At fifty-three, is she "Like A (Matronly) Virgin"?Madonna's latest CD, cleverly titled "MDNA", has gotten some pretty lackluster feedback from the critics. Fortunate for me, I learned from "Siskel And Ebert" by the time I was fifteen that critics are inexplicably over-rated. (As I am not a critic but rather a "writer", you encouraged to overrate me.)
The discounting reviews are missing a central point here...
This woman has never been a musical genius. She is a marketing phenomenon; to her own credit. It's not as if this is the latest album from America's finest musician, such that there is an enormous peak for her to take some catastrophic fall from. Context, people!
Few vocal "artists" have lasted this long and offered above-average output; hers has even been gutsy at times when not leaning on her unexceptional sexuality as a crutch. (Time to destroy another pop culture myth: Madonna was never as hot as we felt obligated to view her as.) So here, she's put out an album that really recaptures some of the fun, frivolousness, bounce, and brashness that made albums such as "Like A Virgin" such a guilty pleasure.
Few artists are able to reconnect with the same energy that fired their early work. As illustrated by Madonna's "MDNA", when they do, its a really gratifying fusion of the past and present. The original fire from the past combines with a modern sensibility which results in a return to form worth celebrating. And I say that as someone who has never been a fan. My final thought on this CD?
Get it. Get up. Dance.
