Madonna
Reviewed on this page:
Madonna - Like A Virgin - True Blue - Like A Prayer - I'm Breathless - Bedtime Stories
What can I say about Madonna that everyone doesn't already know?
Well, she's half French-Canadian, and is my ninth or tenth cousin.
That's about all I can think of. She's not a great singer, she's a
decent songwriter and increasingly interesting lyricist, and she
has excellent taste in producers and an uncanny ability to be just
outré enough to make headlines without actually alienating
any of her fans. On to the reviews....
(DBW)
 Madonna (1983)
Dance music was reinventing itself in the post-disco era, and
Madonna's first album finds her on the pop side of the spectrum, in
a midtempo groove with light touches of synth and guitar, mostly
produced by Reggie Lucas. (Mark Kamins produced the early single
"Everybody," and Jellybean Benitez produced the hit "Holiday.") The
tunes are straightforward and fun ("Borderline"), and she's
actually trying to project some emotion on tunes like "Burnin' Up."
Propelled by MTV airplay, the album became a reasonable hit, though
nothing like her later efforts. (DBW)
 Like A Virgin (1984)
Here Madonna graduated from pop singer to pop icon. The leadoff
single was the title track, and though it sounds absurdly tame next
to almost anything on the radio nowadays, it created a stir at the
time. "Material Girl" was the followup, with an annoyingly
mechanical beat and obvious but amusing lyrics. She didn't write
either of those songs, or the next single "Dress You Up" either,
and she still wasn't much of a singer, but the tunes were catchy
(with production by Nile
Rodgers) and her East Village clothing style spread like some
kind of disease. Pretty soon she was on the cover of every magazine
around, and by the time nude photos surfaced, she was clearly
bigger than Michael Jackson or Prince from a pop culture perspective. Even
the completely forgettable "Angel" hit the Top Ten. Shortly after
the release of this album she appeared in the film "Desperately
Seeking Susan" and had a big hit with "Into The Groove" from the
film soundtrack: it's more dance pop with pounding synth bass and
lightweight vocals. (DBW)
True Blue (1986)
An amazing five Top Five singles here, making this probably her
most commercially successful album. People who'd convinced themselves that
Madonna was a feminist were appalled by the #1 "Papa Don't Preach,"
the story of a young woman who chooses to "keep her baby" -- some
people take pop singers way too seriously. Otherwise,
Madonna stayed away from controversy on this album, generating pure
pop: the 50's styled title track, the #1 hits "Open Your Heart" and
the ballad "Live To Tell." The other big hit was the mildly
Latinized "La Isla Bonita." There's nothing innovative except for
rock touches on "White Heat," it's overloaded with pounding synth basslines, and I don't find the melodies among
her most engaging -- despite its chart success, I think you're better off starting with Like A Virgin or Like A Prayer.
Produced by Madonna with Patrick Leonard and Steve
Bray, and for the first time she wrote most of the hits. (DBW)
Who's That Girl? (1987)
Soundtrack to the film of the same name, this is one to avoid: only
a few tracks are actually Madonna, and those are quite weak. The
title track and "Causing A Commotion" both sailed high onto the
singles chart, but they're not what the world is going to remember
her for. (DBW)
 Like A Prayer (1989)
For better or worse, this is Madonna at her most serious, avoiding trivial catchphrases, bringing the pace down for heartfelt ballads, and making personal and social statements along the way. A lot of people prefer her when she's trivial, but for me this is her finest work:
the title track is about as close to real R&B as
Madonna's ever gotten, courtesy of its big gospelly chorus; "Keep It Together" is satisfying mellow funk; "Cherish" is irresistable melodic pop. "Express Yourself" was also a big hit, as was the confessional "Oh Father." The slow numbers aren't as successful ("Promise To Try," "Dear Jessie") because they tend to ramble, and her vocal powers are still pretty limited. Then there's a
sluggish duet with
Prince ("Love Song") with his trademark weird percussion loops, but they redeem themselves on the album-closing "Act Of Contrition," a mishmash of spoken word, backwards snippets lifted from the title track, and searing lead guitar that's probably the closest to experimental Madonna's ever come. (DBW)
 I'm Breathless (1990)
Music from or "inspired by" Madonna's latest film, "Dick Tracy."
This was relatively unsuccessful commercially, and it's not hard to see why:
most of the tracks are campy 20's throwbacks, including the few
songs that were actually used in the film ("Sooner Or Later"). She
gets credit for stretching herself, as on the highly-orchestrated
album opener "He's A Man," but she's not up to the challenge: track
after track is dull ("Hanky Panky" is the most boring song about
spanking I can possibly imagine) or downright annoying (the Carmen
Miranda-like "I'm Going Bananas"). If it weren't for "Vogue," a
minimal house number that became the year's top selling single,
this album would be a complete waste of money. (DBW)
Erotica (1992)
Released simultaneously with her pornographic coffee table book
"Sex," the first single was the tuneless, surprisingly tame title
track, followed by the retro-disco "Deeper & Deeper" -- in case you
weren't already sick of "Vogue" she reprises it here. The other single is "Rain," a painfully slow mechanical number that unamusingly quotes the Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun." (DBW)
Bedtime Stories (1994)
After Erotica, it seems like Madonna's gone about as far to
shock people as she's willing to go, and here she reverts to her
other strong suit: recruiting talented producers to create smash
hits for her. She gets the hottest names in R&B: TLC and George Clinton producer
Dallas Austin, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige producer Dave
Hall, and everybody's producer Babyface, and ends up with a pleasant,
low-key, completely conventional set of tracks. She made a rare
miscalculation by bringing in former Sugarcube Björk to write
lyrics for the title track -- they're more comprehensible than
Björk's usual, but still too obscure for the general public,
and the single flopped. There are a lot of Quiet Storm ballads (the
#1 single "Take A Bow," the lovely "Secret") and several slow
grinds ("Human Nature," "I'd Rather Be Your Lover"). Madonna's
grown into a top-quality lyricist, which has gone almost unnoticed:
intelligent and focused, at her best she can pull the rug out from
under you ("Sanctuary"), and even when she's retelling her oft-told
life story ("Survival") or singing a generic love song ("Inside Of
Me") she puts some kind of twist on it. (DBW)
Evita (1996)
Soundtrack to her latest motion picture, this is all the same songs you've already heard Patti Lupone sing, plus a couple of new ones written for the movie by Andrew Lloyd Webber. (DBW)
Ray Of Light (1998)
Madonna's shift to techno (produced by William Orbit), and I sure hope she shifts back someday.
The first single was "Frozen." (DBW)
The title track and "The Power Of Good-Bye" are also being hyped by the record company. (JA)
Music (2000)
Talk about false advertising; if the title track is any indication, this is her least musical effort yet. (DBW)
American Life (2003)
Confessions On A Dancefloor (2005)
Hard Candy (2008)
Yes, you lived to tell.
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