Madonna | ||
| Allmusic Biography : After stars reach a certain point, its easy to forget what they became famous for and concentrate solely on their personas. Madonna is such a star. She rocketed to stardom so quickly in 1984 that it obscured most of her musical virtues. Appreciating her music became even more difficult as the decade wore on, as discussing her lifestyle became more common. However, one of Madonnas greatest achievements is how she has manipulated the media and the public with her music, her videos, her publicity, and her sexuality. Arguably, Madonna was the first female pop star to have complete control of her music and image. She moved from her native Michigan to New York in 1977 with dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. She studied with choreographer Alvin Ailey and modeled. In 1979, she became part of the Patrick Hernandez Revue, a disco outfit that had the hit "Born to Be Alive." She traveled to Paris with Hernandez; it was there that she met Dan Gilroy, who would soon become her boyfriend. Upon returning to New York, the pair formed the Breakfast Club, a pop/dance group. Madonna originally played drums for the band, but she soon became the lead singer. In 1980, she left the band and formed Emmy with her former boyfriend, drummer Stephen Bray. Soon, Bray and Madonna broke off from the group and began working on some dance/disco-oriented tracks. A demo tape of these tracks worked its way to Mark Kamins, a New York-based DJ/producer. Kamins directed the tape to Sire Records, which signed the singer in 1982. Kamins produced Madonnas first single, "Everybody," which became a club and dance hit at the end of 1982; her second single, 1983s "Physical Attraction," was another club hit. In June of 1983, she had her third club hit with the bubbly "Holiday," which was produced by Jellybean Benitez. Madonnas self-titled debut album was released in September of 1983; "Holiday" became her first Top 40 hit the following month. "Borderline" became her first Top Ten hit in March of 1984, beginning a remarkable string of 17 consecutive Top Ten hits. While "Lucky Star" was climbing to number four, Madonna began working on her first starring role in a feature film, Susan Seidelmans Desperately Seeking Susan. Madonnas second album, the Nile Rodgers-produced Like a Virgin, was released at the end of 1984. The title track hit number one in December, staying at the top of the charts for six weeks; it was the start of a whirlwind year for the singer. During 1985, Madonna became an international celebrity, selling millions of records on the strength of her stylish, sexy videos and forceful personality. After "Material Girl" became a number two hit in March, Madonna began her first tour, supported by the Beastie Boys. "Crazy for You" became her second number one single in May. Desperately Seeking Susan was released in July, becoming a box office hit; it also prompted a planned video release of A Certain Sacrifice, a low-budget erotic drama she filmed in 1979. A Certain Sacrifice wasnt the only embarrassing skeleton in the closet dragged into the light during the summer of 1985 -- both Playboy and Penthouse published nude photos of Madonna that she posed for in 1977. Nevertheless, her popularity continued unabated, with thousands of teenage girls adopting her sexy appearance, being dubbed "Madonna wannabes." In August, she married actor Sean Penn. Madonna began collaborating with Patrick Leonard at the beginning of 1986; Leonard would co-write most of her biggest hits in the 80s, including "Live to Tell," which hit number one in June of 1986. A more ambitious and accomplished record than her two previous albums, True Blue was released the following month, to both more massive commercial success (it was a number one in both the U.S. and the U.K., selling over five million copies in America alone) and critical acclaim. "Papa Dont Preach" became her fourth number one hit in the U.S. While her musical career was thriving, her film career took a savage hit with the November release of Shanghai Surprise. Starring Madonna and Penn, the comedy received terrible reviews, which translated into disastrous box office returns. At the beginning of 1987, she had her fifth number one single with "Open Your Heart," the third number one from True Blue alone. The title cut from the soundtrack of her third feature film, Whos That Girl?, was another chart-topping hit, although the film itself was another box office bomb. The year 1988 was relatively quiet for Madonna as she spent the first half of the year acting in David Mamets Speed the Plow on Broadway. In the meantime, she released the remix album You Can Dance. After withdrawing the divorce papers she filed at the beginning of 1988, she divorced Penn at the beginning of 1989. Like a Prayer, released in the spring of 1989, was her most ambitious and far-reaching album, incorporating elements of pop, rock, and dance. It was another number one hit and launched the number one title track as well as "Express Yourself," "Cherish," and "Keep It Together," three more Top Ten hits. In April 1990, she began her massive Blonde Ambition tour, which ran throughout the entire year. "Vogue" became a number one hit in May, setting the stage for her co-starring role in Warren Beattys Dick Tracy; it was her most successful film appearance since Desperately Seeking Susan. Madonna released a greatest-hits album, The Immaculate Collection, at the end of the year. It featured two new songs, including the number one single "Justify My Love," which sparked another controversy with its sexy video; the second new song, "Rescue Me," became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in U.S. chart history, entering the charts at number 