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Confessions On A Dance Floor
by Madonna
Stuart Price co-produced the 47-year-old Anglophile's latest dance-oriented effort.
| LABEL: |
Warner Bros. |
| RELEASE DATE: |
15 November 2005 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Pop, Dance |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Observer Music Monthly
Confessions... is vocally sharp and (at times) lyrically breathtaking, but it is difficult to imagine this album working without Price's involvement.
91
E! Online
The joyful "I Love the '80s"-style disc fans have been yearning for since she took up yoga.
91
Stylus Magazine
Easily her finest effort since Ray of Light.
90
Billboard
Swirling, throbbing and altogether great. [19 Nov 2005]
90
New Musical Express
Believe the hype, this is even better than 'Ray Of Light.' [12 Nov 2005, p.45]
90
Village Voice
Easily dance record of the year, Confessions is an almost seamless tribute to the strobe-lit sensuality of the '80s New York club scene that gave Madge her roots, which she explores with compelling aplomb.
90
Amazon.com
Sweaty, head-spinningly good dance music.
83
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
If anything, it's more a dance record, leaving those of us with a sentimental weakness for distinct parts a little lost.
83
Entertainment Weekly
For all its pretenses of being giddy and spontaneous, though, Confessions is rarely either.
80
Slant Magazine
One of the few pop singers whose albums are best appreciated in their entirety and not lopped off into "hit singles," Madonna... has succeeded at creating a dance-pop odyssey with an emotional, if not necessarily narrative, arc.
80
The Guardian
It may be a return to core values, but there's still a bravery about Confessions on a Dancefloor. It revels in the delights of wilfully plastic dance pop in an era when lesser dance-pop artists - from Rachel Stevens to Price's protege Juliet - are having a desperately thin time of it.
80
Uncut
Such a heady, high-octane swirl that, perversely enough, you often forget you're listening to a Madonna record. [Dec 2005, p.102]
80
Q Magazine
Up there with her best. [Dec 2005, p.144]
80
Mojo
As each track segues into the next, this is a breathless listen, but the overall scheme works. [Dec 2005, p.99]
75
Los Angeles Times
Disco with a vengeance, a whomping, unapologetically airheaded engine of stroboscopic beats and succulent textures that exhumes dance music's time-honored values of celebration and affirmation. [13 Nov 2005]
70
Dot Music
The sound that [Price] has created for "Confessions On A Dancefloor" is simultaneously stylish, fun, hip and camp; all things a Madonna record should be.
70
All Music Guide
While she succeeds rather handsomely on those modest terms, it's more than a little odd to hear Madonna scaling back her ambition and settling for less rather than hungering for more.
70
Rolling Stone
Madonna's songwriting has always been her most underrated quality. But while Confessions absolutely hits its mark for disco functionality, its greatest strength is also its weakness. In the end, the songs blur together, relying on Price's considerable production magic to create tension or distinctiveness.
70
Trouser Press
For the most part it succeeds quite well in its single-minded pursuit of disco euphoria, but there’s definitely a whiff of flop-sweat emanating from it.
70
New York Magazine
The first half, in particular, has irresistible momentum... The second half drags a little, and you wish Madonna would strip the synths back to work a bass line every now and then.
70
Paste Magazine
A delightful concoction. [Feb/Mar 2006, p.98]
70
Playlouder
She might not quite have made it through the wilderness just yet, but she's chosen the most glittering road to resurrection she could find, and it's one she walks with no small smattering of style.
67
Austin Chronicle
An exuberant return to old-school form.
67
Spin
With its surges and dips, Confessions mimics the rising/falling action of, say, a DJ set, a hit of Ecstasy, or Madonna's own career. [Dec 2005, p.106]
67
cokemachineglow
Price’s work behind the boards, while often commanding, is hardly ambitious; running the tracks together to try and give Madge the "album" sound is noteworthy, but he’s picked the wrong pop-star to prod.
62
Pitchfork
Despite Price's best efforts to infuse these songs with motion and finesse, Confessions never quite reaches its earlier heights after "I Love New York". When Madonna actually starts confessing, the album loses its delicate balance between pop frivolity and spiritual gravity.
60
The New York Times
But she's not attempting a simple 80's revival; for all the vaguely familiar hooks, there are also sustained, wistful overlays of strings and acoustic guitar that enfold the music like a haze of indistinct memory. [14 Nov 2005]
60
Blender
[It] sounds as if she's happy to give the people what they want: escapism and nostalgia. [Dec 2005, p.152]
The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 296 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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