Jamelia. Big 80s drum beat at the start before Madonna starts an effortlessly engaging vocal melody (name checking Vogue's Brando - one of numerous self lyrical references on the album). It encapsulates a summery vibe and excels because of it's stripped back, simplistic feel. Utterly delightful from start to finish - another future single or I will simply weep. PS, this will sound brilliant at the summer stadium shows...
• I DON'T GIVE A ~ Ballsy, brash, bold and assertive - this is the take no prisoners Madonna who digs her $5000 heels in until she gets her own way that's made her such a force to be reckoned with over the years. Rapid fire, semi rapped lyrics that seem to be a melding of the Erotica and American Life eras (both underrated, both of which I loved) are totally working for me. She confronts her own insecurities about life as a single mother blasting through with a confidence in the chorus that is quite contagious. Nicki Minaj gives another ego stroke with "there's only one queen, and that's Madonna". Can I get an amen in here??

• I'M A SINNER ~ Madonna's role model growing up was clearly a mattress. She must have had bow legs in the 80s and 90s from them spending so much time apart. Her knees were like distant cousins. It's no wonder then that she gets all confessional on this splendiferous track that remains one of my favourites from the album. William Orbit certainly knows how to get the best out of Madonna in a pop song. It's a swirling soundscape of off kilter eastern beats, self deprecating & witty lyrics and a fine, propulsive drum beat. "I'm a sinner and I like it that way" she teases. BRILLZ
• LOVE SPENT ~ One of my fave Madonna songs is Til Death Do Us Part because of the intimate nature of the lyrics. This is one of the main draws of Love Spent. She reads Guy Richie something fierce with biting yet devastatingly painful lyrics set to a atmospheric melody; indeed it's reminiscent of the beautiful pop melodies Abba would create while lyrically representing the darker underbelly of relationships. Quite stunning.
• MASTERPIECE ~ I was a little worried that this wouldn't fit into the album. Prior to the release of MDNA, it felt like this would be "This Used To Be My Playground" pre-cursor to the Erotica era i.e. a fine pop ballad but not necessarily representative of the album. It does however work quite well. It's an elegant, naturally breathing, rhythmic ballad. The hook is both unassuming and unforgettable and it really is a work of art.
• FALLING FREE ~ The closer to the standard edition of the album (and where I'm going to come to a close today) is breathtaking. There's something ever so desolate & isolating about the lyrics & the haunting melody and emotive vocal delivery only complement this barren feeling of tortured days of despair. In such revealing honesty, there is a vulnerability that is rare in Madonna, which makes it even more special & rewarding.

Overall, the album is a solid pop effort with continued flashes of brilliance. I think a friend of mine summed it up best - "MDNA may not be her best album but it is a good album. And with pop icons dropping faster than Madonna's knickers in the 90s, we should all be glad she is still here to entertain us in this way". Indeed.

Read James Leon's thoughts here