Madonna REMIXED & REVISITED EP (Maverick/Warner Bros.)

One might guess that Madonna is looking for another chance to present material from her ill-received American Life by issuing this seven-track Remixed & Revisited EP just in time for holiday shopping. Unfortunately, the identity crisis woven through the original disc returns during the second half of this curious collection, and fans searching for the dance-floor-friendlier Madge of yesteryear will be disappointed. American Life had potential, but the dark, melancholic themes it explored were matched with tinny, old-school, pseudo-industrial synth-arrangements. Adding some filthy guitar and dispensing with that toy-drum-machine sound (as she does here on mixes of "Love Profusion" and "American Life") does give the illusion that Madonna is a band, and "Nothing Fails" benefits no end from its more assertive bottom end. The renaissance ends, however, with the horrendous "Like a Virgin"/"Hollywood Medley," which is further cheapened by vocal cameos from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. An unnecessary rehash of "Into the Groove" is similarly polluted with an innocuously boring rap from Missy Elliott. And though the Bedtime Stories outtake "Your Honesty" is harmless fun, it’s not particularly memorable.