Bedtime Stories

MADONNA: “Bedtime Stories” (WEA)

“MAKING THIS album was a true test of my sanity and stability,” declares Ms Ciccone on the liner notes to this, her 1Oth album and follow-up to the less-than-stunning Erotica of two years ago. She goes on to thank her personal assistant for, “taking care of me and for keeping me from doing something I might regret later.”

If all these cryptic musings raise expectations and whet the appetite for some sort of angst-ridden, emotionally wrought, baring-of-the-soul exercise – then a disappointment is in store. For all its trumpeted sassiness, Bedtime Stories is a distinctly average mix of mild pop tunes imbued with the sort of subtle New York dance grooves Madonna’s been indulging in over the last couple of studio outings. And despite the nudge-nudge album title, the lyrical content re-hashes familiar, well-worn themes, i.e. her forthright independence, naked ambition and endless obsession with her own sexuality.

And while ‘Secret’, the current single, with its appealing acoustic guitar underlay, is an admittedly well-constructed song that’s deserving of its hit status, it’s a glaring exception on this otherwise unremarkable album.

Part of the problem lies in the murky production cultivated by no less than five different producers (including Nellee Hooper and Babyface) in nine separate studios. The techno-house, sound-construction and “design”, as it’s described, might be hip in Manhattan clubs but the smothered textures on tracks like ‘I’d Rather Be Your Lover’ and ‘Survival’ are bound to alienate the wider audience Madonna so desperately courts.

The BPM quotient remains low for the most part too, with the rhythmically tepid ‘Don’t Stop’ being the only genuinely danceable cut – it’ll doubtless appear in single form along with the cloying ballad, ‘Take A Bow’. It makes you long for a return to the halcyon days of the Eighties when Madonna ruled supreme with consummate pop craft of the calibre of ‘Borderline’, the infectious dance rhythms of ‘Holiday’ and ‘Get Into The Groove’ and the emotional honesty of ballads like ‘Crazy For You’ and ‘Live To Tell’.

Of course Madonna is much more than a recording artist and her releases normally come with a barrage of controversy and suggestive imagery. It remains to be seen what scam she’ll pull out of the bag for this one but on the face of it she’ll need more than a few pouting, soft-focus videos to revive her pop icon status.

Bedtime stories of the literary sort normally induce sleep. You’ll do well to stay awake for this aural one. Goodnight . . .

• Colm O’Hare