Madonna
Remixed And Revisited

In the spring of 2003, Madonna released "American Life," one of her most discussed and debated albums. Critically, it received low success almost everywhere (particularly in the United States), while public reaction varied depending on the "location": in the United States, the album was a total failure, not managing to sell even 1 million copies and quickly disappearing from the list of the top 200 best-selling albums, while in Europe, the album had decent success, thus saving itself from a commercial disaster (in France, it was the most successful album of Madonna's entire career).

Success or failure aside, Madonna came out quite battered from the "American Life" affair: the harsh attacks on Bush's America had made much of the public opinion hostile towards her and many U.S. radio stations candidly refused to play the singer’s new singles (a trend that persists on west coast American radio stations even today due to Madonna’s fierce criticism of the American way of life in the "American Life" album). In Europe, the initial enthusiasm for the album quickly faded, given the large amount of artistic commentary on the "Bush affair" and the consequent desire for "different" themes.

For the first time since the "Erotica" scandal, the singer had to reclaim her ground with the public, proving she was no longer just a cumbersome presence from the past but an active musician.

Nothing better than launching a scandal to distract the public from her musical failure. At the 2003 MTV Awards ceremony, Madonna sang "Hollywood" with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera: before Missy Elliot hit the stage to rap to the notes of "Into The Groove", the old fox turned and kissed first Aguilera and then Spears. Scandal.

The entire American showbiz world talked about nothing else for a whole month. The sapphic kiss became so popular it ranked 13th among the hottest moments in U.S. television history.

The goal was achieved: once the mass media no longer associated her with her recent failure but with a scandal (as had often happened between the late '80s and early '90s), Madonna could retreat and try to boost "American Life" sales. Thus "Remixed And Revisited" (REMIXED AND REVISITED) was born, a mini-collection (which in Italy, as in other countries, was released as a single) of seven tracks that saw the light towards the end of 2003 (incidentally, that year also marked Madonna’s career twentieth anniversary, which had started in ’83 with the self-titled album "Madonna").

However, the album was a complete disaster and completely missed its goal: not only did "American Life" sales not rise, but the mini-album's sales were so low that the work didn’t even enter the top 100 and quickly disappeared from the European charts.

Indeed, the material offered is of really low quality. What on paper might have seemed interesting (a mix of live tracks, remixes, and unreleased songs) is as disappointing and predictable as ever.

The remixes, precisely 4, are all from the "American Life" album: "Nobody Knows Me", "Love Profusion", "American Life", and "Nothing Fails".

Among these, only "Love Profusion" stands out, as the remix gives it a bit of vigor and rhythm that were missing from the original version. "Nobody Knows Me" showcases a lifeless dance beat that makes one miss the original, while "Nothing Fails" is an insult to the original. Although the remix is nice, the original is a masterpiece and didn't deserve to be sped up, as the slow tempos of the original matched the subject matter and constituted a gem within "American Life." The rock remix of "American Life" is interesting, but it isn't rock enough, in the sense that it gets lost in unnecessary showmanship that eventually sounds fake.

The album proceeds with the live performance of the aforementioned scandalous kiss: "Like a Virgin" sung by Aguilera and Spears (who sings in playback here), followed by Madonna diving into "Hollywood", then followed by Missy Elliot who raps briefly on the notes of "Into The Groove", all within a single track. Nothing unforgettable, no one gives their best except for the charming Missy, who, however, has a very short performance. Aguilera shows off her powerful voice, but it is known that "Like A Virgin" doesn't require exceptional singing skills.

This improbable and tedious mix is followed by a Madonna-Missy Elliot studio-recorded duet titled "Into The Hollywood Groove", which, as the title suggests, is a mix of "Hollywood" and "Into The Groove". Nothing new under the sun, quite the opposite: the whole sounds commercial and a bit banal. It turns out that the text was composed for an advertisement, in fact, for GAP, an American clothing brand.

Finally, there's a treat; the last track is an unreleased song "Your Honesty". It's nice, cool, with funky and r’n’b influences. Yet it is just nice, and listening to it reminds one of the sounds from "Bedtime Stories": indeed, it is a "discarded" track from that album, kept and presented on this occasion.

The album ends, leaving a feeling of déjà vu and uselessness. Madonna, the one who always surprises, who doesn't rest on her laurels and challenges music markets by proposing new offerings previously not done by her, stumbled into this mix of seen-and-seen, done-and-done.

At the time, it was a common thought, and the album went unnoticed practically everywhere. Even most fans did not appreciate it.

Many said that with "American Life," Madge had taken a step too far, and perhaps the many times cited end of her career had finally arrived.

A year later, however, Mrs. Ciccone proposed a grand tour, which would rework her old hits according to current sounds, the "Reinvention tour" (REINVENTION TOUR): once again, life proved her right; the tour was the richest of 2004, and the renewed queen of pop had massive following.

In 2005, her new album "Confessions on a Dancefloor" sold 10 million copies (and received excellent critical reviews) and became the best-selling album of 2006, ending up in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records as a record breaker: it reached number one in 40 countries.

In short, at these "imperial" heights of pop, a musical slip like "Remixed and Revisited" can be forgiven.