Madonna: dancer, sex icon, philanthropist, 47-year-old mother of two, children's author, and most importantly, a pop music icon. With an unparalleled career under her belt spanning two decades and myriad interests consuming her life, it could have been very easy for Madonna to take a relaxed approach on Confessions on a Dance Floor and put out a well-produced and polished album that lacked inspiration.
Luckily for all concerned, not only is 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' both polished and well produced, but it is very much an inspirational effort that shows all of Madonna's ambition, bravado, talent and sass that established her as a pop goddess in the first place. Co-writing and producing every track, the Material Mom takes a mix of retro and neo pop hooks (including a few from her own past) and molds 'Confessions' into a glorious head rush of dance club pop that will make any young thing keep dancing long into the night.
The entire album is layer upon layer of expertly mixed pop, with 'Hung Up' spinning the album off as the first track. Infectious and repetitive, it is a dance hit masterpiece. Starting off mixed below the surface and slowly rising to its fevered pitch, Madonna cuts in with lyrics that spin around and catch you in their swirl before the beat subsides to a whisper. Caught on the outside, listeners can only wait for the beat to swing back to include them in the mix once again, before the song fades out for good.
Madonna uses a level hand with her lyrics on the album, drawing in smart doses of the self-reflection and self-doubting she questions herself over, and then repeatedly brings the beat back up again. Each track blends seamlessly into the next so that the 'Confessions' is an entire night of revelations caught between dancing, instead of a random collection of thoughts thrown together to the music at hand.
Ever self-aware, on 'How High' Madonna questions exactly what the limits to her fame and success are, 'how much fortune can you make,' whether 'it was all worth it,' and 'will it matter when I'm gone,' and she lays down her true emotions of 'home' when she gushes 'Los Angeles is for people who sleep/ Paris and London you can keep' on her love-affair track 'I Love New York.' This is surprising for a lady who bides her time in an English manor and at times finds herself speaking with a pseudo-English accent.
The only track that drops in tempo is 'Isaac' where her much toted beliefs in Kabbala make a noted appearance. With Hebrew chanting and soulful guitar picking laid over an infectious beat, Madonna combines the religious fervor of the Middle East with the exciting dance clubs of the west for a truly breathless experience.
Confessions on a Dance Floor shows that even if Madonna is aging and aloof in her spiritual practices and lifestyle, she still knows how to spin the dance clubs into a feverish pitch, and she still knows how to strike a pose as pop music's greatest icon.
