Hey guys, I've been reading all of the MDNA reviews and they all seem well received by the music critics. So I was thinking about her previous 11 albums reviews. After Ray of Light Is MDNA the second best reviewed album?

It depends how we look at it. As Ray Of Light garnered one heck of a lot of acclaim throughout 1998, some criticised the Electronica at first be re-reviewed the album later.

Like A Prayer garnered massive acclaim on a similar scale, as it was a couple years since True Blue and it really was an album that where the reviews really took notice of Madonna the Icon AND Madonna the Artist. So i would say they are her most "acclaimed" by critics overall. But by the looks of early reviews i am pleased to say MDNA looks set to be joining perhaps...Confessions and Music also had a load of positive reviews infact the gap between acclaimed/positive and a couple "good/mixed" stood out really. Metacritic having only been around since 2000 has Music and COnfessions both at 80 (will be interesting to see if they were to put all her albums on there and see how acclaimed they are too really as an indicator)

But i am so happy, on a personal level that Madonna has achieved critical acclaim on a first listen...more reviews officially put out this week

http://www.billboard.com/features/on...06416552.story

Billboard Review

ROL - high critical acclaim, award winning, fan admiration

COTD - critical acclaim, fan admiration

Music - critical acclaim

LAP - high critical acclaim, high fan admiration

American Life - panning by the critics, high fan admiration

Hard Candy - panning by the fans

MDNA ... SO far....critical acclaim, fan admiration (similar to COTD era! ???)

Yeah it sounds like MDNA is getting far better reviews than what Hard Candy got. But I don't understand why people hate Hard Candy so much, I thought it was a good album, It was something different, with some great songs, Miles Away, Devil Wouldn't Recognise You, Beat Goes On, Dance 2Night and one of my favourite Madonna songs of all time 4 Minutes. Also Hard Candy helped get Madonna the highest grossing tour of all time by a female artist. But it's nice to read that the music critics are LUV-ing her new album MDNA.

Yeah well technically Hard Candy got rather positive to mixed reviews really it got 65 on Metacritic which means generally positive, just a lot of fans seem to pan it. But as you say there were stellar moments on the album and I personally love that it odes back to her debut album and incorporates contemporary (well for 2006 - 8) Pop/Synthpop elements.

But yeah I am so so glad that MDNA really is surprising a load of (well some are very critical music critics...if that makes sense) music critics all over the board with positive to acclaim reviews! So it is very exciting

i am now excited about MDNA... ihave heard the leaked snippets too...

Superbowl pop chant - Give Me Your Luvin - has grown on me. Video was fun.
Girl Gone Wild ...is catchy dance pop...and much better than the snippet...video looks like she is referencing those that copy her style..so she is Madonna on redux.... very vogue/justifymylove/ rayoflight ....

Snippets and Gang Bang - showcase the darker, edgier, sassier Madonna and sound fabulous.

Love Spent and Turn Up The Radio sound very Rihanna/Katy Perry/David Guetta....mainstream pop dance....

Sounds like an interesting era... perhaps the singles are the weakest on the album??? and i just love the album cover....

Totally.

The reviews have been fantastic to read, even those you can tell trying to make it negative cannot find a true "fault" with the album like they could have a filed day with on Hard Candy for example.

And yeah it really does look like an ideal mix of absolute risk taking, deep confessions we can relate to, euphoric anthems and a couple for the commercial market too

Because at the end of the day...what else do we love Madonna for? Tick the boxes, push the wheel forward and set a new standard...brilliant....now its almost time for us to own this sucker WAHOOO!

By a mile! I've read all the reviews as they came out and I think only News Statesman seemed to have given a mixed. To be honest, it is very surprising as they are praising the album almost for the same reasons they were critical of Hard Candy. Most critics didn't like the fact she went for the bovious in the urban genre and that's the only reason why most people hate the album, because she teamed up with T.T.D.P. clan. Like yourself I don't get it. It doesn't work in all the right places but HC was well thought and have brilliant moments. I love how they're experimenting with the funk/R&b sound of the late 70's/early 80's giving a modern twist on this album. And you're totally right, there was some hypocrisy of some sort among the fan community about Hard Candy in that sense. after all S+S included 90% of the album in its setlist, starting and ending with a HC song so it's not like you could ignore them & focus more on the other songs...
On a different note, American Life wasn't loved by fans either when it was first released. A bit like Erotica, everyone now seems to realize how brilliant AL is !?

