Music

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Material mom, faux East Indian princess, club-hopping sugar mama--Madonna moves from phase to phase with lunar remoteness. As on her last CD, Ray of Light, she continues to navigate her way through electronica, this time with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzai. Less adventurous than Ray, Music is more consistent. Madonna has to work hard to summon real emotion, but a few songs, including the skittery Don't Tell Me, manage a dry pathos. Locked in orbit high above mere mortals, she still has the power, on occasion, to turn our tides.

--By Christopher John Farley