MADONNA
"American Life" [2-track]
Maverick Recording Company/Warner Bros. (16658-2)
Release Date: April 8, 2003

"American Life" is the lead-off single and title song for Madonna's most recent album. On this single is the version of "American Life" that was played on the radio. In the song, Madonna talks about trying to deal with fame and trying to be the best. A rap in the song first talks about how people perceive her (she has all these wonderful things that many only dream of having, and assumptions that Madonna's satisfied). Near the end of the rap, however, Madonna talks about having lawyers, chefs, nannies, etc., and poses the question, "Do you think I'm satisfied?" In the last line of the rap, Madonna seems to express a sense of disillusionment ("I'm just living out the American dream, and I just realized that nothing is what it seems"). Overall, this is a pretty decent song.

The single is backed with "Die Another Day [Calderone & Quayle Afterlife Mix]." This remix features a throbbing bassline and drum loop which never seems to progress throughout most of the mix. The intro runs for three minutes before the lyrics kick in, and the mix in general is just too long (it's almost nine minutes in length). However, simply making an edit of this mix would not be enough to save it. It's easy to see why this was left off the "Die Another Day" maxi-single.

The sticker that appeared on the shrinkwrap of this single claims that the disc is "enhanced with Madonna extras." However, all that's on the enhanced portion is a weblink to a website that features streaming video of behind-the-scenes footage and Madonna buddy icons.

The average listener probably wouldn't enjoy this single; however, a Madonna collector would need this disc for the radio edit of "American Life" and the remix of "Die Another Day."

(reviewed by Lesley Muir on May 4, 2003)