The Quiet Before The Storm
It really looks like the quiet before the storm, right? Let’s take advantage of this sunny weekend to recap on the latest info and tibits about MDNA.
• Let’s start with Gang Bang, this is a song we’re particularly fond of – not only because we were the first to name it and describe its vibe, back in November 2011 – but also because it is certainly going to be one of the most talk-about tracks on MDNA.
When you first heard from us about “Gang Bang”, the song was titled “Bang Bang”, and was a nice mid-tempo track co-produced by William Orbit which carried a certain nostalgic mood and rather intimate lyrics.
The song was written together with Mika, and it seems that the drama which was clearly perceived in what has now to be considered an unreleased demo wasn’t settled, and instead had the power to continue transforming the song into the one you’re going to listen to on the new album, both lyrically and musically.
“Gang Bang” still tells the story of a love affair ending in disaster à la “Til Death Do Us Part”, but it looks like that pain and anger transformed the ballad and drove it “straight to hell” as a disco stomper.
• “Gang Bang” is certainly not the only song to have granted MDNA its Explicit Lyrics sticker (which we love!), but its inner power also stormed the album tracklist and formats which – as Matt at BoyCulture reports, are now spread over 5 different album configurations.
• MDNA will come out both physically and digitally in 2 Standard configurations, one Explicit with the 12 song tracklisting you already know and another Edited version which is missing “Gang Bang” and therefore counts 11 songs only.
• The 17 track Deluxe Edition will be released as Explicit only, digitally and physically. It segues from the Standard edition with 4 more songs and a bonus remix. The physical released is spread over 2-discs.
• The iTunes only special version from the global pre-order offer that followed the Super Bowl performance shares the tracklisting of the Deluxe Edition with an exclusive 18th song. Announced as an “exclusive remix from Madonna’s new album”, the song is in fact a beautiful Acoustic Version of “Love Spent“.
• Last but not least – especially for collectors – MDNA will also be released in a special “clean” format exclusive to US retailer WalMart. This Deluxe Edited release will be a physical only 16 track album, missing both “Gang Bang” and “I Fucked Up”, and with the Laidback Luke Remix of “Give Me All Your Luvin'” dropped in to put the album total up to 16.
• With the Acoustic Version of “Love Spent” now announced, you start to see why it was not surprising to listen to William Orbit talking about Madonna “keeping adding tracks” to the Orbit share in the album. As we reported right after Orbit’s appearance as a guest editor on the BBC World “The Strand” broadcast on March 1st, Madonna and William Orbit have been planning some additional acoustic versions for a while. “The last time we heard about it there was no final decision on how these extra tracks were going to be used” – we reported – “but for sure they found a great way to let us all enjoy them soon…”
• And while we’re in British territory, let’s jot a few lines down about “Masterpiece“.
News broke from BBC Radio 2 earlier this week that the beautiful Madonna song from the “W.E.” soundtrack and the MDNA album was named Record of the Week, which means that UK listeners were able to hear the song every day this week during the Ken Bruce and Alex Lester show, and it was also added to the B list across the Heart Network nationwide.
To shed some light over this news, MadonnaTribe can report that Polydor came up with the idea to release Masterpiece to the radio in the UK market after mainstream channels have expressed interest in the song because of its potential to attract a wider and “traditional” audience. The song will impact on April 2nd.
• To wrap all this up, let’s get back to where it all started: “Give Me All Your Luvin’” has finally been released as a CD Single!
As you remember the kick-off single from MDNA is going to be released as a 2-Track single next week, but GMAYL is already out in Germany and other European territories with the street dates set to Friday.
The CD will hit the stores in more markets on Monday and Tuesday, make sure to get your copies and make it chart!
