Jump to content

I'm a Sinner

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by IndianBio (talk | contribs) at 17:48, 15 April 2013 (→Composition: remove dab). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
"I'm a Sinner"
Song

"I'm a Sinner" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Madonna for her twelfth studio album MDNA (2012). It was written by Madonna, William Orbit and Jean-Baptiste, while production was handled by Madonna and Orbit. A pop and techno-influenced track, "I'm a Sinner" also features bouncing drum beats and swinging guitar riffs. The song was compared to her other collaborations with Orbit, with "Beautiful Stranger" being cited by the majority of critics.

Lyrically, "I'm a Sinner" hearkens back to her Catholic background, where Madonna namechecks Jesus Christ as well as various saints, with her singing that she wants to be saved, but not quite yet. The song received generally favorable reviews from most music critics, with many praising the chemistry of Madonna and Orbit and its bouncy sound. Although not released as a single, the song has charted on the Gaon Chart, due to strong digital downloads of MDNA. Madonna performed the track on her MDNA Tour.

Writing and recording

"I'm a Sinner" was written by Madonna, William Orbit and Jean-Baptiste, with production done by Madonna and Orbit.[1] It was mixed and engineered by Demacio "Demo" Castellon for The Demolition Crew, while protools editing were done by Ron Taylor, with additional editing was done by Stephen "The Koz" Kozmeniuk for The Demolition Crew and Angie Teo. Instrumentation was done by William Orbit, while Alan Tilston provided drums and percussion, with additional vocals being provided by Jean-Baptiste. The song was recorded in two studios: Guerilla Strip, London, England - MSR Studios, New York, NY.[2]

Orbit reteamed with Madonna, after working with her on her 1998 album Ray of Light. Later, their worked on "Austin Powers" soundtrack song, "Beautiful Stranger (1999)." Only in 2011, they worked again on many songs for her then-upcoming album MDNA.[3] Madonna spoke about working with Orbit at the New York premiere of "W.E.," stating, "With William, I didn't really have a discussion. We've worked on stuff for so many years that we kind of finish each other's sentences. He knows my taste and what I like. [...] Magic happens when we get into a recording studio together."[3]

Composition

"I'm a Sinner" is a pop and techno song with bouncing drum beats and swinging guitar riffs.[4] The song is constructed on a drum loop, pulsing along with a fluid almost Sixties keyboard, building to a big, declarative chugging gospel techno ride, as noted by Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph.[5] The song is reminiscent and a musical descendant of her 1999 single, "Beautiful Stranger", also produced by William Orbit, as cited by the majority of critics.[6][7] Other critics also cited others songs that Orbit produced for Madonna, such as "Amazing" and "Ray of Light" as influences.[8][9][10]

Lyrically, the song finds Madonna exultantly declaring that, like St. Augustine, she wants to be saved, but not quite yet. In the bridge, there's a breakdown into a recitation of Saints, namechecking Jesus, the Virgin Mary and a few others[10], including Saint Christopher, Saint Sebastian and Saint Anthony.[5] "Hail Mary full of grace, get down on your knees and pray / Jesus Christ hang on the cross, died for our sins it's such a loss / St Christopher find my way, I'll be coming home one day / St Sebastian don't you cry let those poison arrows fly," she sings.[7]

Critical response

Madonna performing "I'm a Sinner" during her MDNA Tour, at Yankee Stadium, New York City.

Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly was positive, calling it "a genuine moment of double-rainbow bliss, which reunites Madonna with Orbit for a very cool guitar-boosted rave-up that echoes 1998's Ray of Light."[11] Keith Caulfield of Billboard called it a "chugging track" that "is so very, very Orbit." Caulfield also commented that, "It's like the love child of 'Beautiful Stranger' and 'Ray of Light'."[9] Brad Stern of MTV Buzzworthy called it a "1999's psychedelic, '60s-tinged 'Beautiful Stranger' with a touch of divinity."[4] Dean Piper of Daily Mirror thought that the track "immediately reminds you why Madonna and Orbit worked so well first time around," writing that, "It starts fairly slow but builds and builds to an orgasm of techno. Enjoy the ride on this one."[12] Bill Lamb of About.com praised the track, writing that the song "manages to sound both personal and universal in its lyrical sweep," commenting that, "With its rock and roll heart and country influenced litany of saints dressed up for the dance floor, 'I'm a Sinner' will make you want to dance."[6] Michael Cragg of The Guardian called it "Futuristic-sounding, with double-tracked beats," praising Orbit for delivering "his signature motifs, from the Ray of Light-style guitar line that emerges from nowhere to the bit later on that sounds like Beautiful Stranger."[13] Laurence Green of musicOMH wrote that the song, "stands as the album’s ‘rock’ moment, canvassing classic Orbit tropes – tribal beats, celestial, chiming synths – to rapturous effect. Even when Madonna gets all religious, there’s a sort of knowing playfulness, that this time round, everyone’s in this together."[14] Joel Meares of Time Out Magazine praised the song, naming it "another good Orbit-produced track, big on the smiley ’60s vibe. Clangy and snare-stuffed, it’s a great bit of sexy pop."[7] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph called the song "fun" and its bridge "effective," also noting that, "it ends with 'ooh ooh's cheekily reminiscent of Sympathy for the Devil."[5] Nick Bond of Star Observer wrote that the song will "sure to piss a few people off," also commenting that it "could’ve been on Ray of Light or Music (this is a very very good thing — we love you William Orbit!)."[10] Caryn Ganz of Spin wrote favorably that the song "combines two of Madonna's most reliable tropes — Catholic guilt and hedonistic glee."[15] Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club was mixed, writing that the song "plugs along nicely for the first two and a half minutes, suggesting itself as one of the album’s best tracks — until it reaches a bridge in which Madonna rattles off a list of holy figures paired with the first rhyming word that comes to mind."[16] Melinda Newman of HitFix agreed, writing that the song "opens with a promising Phil Spector/girl group production before yielding to horns and a gentle bounce that don’t follow through on the strong start."[17] Virgin Media was also mixed with the song, writing that "this swirling track that never quite breaks into Ray of Light" and that Madonna "has not breaking any new ground with this one."[18]