15. Truth or Dare, a documentary of the Blonde Ambition tour, was released to positive reviews and strong ticket sales in the spring of 1991. Madonna returned to the charts in the summer of 1992 with the number one "This Used to Be My Playground," a single featured in the film A League of Their Own, which featured the singer in a small part. Later that year, Madonna released Sex, an expensive, steel-bound soft-core pornographic book that featured hundreds of erotic photographs of herself, several models, and other celebrities -- including Isabella Rossellini, Big Daddy Kane, Naomi Campbell, and Vanilla Ice -- as well as selected prose. Sex received scathing reviews and enormous negative publicity, yet that didnt stop the accompanying album, Erotica, from selling over two million copies. Bedtime Stories, released two years later, was a more subdued affair than Erotica. Initially, it didnt chart as impressively, prompting some critics to label her a has-been, yet the album spawned her biggest hit, "Take a Bow," which spent seven weeks at number one. It also featured the Björk-penned "Bedtime Stories," which became her first single not to make the Top 40; its follow-up, "Human Nature," also failed to crack the Top 40. Nevertheless, Bedtime Stories marked her seventh album to go multi-platinum. Beginning in 1995, Madonna began one of her most subtle image makeovers as she lobbied for the title role in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webbers Evita. Backing away from the overt sexuality of Erotica and Bedtime Stories, Madonna recast herself as an upscale sophisticate, and the compilation Something to Remember fit into the plan nicely. Released in the fall of 1995, around the same time she won the coveted role of Evita Peron, the album was comprised entirely of ballads, designed to appeal to the mature audience that would also be the target of Evita. As the filming was completed, Madonna announced she was pregnant and her daughter, Lourdes, was born late in 1996, just as Evita was scheduled for release. The movie was greeted with generally positive reviews and Madonna began a campaign for an Oscar nomination that resulted in her winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy), but not the coveted Academy Award nomination. The soundtrack for Evita, however, was a modest hit, with a dance remix of "Dont Cry for Me Argentina" and the newly written "You Must Love Me" both becoming hits. During 1997, she worked with producer William Orbit on her first album of new material since 1994s Bedtime Stories. The resulting release, Ray of Light, was heavily influenced by electronica, techno, and trip-hop, thereby updating her classic dance-pop sound for the late 90s. Ray of Light received uniformly excellent reviews upon its March 1998 release and debuted at number two on the charts. Within a month, the record was shaping up to be her biggest album since Like a Prayer. Two years later she returned with Music, which reunited her with Orbit and also featured production work from Mark "Spike" Stent and Mirwais, a French electropop producer/musician in the vein of Daft Punk and Air. The year 2000 also saw the birth of Madonnas second child, Rocco, whom she had with filmmaker Guy Ritchie; the two married at the very end of the year. With Ritchie as director and Madonna as star, the pair released a remake of the film Swept Away in 2002; the movie didnt fare well with critics or at the box office. Her sober 2003 album, American Life, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts but it didnt generate any hit singles in America; it did produce two hit singles in the U.K., "Nothing Fails" and "Love Profusion." That same year also saw the release of Madonnas successful childrens book, The English Roses, which was followed by several more novels in future years. Confessions on a Dance Floor marked her return to music, specifically to the dance-oriented material that had made her a star. Released in late 2005, the album topped the Billboard 200 chart and was accompanied by a worldwide tour in 2006, the same year that Im Going to Tell You a Secret, a CD/DVD made during her Re-Invention Tour, came out. In 2007, Madonna released another CD/DVD set, The Confessions Tour, this time chronicling her tour of the same name. She inched closer to the completion of her Warner Bros. contract with 2008s Hard Candy, featuring collaborations with the Neptunes and Timbaland. As poorly received as it was, the bold album boasted a Top Five hit in "4 Minutes," and it was supported with the Sticky & Sweet Tour, which concluded in September 2009 (a month prior to her filing for divorce from Ritchie) and produced yet another CD/DVD package, released in 2010. It was her final Warner Bros. release and set the stage for her long-term recording deal with Live Nation. Madonna began work on her 12th album midway through 2011, with the goal of releasing it early in 2012. The subsequent full-length, MDNA, featured production from French electronic musician and DJ Martin Solveig, as well as longtime collaborator Orbit. The albums title, an abbreviation of Madonnas name, appeared on the heels of her performance at the 2012 Super Bowl. Preceded by the Top Ten single "Give Me All Your Luvin" (featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.), MDNA debuted at number one across the world, including the U.S. and U.K. Her MDNA Tour took up the rest of the year, as she performed in Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America. She filmed a concert special, and also released the live album MDNA World Tour in September 2013. At the beginning of 2014, Madonna announced that she was starting work on her 13th studio album. Taking to social media to capture the process, she revealed that recording sessions with the likes of Avicii, Diplo, and Kanye West had taken place. Excerpts from the sessions leaked toward the end of 2014, forcing Madonna to release a digital teaser EP by the end of the year. The full release of Rebel Heart came in March 2015; the album peaked at number two in the U.S. and U.K. She toured from the fall of 2015 to the spring of 2016, playing more than 75 dates in North America, Europe, and Asia. In April 2019, Madonna began to issue singles leading up to the June release of her 14th album, Madame X, starting with "Medellín," a collaboration with Colombian reggaeton singer Maluma. The album featured co-production by Mirwais, Mike Dean, Diplo, and Jason Evigan, as well as collaborations with guest artists including Brazilian singer Anitta and rappers Swae Lee and Quavo. