Hard Candy [Special Edition]

Performer: Madonna
Artist: Justin Timberlake; Timbaland
Engineer: Alex Dromgoole; Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica; Mark "Spike" Stent; Andrew Coleman
Producer: Hannon Lane; Vincent Di Pasquale; Justin Timberlake; Madonna; The Neptunes; Timbaland; Pharrell Williams; Timbaland
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Justin Timberlake (guitar, background vocals); Dan Warner, Monte Pittman, Andrew Coleman, Wendy Melvoin (guitar); Stevie Blacke (strings); Hannon B. Lane (keyboards); Timbaland (drums). DJ: Timbaland. Audio Mixers: Mark "Spike" Stent; Andrew Coleman. Audio Remixer: Vincent Di Pasquale. Recording information: Sarm Studios, London, England; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA. Photographer: Steve Klein . HARD CANDY continues in the driving, club-oriented vein of 2005's CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR, proving that Madonna has lost none of her energy and verve with age. In terms of material, in fact, HARD CANDY bests its predecessor, and the artist continues to make herself relevant in the 2000s by adding distinctly hip-hop grooves to her increasingly electronica-driven sound. Remarkably, the result never sounds like a blatant commercial appeal. As with nearly everything she's done, this groove-heavy disc is distinctly Madonna's own. The Material Girl sculpted her sound this time out by hiring some of the hottest producers on the scene, including Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and Pharrell and the Neptunes. Cuts like the lead-off single, "4 minutes" (a duet with Timberlake), and the thumping, sexy title track sparkle with a contemporary club feel, begging listeners to turn it up and shake it. Yet Madonna's classic pop sensibilities are far from lost in the mix. "Beat Goes On" recalls vintage singles like "Holiday"; "Heartbeat" is sleek, singalong Europop; and "Miles Away" is a love song that rides a sweet midtempo groove. Fun, danceable, and infectious, HARD CANDY is another winner from one of pop's all-time icons. All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonna's music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where it's hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy -- its blistering pinks and assaultive leather suggesting cheap bottom-barrel porno -- it's hard not to wish that this is the one time Madge broke from tradition, offering music that wasn't quite as garish as her graphics. That is not the case. Hard Candy is all brutal hard edges and blaring primary colors, a relentlessly mercenary collection of cold beats and chilly innuendo. Sex has always been a driving force for Madonna, but she's never been as ruthlessly pornographic as she is here, not even when she cut Erotica as a companion to her softcore coffee table book Sex back in 1992. For all of its carnality, Erotica was coy, belonging to the classic burlesque teasing tradition, but Hard Candy is utterly modern, a steely sex album for the age of Cialis. This new millennium is also an era when Top 40 has pretty much ceased to exist and a pop artist as sharp as Madonna knows this, so she has abandoned the idea of a big crossover hit -- the kind that Erotica courted with such gorgeous, shimmering adult contemporary ballads as "Rain" and "Bad Girl" -- and pitches Hard Candy directly toward her core audience of club-conscious, fashion-forward trendsetters. This is a smart play, as this is the audience that has always consisted of Madonna loyalists, and it's also is a savvy way to negotiate the explosion of niches in 2008, but there are problems in her execution. Madonna relies on the Neptunes and the pair of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for most of her modern makeover -- a good idea in theory as they are some of the biggest hitmakers of the decade, but the productions they've constructed here sound a couple years old at best and at worst feel like they're dressing Madonna in Nelly Furtado's promiscuous hand-me-downs. Sometimes this can result in reasonably appealing grooves -- "Candy Shop" captures Pharrell Williams' flair for slim, sleek grooves, "Dance 2night" conjures Timberlake's Off the Wall obsession nicely, and the icy heartbreak of "Miles Away" is a worthy successor to "What Goes Around Comes Around" -- but this also points out the album's main flaw: the track comes before the song. Madonna's greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs, placing equal emphasis on sound and melody, which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream. Here, she cedes melodic hooks to rhythmic hooks -- witness the clanging, cluttered "4 Minutes," where she's drowned out by Timbaland's farting four-note synth -- which might not have been so bad if the tracks were fresher and if the whole enterprise didn't feel quite so joylessly mechanical. Madonna doesn't even sound desperate to sit atop current trends; rather, she's following them because she's expected to do so. There's a palpable sense of disinterest here, as if she just handed the reigns over to Pharrell and Timba-Lake, trusting them to polish up this piece of stale candy. Maybe she's not into the music; maybe she's just running out this last album for Warner before she moves onto the greener pastures of Live Nation -- either way, Hard Candy is a rare thing: a lifeless Madonna album. [Hard Candy was also made available in a Special Edition Candy Box version featuring two bonus track edits of "4 Minutes."