Live performance

"I'm a Sinner" was performed on her MDNA Tour in the final section with Madonna on guitar and wearing garlands of flowers while the backdrops feature a train travelling through India, along with elements of "Cyber-Raga" and "De Treville-n azken hitzak" incorporated into the song.[19]

Credits and personnel

  • Songwriting – Madonna, William Orbit, Jean-Baptiste *Production - Madonna and Orbit
  • Mixing and engineering - Demacio "Demo" Castellon for The Demolition Crew,
  • Protools editing - Ron Taylor
  • Additional editing - Stephen "The Koz" Kozmeniuk for The Demolition Crew and Angie Teo. Instrumentation - William Orbit
  • Drums & percussion - Alan Tilston
  • Additional vocals - Jean-Baptiste.
  • Recorded at: Guerilla Strip, London, England - MSR Studios, New York, NY

Credits adapted from the liner notes of MDNA, Interscope Records, Live Nation.[2]

Charts

In South Korea, the song debuted at number 152 on the Gaon International Downloads Chart, selling 2,423 copies.[20]

Chart (2012) Peak
position
South Korean International Downloads Chart[20] 152

References

  1. ^ Caullfield, Keith (March 9, 2012). "Madonna, 'MDNA': Track-By-Track Review - Part. 2". Billboard. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  2. ^ a b (Media notes). {{cite AV media notes}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Format= ignored (|format= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Type= ignored (|type= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Year= ignored (|year= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Vena, Jocelyn (January 26, 2012). "Madonna Made 'Magic' With William Orbit On M.D.N.A." MTV News. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Stern, Bradley (March 26, 2012). "'MDNA' Track-By-Track Review: A Cheat Sheet To Madonna's New Album". MTV Buzzworthy. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c McCormick, Neil (March 7, 2012). "Madonna's new album MDNA: track-by-track review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Lamb, Bill. "Madonna - MDNA 'MDNA' Is a Madonna Album ". About.com. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Meares, Joel (March 26, 2012). "Madonna's MDNA - A track-by-track review of the pop queen's new album". Time Out (magazine). Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  8. ^ Levine, Nick (March 14, 2012). "Track-by-track review of Madonna's MDNA". The National. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (March 21, 2012). "Madonna, 'MDNA': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  10. ^ a b c "Madonna's MDNA: our track-by-track review". The Star Observer. March 16, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  11. ^ Maerz, Melissa (March 21, 2012). "MDNA review – Madonna Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
  12. ^ Piper, Dan (March 7, 2012). "MDNA review: Madonna's new album shows the young pretenders she is still a force to be reckoned with". The Mirror. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  13. ^ Cragg, Michael (March 7, 2012). "First listen: Madonna's MDNA". The Guardian. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  14. ^ Green, Laurence. "Madonna – MDNA". musicOMH. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
  15. ^ Ganz, Caryn (March 24, 2012). "Madonna, 'MDNA' (Interscope)". Spin. Spin Media, LLC. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  16. ^ Koski, Genevieve (March 27, 2012). "Madonna: MDNA". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  17. ^ Newman, Melinda (March 23, 2012). "Album Review: Madonna finds beauty in the beat on 'MDNA'". HitFix. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  18. ^ "I'm a Sinner - Madonna: MDNA track by track review". Virgin Media. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  19. ^ Halperin, Shirley (June 1, 2012). "Madonna in Tel Aviv: Concert Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  20. ^ a b "가온차트와 함께하세요" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27m_a_Sinner&oldid=550507476"