Coda.fm

I'm Going to Tell You a Secret

by Madonna

• Buy it at Amazon.com

Madonna has been parading around in hot pants for swarms of breathless fans for the better part of 25 years, but still she captivates completely: do a mental sweep of the genres and you won't come up with many performers as mesmerizing. Which is why no pop enthusiast worth her weight in concert tickets should be without I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, a CD/DVD package that'll endure the test of time way better than Lotsa de Casha, the dance-floor queen's 2005 kids' book, and probably just as well as her still buzzed-over 1990 Blonde Ambition-era cone bra. Ever the innovator, La M steps into the audio portion of this package with a vaguely religious, vaguely scary spoken-word rant, "The Beast Within." Once she's slayed that number, she comes out swinging: "Vogue" gets the fans in gear, but its "American Life" that sends out the strongest shockwaves--who knew Madonna could spit a serious rhyme, not to mention follow it up with a metal growl? With "Holiday" and "Like a Prayer" on the set list, the rest of Secret is hardly whispered, but there is a quiet moment: "Imagine," delivered with deserved reverence, would have done John Lennon proud. --Tammy La Gorce