⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Excellent)
I owe Madonna an apology. In my most recent post, I said that Dagny may have already dropped the throwback dance album of the year and issued a challenge: “Madge, the disco ball is your court.”
With all apologies to Dagny, who made a very fine album, I feel Madge’s disdain, and I sheepishly apolgize.
Confessions II is an outright critical smash:
- “A non-stop groove on her best album in 20 years.” (Rolling Stone)
- “A genuinely vital addition to her canon.” (Pitchfork)
- “A thrilling return to the dancefloor .”(NME)
- “The first 30 minutes are impeccable . . . an intoxicating blur of hedonism and exuberance.” (BBC)
The project is divided into two parts: two-thirds dance bangers and one-third introspective and deeply personal. With returning producer Stuart Price, the architect behind 2005’s Confessions On A Dance Floor, those dance bangers are mixed to sound like a DJ set in the hottest house and techno clubs of the early 80s. Consistent with the music of that era, Madonna is comfortable letting the big beats be the driving force of the tracks, while she is the diva voice that accompanies the music. The track Danceteria stands out as it calls back to the 80s New York City club scene, and name-checks friends and historical players of that era.
The latter third of the album slows the energy as Madonna becomes revealing and vulnerable about challenging family relationships with her late stepmom and late brother, and an apologetic duet with her daughter Lola about the burdens of growing up in the public spotlight.
For me, Confessions II is most enjoyable when I treat it as two distinct projects. The first project is a dance album, whose irresistible dance-club energy is an ode to what Madonna says in the track Love Without Words – “Call it trance/Call it house/Call it love without words.” The second project is like an EP whose songs underscore the relational challenges of life away from the self-centered, hedonistic pleasures found in club life.
So . . . the big question remains. Is Confession II better than the Confessions On A Dance Floor? The first Confessions is one of my favorite albums of any genre. Although “better” and “favorite” can mean different things, I cannot contemplate placing Confessions II above it. The first Confessions is personal to me.
That said, there is no reason for me to choose. I am a dance music lover, and each album draws from different eras. The 2005 original celebrates the pop sheen of 70s euro-disco, 2000’s nu-disco, and 80s synth-pop. I love all of those eras. Confessions II shifts to the time when disco was morphing into the bigger, bolder, and rawer sounds of Chicago house, Detroit techno, and late-80s/early 90s club culture. I love those eras, too.
If I had to pick just one era, I’d happily choose 2000’s nu-disco as my favorite, hence my strong attachment to Confessions On A Dance Floor. But early house music runs through my veins, too.
One thing that the sequel lacks as compared to the original is a big hit single like Hung Up, which opened Confessions On A Dance Floor. Hung Up pulled me into that album right away. Confessions II doesn’t have anything like it. The club DJ set construction of II brings you in slowly and steadily ramps up the energy. The two albums have different approaches. Both work, but I’m not finding a song on the new album that has that unique Madonna thumbprint like her big hits – think, “time goes by, so slowly, time goes by so slowly,” or “what are you lookin’ at . . . strike a pose, ” or “don’t go for second best, baby.”1
What I find fascinating is the critical revisionism of Confessions On A Dance Floor that is happening in response to the new album. In its time, the first Confessions received below-average critical reviews, being seen as a disappointing lightweight album that was lacking in artistic vision. Now, when reviewers compare the two albums, they tend to see both in their own light as different versions of dance music. And that’s the way that I see them.
To Madge: again, I am sorry for letting myself think there are contenders for your throne. There can be plenty of worthy princesses, but there can only be one Queen.
- Hung Up, Vogue, Express Yourself, respectively. ↩︎
Ray's Musings 
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