I Have a Confessions II Review

    It took almost a week, but I finally got Madonna's Confessions II last week. I almost didn't get, but since Walmart only had two copies left, and I didn't expect to go anywhere else that might have it any sooner, I decided to buy it. I waited a few days to listen to it.  No real reason why, but I did. Anyway, here is my review from the first listen.  

    Before I review the album, I will have to talk a little about the packaging.  Walmart had the price label right on top of the explicit lyric sticker. How interesting. (By the way, there isn't that much that could be called explicit, in my opinion.) The back cover was just another photo with the standard copyright notices. No track list. The package was a cardboard sleeve with a plastic inlaid tray for the mostly blank CD. I prefer the old plastic cases, as they provided more protection. I know that cardboard sleeves are better for the environment. However, this mix is the worst of both worlds, as the tray barely provides extra coverage and makes the sleeve more difficult to recycle. Instead of a booklet, the CD comes with a mini-poster, the same images found on the ubiquitous full-size posters promoting the album. No track list or credits, no real liner notes of any kind. Now, there hasn't been any lyric sheets on a Madonna album since Ray of Light or so, but I would have wanted a little bit more than what was included.

    Without a track list, I was forced to search online for one, just so I could tell which songs were which and the order they came in.  Since the tracks blend into each other, such information is vital. "Bring Your Love" was the obvious first single, as it has the most traditional song structure of the sixteen tracks, and not just that it is a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter. "Danceteria" is probably my favorite track. Yes, many critics and fans agree, but only because it is that good of a song. If I have to pick a least favorite track, it has to be "My Sins Are My Savior" if only because it is mostly in French. (I'm better at reading French to listening to it.) Still, this opinion might change on further listenings.

    I feel that the songs reference many of the same themes, ideas, melodies, and even lyrics of Madonna's previous works. Even if I hadn't read various views over the past few weeks, I would come to these very same conclusions. Some might call this repetitive, but it really isn't. Instead, Madonna approaches these subjects from a somewhat different view, one of recollection and introspection. Such views usually are seen in her ballads, not her dance tracks, and that brings a freshness to the music. This really is her 'ultimate' dance album. Not just that it collects all of her previous takes into one singular album, but it suggests that she doesn't need to ever make another dance album ever again, even if she has a chance to. Sometimes, the connection to previous material gets a little too much, even within tracks on the album referencing each other. It is not a bad thing, but the sense of nostalgia grows.  The last six or so tracks start to slow down, dragging the entire down slightly. Such topics might have been better handled in ballads instead, but the dance-takes do add a certain directness that ballads usually don't have.

    I do feel that this will be Madonna's last dance only album.  Maybe there will be an ultimate ballad album in the near future to complete the overall career arc. Even if that never happens, this would still stand as her ultimate work.  4.75 out of five stars, based solely on a first listen. Rating could change upon further listenings.