Her insistence to include six of them in the current set list is overwhelming, considering it’s being billed as a “hits” tour and not an “American Life” tour. Then there are moments where she has made missteps (notably 1992’s “Erotica”), however, in the cannon of her whole career, her weakest album is probably “American Life.” I’m being nice when I say it has some enjoyable songs, but they are few and far between. There are moments in her catalog that are arguably among the greatest pop music created over the last forty years “Like A Prayer” (1989) and “Ray of Light” (1998) are five-star albums that prove pop music can be a powerful entity.

Like Elvis, the Beatles, Elton John, and a few select others, her celebrity is unheralded and untouched. This time, the hits were in full force, sort of. She opened with “Vogue” and made it clear that this tour would be drastically different from her previous one, where she shunned the first fifteen years of recorded history. The show opened with a rather odd five-minute video as the screens on stage slowly moved to the side and then from beneath the stage a platform raised with none other than the world’s most popular icon, once a Midwest girl, but now a worldly girl appeared ready to do her thing. I enjoyed it immensely, but unlike some other artists I have seen in the last few years, I felt like she was simply going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, I saw the show for less than $100 and it WAS worth it. However, there was also an equal portion of time to see why people know more about her than her music, it’s more style than substance. During the few chosen moments in the United Center, Madonna proved she is a very deserving musical talent whom people do not appreciate enough. However, I would rather have her skip the physical aspects and give me another thirty minutes of music, especially when 95% of the house is $90 or more. Over her 105 minutes encore-less show on Monday, July 12, 2004, in Chicago, she pushed her body to extremes most people would not even imagine. Unfortunately, the music takes a back seat to the entertainer in her. I realize it’s Madonna it’s over the top, and this is the way it is supposed to be, but she still a musical artist first and foremost in my mind. However, among all the top production like qualities, they overlooked the most important gimmick-the music.

The current tour is a stunning design and one which the production designers should pat themselves on the back. With this comes advantages and disadvantages both were evident during her “Re-Invention” tour stop in Chicago during mid-July. Madonna, currently known as Esther, is possibly the world’s most recognizable celebrity. 5 Shares Madonna’s Material World Chicago, IL – The United Center – JReview by Anthony Kuzminski photos by Dan Locke

India arie worthy tour reviews