Music

09/19/2000 8:35 PM, Yahoo! Music
Lyndsey Parker

When Madonna's Ray Of Light came out a couple years ago, it was hyped as her "electronica" album--which seemed strange, almost akin to calling Bridges To Babylon the Rolling Stones' long-awaited "rock" record, since it was hardly the first time that drum machines or programmed beats had made their way onto a Madonna recording. In fact, ever since the Divine Mizz M debuted in the early '80s--back when she was still weighed down with "Boy Toy" belt buckles, elbow-high stacks of rubber bracelets, and about 20 extra pounds of baby fat--her music, first and foremost, has always been about getting into the groove.

And so, as the old cliché goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Music, Madonna's ninth studio album, will most likely be hailed as "futuristic" and--here's that word again--"electronic," but it's actually a triumphant return of sorts to her booty-shakin' Boy Toy era; the groovalicious title track, which kicks off the album in Hi-NRG style, is a bit of electric-boogaloo euphoria that evokes not only old-school Madonna classics like "Holiday," "Everybody," and "Lucky Star" but also hot house-party hits by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Klymaxx, the L.A. Dream Team, Whodini, and Rock Master Scott (of "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!" fame). Clearly, Music is no Ray Of Light, Volume II; gone are the meditations on motherhood and the meaning of life that gave Ray Of Light its ambient, spiritual, "mature" vibe, and in their place are shamelessly, mindlessly hedonistic lyrics--"Hey, Mr. DJ, put a record on/ I wanna dance with my baby/ And when the music starts, I'm never gonna stop/ It's gonna drive me crazy"--that are reminiscent of what is still this funkmistress's all-time dance floor masterpiece, "Into The Groove."

Parisian DJ Mirwais leaves a distinctively Eurotrashy mark on the six out of 10 tracks that feature his quirky writing and production skills, including "Music"--he liberally layers on those self-consciously retro-techno touches (Lipps Incorporated-esque vocoder effects, cheesy synths, plenty of canned beats) that can be heard on such modern-day French disco tunes as Air's "Sexy Boy" and Daft Punk's "Da Funk." Sometimes the Mirwais tracks favor style over substance and gimmickry over melody, but his hyperspeedy "Impressive Instant" is sure to be a high-rotation club favorite, and his dreamy ballads "Nobody's Perfect," "I Deserve It," and "Paradise (Not For Me)"--the latter of which features Madonna murmuring in French that's trés sexier than anything on her stilted Erotica album--thankfully give Music the variety it needs in order to avoid sounding like an Ulitmate Jamz Megamix K-Tel compilation.

Joining forces with Madonna will surely do for Mirwais's career what it did for her Ray Of Light partner, William Orbit, who once again teams up with Madonna on two of Music's melodically strongest cuts, "Runaway Lover" and "Amazing," both sophisticated, uptempo numbers in the "Ray Of Light" vein. (Madonna and Orbit, who also worked together on her post-Ray Of Light singles "Beautiful Stranger" and "American Pie," have this down to a slick science by now.) But it is perhaps "Don't Tell Me," a collaboration with Madonna's brother-in-law, alt-country troubadour Joe Henry, that is Music's most genuinely interesting and unique offering. With its juxtaposition of acoustic guitar finger-picking and stuttery, choppy techno beats, it's certainly the track that best complements Madonna's newest, umpteenth persona--a sort of urban-cowgirl look (sequined Sex And The City stilettos, ten-gallon hat, Nudie-suit blue jeans) that she models in the CD's sleeve art.

Unfortunately, Music is seriously front-loaded, as nothing that follows the opening title track is quite as much fun. But as far as rump-wagging, feel-good fluff goes, this party platter is a far superior option than, say, Jennifer Lopez's latest. And, unlike most rave music, which bears a more-than-passing sonic resemblance to the oh-so pleasant blare of an overactive car alarm, this is stuff that people other than glowstick-toting, Ecstasy-dosing club kids can enjoy. Whether you wanna call it futuristic or retro, Music proves that you can still dance to Madonna, for inspiration. And considering that Madonna's nearly two decades into her career at this point, that in itself is quite inspiring.