MADONNA: Finally Enough Love: 50 Number One (Warner)
Verdict: Madge steps to the beat
Valuation: 
LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III: Lifetime Achievement (StorySound)
Conclusion: Quirky and funny
Valuation:
The Queen Of Pop celebrated her 64th birthday in a well-known manner this week. She posted some sultry selfies on Instagram and threw a party at a Sicilian palace.
A singer whose career has been defined by a love of dance music, she’s also gearing up for today’s release of a new remix album that reaffirms her desire to spend the summer kicking to the beat under a mirror ball.
Madonna, who released her debut single Everybody 40 years ago, made history in 2020 when she became the first artist to have 50 No. 1 records on the American Dance Club Songs chart.
She’s now belatedly celebrating this milestone by compiling her favorite versions of these dancefloor gems, some previously unreleased.
Madonna, 64, released a new remix album featuring her 50 No. 1 records on the American Dance Club Songs chart
“Finally Enough Love” is her first major artistic statement since the intimate “Madame X” tour in 2020
Of course, spending nearly four hours hopping around to Pop’s Material Girl isn’t everyone’s idea of a perfect night out; and there are moments when that bumper pack feels bloated
Available as a single CD (£11), 3-CD box set (£20), double vinyl LP (£35) and digital download, ‘Finally Enough Love’ is their first major artistic statement since the intimate Madame X tour at 2020 and – in its 50-track CD and download editions – it contains enough music to score an entire night, which wasn’t the case when an abridged 16-song edition of the album hit streaming channels as recently as June services landed.
Of course, spending nearly four hours hopping around to Pop’s Material Girl isn’t everyone’s idea of a perfect night out; and there are moments when that bumper pack feels bloated.
But with its mostly chronologically ordered songs, it chronicles not just Madonna’s progress, but the entire evolution of modern dance music. There are nods to the New York club scene that inspired their formative years, as well as remixes that reference Chicago house, R&B, and electronic pop. The roster of DJs, producers and guest singers reads like a who’s who of dance, with Nile Rodgers, Timbaland and Nicki Minaj joining the party.
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BOY from THE KILLERS
Brandon Flowers and company return to big-hearted arena rock with their first new single since last year’s more nuanced Pressure Machine album. Fueled by guitars, synths and a soaring chorus, Boy finds frontman Flowers giving fatherly advice to his three sons.
The early tracks, many 7 inch single takes, are from Madonna’s golden age as a star in the 1980s. Holiday, Like A Virgin and Material Girl all do well. Into The Groove, Like A Prayer and Express Yourself are beyond compare.
At the latest with Vogue and a trance-like mixture of Justify My Love, the influence of house music has grown.
There are some missteps. Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from the film adaptation of Evita turns from an epic cinema ballad into a clattering euro disco.
But 1998’s Ray Of Light saw form return, and dance mixes of songs from American Life added zest to the unusually lackluster album when it was released in 2003.
The newer tracks emphasize dance music’s worldwide appeal. British producer Stuart Price performs songs from Confessions On A Dancefloor, while contributions are made by Italian Benny Benassi and the late Swedish DJ Avicii. Israeli producer Offer Nissim is remixing Living For Love, the song Madonna was singing when she unceremoniously fell down a flight of stairs at BRITs in 2015.
Rounding out the collection are four songs from their recent album Madame X, including Medellín and I Rise. The latter ballad was reworked by American producer Tracy Young, who became the first woman to win a Grammy for a remix with her electronic version in 2020.
Do we still need Madge at 64? In light of these revitalized club classics, the dance floor certainly does.
Loudon Wainwright III was hailed as the new Dylan in 1970, and he hasn’t quite shaken that parallel five decades later
“WHEN I started, I had a romantic notion that I would be dead by 25,” says Loudon Wainwright III. “It sounded cool and dangerous. I’m glad it didn’t work out that way.”
The satirical New Yorker turned 75 last year and remains obsessed with the aging process on his new album, wryly titled Lifetime Achievement. His first set of originals since 2014 features numbers spiced up with horns, strings and lap steel guitar. For the most part, however, the sounds are stripped down, with the singer-songwriter’s voice supported by nothing but guitar, harmonica, and ukulele.
Hailed as the new Dylan in 1970, he still hasn’t quite shaken off that parallel five decades later. But he’s also a musical storyteller par excellence, and the story songs here capture his tragi-comic side.
Listeners returning from vacation may laugh as Fam Vac laments the rigors of the annual summer vacation. “I need a family vacation, alone… and my family needs a vacation from me,” he sings.
The satirical New Yorker turned 75 last year and remains obsessed with the aging process on his new album, wryly titled Lifetime Achievement
He has previously written songs about his nearest and dearest, which led to arguments with two of his children, musicians Rufus and Martha, who responded with their own scathing songs about him. However, no one in the clan will likely be offended. Elsewhere, Hell envisions the devil creating a softball team of Hitler, Pol Pot, and Stalin, and No Man’s Land is a New York blues track that explores divorce from the family dog’s perspective. “He lives on the East Side, now she’s on the West Side,” reads the canine account. “The park is in between and I think it’s the best.”
With Loudon embarking on a UK tour next month, there are also succinct reflections on his return to the places he first visited 50 years ago.
And on “How Old Is 75” he continues a tradition of writing songs about aging that dates back to 1978’s “Watch Me Rock, I’m Over 30.”
He’ll probably already have one in mind by the time he turns 80.
- Loudon Wainwright III begins his tour September 7th at the Pocklington Arts Centre, York (lw3.com).