On the eve of the release of her much anticipated follow-up to the global smash, Music, Madonna’s American Life has already produced much controversy. The video which has an anti-war theme has caused quite a stir for its violence and political stance.

Controversy is no stranger to Madonna – upon the eve of the release of Erotica, Madonna had ended a steamy tour which gave birth to the movie "Truth Or Dare", a documentary of the tour showing Madonna in her most revealing, a banned MTV video, and the release of the "Sex" book, Madonna’s coffee table book which showed her at her most exposed – NUDE!! Erotica didn’t have a chance. Had we seen too much of Madonna? Had she gone too far? Critics jumped at the chance to disown her new work. With the bandwagon effect, Erotica struggled to top the charts as well as earn the respect it deserved.

Dawning a new look and a new sound, Erotica was innovative, mixing pop, dance, electronica and a little Madonna. It was fresh and cutting-edge, produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, it is one of her best works to-date. Fourteen songs blended together like a movie, with a perfect beginning, middle and end. If you don’t already own this CD, it should be the next purchase for your collection – it is why we come to expect creative perfection from Madonna. It is why Madonna is still the icon that she is today.

Pre-Erotica, Madonna had already stacked up the number-one hits, making her one of the top female recording artists of all time. With its heavy sexual content and its toying with electronica, Erotica should have produced at least four number-one hits with the release of the singles, "Erotica", "Deeper And Deeper", "Fever" and "Rain". Those songs are great, but the truly powerful songs were not released. Check out "Bad Girl" – an R&B pop ballad with self-portrait lyrics that is honest and powerful, "Thief Of Hearts" – an up-tempo house cut that will get you moving, "Why Is It So Hard" – a trippy dance track with all the Madonna ingredients to make a pop hit, and my favorite on the CD, the jazzy, hip-hop "Secret Garden" – Madonna’s confession of her desire to have children.

Erotica is our most inviting look into Madonna’s inner soul, and it will always be her most misunderstood body of work. But listening to it, it is evident that she was one step ahead of us – like always. Released today, Erotica would be ground-breaking. In four words, "Erotica is a masterpiece". I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Queen of Pop.