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonna's music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where it's hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy with its blistering pinks and assaultive leather, it's hard not to wish that this is the one time Madge broke from tradition, offering music that wasn't quite as garish as her graphics. But that is not the case, and Hard Candy is all hard edges and blaring primary colors, an utterly modern, steely sex album for the new millennium, the age of Cialis and an era when Top 40 has pretty much ceased to exist. A pop artist as sharp as Madonna knows this, so she has abandoned the idea of a big crossover hit and pitches Hard Candy directly toward her core audience of club-conscious, fashion-forward trendsetters. This is a smart play, as this is the audience that has always consisted of Madonna loyalists, and it's also is a savvy way to negotiate the explosion of niches in 2008. Madonna relies on the Neptunes and the pair of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for most of her modern makeover -- a good idea in theory as they are some of the biggest hitmakers of the decade. Sometimes this can result in reasonably appealing grooves -- "Candy Shop" captures Pharrell Williams' flair for slim, sleek grooves; "Dance 2night" conjures Timberlake's Off the Wall obsession nicely; and the icy heartbreak of "Miles Away" is a worthy successor to "What Goes Around Comes Around." But this also points out a shortcoming of Hard Candy: the tracks take precedence over the songs. Madonna's greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs, placing equal emphasis on sound and melody, which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream. Here, she cedes melodic hooks to rhythmic hooks, and sounds as if she handed the reins over to Pharrell and Timba-Lake, trusting them to provide the polish. [Hard Candy was also made available in a Special Edition Candy Box version featuring two bonus track edits of "4 Minutes."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonna's music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where it's hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy with its blistering pinks and assaultive leather, it's hard not to wish that this is the one time Madge broke from tradition, offering music that wasn't quite as garish as her graphics. But that is not the case, and Hard Candy is all hard edges and blaring primary colors, an utterly modern, steely sex album for the new millennium, the age of Cialis and an era when Top 40 has pretty much ceased to exist. A pop artist as sharp as Madonna knows this, so she has abandoned the idea of a big crossover hit and pitches Hard Candy directly toward her core audience of club-conscious, fashion-forward trendsetters. This is a smart play, as this is the audience that has always consisted of Madonna loyalists, and it's also is a savvy way to negotiate the explosion of niches in 2008. Madonna relies on the Neptunes and the pair of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for most of her modern makeover -- a good idea in theory as they are some of the biggest hitmakers of the decade. Sometimes this can result in reasonably appealing grooves -- "Candy Shop" captures Pharrell Williams' flair for slim, sleek grooves; "Dance 2night" conjures Timberlake's Off the Wall obsession nicely; and the icy heartbreak of "Miles Away" is a worthy successor to "What Goes Around Comes Around." But this also points out a shortcoming of Hard Candy: the tracks take precedence over the songs. Madonna's greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs, placing equal emphasis on sound and melody, which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream. Here, she cedes melodic hooks to rhythmic hooks, and sounds as if she handed the reins over to Pharrell and Timba-Lake, trusting them to provide the polish. [A Special Edition of Hard Candy featuring two bonus track edits of "4 Minutes" was also released.