LISTEN: The long-forgotten Madonna R&B bop that even she probably doesn’t remember recording

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Madonna‘s ninth studio album American Life. Though critics and fans were divided over it at the time, today it is remembered as one of the most daring, boundary-pushing, and forward-thinking albums of her career.

At the time, Madonna promoted American Life with a small promo tour, four singles (and three music videos), and that iconic performance with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliot at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.

Then in the fall of 2003, she released the Remixed & Revisited EP as a final promotional push for the album, which had proven to be a commercial dud, as well as to close out her contract with Maverick Records.

While largely thought of a throwaway project today, the seven-track EP contained four remixed songs from American Life, plus a remix of Madonna’s 1985 single “Into the Groove”, the live performance from the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song “Your Honesty.”

Madonna originally wrote “Your Honesty” in 1994 with producer Dallas Austin during the Bedtime Stories recording sessions. Why the song, which is a certified bop, didn’t make it onto the final album remains a mystery, but we’re glad it eventually found a home on Remixed & Revisited.

The funky mid-tempo R&B track finds the singer expressing her adoration for her lover, who has completely won her over with his soothing voice, his hypnotic gaze, his sensual touch, his honesty. She’s so blown away by his sincerity, in fact, that at one point she starts singing in French!

“Embrasse-moi mon amour/pour ce soir, pour toujours/Dis-moi la vérité/Oui je sais toujours” she grooves, which roughly translates to “Kiss me, my love/For tonight, for all time/Tell me the truth/Yes, I always know.”

Madonna has never performed “Your Honestly” live, and it seems highly unlikely that it will be featured on her upcoming Celebration Tour setlist (we’d be surprised if she even remembers recording it today), but it still makes for a nice song to jam out to when you’re in the mood for some smooth ’90s R&B, or if you want to revisit some of Madonna’s mid-career material that you haven’t already heard 100,000 times before.

Like American Life, Remixed & Revisited didn’t make much of a dent in the charts, and critics weren’t too impressed with it either. With the exception of “Your Honesty”, which most everyone agreed was an unexpected gem from Madonna’s unreleased catalogue and that *almost* made the EP worth its $8.50 price tag.

Listen.

While you’re here, listen to Missy Elliot’s remix of “American Life” that was only recently made available to stream online…