(The vast majority of Americans, in other words.) Madonna's new album will automatically introduce Stephen Sondheim – who wrote three new songs for Madonna to sing in Dick Tracy – to a whole new audience, but exactly what kind of impression Sondheim will make, well, that remains uncertain.

The Dick Tracy juggernaut just might trigger a sudden mass craving for this stuff: campy, acutely stylized musical period pieces that recall the late Forties. After Batman, anything is possible. Among a more select audience, Sondheim is already regarded as the most imaginative composer working in his field. His musicals, like Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park With George, are light-years beyond Cats or Phantom of the Opera.

More than you'd expect, Madonna measures up to the challenging new material, holding her own against Sondheim's heavy credentials and his penchant for studied, solemn melodies. Her breathy emotionality fits "Sooner or Later" like a glove: Madonna doesn't coo, "I always get my man"; she spits it out like fire, bringing fresh conviction to a somewhat generic line. Even during this album's most melodramatic or self-conscious moments – and there are several – Madonna never sounds like she's "just acting."

At times, though, the wit and sophistication of Sondheim's lyrics work against Madonna's more forthright charms. There's a certain distance inherent in these songs; the music consciously draws on the prerock past, while the lyrics savor tricky wordplay and dispense witty observations about love and life. It's satisfying to hear Madonna's voice amid a genteel acoustic piano and reeds arrangement, for a change, on "Sooner or Later," but the other two Sondheim contributions included here sound a bit forced.

"What Can You Lose" unfolds slowly; it's a courtly his-and-hers torch song, with the veteran Broadway performer Mandy Patinkin supplying the male voice. At first, his voice is a warm contrast to Madonna's, but then he leaps up an octave or three, assuming a grating, obviously affected tone – pure Felix Unger to anyone with rock & roll ears.

"More," meanwhile, is something of a kick. A swaggering, jivey uptempo number, this gold digger's anthem would seem custom-made for Madonna. She recites the ditzy, materialistic mantra with aplomb and a winking sense of irony, but so