Candy Shop [ 19 ] [44.19%]

2 Hearts [ 24 ] [55.81%]

 

Track 2

4 Minutes [ 22 ] [51.16%]

Like A Drug [ 21 ] [48.84%]

 

Track 3

Give It 2 Me [ 16 ] [37.21%]

In My Arms [ 27 ] [62.79%]

 

Track 4

Heartbeat [ 20 ] [46.51%]

Speakerphone [ 23 ] [53.49%]

 

Track 5

Miles Away [ 31 ] [72.09%]

Sensitized [ 12 ] [27.91%]

 

Track 6

She's Not Me [ 25 ] [58.14%]

Heartbeat Rock [ 18 ] [41.86%]

 

Track 7

Incredible [ 14 ] [32.56%]

The One [ 29 ] [67.44%]

 

Track 8

Beat Goes On [ 23 ] [53.49%]

No More Rain [ 20 ] [46.51%]

 

Track 9

Dance 2night [ 14 ] [32.56%]

All I See [ 29 ] [67.44%]

 

Track 10

Spanish Lesson [ 9 ] [20.93%]

Stars [ 34 ] [79.07%]

 

Track 11

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You [ 12 ] [27.91%]

Wow [ 31 ] [72.09%]

 

Track 12

Voices [ 21 ] [48.84%]

Nu-Di-Ty [ 22 ] [51.16%]

 

Track 13

Ring My Bell [ 19 ] [44.19%]

Cosmic [ 24 ] [55.81%]

 

 

Hard Candy is better for me.

 

^^ omg your views totally suck!! Not only are you awfully ageist but calling Erotica a bad album just gets wrose! Its little surprise Kylie is winning really...the one who's ruling the charts right now obviously doesnt get the vote! It amazes me that people still compare Kylie to Madge when Kylie has spent most of her career imitating M's every move. But i still like Kylie, i can tolerate her and i did buy X even though it has like 3 or 4 good songs.

 

At the end of the day being a fan of an artist means holding up your hand when the said artist makes an album that is underwhelming because every artist with longevity comes a cropper whether it was Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Prince, etc.

 

Hard Candy is definitely one of those albums.

 

Being a fan of David Bowie; Prince & Paul McCartney I can assure you (owning all their studio albums) they've made some pretty poor albums within their back catalogues; at least Madonna has yet to make an album that stinks, she has just made a mediocre album (5 out of 10) to comfortably nestle into her worst three albums along with Erotica & Bedtime Stories.

 

If you are going to work with Timbaland and Danja then where is there a track that is as good as Try Again; Get UR Freak On; Cry Me A River; Maneater; SexyBack; The Way I Are; Apologize; Say It Right or Gimme More because the best track 4 Minutes is not as good as any of those songs.

 

If you are going to work with Pharrell Williams/the Neptunes then where is the track as good as Caught Out There; I'm A Slave 4 U; Hella Good; Rock Your Body; Hot In Herre; Milkshake; Signs; She Wants To Move or Hollaback Girl because Give It Too Me is not as good as any of those tracks.

 

Hence this album is naturally a disappointment to my ears as i had expectations which this album has failed to deliver upon.

 

Most great artist have come a cropper long before they are 50; but as Madonna has built a reputation via pushing the envelope in one form or another, then the only thing shocking about Hard Candy is how staggering mediocre it is; it is a very poor album when you compare it with her career highpoints of Like A Prayer & Ray Of Light albums.

 

As for being ageist, to use a phrase you are talking a load of B*ll**ks.

 

The sad fact is that Hard Candy is not even close to matching the recent great pop albums by Britney Spears (Blackout); Nelly Furtado (Loose); P!nk (I'm Not Dead) or Robyn (Robyn). Hard Candy is trying to be a US Urban equivalent of the previous European dance-orientated Confessions ... album but it fails to deliver. At least American Life was a great album that failed to find a market due to her anti-war stance post 9/11 that did not go down well with radio stations but actually hid a very under appreciated album but after track 5 Hard Candy has the sound of mediocrity running all the way through it.

