Everything is relatively.
When compared to, say, her previous William Orbit masterpiece, Madonna's MDNA is weak gruel, but compared to crap like Hard candy, American Life, it is pretty damn good. Indeed, I think it is substantially better than Confessions On A Dancefloor. Made for the hardcore Madonna fan, it will be perfect for remixes, and as much an inside baseball wonk as any you are ever gonna hear, its constant self-reference and self-invention makes it something like the Godfather Part III -nowhere as good as the first two, but from the same…. DNA.
MDNA might be known as Madonna's divorce album, and it sure references it often enough. But it could be known as her Cher album as well. It is more like a snapshot of Madonna at 53 years old by a weird camera that picks up all her past images and lives, but only very slightly…
So is it good? Yeah, it is really really good. Especially the deluxe version, The first three tracks are killer, the first single sounds a million times better at the # 4 spot, # 5 is a dog, then a goodie, then a disastrous rap, some escapees from Ray, and a ton of really good straight up dance numbers.
Is Madonna's voice weak? Yeah, I guess, but it works good enough within the songs. Are the lyrics clumsy? Sure. Who thought being a multi-millionaire divorcee would be such a bore. Does it sink in the middle? Yes, it sinks in the middle.
But, as albums to hang on a tour on it is her best since Music.
Grade: B+