The reviews are starting to come in for Madonna's newest CD, "American Life," which will hit record stores on Tuesday.

And the notices are decidedly mixed.

Time magazine critic Josh Tyrangiel calls it "the first Madonna record that suffers from a complete lack of exuberance." (Time, like PEOPLE, is part of AOL Time Warner.)

Howard Cohen, in the Miami Herald, finds Madonna compelling but her effort -- termed "a return to the personal nature of her superior 'Ray of Light' project and a lateral move from 2000's techno-enhanced 'Music'" -- uneven. He gives it three (out of four) stars.

Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic Jim DeRogatis is far less kind. "American Life," he writes, "finds her sounding more than a little bit tired, repetitive and all played out."

One thing reviewers can agree on is that things haven't come easy recently for the Material Mogul, 44, whose most movie, "Swept Away," directed by husband Guy Ritchie, was quickly swept out of theaters and panned by critics.

Then there was the brouhaha over her "American Life" video, which was said to mock President Bush and war, forcing her to yank the clip and then shoot and release a bowdlerized version.

Still, "American Life" says Time, "is evenly split between upbeat techno tunes and mid-tempo ballads ... It's not bad, but like a Prince album without lust or an Eminem song without rage, it takes some getting used to."