Sticky & Sweet CD/DVD Review

Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet CD/DVD or BluRay set was released this week to stores worldwide. The packaging is glossy and has a booklet of album credits and fantastic pictures by Esther’s longtime manager/agent Guy Oseary. The CD and DVD follow the same motif of the tour and the Hard Candy parent album.

The DVD is presented in surround sound with a widescreen ratio. The direction is not as choppy as that of the Confession Tour release, and there are more shots of Madonna, but being a Madonna show, the visuals of her background screens and dancers are highlighted, as is the crowd: a 60,000 throng of Argentines, pining in rapture for a glimpse at a rather small woman whose ego is so massive the stadium itself can’t engulf it. The sound is cleaned up, and her vocals are too. This is a real shame, because I love Madonna’s tour voice: it’s really strong. However, just when one thinks the vocals are too cleaned up, we get a familiar off-key, flat, or screaming note. I don’t think they edited the vocals per se, as I remember seeing the tour and my brother commented that her microphone sounded pitched higher.

The CD is the same audio as the DVD and can go with, or without the visual experience. It’s so Madonna to include Spanish Lesson, a universally derided song, on the CD as a defiant stroke to the public. A Madonna show isn’t complete with politics, and her Get Stupid video juxtaposes scenes of violence with hopeful figures, like Oprah. Madonna’s onscreen and onstage persona is larger than life: in one moment she can go from being a bitch, a sex goddess, to the Commander. It is in this last role that she is her most convincing; after gloriously belting out a song she hears the audience chanting her name in adoration, ordering more, she lays down on the catwalk, literally basking in the love. So many moments, whether beating up past incarnations or exposing a vest that has her name on it, are meant to pet her ego. Her dancing is perfectly timed, her singing is on cue, and her looks and banter is rehearsed: through a whirlwind of hits she is imperious. Even video cameos by Britney Spears, Timbaland, Kanye West, JT, and Pharrell, get lost in her midst. Madonna is the star of the show.

The musical arrangements are updated. Like a Prayer becomes a fierce rave backed by fiery screens. Into the Groove is a colorful tribute to her friend Keith Harring. Ray of Light and Hung Up are dance-metal infusions. Songs from Hardy Candy get a second wind, whether the swirling Heartbeat or the thumping Spanish Lesson. Madonna’s vocals shine on You Must Love Me, Don’t Cry for me Argentina, and Miles Away, as she strums a guitar; a rainstorm surrounds her as she belts out Devil astride a piano. The only embarrassing moment is when Madonna humps an amp with her guitar, the distorted frequency matching the cringing of the viewer. But all the while Madonna is beaming, transforming herself into a giddy 16 year old girl living out her wildest fantasy. Lots of jeers and sneers, the occasional smile, and hours of unforgettable hits leave the audience with the message Game Over: the Commander is in charge.

The behind the scenes documentary recalls her Truth or Dare and I’m Going to Tell You a Secret docs, but sadly this one is way too short. I love that smooth voice during the voice overs, telling us her message of unity. I love her diva personality, obsessing over the details. “I’m a gypsy,” Madonna says as her reason for taking back her many vows to quit touring. Madonna takes herself too seriously, but we do too. And that’s where the connection lies.

A+