So, it's Saturday morning, closing in on noon, and Andria and I are starting out the day. I have a monster list of reviews I want to write, and she wanted something to sing while she makes brunch. Which means I am now writing a review for The Confessions Tour.
I am not a Madonna fan and I will take some cheap shots at her in this review, however I've watched the concert and it was amazing. I give the woman her props and totally respect her as a showman. I also respect her artistry. The way she has many of the songs on this live show reworked is fantastic. It creates a fantastic story of sorts. You don't quite get the full effect with the audio cd, but what are you going to do?
The album opens with Future Lovers / I Feel Love. To me this is an over extended music loop. This is something that would go over great at raves, gay clubs, or bars that no self respecting straight white male would want to be at(this is coming from a guy that is a fan of the original Melrose Place). It's fucking awesome to watch live, but has you questioning why it needs to be so long when you listen to it.
That being said, I even want to bop around the house to the Disco inspired reinterpretation of Like A Virgin. It's fun, it's bouncey, it's all well performed musically. There are musicians that do perform on these songs, or at least they make it look that way.
It's when the next song starts that you really hear what's going on. Jump which is a club kind of track originally, even get's a musical vibe change to "Disco" it out. It's still very dance club for my liking, but it's easy to figure out why so many people enjoy it.
Next up is Confessions. This is a gripping and moving piece of musical art. It contains various spoken word pieces with different people saying "confessions", which are set to music. I have no clue if this was done for just this tour, or if this had been on an album, but for artistic purposes of an album, it works as a fantastic interlude kind of piece. However, that doesn't mean I don't skip it when given a chance.
Next up is a song that gets stuck in your head, Isaac. This is a really cool song, and you can hear how it grabs the audience and get's them moving. I love all the different musical variations on this track as well. It get's a little too dance club sounding for me, but whatcha goin' ta do, girls wanna dance and sing, and boys wanna watch and smile. I should also mention that this song does seem to really run on for a while. I'm thinking it was meant for users of E, or maybe other stimulants.
I only know Sorry from this album. I just had to check which album this was originally on, because I had no clue. But I've heard this version so many times now that I guess I just know it like it's the original, which I've never heard.
Then there's the Sorry (Remix). Skip it. This should have been left off the album.
Madonna doing a song called I Love New York makes total sense. Madonna pretending to be a guitarist on the song is a joke. Also, I don't get the need to preserve such a cheap shot at George Bush. Sure I think he's the hand puppet of Satan (not really), but that's saying that people can go to Texas and suck his dick is just silly to keep on CD.
Let It Will Be is a nifty little tune. It will help you get your groove on. It feels a little long and repetitive to me, but what you going to do.
For the next song we are treated to a bunch of radio channels switching until we get to the music. Disco Inferno meets Madonna's Music. It works. It works really well. I honesty dig the song Disco Inferno, so the fact that it's used as the new main riff to a tune I normally don't care for is a great mash-up, before mash-up's were really a thing, and Madonna was doing it live. My props to you.
I find a lot of the songs on this album run long, but when you watch the live show you don't notice it at all. I really do think that this album could have greatly benefitted from some editing. I understand preserving the artistic integrity, plus it allows the music to get a little spot light, but in a lot of cases I find it drags out, which prevents other song from being included. At the minimum with a little editing they could have snuck La Isla Bonita into there as well.
I'm not a fan of Erotica, which is the next song. It's one of those songs that's just too Dance for me.
There are four songs on this album I can sing along to; Like A Virgin, Music Inferno (because of a cover by a group called Out Of Your Mouth), Lucky Star and Hung Up. Those last two are the last two songs on this album. Lucky Star is Lucky Star on Disco extended jam. It's enjoyable.
Hung up is honestly a great album closer even though it drags on for ever. It's one of those songs that works great in concert, but has you asking "Why does it drag on for so long?" Then Madonna answers with "Time goes by / So Slowly" over and over again. You work the crowd Madonna. You work that crowd like the artistic porn merchant that you are. I mean that in the most sincerly flattering way possible.
Would I ever own this album without Andria's intervention? Hell no! Would I have ever seen the concert without her? Probably not, but who knows. It was played on Network Television. But let's be clear that just because this music for the most part just really isn't my thing. Doesn't mean it doesn't deserve some respect, though.
8/10 - content
8/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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