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 24 Title: Madonna Released: 1983-07-26 Tracks: 8 Duration: 41:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lucky Star (05:37) 2 Borderline (05:21) 3 Burning Up (03:45) 4 I Know It (03:46) 5 Holiday (06:09) 6 Think of Me (04:56) 7 Physical Attraction (06:40) 8 Everybody (04:55) |
| Madonna : Allmusic album Review : Although she never left it behind, its been easy to overlook that Madonna began her career as a disco diva in an era that didnt have disco divas. It was an era where disco was anathema to the mainstream pop, and she had a huge role in popularizing dance music as a popular music again, crashing through the door Michael Jackson opened with Thriller. Certainly, her undeniable charisma, chutzpah, and sex appeal had a lot to do with that -- it always did, throughout her career -- but she wouldnt have broken through if the music wasnt so good. And her eponymous debut isnt simply good, it set the standard for dance-pop for the next 20 years. Why did it do so? Because it cleverly incorporated great pop songs with stylish, state-of-the-art beats, and it shrewdly walked a line between being a rush of sound and a showcase for a dynamic lead singer. This is music where all of the elements may not particularly impressive on their own -- the arrangement, synth, and drum programming are fairly rudimentary; Madonnas singing isnt particularly strong; the songs, while hooky and memorable, couldnt necessarily hold up on their own without the production -- but taken together, its utterly irresistible. And thats the hallmark of dance-pop: every element blends together into an intoxicating sound, where the hooks and rhythms are so hooky, the shallowness is something to celebrate. And there are some great songs here, whether its the effervescent "Lucky Star," "Borderline," and "Holiday" or the darker, carnal urgency of "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction." And if Madonna would later sing better, she illustrates here that a good voice is secondary to dance-pop. Whats really necessary is personality, since that sells a song where there are no instruments that sound real. Here, Madonna is on fire, and thats the reason why it launched her career, launched dance-pop, and remains a terrific, nearly timeless, listen. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 24 Title: Like a Virgin Released: 1984-11-13 Tracks: 9 Duration: 38:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Material Girl (04:00) 2 Angel (03:56) 3 Like a Virgin (03:38) 4 Over and Over (04:12) 5 Love Don’t Live Here Anymore (04:49) 6 Dress You Up (04:01) 7 Shoo‐Bee‐Doo (05:17) 8 Pretender (04:30) 9 Stay (04:07) |
| Like a Virgin : Allmusic album Review : Madonna had hits with her first album, even reaching the Top Ten twice with "Borderline" and "Lucky Star," but she didnt become a superstar, an icon, until her second album, Like a Virgin. She saw the opening for this kind of explosion and seized it, bringing in former Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers in as a producer, to help her expand her sound, and then carefully constructed her image as an ironic, ferociously sexy Boy Toy; the Steven Meisel-shot cover, capturing her as a buxom bride with a Boy Toy belt buckle on the front, and dressing after a night of passion, was as key to her reinvention as the music itself. Yet, theres no discounting the best songs on the record, the moments when her grand concepts are married to music that transcends the mere classification of dance-pop. These, of course, are "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin," the two songs that made her an icon, and the two songs that remain definitive statements. They overshadow the rest of the record, not just because they are a perfect match of theme and sound, but because the rest of the album vacillates wildly in terms of quality. The other two singles, "Angel" and "Dress You Up," are excellent standard-issue dance-pop, and there are other moments that work well ("Over and Over," "Stay," the earnest cover of Rose Royces "Love Dont Live Here"), but overall, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts -- partially because the singles are so good, but also because on the first album, she stunned with style and a certain joy. Here, the calculation is apparent, and while thats part of Madonnas essence -- even something that makes her fun -- it throws the records balance off a little too much for it to be consistent, even if it justifiably made her a star. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 24 Title: True Blue Released: 1986-06-30 Tracks: 9 Duration: 40:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Papa Don’t Preach (04:29) 2 Open Your Heart (04:13) 3 White Heat (04:40) 4 Live to Tell (05:51) 5 Where’s the Party (04:21) 6 True Blue (04:18) 7 La isla bonita (04:02) 8 Jimmy Jimmy (03:55) 9 Love Makes the World Go Round (04:31) |
