Madonna - Set The Right (2004)

In 2002 Madonna was offered the job of supplying the theme song to the 20th James Bond film 'Die Another Day', but when it was delivered the producers asked her to change the song to fit the movie's title into it, like all other Bond movies have done. She did as requested, and around the same time another title was rumoured to have been recorded with producers M and Mirwais Ahmadzai for the soundtrack, but it was later decided that it was just the early version of 'Die Another Day'. As it turns out it was in fact a completely new track, and 'Can't You See My Mind' was leaked online some time later. After the single of 'Die Another Day' was released, Madonna began work on the follow-up album to 'Music, which was to be called 'American Life', and as with the 'Music' sessions, more material was recorded than could fit onto the album. One of these leftovers was another collaboration with Mirwais and Monte Pittman, and 'Cool Song' was taped as both an acoustic track and also a dance remix by Paul Oakenfold, re-titled 'It's So Cool', with the latter appearing as an iTunes-only bonus track on Madonna's greatest hits compilation 'Celebration'. The original recording from 2002 features a stripped-down, acoustic performance, and includes a children's choir during the final chorus, while a Mirwais dance remix demo has also surfaced. 'The Game' and 'Miss You' are more Mirwais co-writes, and they both have a stripped-down acoustic folk feel, but neither made the cut for the album. 'Set The Right' is a more upbeat Mirwais co-write, and had an number of titles through it's recording, including 'To The Left, To The Right' or 'Set To Right', but when it leaked online it was titled 'Set The Right'. After 'American Life' was released in 2003, Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour, and with Mirwais and Pittman in tow, more songs were written and recorded, including 'I'm In Love With Love' and 'I Love New York', both of which were supposed to be indicative of the sound originally conceptualised for the next album, before the project evolved into what eventually became 'Confessions On A Dance Floor'. 'Miss You', 'If You Go Away', 'How High', 'Boum', 'Curtain', 'The Devil Wouldn't Recognize You' and 'Is This Love (Bon D'Accord)' were written for a planned musical called 'Hello Suckers', which would have been a 1920's-style stage show loosely based on the life of 'Texas Guinan'. Songs were written with a number of co-writers including Patrick Leonard and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, and lyrics from some of them were later reworked and included on tracks for 'Confessions On A Dance Floor' and 'Hard Candy'. With the addition of lovely acoustic take of 'Love Profusion', we therefore have enough new material to produce another album that could have come out during the Re-Invention tour of 2004, before 'Confessions...' appeared in 2005.    

Track listing

01 Set The Right
02 It's So Cool
03 The Game
04 If You Go Away
05 Can't You See My Mind
06 Is This Love? (Bon D'Accord)
07 I Love New York
08 Miss You
09 In Love With Love
10 Love Profusion (demo)
11 Boum
12 Cool Song