Madonna truly does want to devour the world. In 2005, Confessions On A Dance Floor further cemented her status as an icon within discotheques around the world, as well as her seat upon the throne as the reigning Queen of Pop. The album served as an unapologetic gift to her long-term fan base, making no pretense in its pandering to her faithful gay following. Now, after coming back from the hugely successful Confessions Tour, Madonna has returned to reinvent herself with a few new friends in tow and a new mission in mind: universal appeal. Most fans, including myself, were incredibly dismayed to hear of Madonna's decision to turn to today's most prominent producers for the crafting of her upcoming album. Securing Timbaland was probably the greatest let-down, especially considering his reputation as a career-reviver for musicians looking to secure a major radio hit or two. As a true pioneer of pop, Madonna has always had a wealth of undiscovered talent at her disposal. But as evidenced through various interviews in the past few weeks, Madonna wants more fans. So, this time around, she's fancied herself a very modern, very urban flavor catering to today's Top 40-friendly sounds.

The album begins with "Candy Shop," which sounds no different than it did when it leaked months ago. While its simplistic production and uninspired lyrics were none too thrilling at the time, no one could foretell that the track would eventually become a refreshingly breezy opener to this heavily overproduced album. The current smash single "4 Minutes" comes in quickly thereafter, horns blaring, as the Timbaland circus begins.

Next up is the Pharrell-produced "Give It 2 Me." Implementing some rave-happy synthesizers and a bit of the old cowbell, the track is a stand-out from the pack. The man's brought in a dozen production tricks of the trade, including a massive middle eight comparable to a dizzying round of Dance Dance Revolution. "Left, left, right, right," Pharrell chants as Madonna taunts, "Get stupid, get stupid!" It's briefly disorienting, though all in good fun.

"Heartbeat" offers another journey into a kind of synthesized heaven, this time with a surprisingly full vocal performance. There's not much here beside some warm dance energy and a bit of throwaway fun.

"Miles Away," the fifth track on the album, leaked in lower quality weeks ago on Japanese television. The chorus was an instant moment of otherworldly bliss with the potential to lift the album to a higher level. Needless to say, I was most interested in hearing "Miles Away" in full-only to discover its disappointing rendering (I think her version was better). Ten seconds into the song, a Timbaland-voiced beat-box bursts in unannounced above the acoustic guitar, severely undercutting the sincerity that the track could have provided. It's deeply frustrating to hear, not only because it destroys the track's emotion, but because the song could be so much more than another signature Timbaland track. The song still performs well enough, but it could benefit from an acoustic reinterpretation when it's performed live in concert later this year.

After "Miles Away" comes "She's Not Me," kicking into the speakers with a funky guitar riff and a handful of bitter lyrics: "She started talking like me and dressing like me. It freaked me out. She started calling you up in the middle of the night. What's that about?" Granted, this is no "Thief of Hearts," but the song does supply the album's greatest boot of unadulterated sass.

"Incredible" is absolutely out of control. The song simply sputters on until the unpredictably fantastic "hands up" moment halfway through, though once the trance-happy breakdown starts to fade, the return to the next verse is entirely unsatisfying. As Madonna laments throughout the chorus, "Can't get my head around it / I need to think about it." I can't help but agree.

Next on the lineup is "Beat Goes On," but it could benefit from an acoustic reinterpretation when it's performed live in concert later this year. As the twinkling beats die down three minutes in, the stage is set for a brief intermission by the one and only Kanye West. He goes into a rather run-of-the-mill breakdown rap that feels appropriate, though the act grows a bit stale once he decides to name-drop his latest single. Luckily, the beat picks back up from where it started, finishing out neatly.

"Dance 2Night" finally delivers the long-awaited moment of pure, unadulterated Madonna. Conjuring memories of earlier works such as "Holiday" and "Lucky Star," the sparkling up-tempo track includes a surprisingly pleasant Justin Timberlake duet and a funky string rhythm. "You don't have to be beautiful to be understood," she sings. "You just gotta give more, more, more than you ever have before." The track has all the makings of a well-constructed disco gem, with a few neat tricks thrown in from time to time.

Then comes "Spanish Lesson." To be fair, Spanish was never really her forte-after all, "La Isla Bonita," the 1987 single from her album True Blue, isn't exactly Madonna magic, is it? If it didn't sound so eerily similar to "Yummy" by Gwen Stefani (which, curiously, was also produced by Pharrell), the track probably would have felt more genuine. Sadly, it falls flat.

After my disappointment with "Miles Away," I was almost reluctant to listen to the 10th track, "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You"-another track that sounded delicious upon preview. Luckily, my expectations were only exceeded. Drifting upon a drippy, electro beat, Madonna tells the tale of a damaging lover in this smartly crafted, mature mid-tempo track. "Now I'm sober, no more intoxicating my mind. Even the devil wouldn't recognize you. But I do," she taunts aggressively, proving that Madonna will never truly allow herself to play the fool.

Ushering in the album's closing with a somewhat S&M-themed, stringed seduction, "Voices" echoes the slinky beats from Madonna's Erotica era. With a triumphant piano flourish melting slowly into the cascading beats, the track is a romantic retraction from the album's bouncy material and a proper way to bow out.

Madonna's mission here is to captivate the general audience with the bells and whistles of today's latest and greatest move-makers of today's pop productions. Does she deliver? Certainly, though she clearly allowed the professionals their share of fun in constructing the album. Unfortunately there are some irritating characteristics-especially the infuriating Timbaland beat that weasels itself into almost the entire album. However, along with these few annoyances are dozens of brilliant moments made to motivate the body into the groove. This is a Madonna album, after all. No matter how hard she may try to incorporate the latest trends, she will always, at heart, appeal to the dance floor.

Hard Candy, then, is a rather appropriate title for the album's listening experience: The album is packed full with delicious treats, often with unexpected sweet surprises inside. But wrapped around these tasty, trancey flourishes of fun are rough, crunchy urban beats that often overshadow the greatness that each track could provide. What's more, thanks to its of-the-moment production, this Candy's been dealt a short shelf life and will inevitably grow stale after only a few years.