Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!  

I am a homo blogger, so I am contractually obligated to review Madonna's latest album: Confessions II. 

Such creativity in the titling. 

I do want to establish some things about this disk. On iTunes, there are no less than four versions of the record on their charts. I don't know the difference between them save one, which is called Instrumentals. I suppose that one is for the Madonna stan who wants to sing all the lead vocals without having Madge getting in the way. 

It should also be noted that, at the time of this drafting (which is only a week after the disk release), no individual song is higher than #106. Evenesene's "Bring Me to Life" is higher than anything on Confession 2, and that was released in 2003!

After two weeks, there were zero songs from this release in Apple's top 200. 

Granted, she's got a good marketing team with the gays, but I'm thinking that is about where it ends. 

Oh - and no version of the disk is more than $4.99 (scratch that - the above disk has now moved up to $11.99). A steal for sure. I'm assuming at some point prices will vary. 

The rest of this drafting is weeks later than the above text. When I wrote the above, I had only heard one song and I reviewed that a month or two ago. 

Full Disclosure: I did not purchase this disk. I listened to it on YouTube, which admittedly probably misses something if you don't hear it together and in order. 

While Confessions on a Dance Floor came out 21 years ago - and was one of her better disks, it should be mentioned that IMHO only half that disk was good. The rest?  Not so much. So it's a little ballsy to have a sequel to a partially good disk. 

Being better than Rebel Heart, American Life, Madame X, MDNA and Hard Candy is hardly the coup one might think. Albums of sound effects were better than those. So the bar isn't that high for Confessions II. 

Like the original Confessions, each song segues into the next for a continual play. - as would be in a dance clup. Like the original, the opening number, "I Feel So Free", has a speaking part to introduce you to the art or the concept at least. 

I don't really know much about Sabrina Carpenter's music, but she doesn't add squat to "Bring Your Love". There are times I don't know which one is actually singing the lead - which kind of says something. Madonna talks as much as she sings. 

Actually this is an issue on many songs. 

Do I need to hear her name drop on "Danceteria"?  ...and the first one is Debi Mazar?  It doesn't quite hold the weight of Greta Garbo, or even Nicolette Sheridan. 

The best part of this disk is Stuart Price's production. Music production. The beat, the intricacies of the sounds. The vocals?  Not nearly as auto tuned as Madame X, but hardly untouched by technology. Still a bit heavy handed. Much of them are muddied too. Then there is the talking. 

Endless talking. Where in the original Confessions, it is used minimally. Not so much here. It's like a 1984 overlay narrative. 

There are moments of good. "Read My Lips" - the energy of chorus is pretty. The verses are meh. Kind of the same with "Danceteria". ...and "Love Sensation". 

All would be better if I still did X. Oh, and I was in a gay bar with a drink or eight in my hand. 

The disk has a groove from which it rarely deviates, if ever. Nothing truly stands out. It flows. It goes. But nothing makes you want to purchase it, or play it multiple times. 

Once or twice to review was enough.