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Madonna -- American Life
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American Life Is Livelier Than This!!! Madonna Gets Serious. Jan 04 '04 Author's Product Rating  Pros All the 11 tracks can stand on their own, no fillers here. Cons Overall the LP lacks sparkle. The Bottom Line There are gems in here, but it takes repeated listening to find them. |
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| Madonna
is my favourite artiste. I am a great fan, but not so die hard that I
don't see any fault in her. I like her songs because I think she has a
great sense of what is melodic and her delivery of the song's sentiments
are more often than not spot on. But sometimes her efforts tend to feel labored. I felt it in Bedtime Stories, her previous LP and I think it is the same for American Life. However, that does not mean the tracks are bad. This means you have to be more patient, and run the LP through a few more times. This LP requires repeated listening. There are 11 tracks: 1. American Life Here Madonna muses about life and the struggle for success and disillusionment about modern life. The video garnered loads of controversy, and I still feel Madonna should not have watered it down, but the song is catchy with great hooks. I even like the "rap" at the end which seems rather fun and irreverent. She uses profanity in the album version though, which might upset the bible-totters. 2. Hollywood One of the best tracks on the album. Madonna sings about Hollywood with just the right wistful tone that bespeaks of bloated hopes and shattered dreams. The tone is breezy, with birdsounds in the background, yet tinged with a sadness and sarcasm that elevates the song to more than a happy tune. 3. I'm So Stupid Not one of my favourite tracks on this album. It's melody sounds rather labored, with lyrics that seem too heavy and serious. 4. Love Profusion At first I didn't like this track, but on repeated listening it grows on you. The melody is quite not immediately catchy, but perhaps it is a tad too pared down, too muted, as if she held back a little. I think it could do with a more rousing tempo and dubs. Maybe if she turned it into a dance track .. hmmm. 5. Nobody Knows Me A track that may be too ahead-of-its-time, full of electronic beeps and tweaks. It is easy on the ear. Madonna sings about being misunderstood, but the music distracts from the lyrics. 6. Nothing Fails A tender song with a bit of gospel feeling, about love. Madonna in confessional mode. I love this song. 7. Intervention Madonna musing about marriage and love. Very catchy, but once again Madonna sounds rather serious, as if she is singing to you late at night and doesn't want to wake the neighbours. 8. X-Static Process A quiet song with just a bit of quitar in the beginning, and Maddy's vocals. Very intimate, as if a solo performance being sung by a fire. A lovely track. 9. Mother And Father Madonna goes into techno/disco mode again. One of the weaker songs. Has a rap bit which is worse than that in American Life! Sounds like she is trying too hard. 10 Die Another Day Elton John may have said that this was the worst Bond song ever, but I think that may just be all sour grapes. I love Elton but that man is doing too many covers of his old material lately. In my personal view, I think this is one of Madonna's best efforts ever! It has great hooks, immediately hummable, and is a breath of fresh air to the Bond franchise. One of the best Bond songs since Duran Duran's A View To A Kill. 11 Easy Ride I don't quite like this track. It is melodic enough, with a thumping beat. But it is a bit depressing and serious. In Summary This LP is Madonna being serious. With the exception of Die Another Day, she sounds more matured and jaded, as if she's just been through a lot of troubles. Nevertheless it is a wonderful album, as all the tracks can stand on their own. However, compared to her previous albums I feel this one is not as easily accessible and requires repeated listening.
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