badujunkie said:

Does anyone besides me love I'm Breathless?

It's not dreadful by any means, but it's hard to compare with other Madonna albums as it is so... specific.

I love "Hanky Panky", "Vogue", "Something to Remember" and "Now I'm Following You". When I'm in the mood, "I'm Going Bananas" is good for a laugh, too.

Aw why the hate for American Life? I find that album quite a solid one, though nothing like her earlier work. I said for years I like it better than Music, but Music is aging nicely.

alphastreet said:

Aw why the hate for American Life? I find that album quite a solid one, though nothing like her earlier work. I said for years I like it better than Music, but Music is aging nicely.

I loved it. Nothing Fails is one of her greatest songs imo but it never gets any appreciation. It's buried with all the electronica/bad publicity of American Life.

I see it as her LAP new millenium version.

xlr8r said:

alphastreet said:

Aw why the hate for American Life? I find that album quite a solid one, though nothing like her earlier work. I said for years I like it better than Music, but Music is aging nicely.

I loved it. Nothing Fails is one of her greatest songs imo but it never gets any appreciation. It's buried with all the electronica/bad publicity of American Life.

I see it as her LAP new millenium version.

I LOVE that song

badujunkie said:

xlr8r said:

alphastreet said:

Aw why the hate for American Life? I find that album quite a solid one, though nothing like her earlier work. I said for years I like it better than Music, but Music is aging nicely.

I loved it. Nothing Fails is one of her greatest songs imo but it never gets any appreciation. It's buried with all the electronica/bad publicity of American Life.

I see it as her LAP new millenium version.

'Nothing Fails' is the bomb!

Best thing on American Life.

One of my favorite Madonna tracks. Definitely Top Ten.

Nothing Fails, Love Profusion and Easy Ride are all masterpieces in her catalogue, the last one makes me cry

AlexdeParis said:

badujunkie said:

So you just are an electronica head, or that is your favorite Maddy style?

It's funny, because normally I'm not really into that style. I think Madonna does it very well, though. Say what you want about her singing ability, but there's something magical about the way her voice gives life to those cold, electronic sounds. I still can't believe she cut "Liquid Love," because I absolutely adore that one. I'm glad you're coming around on ROL. I swear, "To Have and Not to Hold" is a work of beauty, but it's basically just another track on that album.

I go back and forth with "Liquid Love".....sometimes I think "what a cool song",other times I think there's nothing special about it....lol...I could take it or leave it.

"Liquid Love" by Madonna (outtake from 'Music')

alphastreet said:

Aw why the hate for American Life? I find that album quite a solid one, though nothing like her earlier work. I said for years I like it better than Music, but Music is aging nicely.

I think American Life gets such a mixed reaction from fans because there's not alot of uptempo dance music on there,which is what people expect from Madonna.When she followed it up with 'Confessions On A Dancefloor',fans went nuts,lol.That's the kind of music they prefer.

SoulAlive said:

alphastreet said:

Aw why the hate for American Life? I find that album quite a solid one, though nothing like her earlier work. I said for years I like it better than Music, but Music is aging nicely.

I think American Life gets such a mixed reaction from fans because there's not alot of uptempo dance music on there,which is what people expect from Madonna.When she followed it up with 'Confessions On A Dancefloor',fans went nuts,lol.That's the kind of music they prefer.

But that's why I like it! I get tired of all the uptempo dance songs, but I guess I"m in the minority of Madonna fans. But I also think a reason some people don't like American Life is some of the lyrics are kind of preachy on the spiritual and semi-political stuff. I think people would have liked it more if it had had more confessional lyrics about relationships.

Maybe not on the next album, but I'm some point I wish she'd try to do another non-dance album.

I love I'm Breathless too.

Between Gaga and Madonna, I take Madonna anytime.

As for the LAP album, yes it was the moment she really turned into an artist instead of a pop act. I think the album has no fillers, I mean I never liked Cherish and I have got tired of Like A Prayer (the song) but those two were massive hits so I can't name them fillers. My favourite Madonna album remains her debut though although it had a filler ("Think Of Me")

jiorjios said:

I love I'm Breathless too.

Between Gaga and Madonna, I take Madonna anytime.

As for the LAP album, yes it was the moment she really turned into an artist instead of a pop act. I think the album has no fillers, I mean I never liked Cherish and I have got tired of Like A Prayer (the song) but those two were massive hits so I can't name them fillers. My favourite Madonna album remains her debut though although it had a filler ("Think Of Me")

wtf man, "Think of Me" is one of her best dance/funk jams

the filler of Madonna is "I Know It"

JoeTyler said:

jiorjios said:

I love I'm Breathless too.