How throughly have you actually listened to Hard Candy, CoD? To call it an attempt to be urban is completely ridiculous. Barr for opener Candy Store, literally nothing on there is anything more urban than R&B-tinged pop such as 4 Minutes. There is a lot of pure pop from the likes of Incredible and Spanish Lesson to Dance 2Night and Heartbeat. The album is actually not very at all from Confessions in terms of genre or style...this conception people have that it is 'urban' is really quite silly.

 

Obviously your points about the Pharrell and Timbaland productions not being up to the standards of their previous best work is a matter of personal taste but for me there are some fabulous career-bests from both producers on there; the fabulous, atmospheric Miles Away which is very much a Say It Right for 2008, and similarly Timbaland/'lake/Danja's closer Voices is an incredible, juicy, dark moment of pop dripping in mystery. As for the Pharrell work, the joyous moments of pop such as Incredible (to me a modern day Holiday) and Heartbeat are very much his best production work at least since 2005's Hollaback Girl, or possibly even since Milkshake, Rock Your Body or Like I Love You.

 

A lot of the criticism of Hard Candy seems to stem from the fact that she used 4 Minutes as lead single and the rumours that Madonna was going all hip-hop on us; in reality, Hard Candy is almost as danceable as Confessions (though much lighter and potentially more enjoyable to a casual audience) and very much as good as that and American Life, and far superior to Music. People just seem to think it's an easy album to criticise because it has hideous artwork or whatever, and I'll admit that it isn't necessarily all that instant - but give it a few listens and I recon most casual Madge fans who have become cynics this era would be won over.

 

:P

How throughly have you actually listened to Hard Candy, CoD? To call it an attempt to be urban is completely ridiculous. Barr for opener Candy Store, literally nothing on there is anything more urban than R&B-tinged pop such as 4 Minutes. There is a lot of pure pop from the likes of Incredible and Spanish Lesson to Dance 2Night and Heartbeat. The album is actually not very at all from Confessions in terms of genre or style...this conception people have that it is 'urban' is really quite silly.

 

Obviously your points about the Pharrell and Timbaland productions not being up to the standards of their previous best work is a matter of personal taste but for me there are some fabulous career-bests from both producers on there; the fabulous, atmospheric Miles Away which is very much a Say It Right for 2008, and similarly Timbaland/'lake/Danja's closer Voices is an incredible, juicy, dark moment of pop dripping in mystery. As for the Pharrell work, the joyous moments of pop such as Incredible (to me a modern day Holiday) and Heartbeat are very much his best production work at least since 2005's Hollaback Girl, or possibly even since Milkshake, Rock Your Body or Like I Love You.

 

A lot of the criticism of Hard Candy seems to stem from the fact that she used 4 Minutes as lead single and the rumours that Madonna was going all hip-hop on us; in reality, Hard Candy is almost as danceable as Confessions (though much lighter and potentially more enjoyable to a casual audience) and very much as good as that and American Life, and far superior to Music. People just seem to think it's an easy album to criticise because it has hideous artwork or whatever, and I'll admit that it isn't necessarily all that instant - but give it a few listens and I recon most casual Madge fans who have become cynics this era would be won over.

 

:P

 

I bought the album last Monday, so the fact I have not commentated until playing the album about 10 or 12 times should tell you something.

 

I'm sorry but if you are working with Timbaland, Pharrell & Kanye West then it does not take a genius to work out she is going for the US urban (note I did not say R'n'B because it is not an R'n'B album, but it is certainly more urban & USA influenced in sound compared to all her albums post Bedtime Stories) market that she lost with American Life. Whilst first week sales of 280,000 in the USA says this strategy has worked.

 

But the fact remains her sales for Hard Candy are currently a massive 72% down on last week's sales for the simple reason is that the word of mouth about the album is not good. I know 4 other friends & workmates who have also bought the album, and none of them have been too impressed with it. If you recipricate that across the country then it becomes very easy to see why the second week sales for Hard Candy are so poor.

