"Iconic" is one of my favorite tracks from Rebel Heart. I remember reading that Madonna would be pushing limits and boundaries on the new record, and I think that this song is a perfect example of how she did just that. The song does not sound like a song that would normally be on a Madonna record; it sounds like a really intense remix, and I don't think that the song shows an interest in charting. The song is chaotic and noisy in a really epic way, and it has a dark, industrial sound to it. The song features a spoken intro by Mike Tyson and a rap verse by Chance the Rapper, the latter of which I could do without, but overall, as I said, this song is definitely one of Rebel Heart's highlights. "HeartBreakCity" is a soft piano ballad that expresses anger toward an ex-lover for making promises that he eventually broke, breaking her heart in the process. The song has an interesting marching beat added to it, which I love; it adds a really emotionally compelling element to it. The eleventh track is titled "Body Shop" and is a track that seems to make me a black sheep of the Madonna family. Many reviewers highly praise this track, citing it as a highlight, but this is a weak spot on the album in my opinion, with weak lyrics of car metaphors acting as sexual innuendo and a terribly simple melody. The folky sounding song admittedly makes interesting use of what sounds like it might be a ukulele, but overall, the song really doesn't do much for me.
"Holy Water" was co-written with Natalia Kills, which I think is quite obvious. It follows Natalia's typical style and reminds me of her track "Controversy." The song's hook "Bitch, get off my pole" reminds me considerably of the line "Hey, get off my cloud" from Gwen Stefani's new track "Spark the Fire," although that is mere coincidence. The song is groovy and industrial and samples Madonna's classic hit "Vogue." Thematically, the song accomplishes little, as it is merely about having cunnilingus performed on her, with the rhetorical question (asked to assure her lover that he is not committing a sin), "Don't it taste like holy water?" By the end of the song, I find myself wishing that he would answer already so that she would stop asking. "Inside Out" is one of my favorites from the album, but this is another one that I cannot refrain from comparing to the demo version because I find the demo version to be far superior. The demo version is dark and industrial with a beat begging to be danced to; the dark danceable nature of the track reminds me a bit of Madonna's 2005 Confessions on a Dance Floor album. Had the demo version been used, "Inside Out" would certainly be another example of a boundary-pushing track on the album, but the album version is considerably quieted down and made a bit more generic sounding. I do like both versions but prefer the demo version. Regardless of which version is being discussed, however, the song has a sweet message to it, as it suggests that love should be about being vulnerable to each other, confiding in each other, and not keeping secrets from each other. "You're beautiful when you're broken down" is arguably the most telling lyric of the song.
"Wash All Over Me" closes the standard version of the album, and while I do believe that it makes an excellent conclusion, both lyrically ("If this is the end, then let it come...") and melodically, it is nearly blasphemous that the title track is left over as an extra on the supplemental editions. "Wash All Over Me" is a track that has multiple versions, as in addition to the final album version, there are four demo versions. This is a case, however, of actually preferring the album version over all others. "Wash All Over Me" is a beautiful song that (perhaps unintentionally) samples a few lyrics from the unreleased track "Liquid Love," and it is about coming to terms with your surroundings and accepting things the way that they are rather than try to perfect everything. It is atmospheric and features piano, another marching beat, and a very light, ambient electric guitar. It is a wonderful song and is one of my favorites, but the deluxe edition continues with what is certainly my least favorite song on the album - "Best Night." "Best Night" starts on a very interesting note - electronically altered chanting voices over a fluctuating electronic sound, but the song continues with a very generic beat and simple lyrics about a one night stand. Over a rather annoying buzzing accompaniment, the song's chorus monotonously and repetitively says, "I'll make this the best night of your life." That's quite honestly the most that I can reasonably say about this track; it is, in my opinion, one of the weakest tracks that Madonna has ever released throughout her career, but perhaps the song's one highlight is the break near the end of the song when Madonna uses a spoken word verse deeply reminiscent of her "Justify My Love" 1990 hit.
I did not like "Veni Vidi Vici" (Latin for "I came, I saw, I conquered," which is the song's main hook) at first, but it grew on me a bit. I honestly still consider it to be one of the weaker tracks on Rebel Heart, though, especially since it is such a Madonna-centric song that should not feature a guest artist addressing his own biography. This song would be so much stronger without Nas's unnecessary vocals. What is so great about this song, though, is that it is a reflection on Madonna's career, using lyrics that reference some of Madonna's hits over the years (including "Holiday," "Into the Groove," "Express Yourself," "Like a Virgin," "Borderline," "Vogue," "Justify My Love," "Like a Prayer," "Open Your Heart," "The Power of Good-Bye," "Ray of Light," and "Music"). It is a decent pop track but does not need Nas's rap; his rap is specific to his career and doesn't belong on her album. The seventeenth track is titled "S.E.X." and is about precisely what the title suggests - sex. The song is basically a Sex 101 class directed toward a lover, fearlessly referencing many sex elements and acts such as handcuffs, blindfolds, leather mask, perfume, underwear, fishnets, satin sheets, candle light, leather belt, golden shower, latex thong, etc. I find the reference to golden showers to be unnecessarily bawdy, but overall, I like the song, which has a hip-hop beat and haunting piano chords.
