Confessions on a Dance Floor

By Jonathan Ray

n her latest musical endeavour, “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” Madonna takes a crack at reinventing dance music again. And she does, to a certain degree, while simultaneously recalling the energy of her earlier hits, like "Music" and "Vogue." With a creative leap into the dimension of future disco, The Material Girl’s latest offerings capture the unstructured thrill of her early days, exploiting those qualities prudently.

This is most apparent in the first track, “Hung Up,” which sets the stage with a taste of what to expect for the rest of the ride - repetitive lyrics and repetitive beats. For this single, she wrote to Abba’s Bjorn and Benny in Stockholm to get their permission to use sampling from their hit, “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.” The sample indeed helps energizes Hung Up, making it a radical departure from what you may be used to. But if you’re a fan of Madonna- who at 47 has become an icon, selling more than 60 million albums in the U.S. alone - you will quickly pick up on the latest incarnation.

Confessions, which hits shelves November 15th, is undeniably angled to bring Madonna’s energy back into the clubs. The whole arrangement was co-written and co-produced by Grammy winner Stuart Price, re-visiting vintage disco hits by Donna Summer, the Bee Gees and Abba. Also collaborating on the release is Mirwais Ahmadzai, Grammy-winning duo Bloodshy and Avant, Anders Bagge, Peer Astrom of the Murlyn Music Collective and Joe Henry, whose previous Madonna credits includes Don't Tell Me (from Music).

In a fuzzy celebration of club life, the track “Forbidden Love” incorporates a synthesized orchestra over a simple, yet fun, beat, showing that she is a master at coordinating separate elements, musical components that have influenced her. “Push,” also pushes the dance floor mood while sampling her own database of tracks, like “Like a Prayer,” over tribal beats. “Sorry” is one of the more impressive tracks on the CD, likely to be the second single. You’ll recognize the clever bass-line on the chorus, as it’s also a sample - this one from The Jacksons’ 1981 hit, “Can You Feel It”.

Some may roll their eyes at other tracks, as she expresses discontent with fame, displaying more interest in family life and the lives of friends than in being in front of the cameras. The CD closes on a somewhat personal note, with Madonna singing, 'This is who I am. You can like it or not." In this approach, the album follows the musical arc of a club DJ’s nightly set, which becomes more intense as the evening progresses.

Approaching 50, Madonna shows that she’s capable of taking a wide range of influences and marking her return to her club roots, with songs "about having a good time straight through and non-stop".

The new album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, is due November 15 from Warner Bros (one day earlier internationally). A special edition, which includes a picture book and bonus track, arrives in December. - J.R.