New on CD 4/25/03

'American Life'Surely Madonna knows that familiarity breeds contempt; after all, she's spent much of her two-decade career reinventing herself, emerging as music's greatest chameleon.

Yet on her new disc, "American Life," she traverses the same musical territory as she did on her last disc, "Music," with less spark, wit or joy.

Once again, she intermixes the thumping electronica style of co-producer Mirwais with guitar-anchored melodies. While the tunes are catchy and sound great technically, much of it is not very compelling, given that it's only a slight variation on what we've heard from Madonna recently.

The music is not helped by Material Girl's lament about her material life. It's always tricky for a superstar to complain about how all their money and fame has left them depressed. Madonna doesn't convey the sentiment well enough to garner any sympathy points on songs such as "American Life," especially when she raps: "I got a lawyer and a manager, an agent and a chef, three nannies, an assistant, and a driver and a jet, a trainer and a butler, and a bodyguard or five, a gardener and a stylist -- Do you think I'm satisfied?"

The album does have its stellar moments, and Madonna sometimes is able to make that emotional connection with the listener. The most striking example is the stripped-down "Nothing Fails," about how's she's been transformed by her true love.

-- AP