| True Blue : Allmusic album Review : True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became Madonna the Superstar -- the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer who knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews -- and make good music while shes at it. To complain that True Blue is calculated is to not get Madonna -- thats a large part of what she does, and she is exceptional at it, but she also makes fine music. Whats brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as shes baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as "Papa Dont Preach," where she defiantly states shes keeping her baby. Her real trick here, however, is transcending her status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl group pop ("True Blue," "Jimmy Jimmy") to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves ("Open Your Heart," "Wheres the Party"), touching on Latin rhythms ("La Isla Bonita"), making a plea for world peace ("Love Makes the World Go Round"), and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover ("Live to Tell"). Its even harder to have the entire album play as an organic, cohesive work. Certainly, theres some calculation behind the entire thing, but what matters is the end result, one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonnas true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 24 Title: The Early Years Released: 1989 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:33:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Cosmic Climb (04:45) 2 We Are the Gods (03:51) 3 Wild Dancing (03:50) 4 Time to Dance (04:18) 5 On the Street (edit mix) (03:41) 6 Oh My (disco mix) (04:18) 7 Shake (edit mix) (03:14) 8 Get Down (edit mix) (03:40) 9 Time to Dance (instrumental) (06:43) 10 Shake (instrumental mix) (07:44) 1 Cosmic Climb (extended dance mix) (05:44) 2 Wild Dancing (dance mix) (06:12) 3 Time to Dance (extended mix) (06:44) 4 On the Street (extended dance mix) (06:13) 5 Oh My (edit mix) (06:42) 6 Shake (extended mix) (07:53) 7 Get Down (07:22) |
| The Early Years : Allmusic album Review : The audio equivalent of an embarrassing high school photo, Madonna: The Early Years is a collection of her earliest recordings and her first forays into dance music. However, anyone looking for songs along the lines of "Holiday" or "Lucky Star" will be sorely disappointed -- the clunky rhythms, tuneless melodies, and annoying samples on "Time to Dance," "Wild Dancing," and "On the Street" are a far cry from the caliber of work Madonna produced just a short time after these tracks were recorded. Most disappointing for fans is the fact that on several tracks, Madonna shares the vocal duties with a pretentious male singer who makes the songs impossible to listen to with a straight face. The throwaway "We Are the Gods" is probably the collections best track because its so silly, but nothing on Madonna: The Early Years does justice to the artist or her fans. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 24 Title: Like a Prayer Released: 1989-03-20 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Like a Prayer (05:42) 2 Express Yourself (04:39) 3 Love Song (04:53) 4 Till Death Do Us Part (05:18) 5 Promise to Try (03:38) 6 Cherish (05:03) 7 Dear Jessie (04:22) 8 Oh Father (04:59) 9 Keep It Together (05:03) 10 Spanish Eyes (05:18) 11 Act of Contrition (LP version) (02:19) |
| Like a Prayer : Allmusic album Review : Out of all of Madonnas albums, Like a Prayer is her most explicit attempt at a major artistic statement. Even though it is apparent that she is trying to make a "serious" album, the kaleidoscopic variety of pop styles on Like a Prayer is quite dazzling. Ranging from the deep funk of "Express Yourself" and "Keep It Together" to the haunting "Oh Father" and "Like a Prayer," Madonna displays a commanding sense of songcraft, making this her best and most consistent album. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 24 Title: The Immaculate Collection Released: 1990-11-12 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:13:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Holiday (04:06) 2 Lucky Star (03:38) 3 Borderline (03:59) 4 Like a Virgin (03:11) 5 Material Girl (03:53) 6 Crazy for You (remix) (03:44) 7 Into the Groove (04:09) 8 Live to Tell (05:18) 9 Papa Don’t Preach (04:11) 10 Open Your Heart (03:51) 11 La Isla Bonita (03:48) 12 Like a Prayer (05:51) 13 Express Yourself (04:00) 14 Cherish (03:51) 15 Vogue (05:18) 16 Justify My Love (04:58) 17 Rescue Me (05:31) |
| The Immaculate Collection : Allmusic album Review : On the surface, the single-disc hits compilation The Immaculate Collection appears to be a definitive retrospective of Madonnas heyday in the 80s. After all, it features 17 of Madonnas greatest hits, from "Holiday" and "Like a Virgin" to "Like a Prayer" and "Vogue." However, looks can be deceiving. Its true that The Immaculate Collection contains the bulk of Madonnas hits, but there are several big hits that arent present, including "Angel," "Dress You Up," "True Blue," "Whos That Girl," and "Causing a Commotion." The songs that are included are frequently altered. Everything on the collection is remastered in Q-sound, which gives an exaggerated sense of stereo separation that often distorts the original intent of the recordings. Furthermore, several songs are faster than their original versions and some are faded out earlier than either their single or album versions, while others are segued together. In other words, while all the hits are present, theyre simply not in their correct versions. Nevertheless, The Immaculate Collection remains a necessary purchase, because it captures everything Madonna is about and it proves that she was one of the finest singles artists of the 80s. Until the original single versions are compiled on another album, The Immaculate Collection is the closest thing to a definitive retrospective. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 24 Title: Give It to Me: The Early Years Released: 1991 Tracks: 10 Duration: 49:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Give It to Me (03:51) 2 Shake (03:09) 3 Get Down (03:45) 4 Lets Go Dancing (03:32) 5 Wild Dancing (06:11) 6 Time to Dance (06:45) 7 We Are the Gods (03:51) 8 Cosmic Climb (05:31) 9 On the Street (06:11) 10 Oh My! (06:40) |
