Guest SuperBriGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 ^Yeah, agreed...that and Hollywood definitely rank among some of her best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Coffin Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 The video for "Hollywood" was such a missed opportunity IMO. It could have been WAY, WAY better than it already is. There are great shots here and there but they are not enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Pain Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I AL , even the title track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Coffin Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I'm going to rank the tracks. 1. "Intervention" 2. "Die Another Day" 3. "Hollywood" 4. "Love Profusion" 5. "I'm So Stupid" 6. "Nobody Knows Me" 7. "Easy Ride" 8. "X-Static Process" 9. "Mother and Father" (it was better LIVE) 10. "Nothing Fails" 11. "American Life" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperBriGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Here's my ranking: 1. Love Profusion 2. Nobody Knows Me 3. Intervention 4. Hollywood 5. Easy Ride 6. Nothing Fails 7. Die Another Day 8. Mother And Father 9. I'm So Stupid 10. American Life 11. X-Static Process (I eventually grew to love this song, but it took me several listens...and the main reason I love it is for the lyrics.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Coffin Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 "X-Static Process" is her best duet ever. Yes, with herself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperBriGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 "X-Static Process" is her best duet ever. Yes, with herself. Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildmanj0811 Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I Love Nobody Knows Me..... Other stand out track has to be HOLLYWOOD... i think this will stand the test of time....(I mean in years to come) It a shame American Life: the single didn't make the impact it should have with the video. I guess if it was released six months earlier she would have got away with it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperBriGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I Love Nobody Knows Me..... Other stand out track has to be HOLLYWOOD... i think this will stand the test of time....(I mean in years to come) It a shame American Life: the single didn't make the impact it should have with the video. I guess if it was released six months earlier she would have got away with it!! Very true, much of the cold reception that AL got had to do with ill-timing...hers was waaaaaaay off. Had the album been released at a less volatile time in the world I believe it would've been received very differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Coffin Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Oh and forgot to mention this: I think the album should have been titled Nobody Knows Me. (But then to some loonies, such a title reflects its low sales in the US). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahafan02 Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) It is, by and large, the worst Madonna album. It's way underproduced with a lot of cringe worthy moments. I still love the title track (which most fans loathe). I'm So Stupid, DAD, Intervention, AL are the best cuts. Hollywood is produced badly...sounds like a lazy Sheryl Crow track. The Thin White Duke mix is sooooo much better (despite not including all the vocals). Xstatic Process is one of her worst tracks while "Easy Ride" has a wonderful chorus but the god-awful self-important lyrics kills it. Same goes with NKM, very good tune but some of the lyrics ruin it. Madonna thinks she's better than everybody and she proves it with dull, arrogant rants about not watching tv, reading magazines, not wanting an "easy ride" despite being megarich, poorly rapping about having a butler, personal trainer..all the while asking "do you think I'm satisfied". "Mother and Father" is another one suffering from cheap production and a subject she's done much better with in the past ("Promise to Try" and "Oh Father" to name a few). I've always hated "Nothing Fails"...the production and schmaltzy lyrics are annoying. The Jason Nevins remix at least makes it partially listenable. "Love Profusion" is decent but nothing new or exciting. All in all the worst in her career. An easily forgotten mess. God love Warners for dragging this dead horse for ages (how many flop singles did they really have to push?). Edited September 6, 2009 by ahafan02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperBriGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Oh and forgot to mention this: I think the album should have been titled Nobody Knows Me. (But then to some loonies, such a title reflects its low sales in the US). I read a few months back that the working title for the album had been "Ein Sof." I think that would've been a good name for the album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightcutter Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 She wanted to do something different. Less commercial maybe? Wanted to be seen as a 'mature introspective writer' maybe? It's a weak collection of songs. AL itself is a terrible song - if you can call it such. The album contains some of her worst lyrics. The album is awkwardly produced. One of her worst IMO. Terrible marketing campaign as well - what was she thinking? Best thing about the album is she had to raise her game following it and the result was COADF. We would never have got that if it wasn't for the debacle that was AL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etips Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 As I said in another thread, I think Madonna was trying to make another introspective and eccletic album -- ala LAP and ROL -- but this time was woefully misguided, poorly inspired, and in the end produced sludge. Every time I hear "I'm So Stupid," I think of "Live to Tell" and am perplexed as to how a twenty-something Madonna could write the latter, while a forty-something Madonna came up with the former. The entire album sounds unfinished; like a collection of preliminary scratch demos in severe need of a reworking that they never got. I've never been one of those fans clamoring for the return of Leonard, but if there was ever a time when he was needed to come in and clean house, and work out the kinks, American Life was it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I read a few months back that the working title for the album had been "Ein Sof." I think that would've been a good name for the album. Well, I think when she was being interviewed on Larry King, she joked that maybe she should call it that? But I'm not sure how serious that was... That's also when she categorized the album's sound as "stiff." