American Life

Ok, this is Madonna's 2003 album. After Music she came back with a brand new look and style. American life has a couple of themes throughout- Love, Materialism and war. Madonna's look was mainly military themed. The album has been classed as a 'Folk-rock' album but has Pop and electronica throughout.The first song is the title song 'American Life'. It's not the best song on the album but its not bad. It doesn't deserve the reviews from critics. The song is about the American/ Western way of life and the Materialistic world in which we live. Madonna sings of how she has it all, the American dream, money, cars etc. But says this isn't enough and it isn't important. Nearing the end of the song, Madonna raps about the people that she has working for her. the song is catchy and different from most of Madonna's other music. I like it and i think that the idea is strong.Next is Hollywood, one of my personal favorites. Again it speaks of the american life and focuses on the highs and lows of Hollywood and fame. the composition and production are great! it's a addictive song and gets anybody up on the Dance floor. I would buy the album for this single!! and the remixes on the CD single are good too'I'm so stupid' the title for the song basically says it all. the lyrics focus on how Madonna has realised money and fame are not everything and that she has 'woken up' and is beginning to learn why we are here (on the planet).The fourth song and the final single- 'Love profusion'. its just got a great sound to it. i really like it! and think its a good song'Nobody knows me' follows and talks of the media and government giving us a 'social disease' and Madonna says she doesn't want it nor will she accept it. the song was also a single. it isn't particularly a great song and is one of the weaker ones on the album.'Nothing fails' is in places a reminder of Madonna's mega-hit Like a Prayer. the choir and gospel influences work well for the song. lyrically it talks of love and religion.'Intervention' starts with an acoustic guitar. The song highlights the lyrics and Madonna's voice. its simple but a great song. Again its about love and how a relationship will last.'X-static Process' is the 8th track. It's a song that questions the modern life that we live. its another simple acoustic guitar song that is beautiful.'Mother and Father' is the ninth track and one of my personal favourites. I find that it oozes emotion. The song is about the death of Madonna's mother when she was 5. it talks about the pain in which she felt from that and then discusses the aftermath and her father. Madonna says she's 'got to let it out' and i think that's what the song is all about, letting go of her mums death. It's a matter the has affected Madonna throughout her life and career and this song is about dealing with the pain of losing her mother and truly letting her father know how she felt. The composition is a drum and bass with a guitar.The tenth song 'Die another Day' is quite possibly my favourite song from the album. It was the theme song for the 20th Bond film of the same name. I love the composition, the attitude and the way Madonna sings it. It was the first song i really remember hearing from Madonna when growing up. its heavily edited and has effects on her voice along with a electronic sound, yet still has instruments like Violins. Personally, i think its brilliant.The final song is 'Easy Ride'. its mostly string orientated song and talks of age and Madonna's feelings towards growing older, how she wanted to be young forever and then getting to a place where she is happy in life. the best ballad like song on the album.Overall, the album has some highs and some lows. It's not Like a Prayer or Ray of light but it is very good! Madonna always comes back with something new and different and of course there will be things that people don't like. but i would recommend it to anyone.the Album got mixed reviews from critics who said it was confused, and i agree in parts it does sound confused but i think that at this point in her life Madonna was confused and was truing to straighten it out. the album will grow on you if you dont like it at first. just like it has on many critics.4.5*

I really like Madonna and while this album has departed in style from her classic works, this is a solid, mature record everyone should own who's into this kind of music.I am really happy with this purchase. Got a good quality, silent vinyl record spread on two discs. One strange thing is that the first LP runs at 33 1/3 RPM, but the second is at 45 RPM and there's no indication of this anywhere on the record nor on the sleeves. Not sure if they just forgot to print the speeds or left them out on purpose, making a pun out of the fact "that nothing is what it seems".Either way, if you don't have this record and have a turntable, just buy it.

Marrying the acoustic with the electronic, "American Life" picks up where hit single "Don't Tell Me" left off in 2000."American Life" sees the façade drop and we get to hear the thoughts of a person whose public image and persona have been strictly maintained by a team of PR reps over the years.Anti-materialism, superficiality, guilt, hard work and love all feature in this eleven song set. Is this the same woman who sang "Material Girl" in the 80s? So thematically, the album covers a wider range of topics than your average pop album.Pushing the musical envelope as ever (complete with rap on the lead single), "American Life" makes you do something that other Madonna albums don't make you do.Think.

I love this album, dark, electronic, unfriendly beats keep it ticking along, and I say unfriendly in a positive way for the direction of the album is future pop not fluffy tunes of past albums like Music or Like A prayer etc. 11 tracks kicking off with the title track, including Die Another Day from the 007 film keeps the beats flowing with a fantastic electro ballad in Nothing Fails. Not an instant likeable album for fans, and maybe try a few others before buying this particular one from Madonna, but keep it in mind for future purchases as it's a different direction and a 10/10 album.

Madonna shows your maturity here!Lyrics autobiographical. And despite the title, is much more than an album about politics.Egoism, Love, fears, disappointments, hypocrisy, and the modern lifestyle.With a fearless video, showed their revolt against the Bush government. That declared war on Iraq that year.Regrettable that neither Americans, nor the world, has been smart to understand this great work!Great melodies, highlight to "Hollywood", "Nothing Fails" and "Easy Ride".This work, in double vinyl, is fascinating!Buy and enjoy this!

I had mixed feelings waiting for this album. The single 'American Life' though interesting lacked the Madonna sparkle but as a confirmed Madonna fan, I was obliged to buy the album. The good news is that this album is a huge improvement on her last 'Music'. This time she has remembered to put tunes back into her songs and while the occasional vocaliser and fussy arrangement pops up on 'Nobody knows me' and 'Die Another Day', Madonna has thankfully also returned to her sweet melodies of yesteryear. Highlights include reputed next single 'Hollywood', 'Love profusion' and 'Easy Ride' but there are excellent standout tracks in 'Nothing Fails' with it's fab gospel chorus and 'Father and Mother' with Madonna sounding like she had been zapped back in time to her 'Like a Virgin' days. Her lyrics are as schoolgirlish as ever but with echoes of the confessional mood of 'Like a Prayer', Madonna manages to link together all her reincarations to create a piece of art on her life, her American dream.