Madonna's DROWNED WORLD tour, her first in eight years which I saw at Earls Court, showcased RAY OF LIGHT and MUSIC.
It's interesting to revisit as I usually think of it as not one of her best shows.
It had four sections: Rock 'n' Roll, Geisha, Cowgirl and Spanish/Ghetto but I have always felt it starts on the wrong foot with tired apocalyptic steampunk, squalling guitars and distressed punk drag.
'Geisha' - while visually splendid - again fails to ignite with an over-reliance on album tracks and a clumsy CROUCHING TIGER retread.
I started to relax in the Cowgirl section but in retrospect the choice of three ballads unbalances it.
But it finally erupts with a Spanish WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL morphing into a flamenco-flavoured LA ISLA BONITA topped by a glorious HOLIDAY (sampling Stardust's MUSIC SOUNDS BETTER WITH YOU) and a crunching version of MUSIC.
Shelf or charity shop? It has to be a shelf even if some of the show disappoints - the tour was pulled together in just three months which I have always felt might explain some of it's odd song sequencing. Directed and choreographed by Jamie King, Madonna was joined by fan favourites Niki Haris and Donna De Lory on backup vocals, but this was the last tour for Haris. On keyboards in the onstage band was Madonna's future co-producer Stuart Price. Sadly the filmed concert - in Madonna's home state of Michigan - has muddy photography which doesn't do justice to the show's visuals.
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