Between Gaga and Madonna, I take Madonna anytime.

As for the LAP album, yes it was the moment she really turned into an artist instead of a pop act. I think the album has no fillers, I mean I never liked Cherish and I have got tired of Like A Prayer (the song) but those two were massive hits so I can't name them fillers. My favourite Madonna album remains her debut though although it had a filler ("Think Of Me")

wtf man, "Think of Me" is one of her best dance/funk jams

the filler of Madonna is "I Know It"

I agree,"Think Of Me" is a great song.The only weak song on the debut album is "I Know It",a song that should have been replaced by either "Ain't No Big Deal" or "Don't You Know" (two superior outtakes).

SoulAlive said:

JoeTyler said:

wtf man, "Think of Me" is one of her best dance/funk jams

the filler of Madonna is "I Know It"

I agree,"Think Of Me" is a great song.The only weak song on the debut album is "I Know It",a song that should have been replaced by either "Ain't No Big Deal" or "Don't You Know" (two superior outtakes).

There's no filler on the debut. "I Know It" is a good song. I would've preferred "Ain't No Big Deal," though.

I need to listen to the debut more. I thought all the songs were boss.

AlexdeParis said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree,"Think Of Me" is a great song.The only weak song on the debut album is "I Know It",a song that should have been replaced by either "Ain't No Big Deal" or "Don't You Know" (two superior outtakes).

There's no filler on the debut. "I Know It" is a good song.

I even prefer it to "Think of Me", "Holiday" and "Borderline".

Is Hard Candy that bad? I like it I need to listen to more Madonna. I haven’t really dug deep into her albums I just like songs here and there.

babybugz said:

Is Hard Candy that bad? I like it I need to listen to more Madonna. I haven’t really dug deep into her albums I just like songs here and there.

It's absolutely horrible. Totally phoned in and trying to cash in on Timbaland/Timberlake.

I loved American Life and thought Confessions was a step backwards though everyone (even non die hards) were going crazy for that album and it was doing so well all over the world, but that was just temporary cause I eventually grew to love the album after I bought it.

As for Hard Candy, it's not bad. There are hidden gems on it, so don't judge the album as a whole.

babybugz said:

Is Hard Candy that bad? I like it I need to listen to more Madonna. I haven’t really dug deep into her albums I just like songs here and there.

'Hard Candy' is one of her most 'fun' albums.Hard-hitting beats and relentless grooves all the way through.Like 'Confessions',it is aimed primarily at the dance floor.Pharrell is one of the greatest producers that Madonna has ever worked with.His songs are 80s retro but with a modern twist.I had alot of fun with this album! For me,these are the highlights:

"Miles Away" (one of her strongest songs of recent years)

"Heartbeat" (live version from the Sticky and Tour DVD)

"Beat Goes On" with Kanye West

^ I totally agree SoulAlive...Dance2Night is also a favourite of mine

alphastreet said:

I loved American Life and thought Confessions was a step backwards though everyone (even non die hards) were going crazy for that album and it was doing so well all over the world, but that was just temporary cause I eventually grew to love the album after I bought it.

I think 'American Life' was a step backwards.Personally,I can appreciate it for what it is (a deep,personal album that's not as uptempo as previous albums) but I got bored with it very quickly.'Confessions' was much more exciting for me and I was listening to it for a long time.Same with 'Hard Candy'.

alphastreet said:

^ I totally agree SoulAlive...Dance2Night is also a favourite of mine

Oh yeah....I love the early 80s R&B sound of that song

badujunkie said:

Does anyone besides me love I'm Breathless?

I can't say that I love this album but I do think it's interesting.In many ways,this album is alot like Donna Summer's 1977 'I Remember Yesterday' album.Both albums consist of songs that are influenced by different eras and conclude with one tune that's focused on the present day/future ("I Feel Love" and "Vogue").Cool concept.

badujunkie said:

AlexdeParis said:

Let me know how it goes. I'm actually going to revisit LAP thanks to this thread. Haven't really heard it in its entirety in a while now.

Ok.

You're starting to wear me down. "To Have and Not To Hold," "Skin," "CPG," "Swim," this listen of "NRM" - starting to get where you're coming from.

I still hate "Little Star!"

"To Have And Not To Hold" is heavenly Such a beautiful song.

Do do agree with the single choices from ROL? If it were up to me,I would have chosen these singles,in this order:

Frozen

Drowned World/Substitute For Love

At one point,"Skin" was seriously being planned as a single.I think some remixes were even made.

