I'm Going To Tell You A Secret (Documentary + Soundtrack)Starring Madonna and crew
Directed by Jonas Akerlund
The title of Madonna's latest offering is ironic. There's neither secret of Madonna's stupendous showmanship at her million-grossing live shows nor much of her current life. So what's this release for especially when it's about a tour that happened 2 years ago?
Whereas most of her previous tours are well-documented on DVD (sans The Blonde Amibiton Tour and The Virgin Tour), the record-breaking Re-invention Tour which forms the basis of the documentary here, is presented as only a soundtrack to the documentary.
What fans get will be 14 live tracks, 5 of which are from the American Life era, in their severely edited form. Some of the tracks sound almost indistinguisable from the original studio recordings (Vogue, Die Another Day). Madonna's voice is unquestionably strong on the tour and where she shines on the emotional John Lennon cover Imagine, she is brilliant and earnestly moving. Other noteworthy performance trackes include the much revered Music and the perenial classic Holiday. Into The Groove was good for the large part, but it would do a lot better without the pseudo-hipness of Missy Elliott's rap. I finally have a new found appreciation for the forgotten Nobody Knows Me, which is without a doubt, a roaring highlight of the disc. Finally, the rock version of I Love New York is a nice alternate treat to the one we hear on Confessions.
As for the documentary, it is certainly well-shot and segmented by Jonas Akerlund. In it, you'll see that Madonna's reached a new maturity that has become the foundation of her life, though many of the revelations aren't necessarily secrets, if you are looking for any. Interspersed between chapters are interviews, behind the scene footages, rehearsals and concert snipplets, but no concert in full. And the promised Director's Cut of the American Life video is nowhere in sight (you are better here with YouTube). It all adds up to the disappointment considering that the Warner Bros. press release had that on it.
As it is with the string of uneventful releases by Warner Bros. and Madonna, Secret might be little too late but still, the documentary succeeds in humanising Madonna, making her less distant to us us folks who love hearing her doing her sing and dance. (B)
Whereas most of her previous tours are well-documented on DVD (sans The Blonde Amibiton Tour and The Virgin Tour), the record-breaking Re-invention Tour which forms the basis of the documentary here, is presented as only a soundtrack to the documentary.
What fans get will be 14 live tracks, 5 of which are from the American Life era, in their severely edited form. Some of the tracks sound almost indistinguisable from the original studio recordings (Vogue, Die Another Day). Madonna's voice is unquestionably strong on the tour and where she shines on the emotional John Lennon cover Imagine, she is brilliant and earnestly moving. Other noteworthy performance trackes include the much revered Music and the perenial classic Holiday. Into The Groove was good for the large part, but it would do a lot better without the pseudo-hipness of Missy Elliott's rap. I finally have a new found appreciation for the forgotten Nobody Knows Me, which is without a doubt, a roaring highlight of the disc. Finally, the rock version of I Love New York is a nice alternate treat to the one we hear on Confessions.
As for the documentary, it is certainly well-shot and segmented by Jonas Akerlund. In it, you'll see that Madonna's reached a new maturity that has become the foundation of her life, though many of the revelations aren't necessarily secrets, if you are looking for any. Interspersed between chapters are interviews, behind the scene footages, rehearsals and concert snipplets, but no concert in full. And the promised Director's Cut of the American Life video is nowhere in sight (you are better here with YouTube). It all adds up to the disappointment considering that the Warner Bros. press release had that on it.
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