When you've achieved what Madonna has in her career, you're really not going to give a damn for what people expect. So if you want to sample an Abba track and use it as the backing track for more or less the whole of your new single, you bloody well will, ok?!
After the rather disastrous misfire that was the Britney-snogging American Life era, Madge has returned with a song that couldn't be more camp if it donned a pair of leather shorts and pranced on stage at G.A.Y. The sample of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) means it's manna from heaven for radio pluggers, and with no sign of a rap or a line such as the notoriously bad "I drive a Mini Cooper and I'm feeling super-duper", it can safely be listened to without cringing.
A return to form then, but one that may well leave a lot of people scratching their heads somewhat. It's good, but just has an air of oddness around it - although the more you listen to it, the more it makes sense. In these days of bland pop puppets though, it's always good to hear from one of the more intriguing figures of the last 20 years. And, needless to say, she looks terrific in the video.
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