The Madonna Thread

[Angela]

For me,

I think LAP was the most important of her career. I think LAP solidified has as more than a passing pop princess. If she hadn't put that stamp on it with the Blonde Ambition Tour on top (that Like a Virgin, Like a Prayer, Live to Tell/Oh Father, Papa Don't Preach section? Damnnn, amazing, quite simple in a lot of ways but just made of awesome), I think she might have fallen under the radar.

ROL, second. If LAP was the "You Have To Take Me Seriously" album, ROL became, the "Seriously, You Have To Take Me Seriously" album. It's almost 10 years after her best original material (and over 15 years from her debut on the scene) and there she comes out with a great selling, highly critically acclaimed and respected record.

[EricMontreal22]

I love that performance of Express Yourself BTW--it's interesting that I don't think she ever performed the original album "Sly and the Family Stone" inspired version--always the Pettibone remix.

[Soapsuds]

Her 3 worst albums IMO.......I was surprised I'm Breathless wasnt dead last in sales but this is worldwide not US sales. Hard Candy was another awful album. American Life was just blah...had one hit but thats it.

I am surpised You can Dance didnt do better of course it is the same songs just remixed. i did purchase the CD. I own them all except for the 3 above plus her Confessions and Bedtime Stories....I did get those that were hits from those albums on singles....Its tough for me to say which was her best album....has to be a tie between ...True Blue and Like A Virgin album with her debut very close behind.

WTF with my post....whats up with the board..lol

Edited March 18, 2012 by Angela
I fixed it - Angela

[EricMontreal22]

Ray of Light sounds SOOO dated to me now (as do most orbit productions which is why I've been pleasantly surprised by the clips of his new work with Madonna) but part of that admittedly is because it came out when I was in grade 11 and just starting to really pay attention to pop music producers--and I played his stuff constantly (he even made All Saints sound good with the three terrific songs he did for them). It is undeniably a great album with a lot of strong material, and was a minor comeback for her at a point where people were starting to doubt her relevence. Frozen was massive at the time I remember.

I think you're spot on about LAP--I just wish she had realized to leave that Prince song off of it--awful, awful. While maybe too light weight for the album, the Bside to Cherish i think, Supernatural, would have worked therte much more. (Speaking of B-sides I still think it's criminal Has to Be was left off ROL).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHvC5E_x6tk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1hrQ7s_KII

Edited March 18, 2012 by EricMontreal22

[Angela]

It's so cute in a Madonna type of way. She's so super hyped she sang it so well w/o a back up track that she kicks the chair, high fives her girls and grabs her crotch (like a man) in self-congrats.

I love this Tour performance of Rain (The Girlie Show Tour). She's simply sitting down and singing with passion...

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[EricMontreal22]

I kinda love I'm Breathless but it's not very good really. I give it proprs for Madonna finally getting my fave songwriter Stephen Sondheim into the pop charts, albeit briefly, thanks to the three songs he wrote for her apparently just as a favour to his good friend Warren Beatty for the film. He also apparently made her cry when recording the songs because he complained so much about how flat she was (to be fair the songs, More in particular are pretty difficult).

[EricMontreal22]

One of the highlights of what I think--at least DVD wise--is her best tour.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'm Breathless only sold well because it had Vogue slapped on it. She never really promoted it.

Hanky Panky was also a top 10 hit with no video and it wasn't radio friendly.

Sooner or Later won the Oscar for Best Original Song, and she performed it that night. Michael Jackson was her date to the Oscar's that year, lol.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dzVV6rrY0Ow" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Edited March 18, 2012 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Angela]

I don't hate the song. Even the worst songs on LAP are pretty decent. I do think that Madonna and Prince could have done something epic and did something meh instead.

Another Tour performance I really enjoyed, from Confessions. I think this was after she injured her spine after a horse riding accident. The symbolism of getting back on the saddle is great and her showing her x-rays amuses me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07DBz9ZUGcA

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Love Song had a purpose on the album, as it was her post-divorce album.

Not a favourite of mine, but it plays well into the theme of the album - which is still her most raw and vulnerable album.

Oh Father will always be a highlight for me, and the David Fincher directed video is a masterpiece.

Though the song wasn't really commercial and broke her string of top 10 singles when it peaked at #20.

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[Angela]

Man, I'm just imaging poor Michael with her. He's so different (innocent) and she's so different (not innocent). I'm sure he initially liked the idea (he married Elvis' daughter after all), but...

I know he trash talked her a little after they're brief "dating" period because he felt she was trash talking him in the press. He was being kind of sexist and said she's jealous because she can't be a man and will therefore never have fans fainting for her like he does. On the dates, he said she told him straight out that they were not going to go to Disneyland or any s--t like that, lol. The she tried to take him to bar with cross-dressing people. I think she probably just wanted him to embrace his sexuality and grown up side whatever came with that.

[Angela]

Word to the father, Oh Father was my favorite on that album. The song was epic. The video is epic. I think it was probably too heavy for some. It was commercial in sound, but it's so heavy in topic...

ETA: Give me a minute, I'll find one that embeds. Or not. Well, just follow Y&R's link.

Til Death Do Us Part was another heavy but good one. This was definitely less commercial than Oh Father. I strongly related to this whole album due to my home life when I was a child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEEE0Tl1JX0

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Their date to the Oscar's was clearly for publicity. They knew quite a few people in common.

Before he had a legendary partnership with Madonna. Freddy DeMann, who was Madonna's manager and business partner from Like A Virgin until Evita, was Michael's manger.

DeMann was one of the best managers in the music industry ever.

The bridge between Oh Father and Dear Jessie (which was released in Europe) was epic on the album.

Such a contrast between the two songs and that bridge just highlights the irony.

[DRW50]

For some reason when I was around back then I always blurred this video together with Toy Soldiers. The black and white parts anyway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvdLovAaYzM

[EricMontreal22]

Madonna and Michael seem like such a weird pairing--I doubt they would have even had anything to talk about in the limo.... To be fair, she did make Breathless a large part of her tour.

It's just not a good song though--if Prince could give Nothing Compares to Sinead you would think he could come up with something better for Madonna.

But we agree on the video for Oh Father--I think it's an amazing and powerful, without being too obvious, visual about the damages of sexual abuse.