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Whistle Stopper - Hard Candy
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List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $7.39
Your Save: $ 11.59 ( 61% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: WEA/Reprise
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0093624988496
Label: WEA/Reprise
Manufacturer: WEA/Reprise
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: WEA/Reprise
Release Date: 2008-04-29
Studio: WEA/Reprise
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Semi-sweet and sour
Comment: I don't hate this album, but I definitely don't love it either. Not even close. The best song by far is "4 Minutes". There are glimmers of interest in other songs, but nothing else is memorable after listening to the entire CD four times. Let's just say that if "Hard Candy" was a debut release from an unknown artist, it would likely be their last. The title and cover photograph seem disconnected from all but the first track "Candy Shop". The inside photographs were very disappointing--all similar shots to the cover, from the same photo session, and not even a change of wardrobe. For fans who like to read the liner notes, good luck. The text is printed over a photo of candy corn, and is practically impossible to read. I gave up trying. Looks like maybe Madonna has too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A product of M's continued addiction to celebrity and fame.
Comment: Confessions was the beginning of Madonna's creative decline in regards to her music. That being said, Confessions still contained enough merit to warrant repeated listening. Hard Candy does not. The desperation to stay on top, which was hinted at through out the Confessions sessions, is flat out obvious on this release. Hard Candy marks the point in Madonna's career where her creativity actually slips behind the U.S. pop music scene. Her producers rehash stale "hip hop/r&b lite" ideas that have been previously utilized in superior form by other U.S. artists. For the first time Mariah Carey has actually managed to make a superior album in comparison to Madonna's. This is how sad and mundane Hard Candy is. Her vocals strain in vain to sound hip but only succeed in emitting flat boring and lifeless sounds. All in a blatant attempt to appear cool and smooth with the teens. Ahhh... perhaps Madonna is saving all that bottled up direction and imagination for her new record label .....
Customer Rating:
Summary: Breezy
Comment: With "Hard Candy", Madonna isn't trying to push the boundaries of pop music ("Ray of Light", "Music"), critique the American dream ("American Life") or disguise spiritually-focused songs in dizzying future disco ("Confessions on a Dancefloor"). These twelve new songs find Madonna doing what the public likes best for her to do: dance, be fabulous and have a good time.
Instead of working with obscure, edgy European producers, Madonna picked the most popular, good-time American producers out there to work with. So the question is, is she just winging it? Hardly. Workaholic Madonna is trying just as hard as ever, this time she's just trying to make the best mainstream, fun pop album she can.
When she's not just having a good time on "Hard Candy", the somber moments seem to be all inspired by personal relationships. On "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You", she sings "angels they surround my heart/telling me to let you go." On "Incredible", she pleads "We've got to get back there before it's too late." Lyrics like these will hardly lay to rest the rumors that her married days are numbered.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A fresh take on an old sound
Comment: Madonna is the Queen of Reinvention...except when it comes to Hard Candy. She may have reinvented her look for an album cover, but the music on Hard Candy is nothing new, nothing ground-breaking, nothing innovative. To quote her hit song, "Sorry", I've heard it all before...and it's called The Sweet Escape or Loose. But aside from this little rehash, Hard Candy is a pretty decent album that is friendly to the ears and fun to dance to.
The producers of choice here are Pharrell Williams and the dynamic duo of Timbaland & Justin Timberlake. While it's the latter team that's getting all the press, Pharrell's tracks completely outshine the Timbaland/Timberlake ones. The album opens with the fun "Candy Shop", which sets the mood for the record, before launching into simplistic dance music that you can't help but adore. Lead single "4 Minutes" is in there, but it's really the oddball track of the album. For a better listen, try the zany "Give It 2 Me", the groovy "Heartbeat", the thumping "Beat Goes On", or the haunting and exceptional "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You". Fans of the Madonna ballad will no doubt love "Miles Away", which is probably the most typically Madonna track on the whole album.
While listening to the record, it's obvious that Madonna doesn't have the strongest vocals. In fact, I daresay these are the worst since the out-of-tune I'm Breathless album. But it's not about that here. The music is done so exceptionally that it becomes more about the overall package than vocals alone. Unlike, say, Mariah Carey, Madonna doesn't rely on her vocal prowess to carry the record. This works best for her, and the result is a dancy, catchy album that's all about...well, dancing!
As a dance record, it's probably the best one out there. As a Madonna record, it's just okay. Madonna fans who will undoubtedly compare to her past triumphs won't find it as cutting-edge as Music or as deep as Ray of Light or American Life. And while Hard Candy features plenty of retro, it's not the homage to the 70's that Confessions on a Dance Floor was. Hard Candy may not be the greatest Madonna album, but it's definitely a strong moment in the 25-year-long career of the still-undisputed Queen of Pop!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Be Your Own Judge.......
Comment: After reading review after review on Madonna's new CD "Hard Candy" I felt I needed to add my opinion. To me, Hard Candy is exactly what I would have expected from Madonna. She is not one to do the same tired thing time after time. As with her changing image she is always exploring and introducing us to new styles of music. I am a huge fan of Madonna and have been ever since I heard "Everybody" & "Burning Up" way back in the 80's. Even though I am a huge fan I will say that there have been many time's I have heard a new song from Madonna and was not impressed at first listen. This was the case with the "Ray of Light" Cd and even the new single "4 Minutes". At first I was did'nt really like them. The "Ray of Light" CD was so different from what I expected from Madonna but ended up being one of her hugest selling and critically acclaimed Cds ever. Part of Madonna's appeal is her versatility. Think on the "I'm Breathless" CD. This is also another one of my favorite cds. So to tie things up I just want you to ignore all of the other mixed reviews and be your own judge. Even the biggest Madonna fan is not going to love everything she releases and does. If you're a true fan you will respect her versatility and creativity and give all of her music a chance. I personally think "Hard Candy" is one of her better CDs and look forward to more from her in the future. She never disappoints me.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Madonna's eleventh, and final, studio album for Warner Bros., Hard Candy is a brilliant up-tempo collection that adds a hip-hop beat to the cultural icon's club sensibilities, thanks to collaborations with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, and Nate "Danja" Hills. Following her previous studio album, 2005's Confessions On A Dance Floor, which debuted #1 and has sold more than 8 million copies around the globe, Hard Candy punctuates the first 25 years of the album career of the most successful female artist in history with a musical exclamation point. Madonna Photo More from Madonna 
The Immaculate Collection | 
The Confessions Tour - Live from London (CD+DVD) [LIVE] | 
Confessions on a Dance Floor | 
Madonna: GHV2 (Greatest Hits Volume 2) | 
Ray of Light | 
Madonna [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] | 
Like a Prayer | 
The Immaculate Collection (1990) | 
Something to Remember [SOUNDTRACK] | 
Like a Virgin [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] | 
True Blue [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] | 
Music | 
Madonna - Video Collection 1993-99 (1999) | 
Madonna - Drowned World Tour 2001 | 
Madonna - The Girlie Show (Live Down Under) (1993) | 
Bedtime Stories | 
Erotica [EXPLICIT LYRICS] | 
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret [SOUNDTRACK] | 
American Life [ENHANCED] [EXPLICIT LYRICS] | 
You Can Dance |
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