 | Album: 8 of 24 Title: Erotica Released: 1992-10-19 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:15:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Erotica (05:18) 2 Fever (05:00) 3 Bye Bye Baby (03:56) 4 Deeper and Deeper (05:33) 5 Where Life Begins (05:57) 6 Bad Girl (05:23) 7 Waiting (05:46) 8 Thief of Hearts (04:51) 9 Words (05:55) 10 Rain (05:26) 11 Why’s It So Hard (05:23) 12 In This Life (06:23) 13 Did You Do It? (04:54) 14 Secret Garden (05:32) |
| Erotica : Allmusic album Review : While it didnt set the charts on fire like her previous albums, the ambitious Erotica contains some of Madonnas best and most accomplished music (including the hit singles "Deeper and Deeper" and "Rain"), even if it runs a bit long. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 24 Title: The Best & the Rest of Madonna, Volume 2 Released: 1993 Tracks: 10 Duration: 52:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Wild Dancing (extended dance mix) (06:12) 2 Time to Dance (extended dance mix) (06:44) 3 On the Street (03:43) 4 We Are the Gods (03:51) 5 Cosmic Climb (04:46) 6 Time to Dance (04:18) 7 Cosmic Climb (extended dance mix) (05:44) 8 On the Street (extended dance mix) (06:13) 9 Wild Dancing (03:50) 10 Time to Dance (instrumental) (06:45) |
 | Album: 10 of 24 Title: Bedtime Stories Released: 1994-10-24 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Survival (03:31) 2 Secret (05:05) 3 I’d Rather Be Your Lover (04:39) 4 Don’t Stop (04:38) 5 Inside of Me (04:11) 6 Human Nature (04:53) 7 Forbidden Love (04:09) 8 Love Tried to Welcome Me (05:21) 9 Sanctuary (05:02) 10 Bedtime Story (04:53) 11 Take a Bow (05:21) |
| Bedtime Stories : Allmusic album Review : Perhaps Madonna correctly guessed that the public overdosed on the raw carnality of her book Sex. Perhaps she wanted to offer a more optimistic take on sex than the distant Erotica. Either way, Bedtime Stories is a warm album, with deep, gently pulsating grooves; the albums title isnt totally tongue-in-cheek. The best songs on the album ("Secret," "Inside of Me," "Sanctuary," "Bedtime Story," "Take a Bow") slowly work their melodies into the subconscious as the bass pulses. In that sense, it does offer an antidote to Erotica, which was filled with deep but cold grooves. The entire production of Bedtime Stories suggests that she wants listeners to acknowledge that her music isnt one-dimensional. She has succeeded with that goal, since Bedtime Stories offers her most humane and open music; its even seductive. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 24 Title: Les Génies du Rock, Volume 113: Give It To Me Released: 1995 Tracks: 10 Duration: 41:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Give It to Me (03:47) 2 Shake (03:11) 3 Get Down (03:45) 4 Time to Dance (04:18) 5 Wild Dancing (03:50) 6 Lets Go Dancing (03:30) 7 We Are the Gods (03:51) 8 Cosmic Climb (04:48) 9 On the Street (03:42) 10 Oh My! (06:40) |
 | Album: 12 of 24 Title: Wild Dancing Released: 1995 Tracks: 8 Duration: 31:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Wild Dancing (03:53) 2 Lets Go Dancing (03:31) 3 Cosmic Climb (04:50) 4 On the Street (03:43) 5 Give It to Me (03:48) 6 Shake (03:11) 7 Get Down (03:48) 8 Time to Dance (04:19) |
 | Album: 13 of 24 Title: Something to Remember Released: 1995-11-03 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:11:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Want You (06:24) 2 I’ll Remember (04:23) 3 Take a Bow (05:21) 4 You’ll See (04:41) 5 Crazy for You (04:04) 6 This Used to Be My Playground (single version) (05:10) 7 Live to Tell (05:51) 8 Love Don’t Live Here Anymore (remix) (04:54) 9 Something to Remember (05:04) 10 Forbidden Love (04:09) 11 One More Chance (04:28) 12 Rain (05:26) 13 Oh Father (04:59) 14 I Want You (orchestral) (06:04) |
| Something to Remember : Allmusic album Review : Something to Remember is Madonnas second greatest-hits collection, compiling a selection of the singers ballads. Several of her biggest hits are included, including the number ones "Crazy for You," "Live to Tell," "This Used to Be My Playground," and "Take a Bow," as well as a handful of first-rate album tracks (a remixed "Love Dont Live Here Anymore," "Something to Remember," and three new tracks, most notably a version of Marvin Gayes "I Want You" recorded with the British trip-hop group Massive Attack. Only two tracks on the album overlap with The Immaculate Collection, and the disc also marks the first appearance of "This Used to Be My Playground" and "Ill Remember" on one of Madonnas albums. Throughout the album, Madonna proves that shes a terrific singer whose voice has improved over the years. Not one of the tracks is second-rate, and the best songs on Something to Remember rank among the best pop music of the 80s and 90s. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 24 Title: Ray of Light Released: 1998-02-23 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:06:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Drowned World / Substitute for Love (05:08) 2 Swim (05:00) 3 Ray of Light (05:20) 4 Candy Perfume Girl (04:36) 5 Skin (06:21) 6 Nothing Really Matters (04:26) 7 Sky Fits Heaven (04:47) 8 Shanti / Ashtangi (04:29) 9 Frozen (06:12) 10 The Power of Good‐Bye (04:12) 11 To Have and Not to Hold (05:22) 12 Little Star (05:18) 13 Mer Girl (05:31) |