Yeah I love American Life too! It is such a shame that it is a very underated album, because there is some real gems on that album that I love, Nothing Fails and X-Static Process are my favourites, they are great songs, and it seems because it was panned, Madonna has avoided using any of the songs from the American Life era on her tours ever since, It would be nice to see one of them on the setlist for the 2012 tour. But I am really happy that MDNA has got some really good reviews, even some critics that are quite harsh have gave it praise. I can't wait to hear it for my self, most looking foward to hearing Turn Up The Radio, Falling Free and Gang Bang

I see what you mean. Although one could argue that, Die Another Day aside, none of AL tracks as they are really fitted in Confessions or S+S, I'll agree perhaps she's still bruised by the album poor reception and doesn't want to play it live. But who knows, if this tours is going to be full of MDNA's tracks, it might have a darker section which could leave some space for a couple of songs from AL...I'd love to her to perform Hollywood this year. The RT version was just an interlude and I'd loved to see what she'd have done if she performed it then. My other favorites are X-static process as well, Nobody Knows Me, Love Profusion, Easy Ride, Mother and Father (None of these will find their place in this tour's playlist I guess).
Just spotted Time Out's review of MDNA. It's not hyperbolic like some others but positively realistic. Looks like the comparisons with COAD & ROL really garted on them and therefore decided that MDNA was more an upgraded HC than one of her dance album classics- part II. - And looking forward to hearing Gang Bang, I'm A Sinner, I'm Addicted & Best Friend. Curious about Falling Free, I Don't Give A & Beautiful Killer

I highlighted it there beause this tour is MADONNA...would beinteresting perhaps to have a segment where it questions her identity...as you say like a really "dark" segment as the album has very dark areas of her persona. Nobody Knows Me may only be used as a video interlude (it is a fave of mine from the album too) and I reckon it may be utilised like..."whos that girl" kinda vibes just a thought that came to me when you typed it there

And the Time Out review kinda proves that in their writing they personally dont want it to be as great as it is perhaps, or maybe they "panicked" that an album could ever be as great as those two albums or compared to perhaps that MDNA is i dunno. But it is interesting seeing a couple reviewers try and make the album sound negative but make actually a really positive review. Dont understand the "dance classics part 2" they wrote though

Time Out's review is odd. I am all for someone giving a negative review (which is what this partly is), but they need to explain the reasons behind it! The most bizarre thing is that she's (the critic) suggested it's Hard Candy Part 2. From the songs released thus far, it is so obviously not! I think some women find Madonna threatening. That isn't meant to be a demeaning statement. I just think a few women in the media resent her success. Madonna's longevity has, frankly, surpassed everyone's expectations. A review that mentions "International Womens Day" in it should clearly be disregarded as self indulgent and meaningless. The review contradicts itself by suggesting Gang Bang, a violent, explicit song, is a highlight. Gang Bang would not have been suited to an album like Hard Candy because Hard Candy is family friendly. I think the reviewer should listen to the album again. If she doesn't like it that's perfectly acceptable. Just write the review in a non biased and proper manner!

You're probably right there - NKM as a video interlude could work really well as an introductory number to a dark section looking back at her identity then you could have Live To Tell slightly re-worked to go with the electro vibe of NKM and it could finish with She's not Me on a humorous not! - I guess, the problem will be that none of the two were singles so we won't have them this year. But then Who's That Girl as a video interlude could be just awesome! I'd like to have a 'proper' dark section like the Japanese/Geisha tableau in DWT. That one was just spectacular! In a way, that's where S+S slightly 'fails'.
I need to read that review again because you and wizzywick are not the only ones thinking it's intended to be negative. So it got me thinking...

