madonna - sticky & sweet tour
April 14, 2010
For so many years, Madonna has been the queen of pop music. Decade upon decade, she has been the ultimate in creating not only great, memorable and classic pop tunes, but also a cutting edge brand that seemed to destroy anything in it's way. However, as the years have worn on, Madonna has become more and more self referential. This has led to the point where I'm now writing my first 'luke-warm' Madonna review. As far as it goes, 'Sticky & Sweet Tour' is an 'ok' live recording. Sure, she sounds great. And she does an excellent job in giving energy and life to what was, ultimately, a dog of an album. However, it seems the days of Madonna actually creating something new and relevant are now gone and the period of Madonna constantly referring to her past being now (excuse the pun) in vogue. There are some truly cringe worthy moments on this CD, particularly with the opener 'Candy Shop' (grunting 'My sugar is raw' is just not sexy Madonna), 'Get Stupid' (I don't need a 50 year old woman in tight leotards telling me to 'get stupid') and the absolutely hideous 'Spanish Lesson'. In amongst all that, there are some moments that feel like classic Madonna, such as her reworking of 'Like a Prayer', 'Vogue' and the excellent closer 'Give It To Me'. This will possibly be the first Madonna album that won't sell by the truck load but it will keep her long term fans happy.
www.madonna.com