| Ray of Light : Allmusic album Review : Returning to pop after a four-year hiatus, Madonna enlisted respected techno producer William Orbit as her collaborator for Ray of Light, a self-conscious effort to stay abreast of contemporary trends. Unlike other veteran artists who attempted to come to terms with electronica, Madonna was always a dance artist, so its no real shock to hear her sing over breakbeats, pulsating electronics, and blunted trip-hop beats. Still, its mildly surprising that it works as well as it does, largely due to Madonna and Orbits subtle attack. Theyve reined in the beats, tamed electronicas eccentricities, and retained her flair for pop melodies, creating the first mainstream pop album that successfully embraces techno. Sonically, its the most adventurous record she has made, but its far from inaccessible, since the textures are alluring and the songs have a strong melodic foundation, whether its the swirling title track, the meditative opener, "Substitute for Love," or the ballad "Frozen." For all of its attributes, theres a certain distance to Ray of Light, born of the carefully constructed productions and Madonnas newly mannered, technically precise singing. It all results in her most mature and restrained album, which is an easy achievement to admire, yet not necessarily an easy one to love. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 24 Title: Music Released: 2000-09-18 Tracks: 12 Duration: 54:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Music (03:45) 2 Impressive Instant (03:37) 3 Runaway Lover (04:47) 4 I Deserve It (04:23) 5 Amazing (03:43) 6 Nobody’s Perfect (04:58) 7 Don’t Tell Me (04:40) 8 What It Feels Like for a Girl (04:43) 9 Paradise (Not for Me) (06:33) 10 Gone (03:29) 11 American Pie (04:34) 12 Cyber-Raga (05:32) |
| Music : Allmusic album Review : Filled with vocoders, stylish neo-electro beats, dalliances with trip-hop, and, occasionally, eerie synthesized atmospherics, Music blows by in a kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style, and substance. It has so many layers that its easily as self-aware and earnest as Ray of Light, where her studiousness complemented a record heavy on spirituality and reflection. Here, she mines that territory occasionally, especially as the record winds toward its conclusion, but she applies her new tricks toward celebrations of music itself. Thats not only true of the full-throttle dance numbers but also for ballads like "I Deserve It" and "Nobodys Perfect," where the sentiments are couched in electronic effects and lolling, rolling beats. Ultimately, that results in the least introspective or revealing record Madonna has made since Like a Prayer, yet that doesnt mean she doesnt invest herself in the record. Working with a stable of producers, she has created an album that is her most explicitly musical and restlessly creative since, well, Like a Prayer. She may have sacrificed some cohesion for that willful creativity but its hard to begrudge her that, since so much of the album works. If, apart from the haunting closer "Gone," the Orbit collaborations fail to equal Ray of Light or "Beautiful Stranger," theyre still sleekly admirable, and theyre offset by the terrific Guy Sigsworth/Mark "Spike" Stent midtempo cut "What It Feels Like for a Girl" and Madonnas thriving partnership with Mirwais. This team is responsible for the heart of the record, with such stunners as the intricate, sensual, folk-psych "Dont Tell Me," the eerily seductive "Paradise (Not for Me)," and the thumping title track, which sounds funkier, denser, sexier with each spin. Whenever she works with Mirwais, Music truly comes alive with the spark and style. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 24 Title: GHV2: Greatest Hits, Volume 2 Released: 2001-11-09 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:08:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Deeper and Deeper (7" edit) (04:55) 2 Erotica (radio edit) (04:33) 3 Human Nature (radio version) (04:32) 4 Secret (edit) (04:28) 5 Dont Cry for Me Argentina (radio edit) (04:51) 6 Bedtime Story (edit) (04:07) 7 The Power of Good‐Bye (04:12) 8 Beautiful Stranger (William Orbit radio edit) (03:58) 9 Frozen (edit) (05:09) 10 Take a Bow (edit) (04:32) 11 Ray of Light (radio edit) (04:35) 12 Don’t Tell Me (04:40) 13 What It Feels Like for a Girl (04:43) 14 Drowned World / Substitute for Love (05:08) 15 Music (03:45) |
 | Album: 17 of 24 Title: American Life Released: 2003-04-21 Tracks: 11 Duration: 49:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 American Life (04:57) 2 Hollywood (04:23) 3 I’m So Stupid (04:08) 4 Love Profusion (03:37) 5 Nobody Knows Me (04:39) 6 Nothing Fails (04:48) 7 Intervention (04:54) 8 X-Static Process (03:49) 9 Mother and Father (04:33) 10 Die Another Day (04:36) 11 Easy Ride (05:05) |
