Madonna, “I’m Going To Tell You a Secret”
DANCE-POP|Warner Bros., released June 20
There’s a reason Madonna’s live show still works so effortlessly. And it is she.
Madonna is still that person to many of us, the embodiment of glamour and celebrity. Her music has provided a soundtrack for the past 25 years, as evidenced by this CD/DVD package. Throughout most of that time, she has been setting industry standards in pop music.
The best element of this super-souvenir (to her current Re-Invention Tour) is the DVD, which captures Madge’s experience on this tour. From performance to backstage, this DVD isn’t comprehensive, but it’s pleasant, adding worth to a live-CD rocking a pallid set list.
At least the DVD has her – Madonna fooling around and shaking it on stage. She, more than her music, is why we’re still hanging on every word.
Like so many live recordings, this is largely a self-indulgent throwaway disc. “Like A Prayer” gets an unfortunate soft-rock makeover, but the new edit of “Music” is a dancey bomb track, although it shows Madonna’s aging voice. One of her few late-career gems, the excellent “Die Another Day,” falls dead.
Her cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” is not as scary as you might fear, but the fact that it’s on the same disc as the atrocious “I Love New York” (her worst song ever, hands down) makes for an unfortunate juxtaposition. |Ricardo Baca
India.Arie, “Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship”
R&B/SOUL|Motown, released June 27
Denver-born India.Arie turned heads five years ago with her accomplished debut “Acoustic Soul,” on which she sounded remarkably more mature than her 25 years. After 12 Grammy nominations (but no wins), she returns with her third disc, “Testimony,” which addresses heartache head-on with a series of bittersweet, deeply soulful tracks.
Chunky hip-hop beats accent spidery piano notes in “These Eyes,” as Arie’s acrobatic vocals and languid horns nudge the song toward its conclusion. The crisp, balanced production allows most tracks to breathe without sounding spare. One misstep is the weirdly earnest cover of Don Henley’s “Heart of the Matter,” which brought back cringe-worthy memories of that cheese-coated song. |John Wenzel
Dashboard Confessional, “Dusk and Summer”
POP|Vagrant, released June 27
Christopher Carrabba is a poet – at least that’s what the kids say.
It’s perhaps more accurate to say Carrabba is an effective songwriter who is economic with his verbiage and eloquent with his ’80s-styled singalong choruses. And while “Dusk and Summer” feels like a very different record than the previous two albums – almost softer – Carrabba’s smart manipulation is the same. Just check out the record’s lead single, “Don’t Wait.”
Bring them in with the plainspoken storytelling of love and remorse. Make the words and rhymes memorable. And cap it with a screamingly earnest refrain.
Then repeat. On “Rooftops and Invitations.” “Currents,” too. And of course, the title track. It’s all good, just like dusk and summer. |Ricardo Baca
Other releases today:
Rise Against, “The Sufferer and the Witness” (Geffen) This Vans Warped Tour favorite is back with another set of blistering punk-influenced rock.
Johnny Cash, “American V: A Hundred Highways” (Lost Highway) Rick Rubin worked with Cash on the American series, and this is perhaps the most revealing disc.