 

As for your implied criticism that I don't like the album because of 4 Minutes - well that is my favourite track on the album probably because it is the strongest track and the one track that does the classic Madonna trait of trying to push the boundaries. But the majority of the rest of the album sounds like middle of the road Urban-lite which has sadly (from my point of view) been done better recently by Nelly F, Britney, Gwen, Kelis & Justin T and I've come to not expect that from Madonna, as I'm used to from being a fan of hers for the past 25 years for Madonna to be leading the pack/bandwagon, not following it.

 

A lot of the criticism of Hard Candy seems to stem from the fact that she used 4 Minutes as lead single and the rumours that Madonna was going all hip-hop on us; in reality, Hard Candy is almost as danceable as Confessions (though much lighter and potentially more enjoyable to a casual audience) and very much as good as that and American Life, and far superior to Music. People just seem to think it's an easy album to criticise because it has hideous artwork or whatever, and I'll admit that it isn't necessarily all that instant - but give it a few listens and I recon most casual Madge fans who have become cynics this era would be won over.

 

:P

 

I am criticizing her new album because it is nothing near as good as her other offers to the music world. 4 Minutes is catchy, but nothing new or innovative, which Madonna is SUPPOSED to be know for...which I really don't agree with in the first place. At the same time the album is ok, but it's not good.

I bought the album last Monday, so the fact I have not commentated until playing the album about 10 or 12 times should tell you something.

 

I'm sorry but if you are working with Timbaland, Pharrell & Kanye West then it does not take a genius to work out she is going for the US urban (note I did not say R'n'B because it is not an R'n'B album, but it is certainly more urban & USA influenced in sound compared to all her albums post Bedtime Stories) market that she lost with American Life. Whilst first week sales of 280,000 in the USA says this strategy has worked.

 

But the fact remains her sales for Hard Candy are currently a massive 72% down on last week's sales for the simple reason is that the word of mouth about the album is not good. I know 4 other friends & workmates who have also bought the album, and none of them have been too impressed with it. If you recipricate that across the country then it becomes very easy to see why the second week sales for Hard Candy are so poor.

 

As for your implied criticism that I don't like the album because of 4 Minutes - well that is my favourite track on the album probably because it is the strongest track and the one track that does the classic Madonna trait of trying to push the boundaries. But the majority of the rest of the album sounds like middle of the road Urban-lite which has sadly (from my point of view) been done better recently by Nelly F, Britney, Gwen, Kelis & Justin T and I've come to not expect that from Madonna, as I'm used to from being a fan of hers for the past 25 years for Madonna to be leading the pack/bandwagon, not following it.

The average fall for an album from the debut sales in the US is around 67%, so the context in which you used that fact is not something out of the ordinary at all - most albums fall that much in the second week, before evening out a little.

 

And the first-week US sales were actually no more than they were for Confessions.

 

Damn your a very fussy fan Comply, dunno how you could dislike the Erotica lp. Thats got some classics on there! Then again, i guess all this comes down to personal taste as Jark says :)

Madonna: 9

Kylie: 4

Edited May 15, 200817 yr by HardCandy

Kylie all the way :wub:

Results So Far

 

Track 1

Candy Shop [ 20 ] [38.46%]

2 Hearts [ 32 ] [61.54%]

 

Track 2

4 Minutes [ 26 ] [50.00%]

Like A Drug [ 26 ] [50.00%]

 

Track 3

Give It 2 Me [ 18 ] [34.62%]

In My Arms [ 34 ] [65.38%]

 

Track 4

Heartbeat [ 23 ] [44.23%]

Speakerphone [ 29 ] [55.77%]

 

Track 5

Miles Away [ 36 ] [69.23%]

Sensitized [ 16 ] [30.77%]

 

Track 6

She's Not Me [ 31 ] [59.62%]

Heartbeat Rock [ 21 ] [40.38%]

 

Track 7

Incredible [ 16 ] [30.77%]

The One [ 36 ] [69.23%]

 

Track 8

Beat Goes On [ 26 ] [50.00%]

No More Rain [ 26 ] [50.00%]

 

Track 9

Dance 2night [ 16 ] [30.77%]

All I See [ 36 ] [69.23%]

 

Track 10

Spanish Lesson [ 9 ] [17.31%]

Stars [ 43 ] [82.69%]

 

Track 11

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You [ 14 ] [26.92%]