| American Life : Allmusic album Review : American Life is an album performed by a vocalist who has abandoned the U.S. for the U.K. and co-produced by a French techno mastermind, recorded during a time of strife in America, and released just after the country completed a war. Given that context and given that the vocalist is arguably the biggest star in the world, the title cant help but carry some import, carry the weight of social commentary. And it follows through on that promise, sometimes explicitly and sometimes implicitly, but either way, American Life winds up as the first Madonna record with ambitions as serious as a textbook. It plays as somberly as either Like a Prayer or Ray of Light, just as it delves into an insular darkness as deep as Erotica while retaining the club savviness of the brilliant, multi-colored Music. This is an odd mixture, particularly when its infused with a searching, dissatisfied undercurrent and a musical sensibility that is at once desperate and adventurous, pitched halfway between singer/songwriterisms and skimming of current club culture. Its pulled tight between these two extremes, particularly because the intimate guitar-based songs (and there are a lot of them, almost all beginning with just her and a guitar) are all personal meditations, with the dance songs usually functioning as vehicles for social commentary. Even if the sparer ballads are introspective, theyre treated as soundscapes by producer Mirwais, giving them an unsettling eerie quality that is mirrored by the general hollowness of the club songs. While there are some interesting sounds on these tracks, they sound bleak and hermetically sealed, separate from whats happening either in the mainstream or in the underground. Perhaps thats because shes aligned herself with such flash-in-the-pan trends as electroclash, a hipster movement thats more theoretical than musical, whose ill effects can be heard on the roundly panned James Bond theme "Die Another Day," featured toward the end of American Life. Then again, it could also be that this is the first time that Madonna has elected to rap -- frequently and frenetically -- on a record, something that logistically would fit with Mirwais dense, house-heavy productions, but sound embarrassingly awkward coming out of her mouth. But that insular feel also comes from the smaller-scale, confessional songs, particularly because Mirwais doesnt give them depth and the songs themselves are imbalanced, never quite having a notable hook in the music or words. Even so, theres a lot thats interesting about American Life -- the half-hearted stabs at politics fall aside, and there are things bubbling in the production that are quite infectious, while the stretch from "Nobody Knows Me" to "X-Static Process" in the middle of the record can be quite moving. But, overall, American Life is better for what it promises than what it delivers, and its better in theory than practice. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 24 Title: Confessions on a Dance Floor Released: 2005-11-11 Tracks: 12 Duration: 56:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hung Up (05:36) 2 Get Together (05:30) 3 Sorry (04:43) 4 Future Lovers (04:51) 5 I Love New York (04:11) 6 Let It Will Be (04:18) 7 Forbidden Love (04:22) 8 Jump (03:46) 9 How High (04:40) 10 Isaac (06:03) 11 Push (03:57) 12 Like It or Not (04:31) |
| Confessions on a Dance Floor : Allmusic album Review : Given the cold shoulder Madonnas 2003 album American Life received by critics and audiences alike -- it may have gone platinum, but apart from the Bond theme “Die Another Day,” released in advance of the album, it generated no new Top Ten singles (in fact, its title track barely cracked the Top 40) -- its hard not to read its 2005 follow-up, Confessions on a Dance Floor, as a back-to-basics move of sorts: after a stumble, shes returning to her roots, namely the discos and clubs where she launched her career in the early 80s. Its not just that shes returning to dance music -- in a way, shes been making hardcore dance albums ever since 1998s Ray of Light, her first full-on flirtation with electronica -- but that shes revamping and updating disco on Confessions instead of pursuing a bolder direction. While its true to a certain extent that contemporary dance music is still recycling and reinventing these songs -- besides, anything 80s is in vogue in 2005 -- coming from Madonna, it sounds like a retreat, an inadvertent apology that shes no longer on the cutting edge, or at least an admission that shes inching ever closer to 50. And no matter how she may disguise it beneath glistening layers of synths, or by sequencing the album as a nonstop party, Confessions on a Dance Floor is the first album where Madonna seems like a veteran musician. Not only is there a sense of conscious craft to the album, in how the sounds and the songs segue together, but in how it explicitly references the past -- both her own and club music in the larger sense -- the music seems disassociated from the present; Madonna is reworking familiar territory, not pushing forward, in a manner not dissimilar to how her former opening act the Beastie Boys returned to old-school rap on their defiantly old-fashioned 2004 album To the 5 Boroughs. But where the Beasties are buoyed by their camaraderie, Madonna has always been a stubborn individual, working well with collaborators but always, without question, existing on her own terms, and this obstinate nature is calcifying slightly into isolation on Confessions. Theres no emotional hook in the music, either in its icy surface or in the lyrics, and the hard-headed intention to deliver a hardcore dance album means that this feels cold and calculated, never warm or infectious. Of course, Madonna has always been calculated in her career, often to great effect, and this calculation does pay some dividends here. Taken on a purely sonic level, Confessions on a Dance Floor does its job: with the assistance of co-producer Stuart Price (Bloodshy & Avant produce two tracks, Mirwais produces one, while another was originally produced by Anders Bagge and Peer Astrom), she not only maintains the mood, but keeps the music moving nicely, never letting one track linger any longer than necessary. This is shimmering music falling just short of sexy, yet its alluring enough on the surface to make for a perfect soundtrack for pitch-black nights. Thats what the album was designed to do, and it works well on that level. It works well as a whole, but as a collection of individual tracks it falls apart, since there is a distinct lack of melodic or lyrical hooks. But Confessions wasnt intended to be pop music -- as the title makes clear, it was made for the dance clubs or, in other words, Madonnas core audience, who will surely be pleased by this sleek slice of style. But the fact that shes making music just for her core audience, not for the mass audience that shes had for 20 years, is yet another indication that Madge is slyly, slowly settling into her new status as a veteran (or perhaps as a survivor), and while she succeeds rather handsomely on those modest terms, its more than a little odd to hear Madonna scaling back her ambition and settling for less rather than hungering for more. | ||