Yeah oh my days...would be awesome if there were snippets of NKM and SNM! and with "whos that girl" too

Yeah like a kinda Anime/Manga/Rave! segment of distorted colours and robotics and punky styles would be beyond sublime...i have massive vibes from this...she has been so attention to detail with everything i am so excited to hear news and reports on concepts etc.

Especially with reviews so positive coming in about MDNA having these darker, techno, experimental and new sounds through the album it will really work in such a concept.

Identity, Journey, Self Identity, Cloning, reinvention, sci fi, can combine these elements so well methinks on tour, in visuals etc.

Probably yes! And not only some women but the whole world perhaps too!!??? - When I read some of the comments to articles about her , when she's not being mocked for trying to keep up with kids, she's still referred as being as the worse thing that could have happened to music!? Clearly, ridiculed or hated she's still provoking reactions and that's a sign of threat to me.
We don't know how this era is going to evolve in terms of sales/charts positions/impact etc. but I have the feeling the media quietly started to think she's f*cked it up with MDNA based on GMAYL & GGW's reception/performance so far and now they've heard the album they're kind of eating their words. Perhaps that's what Time Out's review is about. By trying to be negative, they only react against the unexpected praise the album got. So yes, they're either wanting to keep their readership intact by reviewing it negatively or simply trolling!??

Hard Candy is R&B.

MDNA is obviously techno en trance.

This is what I love about Queen M. Every album is different. She has reinvented herself once again.

I really do loathe posts about her "age or impact on music is minimal" i mean seriously...if it was so minimal so many in the music industry today wouldnt have jobs or something to use as a template and copy from suck it haters!

Then again people still criticise Marylin, Elvis, MJ it is just when you are on such a massive scale of Legend and Iconography you are a dartboard for all negativity in the world.

But Madonna really doesnt give a shit and quite frankly nor do i...it is just sad really people blurt out something negative just to mask their own insecurities tbh. When in actual fact Madonna is really owning the charts and records with MDNA grabbing it by their cybernetic ballbag

I love that she can still reinvent and obviously surprise one heck of a laod of people still

Dont like R&B? Okay here is my new heavy Techno/Trance influenced album with a Retro Pop/Euphoric twist

Careful though...its trippy as foeck!

I can't wait to listen to 'MDNA' in its entirety. So far, I'm getting a 'Music' meets 'COAD' vibe. Not as 'ROL' reminiscent as I assumed it would be when Orbit was confirmed to be one of the main producers, though. It's great that the album won't be generic, though. It sounds quite fresh, even though its sound is not BRAND new The production will be insane throughout, that's for sure!!

Hell yeah i know what i love is that by the sounds of it MDNA definitely will stand on its own feet. And also in the future stuff definitely will be compared to it.

What i love is that it wont be treading the same ground and stuff...like as you say will have these elements of previous eras but it will really establish its own name

It's going to be a great album definitely. I hope that she won't keep the most unique songs as hidden gems, though. She's a trendsetter, time to introduce some of those hardcore techno/ trance/ electro sounds to the radio

Oh yes definitely, I really hope she does release more of that side of the album...as casual listeners will only associate with the singles thus far which..while fun, they arent what MDNA as an album and concept is about, so i do hope that she just unleashes a few more videos and song releases, not for chart success but just to promote the album as much as possible really by doing so and sustaining MDNA

Hardcore Techno/Trance in Pop has really been lacking and it should really establish something massive in Pop music. Like MIA, Xtina (Bionic), Santigold etc kinda bringing more of the Indie Pop into it of recent years. Madonna will be really bringing harsher Techno sides to it so yeah definitely will be amazing stuff.

I dont want too many "oh i wish she released, she could have, she should have, etc" with this album

Me neither!! Just because 'Hard Candy' was not a MASSIVE era, I want her to come back with a bang! I'm optimistic, though. The first week sales will be huge, so maybe that will encourage her to take more risks as far as the single releases go. She's MADONNA anyway, not every single has to be top 10! And as Britney's latest era proved, releasing the most safe, obvious singles doesn't always mean the public will buy the album (or the singles for that matter ). Madonna has a great album in her hands, she can really push the envelope