A Mature Madonna Album Is First Major Fall Release
Dan Sgambelluri
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A Mature Madonna Album Is First Major Fall Release
Contributing Editor Corey Moss reports
Retailers and radio programmers predict Madonna's Music will be a massive
success, even though its sound is more mature than the teen pop that is its
competition.
The ever-evolving singer's latest album will hit stores Tuesday, bolstered
by the hit title track (RealAudio excerpt), now at #1 on the Billboard Hot
100 singles chart.
"Madonna fans' dedication is always strong, and this album should reflect
that as much as past albums," Mike Camacho, store manager of Tower Records
in Chicago, said. "This is the first really big release of the latter half
of the year. It's been awhile since Eminem."
Music, the follow-up to 1998's Grammy-winning Ray of Light, was produced by
French musician Mirwais and past Madonna collaborator William Orbit.
"Music," which sports an updated disco-era sound, was released in early
August with a collection of remixes by dance acts such as Groove Armada,
Deep Dish and Richard "Humpty" Vission, who all have since sung Madonna's
praises.
"It has got to be one of the dopest albums I've heard in years," said
Vission, the resident DJ on MTV's "The Blame Game" and host of mix-show
"Powertools" on Power 106 (KPWR-FM) in Los Angeles. "What I love about her
is that she's over 20 years into her career and still pushing boundaries.
She could have done just a pop record. This album is a testament that she's
still on top of her sh--." (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns
MTV.)
Music was shaped in part by the emerging French disco-house scene that
spawned such acts as Stardust and Cassius, though a few tracks delve into a
wide range of styles that include folk and trip-hop.
Songs For Grown-Ups
Madonna sings feverishly about her love for music (hence the title), but she
also addresses sexism, on "What It Feels Like for a Girl" (RealAudio
excerpt), and her career, on "Nobody's Perfect" (RealAudio excerpt).
Music was originally scheduled for a late fall release, but the singer's
Maverick Records moved up the date when Napster users began swapping early
versions of "Music" in May.
Retailer Shawn Christopher at Vinyl Mania in New York said he expects Music
will help Madonna maintain her reputation as a trendsetter in the industry.
"The producers on the album are very cutting-edge," Christopher said. "The
overall sound is more mature than what is big in pop music now."
Tower's Camacho said Madonna's style of pop is a separate genre from the
current crop of female stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera,
and it's aimed more at adults.
"And the gay community will always be Madonna's biggest fanbase,"
Christopher added. "They'll buy anything Madonna."
Peter DeGraaff, music director and assistant program director at the
Orlando, Fla., top 40 station WXXL-FM, said Music's first single has been
selling the album for the last month.
"She sure is good at reinventing herself and discovering new sounds,"
DeGraaff said. "I expect this album to shoot to #1."
Finding Middle Ground
Groove Armada's Tom Findlay said "Music" is a continuation of "Ray of Light"
in that it breaks down barriers between pop and electronic music.
"I thought Mirwais' production was very good," Findlay said. "It's been
recorded in such a way that the lyrics are so kind of locked into this
dancey, funky, poppy track."
Madonna came across the 39-year-old Mirwais (born Mirwais Ahmadzai),
formerly of the French new-wave group Taxi Girl, when he sent a four-song
demo to her Maverick Records label last fall. Madonna recorded a duet with
Mirwais on the creepy ballad "Paradise (Not for Me)," which is included on
Music and on Mirwais' import-only debut album, Production.
Orbit said earlier this year that he had worked on close to a dozen songs
for Music, though only three are included on the final release. Orbit
described the record as "more experimental" and "not as electronic."
"If you liked Ray of Light, you'll certainly like this one," Orbit (born
William Wainwright) said. "It's got this kind of edge to it all. I think
it's, in some respects, even stronger lyrically and musically; it's pretty
solid. It's a bit more confident."
Madonna (born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) scored a hit last summer with
the Orbit-produced single "Beautiful Stranger" (RealAudio excerpt), from the
soundtrack to "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." The duo collaborated
this spring on two songs for the soundtrack to "The Next Best Thing," a
cover of Don McLean's "American Pie" and a ballad they co-wrote, "Time Stood
Still."
Madonna
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