"Hard Candy" is Sweet Pop Confection/Perfection

Oh. My. Cher. Wait. Oh. My. Cougar! If you've been waiting for a relevant, dance, pop album that's a put-the-top-down, let your hair down and crank up the iPod treat, then Madonna's "Hard Candy" is the ultimate. Frankly, it's the album that "Confessions on a Dancefloor" confessed to be but was so inaccessible and irrelevant to radio and what people were listening to that it became background music on YouTube. However, Madonna is such a brilliant artist that she realized she needed producers to help her -- when, for almost 20 years, SHE helped producers become mainstream. Does that mean she's washed up? Hardly. Out of the 12 dance/pop/"hip-hop" tunes on this CD there are only two that don't make Rox's "are there at least 4 tracks that are fab" list -- those songs are "Candy Shop" and "Spanish Lesson". But, as my fourth grade teacher Mrs. Burrows used to say, "Believe you me" when I say this is a melodic, interesting, layered CD of pop perfection thanks to Madge, Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. But surprisingly the production never outshines Madonna when it the age of Paula Abdul's "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" (did she even SING on the track?) is really saying something. Look through the posts for the "300th posting sneak peek of "Hard Candy," darlings, for some of the tracks that Rox already reviewed but Rox's faves (and all could be huge hits on their own): "4 Minutes," "Give It To Me," "Heartbeat" (one of Rox's absolute faves, btw), "She's Not Me," "Incredible" (such a dance/pop revelation it brings a tear to my eye), "Voices," "Miles Away" (harmony is unreal), "Beat Goes On" (which is much different than the bootleg version Rox heard several months ago and now includes a relatively uninspired rap by Kanye), "Dance 2Night," and "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You". Yes, lovers, it's THAT good!! TTGP gives "Hard Candy" 5.5 pops out of a six pack (the highest rating of any CD to date on TTGP, eh hem)!! Ah, isn't continued domination sweet, Madonna? Loving you and yours.