MUSIC REVIEW
Madonna's introspective stays bouncy
By Robert Hilburn
Los Angeles Times
When Madonna says, in effect, that she doesn't believe in material girls in "American Life," the title track of this ambitious new collection, it doesn't hit with the emotional or artistic impact of John Lennon's "I don't believe in Beatles," from his first solo album three decades ago. But it does reflect the same type of deeply felt superstar self-inventory.
(Maverick/Warner Bros.)
Scores of pop artists, including Sinead O'Connor and Alanis Morissette, have followed Lennon's lead in pointing out the dangers of false values and goals, though most spoke in the relentlessly stark tone of Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" album.
"American Life," Madonna
On Madonna's album, however, she sometimes frames her musings in bright electronic and dance-music textures that would fit on a radio playlist with the next party-starter from Pink. She even sings some of the songs (notably "I'm Stupid") in a distinctly adolescent tone, as if to separate herself from the "blonde ambition" of the past.
Listeners used to hearing messages in more somber settings may find the bouncy beats working against the seriousness of Madonna's themes. For those listeners, Madonna, whose vocals are more confident and convincing than ever, is probably more affecting on "American Life" when she and co-producer Mirwais Ahmadzai serve up the songs (including "Love Profusion" and "X-Static Process") with more intimate arrangements.
Madonna has delayed the video for the song "American Life" to make sure the imagery doesn't offend during the Iraq war, but there is nothing about the war or President Bush in the song. It is a tale of Madonna's own early, misguided values:
Do I have to change my name?
Will it get me far?
Should I lose some weight?
Am I gonna be a star?
While more catchy than profound, the song, like the album, strikes you as the honest feelings of a woman who, since the birth of her daughter in 1996 and her marriage to director Guy Ritchie in 2000, has gone through such a personal and spiritual awakening that she sometimes has trouble putting it all into perspective. You sense that struggle in "Nothing Fails," when she sings, "I'm not religious/But I feel so moved / Makes me want to pray."
