Madonna waited seven years after 2019’s Madame X to release her next studio album, her 15th. That album, titled Confessions II, is a sequel to her celebrated 2005 dance album Confessions on a Dance Floor.
I ranked the first Confessions as my fourth favorite Madonna album, agreeing with the critics and fans alike who deemed it her last truly relevant release.
So, did going back to that well pay off? In my opinion, yes. This is Madonna’s best album since its namesake two decades ago.
The Queen of Pop reunited with producer Stuart Price, who helmed the first Confessions, along with a laundry list of other DJs and producers. She conceived the album as one continuous song cycle (similar to Beyoncé’s 2022 Renaissance), though each of the 16 tracks stands alone.
Like Renaissance, Confessions II skips across multiple dance genres, incorporating disco, synth-pop, house, and EDM styles. Sonically, it’s pristine. And while many songs celebrate the dance floor lyrically as well, others are more introspective (‘Fragile,’ for example, is about the recent death of Madonna’s brother, while ‘Betrayal’ explores her relationship with her late stepmother).
Third single ‘Danceteria’ chronicles Madonna’s adventures at the titular dance club in the 80s, name-dropping friends and influences in spoken-word verses that recall her vocals on ‘Vogue.’
If there’s a knock on Confessions II, it’s that it overstays its welcome a bit. Approaching 70 minutes, it’s four songs and 10 minutes longer than the first Confessions and at times feels like too much of a good thing. For somebody like me, who doesn’t gravitate toward this style of music, it’s a lot.
That nitpick aside, it’s exciting to see Madonna, at 68 years old, releasing an album that ranks among her best. If this proves to be her swan song, it’s a thrilling one. But knowing her, she has more surprises still in store.
🎵 Part of the Madonna Deep Dive 🎵
This post is part of my exploration of Madonna’s studio catalog.
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Talk about, talk about, talk about
Talk about, talk about, talk about
I got somethin’ I wanna talk about (Talk about, talk about)
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
[Verse 1]
I get off the train, four, five, six
Walk through the club, don’t wait for shit
Meet this boy named Martin Burgoyne
He’s my best friend, he’s my boytoy
We see the line, it’s way too long
Cut to the front, there’s Haoui Montaug
Waves us in, No Entiendes
I’m not sure you’ll understand this
Wait backstage, get into my car
Drive to the disco, have a drink at the bar
People, they might talk about us, yeah
I don’t care
[Pre-Chorus]
It’s not what I say, it’s not what I do
It’s how my body language talks to you
I just want to lose myself in the groove
Get over here
[Chorus]
Everybody get up and dance (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
Everyone here is a work of art
Everybody get up and dance (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
Everyone here is a work of art
Everybody get up and dance
[Verse 2]
Get on the elevator
I run into Debi Mazar
Take us to the third floor
Walk us to the dance floor
Then I see Mark Kamins, he’s the DJ
He’s a DJ, hide the cocaine
He played my tape “Everybody” (Everybody)
This is how we start the party
Face to face, bodies all around
Temperature is risin’ and the sweat’s drippin’ down
Everybody’s watchin’ now, oh, yeah
I don’t care
[Pre-Chorus]
It’s not what I say, it’s not what I do
It’s how my body language talks to you
I just want to lose myself in the groove
Get over here
[Chorus]
Everybody get up and dance (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
Everyone here is a work of art
Everybody get up and dance (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
(Everybody, move your body)
Everyone here is a work of art
Everybody get up and dance
[Verse 3]
This is how we start the party
There’s Fab Five Freddy and Basquiat
Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf
Everyone came from Shafrazi
Sha-fra-zi to the beat
There’s Maripol and a guy named Fred
See these guys spinning on their head
There’s Rock Steady Crew and Crazy Legs
Puerto Rican boys, they made me crazy
They made me crazy
Nile Rodgers and David Byrne
B-52s had money to burn
Lounge Lizards had so much style
Lower East Side, take a walk on the wild side
[Bridge]
Doo, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Let’s have some fun, let’s have another one
Uh
[Chorus]
Everybody get up and dance (Dance)
Everybody get up and dance (Dance)
Everybody get up and dance
Everyone here is a work of art
Everyone here is a work of art (Dance)
Work of art, work of art
Everybody get up and dance
Everyone here is a work of art
Everyone here is a work of art
Work of art, work of art
Everybody get up and dance
Meet Me In Montauk 