eMusic Review 0
Madonna’s stylistic conservatism continued from 1994′s Bedtime Stories to 1995′s surprisingly masterful ballad collection Something to Remember to this staid soundtrack for the 1996 musical biopic of Eva Perón in which she starred. As a piece of music, Evita — aside from its biggest hit, “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” — isn’t particularly accessible: Unlike composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s earlier Jesus Christ Superstar, this rock opera is much more opera than rock. But its depiction of the famed Argentinian First Lady as a charismatic iconoclast dovetails with Madonna’s own mythology, a parallel that works much stronger in the film than on this lengthy, story-heavy album. She’s no Patti LuPone, but Madonna belts with impressive technical precision. Unfortunately, the singing lessons that enable her to pull off the sustained vowels that music theater demands subsequently messes with her pop singer diction. From here on, Madonna often sings “properly” — sometimes with a stilted, pseudo-English accent — even when a less precise, more natural delivery might better suit her material and message.