Wow [ 38 ] [73.08%]

 

Track 12

Voices [ 25 ] [48.08%]

Nu-Di-Ty [ 27 ] [51.92%]

 

Track 13

Ring My Bell [ 21 ] [40.38%]

Cosmic [ 31 ] [59.62%]

Edited May 14, 200817 yr by Big Mistake

I find both X and Hard Candy are quite patchy at points (same with MOST albums), however both albums do have times when they're brilliant. For me X is the first Kylie album I have fully enjoyed and as many would know i'm not her biggest fan usually, and for me Hard Candy is up there with Bedtime Stories as one of my favourite Madonna albums. In this particular vote I think Hard Candy edges it, weird how all my favs from the albums were up against each other :lol:

x-12

hard candy-1

 

sorry but kylies new album is great

madonnas is just ok

both albums have got the marmite affect

either love em or het em

2 Hearts

Like A Drug

Give It 2 Me

Heartbeat

Sensitized

Heartbeat Rock

The One

Beat Goes On

All I See

Stars

Wow

Nu-Di-Ty

Cosmic

 

Mainly Kylie but a few Madonna's in there!

 

Track 1

Candy Shop

 

Track 2

4 Minutes

 

Track 3

Give It 2 Me

 

Track 4

Speakerphone

 

Track 5

Sensitized

 

Track 6

She's Not Me

 

Track 7

Incredible

 

Track 8

No More Rain

 

Track 9

Dance 2night

 

Track 10

Spanish Lesson

 

Track 11

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You

 

 

Track 12

Nu-Di-Ty

 

Track 13

Ring My Bell

 

 

I actually really like X. Though the few bad tracks are absolutely awful.

Hard candy is just boring for the most part.

That said, who's voting for nudity over voices?? voices is one of the best songs on the album, granted thats not saying much, but still.

 

for me it was Madonna 3

Kylie 10

but thats only because nu di ty and heart beat rock are so crappy as opposed to the mediocrity of the Madonna songs. Of course madonna might have had more as the few good songs on her album were up against the amazing stars and wow. also, give it to me would have beaten In My Arms if it didn't have that disgusting "get stupid" section. It literally makes me want to euthanise madonna :(.

Edited May 26, 200817 yr by shakilover

Its all down to personal taste I suppose. To me I think Kylies album is actually one of hr strongest and i have every album. The same goes for Madonna. At first I thought Hard Candy was very average but the more i listen to it the more I like it. Its def a grower. Then again ive always thought Madonnas albums were good/average but she knows how to pick great singles. I have always preferred the pre Music albums to anything from Music onwards.

Latest Results

 

Track 1

Candy Shop [ 24 ] [38.10%]

2 Hearts [ 39 ] [61.90%]

 

Track 2

4 Minutes [ 32 ] [50.79%]

Like A Drug [ 31 ] [49.21%]

 

Track 3

Give It 2 Me [ 21 ] [33.33%]

In My Arms [ 42 ] [66.67%]

 

Track 4

Heartbeat [ 25 ] [39.68%]

Speakerphone [ 38 ] [60.32%]

 

Track 5

Miles Away [ 39 ] [61.90%]

Sensitized [ 24 ] [38.10%]

 

Track 6

She's Not Me [ 37 ] [58.73%]

Heartbeat Rock [ 26 ] [41.27%]

 

Track 7

Incredible [ 17 ] [26.98%]

The One [ 46 ] [73.02%]

 

Track 8

Beat Goes On [ 29 ] [46.03%]

No More Rain [ 34 ] [53.97%]

 

Track 9

Dance 2night [ 21 ] [33.33%]

All I See [ 42 ] [66.67%]

 

Track 10

Spanish Lesson [ 10 ] [15.87%]

Stars [ 53 ] [84.13%]

 

Track 11

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You [ 19 ] [30.16%]

Wow [ 44 ] [69.84%]

 

Track 12

Voices [ 30 ] [47.62%]

Nu-Di-Ty [ 33 ] [52.38%]

 

Track 13

Ring My Bell [ 23 ] [36.51%]

Cosmic [ 40 ] [63.49%]

 

Total Votes: 67