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HolidayGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Madonna may have felt herself that American Life was somewhat incomplete- Remixed and Revisited, anyone? I for one like the sounds of AL and LP on R&R more than the originals (same goes for Hollywood remixes). When the album first was out, I LOVED "Nothing Fails" and "X-Static Process." Over time, though, my enthusiasm has lessened. Not that I still don't like them, but maybe I just connected with them more at the time because of a dud love situation I was experiencing. "American Life" the track has some good things about it- but it's so tid to *her* experiences (and other celebrities), that the common Joe can't relate too much. Sure, some want to live the American dream, bu this song is about having already lived it and what she experienced. Same goes for "Hollywood"- not everybody goes to Hollywood and wants to make it in that neighborhood. Also, RE AL the track- watching the video- especially the chorus parts- it's definitely more impactful and powerful. A great many Madonna songs work as stand-along tracks (even though you can't help but think of the videos as you listen to the song)- AL is not one of them. My rankings: 1. Die Another Day 2. Nothing Fails 3. Easy Ride 4. X-Static Process 5. Nobody Knows Me 6. Intervention 7. I'm So Stupid 8. American Life 9. Hollywood 10. Love Profusion 11. Mother and Father Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Borderline Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I think the album should've been titled 'Intervention'; seeing where it was introspective and a summary of how she saw the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt420 Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Very true, much of the cold reception that AL got had to do with ill-timing...hers was waaaaaaay off. Had the album been released at a less volatile time in the world I believe it would've been received very differently. I've never really bought that theory as far as the US is concerned anyways. 2000, 2003 or 2005 I don't think AL as we know it was ever going anywhere. It's just not a radio friendly album, no tracks are obvious singles. And honestly, putting her albums side by side, I think for your average radio listener most of the songs on AL would easily be the weakest link in her catalog of songs. I know many fans have said the "anti-American" backlash due to the video was a big hinderance in it's success but truthfully I've always found the claims of Madonna being "blacklisted" at this time to be a bit exaggerated by the diehard fans. Seriously, nobody outside of the "Madonna fan circle" really even cared about this. I realize it may have gotten a couple of blurbs on O'Reilly factor or something but really....I think even the CT "cross controversy" was a bigger deal than this to most in the States....and THAT controversy was quite mild for Madonna standards itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loomer Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Her worst album. An unlistenable indulgent mess with awful preachy smug hypocritical lyrics topped off with listless performances. If you can divide her career into pre and post Sex eras, you can divide it further I think musically into pre and post AL. This is where the rot started to set in her music and I don't think she's quite recovered. I don't see the appeal at ALL and never will, yet week after week it gets trotted out here like it's her great lost album. All very well doing an introspective acoustic singer-songwritery album, but it would surely help if doing that it wasn't full of cringeworthy lyrics. Intervention is the only track I like. And also to a lesser extent I'm So Stupid and Love Profusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loomer Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 The entire album sounds unfinished; like a collection of preliminary scratch demos in severe need of a reworking that they never got. Remember there was the story that Warners made her rework the album before release? Wonder what the originals sounded like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SuperBriGuy Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I've never really bought that theory as far as the US is concerned anyways. 2000, 2003 or 2005 I don't think AL as we know it was ever going anywhere. It's just not a radio friendly album, no tracks are obvious singles. And honestly, putting her albums side by side, I think for your average radio listener most of the songs on AL would easily be the weakest link in her catalog of songs. I know many fans have said the "anti-American" backlash due to the video was a big hinderance in it's success but truthfully I've always found the claims of Madonna being "blacklisted" at this time to be a bit exaggerated by the diehard fans. Seriously, nobody outside of the "Madonna fan circle" really even cared about this. I realize it may have gotten a couple of blurbs on O'Reilly factor or something but really....I think even the CT "cross controversy" was a bigger deal than this to most in the States....and THAT controversy was quite mild for Madonna standards itself. Honestly I don't even think it was the album itself so much as it was the video for the AL single and the album artwork. I think that got more attention than anything. To this day I am not sure why some tout this as a political album; the only political statements she made were in the AL video, and I think that's where she really stumbled. She made the video and then at the last minute balked and decided not to release it. Whether it was because she was afraid of backlash or because she did it out of respect for the soldiers overseas at the time (I believe it was a mixture of both), I feel like she should've stuck to her guns and let the video be released. Regardless of whether people agreed with it or not, it threw me (and from what I read in the news, several of her peers as well) who criticized her for NOT making the statement she initially intended to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightcutter Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Remember there was the story that Warners made her rework the album before release? Wonder what the originals sounded like. I've often wondered about that. I'd love to hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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