The eighteenth track is "Messiah" and is definitely a highlight. It is a track that should have been included on the standard edition of the album. The song is piano-driven (which I love) and also features several Pagan references (which I also love). The Pagan references are to the sun god and the moon goddess and to casting a spell to help someone realize that he loves you. It is quite possible that "cast a spell" is meant to be taken figuratively, not literally, but I truly believe that Madonna was trying to capture a Pagan theme here, especially in conjunction with the reference to the sun god and the mood goddess. Like "Wash All Over Me," the song sounds like it could be a good conclusion to the album, but the song ends with the sound of a heartbeat, leading in to the title track. This is another one that I hate having to compare to a demo version, but it most certainly cannot be avoided in this case because the song was destroyed. The first demo of the song that leaked was Madonna at her absolute best, a powerful, feel good pop/rock track that made Madonna more human than she had possibly ever been. What we get on the album is stripped of its epic power, as it is acoustic and backed with a painfully generic beat that I am pretty sure was supplied with a drum machine. Gone are the beautiful "rebel heart" chants found in the original demo, and this version is so weak in comparison. It makes me sad when I listen to it, but at least the far superior version is available to us. "Rebel Heart" should be included on the standard edition of the album, especially since it is the title track, but it is not. I am not sure what shaped that decision.
"Rebel Heart" closes the deluxe version of the album, but Madonna fans were treated to an even more enhanced version of the album, the super deluxe version of the album, which includes four bonus tracks and two remixes of "Living for Love." The physical edition features a second disc with these six tracks included. The disc opens with "Beautiful Scars," a very lighthearted, poppy song pleading with a lover to accept her for who she is, flaws and all. It is a really decent pop song, but I don't mind it having been scrapped from the standard edition and the deluxe edition. Next is "Borrowed Time," which is another song that was unfortunately ruined. The first demo version that we heard of this song was absolutely epic in its electronic power, and the electronic break found in the original demo version is stripped from the album version. Lyrically, the strength of the song still stands, as it is a song about avoiding hatred, violence, prejudice, and so forth, because all of us are going to die someday and are living on borrowed time; we should therefore make the best of the time that we have. Musically, however, it is essentially ruined. Following that is "Addicted," quite possibly my all-time favorite song from this era. The song sounds like a Confessions song, sounding deeply reminiscent to me of "Hung Up." The song is full of energy and is one of my favorite songs to which to dance. Lyrically, the song covers not being able to give up on someone even though he continually hurts you. The "Living for Love" remixes notwithstanding, the super deluxe version of the album closes with "Graffiti Heart," a summery Owl City-esque song comparing love to art. It fits with the Rebel Heart theme well and consequently probably should have been included on more than just the super deluxe version.
Other tracks that are technically included on the album are "Autotune Baby" and "Queen." "Autotune Baby" is included on some editions of the album, but I hardly feel slighted by the fact that the United States edition excludes "Autotune Baby" because it is a very weak track in my opinion. The song opens with the sound of a baby crying and the sound of a rattle; the baby's cries soon become sing-songy as they are autotuned (on par, of course, with the song's title). The autotuned cries of the baby serve as a primary factor of the song during the verses (which I find to be quite annoying) whereas the accompaniment of the chorus sounds almost like a sixties girl group pop song. Thematically, the song captures an adult's desire to be infantilized by a lover, something that I actually believe to be quite common; some of us enjoy feeling safe and secure with another human being, similar to how a baby feels safe with its parent(s). "Queen" is a wonderfully beautiful song that was included in a twenty-five track leak of the super deluxe leak of the album (which included "Autotune Baby" and "Queen" in place of the two "Living for Love" remixes), but I don't think that "Queen" ended up making any cut of the album, which is unfortunate because it is one of my favorites. It sounds like the perfect conclusion to the album and really should have been the closing track to Rebel Heart.
Several songs on Rebel Heart had me worried that the album was Madonna's farewell piece. Songs such as the title track, "Wash All Over Me," "Veni Vidi Vici," and "Queen" sounded very much like farewell songs. The title track is a deeply confessional track that may, in fact, be the most confessional track that she has ever released, and it looks back on her life, proud of all that she has achieved even though she had to make mistakes along the way. There has been no announcement, however, of the album being her final album, nor has there been any announcement that the Rebel Heart Tour (which I will be attending in Brooklyn in September) will be her final tour, so I don't think that rebel hearts have anything to fear as far as that is concerned. Rebel Heart is quite eclectic; unlike most of Madonna's albums, it doesn't have a centralized sound and is all over the place musically. To some people, the album comes off as convoluted and messy, and to some extent, I can agree with that. I just wish that some of the weaker songs such as "Best Night" had been switched out with some of the strong songs such as "Never Let You Go" (another song that sounds like a Confessions outtake), "Alone with You," "Trust No Bitch," and "Heaven." I also wish that the title of the album had been accentuated more with some of the thematically appropriate songs like "Freedom" and "God Is Love," as opposed to the flux of sexual songs that we get. (See my edition of the album here, which I consider to be far superior.) All in all, however, Rebel Heart is a huge improvement over 2012's MDNA and is full of fun energy and boundary-pushing sounds that possibly make the album one of Madonna's best. If only some of the better versions had been chosen over the ones that were chosen, I would be certain of that.
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