JoeTyler said:

SoulAlive said:

'Music' is nice....a very edgy,experimental album that takes electronica into some exciting directions.It's not her best work by any means but it was cool to see her trying new beats and sounds,instead of repeating herself.

Highlights: title track,Impressive Instant,Gone,Don't Tell Me,What It Feels Like For A Girl,Paradise (Not For Me)

back in the day, American Life disappointed the hell out of me because she just followed the pattern of the lesser tracks of Music (specially I Deserve It, Nobody's Perfect), but using a cheap electroclash sound, completely erasing the fresh pop/rock/pseudo-country sound of Music. Bad bad sequel, bad singles, bad image, bad lyrics, bad vibe, bad timing

I like the seriousness of 'American Life' but the music is just not exciting enough to hold my interest for very long.On many songs,the melodies are barely there ("Hollywood" for example) and the beats are too slow.On any Madonna album,you expect alot of hard beats,bells and whistles.This album didn't have very much of that.

I'm gonna raise a few eyebrows with my next comment Hard Candy is the album that Madonna should have released in 2003.Think about it: in 2002,Pharrell and Timbaland were at their creative peak.Imagine if Madonna had gone into the studio with them in 2002 and came out with a kickass album in 2003....a jam-packed album instead of the bleak 'American Life'.I like 'Hard Candy' alot but it's an album that we could have gotten earlier.

SoulAlive said:

JoeTyler said:

back in the day, American Life disappointed the hell out of me because she just followed the pattern of the lesser tracks of Music (specially I Deserve It, Nobody's Perfect), but using a cheap electroclash sound, completely erasing the fresh pop/rock/pseudo-country sound of Music. Bad bad sequel, bad singles, bad image, bad lyrics, bad vibe, bad timing

I like the seriousness of 'American Life' but the music is just not exciting enough to hold my interest for very long.On many songs,the melodies are barely there ("Hollywood" for example) and the beats are too slow.On any Madonna album,you expect alot of hard beats,bells and whistles.This album didn't have very much of that.

I'm gonna raise a few eyebrows with my next comment Hard Candy is the album that Madonna should have released in 2003.Think about it: in 2002,Pharrell and Timbaland were at their creative peak.Imagine if Madonna had gone into the studio with them in 2002 and came out with a kickass album in 2003....a jam-packed album instead of the bleak 'American Life'.I like 'Hard Candy' alot but it's an album that we could have gotten earlier.

I played Confessions on heavy rotation for a year and a half or something after it came out, and it was huge in Canada, I would hear it often at stores as well and the songs were always on the radio

I think the eras were in the perfect order, but a lot of the sounds on Hard Candy were similar to Justin's FutureSexLoveSounds album, so it may have sounded different in 2003 though I agree The Neptunes were at their creative peak. Timbaland was still cool then, but he wasn't interesting for awhile until Nelly and Justin's albums came out in 2006, I do believe him when he said Aaliyah's death affected him.

SoulAlive said:

badujunkie said:

Ok.

You're starting to wear me down. "To Have and Not To Hold," "Skin," "CPG," "Swim," this listen of "NRM" - starting to get where you're coming from.

I still hate "Little Star!"

"To Have And Not To Hold" is heavenly Such a beautiful song.

Do do agree with the single choices from ROL? If it were up to me,I would have chosen these singles,in this order:

Frozen

Ray Of Light

Sky Fits Heaven

To Have And Not To Hold

Drowned World/Substitute For Love

At one point,"Skin" was seriously being planned as a single.I think some remixes were even made.

"Skin" is my favorite song on the album, but I'm not sure if it would make sense as a single. My choices are pretty close to what actually happened:

Frozen

Ray of Light

The Power of Goodbye

Drowned World/Substitute for Love

Sky Fits Heaven

Hard Candy had no soul, her heart wasn't in it, unlike her other albums. I just hope her next one does.

rlittler81 said:

Hard Candy had no soul, her heart wasn't in it, unlike her other albums. I just hope her next one does.

I agree. HC was the first record she did that I really didn't like. In general, I'm not a super critical fan. I tend to like most things she does, whereas there are some fans that seemingly are never satisfied.

HC did have a few heartfelt songs like Miles Away, Devil and Voices, but the rest of it I didn't care for.

I don't think it would have made any difference if she released it in 2003. Melodically it wasn't very good. I'm never believed that music being successful depends on being in tune with some current trend. If it's good, it's good even if it's based on a style that is popular now or used to be popular. It's bad, it's bad. I just think Timbaland etc. was not a good fit for her. I don't think the right personal chemistry was there.