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonna's music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where it's hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy -- its blistering pinks and assaultive leather suggesting cheap bottom-barrel porno -- it's hard not to wish that this is the one time Madge broke from tradition, offering music that wasn't quite as garish as her graphics. That is not the case. Hard Candy is all brutal hard edges and blaring primary colors, a relentlessly mercenary collection of cold beats and chilly innuendo. Sex has always been a driving force for Madonna, but she's never been as ruthlessly pornographic as she is here, not even when she cut Erotica as a companion to her softcore coffee table book Sex back in 1992. For all of its carnality, Erotica was coy, belonging to the classic burlesque teasing tradition, but Hard Candy is utterly modern, a steely sex album for the age of Cialis. This new millennium is also an era when Top 40 has pretty much ceased to exist and a pop artist as sharp as Madonna knows this, so she has abandoned the idea of a big crossover hit -- the kind that Erotica courted with such gorgeous, shimmering adult contemporary ballads as "Rain" and "Bad Girl" -- and pitches Hard Candy directly toward her core audience of club-conscious, fashion-forward trendsetters. This is a smart play, as this is the audience that has always consisted of Madonna loyalists, and it's also is a savvy way to negotiate the explosion of niches in 2008, but there are problems in her execution. Madonna relies on the Neptunes and the pair of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for most of her modern makeover -- a good idea in theory as they are some of the biggest hitmakers of the decade, but the productions they've constructed here sound a couple years old at best and at worst feel like they're dressing Madonna in Nelly Furtado's promiscuous hand-me-downs. Sometimes this can result in reasonably appealing grooves -- "Candy Shop" captures Pharrell Williams' flair for slim, sleek grooves, "Dance 2night" conjures Timberlake's Off the Wall obsession nicely, and the icy heartbreak of "Miles Away" is a worthy successor to "What Goes Around Comes Around" -- but this also points out the album's main flaw: the track comes before the song. Madonna's greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs, placing equal emphasis on sound and melody, which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream. Here, she cedes melodic hooks to rhythmic hooks -- witness the clanging, cluttered "4 Minutes," where she's drowned out by Timbaland's farting four-note synth -- which might not have been so bad if the tracks were fresher and if the whole enterprise didn't feel quite so joylessly mechanical. Madonna doesn't even sound desperate to sit atop current trends; rather, she's following them because she's expected to do so. There's a palpable sense of disinterest here, as if she just handed the reigns over to Pharrell and Timba-Lake, trusting them to polish up this piece of stale candy. Maybe she's not into the music; maybe she's just running out this last album for Warner before she moves onto the greener pastures of Live Nation -- either way, Hard Candy is a rare thing: a lifeless Madonna album. [A Special Edition of Hard Candy featuring two bonus track edits of "4 Minutes" was also released.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (p.80) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "A songwriting team of American chart royalty helps Madonna revisit her roots as an urban-disco queen....Like CONFESSIONS, HARD CANDY celebrates dance as salvation, but even the euphorically groovy 'Heartbeat' and 'Dance 2night' strike wistful notes." Entertainment Weekly (p.116) - "[A]n unpretentious, nonstop dance party. In tunes like 'Give It To Me,' she's unabashedly reviving the celebrative spirit of early singles like 'Lucky Star' and 'Holiday'..." -- Grade: B+ Uncut (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "HARD CANDY could be her most unpretentious and consistently enjoyable pop record since LIKE A VIRGIN." Q (Magazine) (p.134) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "At its most inspired...HARD CANDY shifts into overdrive to become the kind of record you want from a megastar with nothing to prove: unhinged, over-the-top, no-holds-barred." Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "With Timbaland's trademark stuttering rhythms and The Neptunes' body-popping mischief, it is a purely visceral affair: a paean to love, sex and dancing." Blender (Magazine) (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]linky, playful music with undercurrents of adorable psychosexual intrigue..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.91) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "There's a spark of Madge's old wit on 'She's Not Me'..."

Madonna is arguably the most popular female pop singer in American musical history. Although she began her career in the late 1970s as a dancer and as drummer for new wave group the Breakfast Club, Madonna has touched upon many different styles throughout her trend-setting career, and has acted in numerous movies as well. Although her image has shifted to include looks as disparate as raunchy temptress and New Age mother, the Material Girl has always maintained a fierce business sense and a remarkable knack for controversy. Few other artists--male or female--have had the phenomenal mass adulation or the staying power of this pop culture icon.

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