 | Album: 19 of 24 Title: Greatest Hits Released: 2008 Tracks: 33 Duration: 2:36:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Everybody (04:57) 2 Holiday (06:09) 3 Lucky Star (05:37) 4 Like a Virgin (03:41) 5 Material Girl (04:05) 6 Crazy for You (04:06) 7 Angel (03:58) 8 Dress You Up (04:01) 9 Live to Tell (05:51) 10 Papa Don’t Preach (04:29) 11 True Blue (04:18) 12 Open Your Heart (04:13) 13 La isla bonita (04:02) 14 Who’s That Girl (03:59) 15 Like a Prayer (05:42) 16 Cherish (05:03) 17 Oh Father (04:59) 1 Justify My Love (04:58) 2 Hanky Panky (03:59) 3 Vogue (04:49) 4 This Used to Be My Playground (single version) (05:10) 5 Erotica (05:17) 6 Rain (05:26) 7 I’ll Remember (theme from “With Honors”) (04:22) 8 Take a Bow (05:20) 9 You’ll See (04:41) 10 Don’t Cry for Me Argentina (05:34) 11 Frozen (06:12) 12 Ray of Light (05:20) 13 The Power of Good‐Bye (04:12) 14 Beautiful Stranger (03:46) 15 Music (album version) (03:44) 16 What It Feels Like for a Girl (04:43) |
 | Album: 20 of 24 Title: Hard Candy Released: 2008-04-25 Tracks: 12 Duration: 56:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Candy Shop (04:16) 2 4 Minutes (04:05) 3 Give It 2 Me (04:48) 4 Heartbeat (04:03) 5 Miles Away (04:49) 6 Shes Not Me (06:05) 7 Incredible (06:20) 8 Beat Goes On (04:27) 9 Dance 2night (05:03) 10 Spanish Lesson (03:38) 11 Devil Wouldnt Recognize You (05:09) 12 Voices (03:39) |
| Hard Candy : Allmusic album Review : All through her career, it has been impossible to divorce Madonnas music from her image, as they feed off each other to the point where its hard to tell which came first, the concept or the songs. Glancing at the aggressively ugly cover to Hard Candy -- its blistering pinks and assaultive leather suggesting cheap bottom-barrel porno -- its hard not to wish that this is the one time Madge broke from tradition, offering music that wasnt quite as garish as her graphics. That is not the case. Hard Candy is all brutal hard edges and blaring primary colors, a relentlessly mercenary collection of cold beats and chilly innuendo. Sex has always been a driving force for Madonna, but shes never been as ruthlessly pornographic as she is here, not even when she cut Erotica as a companion to her softcore coffee-table book Sex back in 1992. For all of its carnality, Erotica was coy, belonging to the classic burlesque teasing tradition, but Hard Candy is utterly modern, a steely sex album for the age of Cialis. This new millennium is also an era when Top 40 has pretty much ceased to exist and a pop artist as sharp as Madonna knows this, so she has abandoned the idea of a big crossover hit -- the kind that Erotica courted with such gorgeous, shimmering adult contemporary ballads as "Rain" and "Bad Girl" -- and pitches Hard Candy directly toward her core audience of club-conscious, fashion-forward trendsetters. This is a smart play, as this is the audience that has always consisted of Madonna loyalists, and its also is a savvy way to negotiate the explosion of niches in 2008, but there are problems in her execution. Madonna relies on the Neptunes and the pair of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake for most of her modern makeover -- a good idea in theory as they are some of the biggest hitmakers of the decade, but the productions theyve constructed here sound a couple years old at best and at worst feel like theyre dressing Madonna in Nelly Furtados promiscuous hand-me-downs. Sometimes this can result in reasonably appealing grooves -- "Candy Shop" captures Pharrell Williams flair for slim, sleek grooves, "Dance 2night" conjures Timberlakes Off the Wall obsession nicely, and the icy heartbreak of "Miles Away" is a worthy successor to "What Goes Around Comes Around" -- but this also points out the albums main flaw: the track comes before the song. Madonnas greatness has always hinged on how she channeled dance trends into pop songs, placing equal emphasis on sound and melody, which provided a neat way to sneak underground club trends into the mainstream. Here, she cedes melodic hooks to rhythmic hooks -- witness the clanging, cluttered "4 Minutes," where shes drowned out by Timbalands farting four-note synth -- which might not have been so bad if the tracks were fresher and if the whole enterprise didnt feel quite so joylessly mechanical. Madonna doesnt even sound desperate to sit atop current trends; rather, shes following them because shes expected to do so. Theres a palpable sense of disinterest here, as if she just handed the reins over to Pharrell and Timba-Lake, trusting them to polish up this piece of stale candy. Maybe shes not into the music; maybe shes just running out this last album for Warner before she moves onto the greener pastures of Live Nation -- either way, Hard Candy is a rare thing: a lifeless Madonna album. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 24 Title: Celebration Released: 2009-09-18 Tracks: 36 Duration: 2:37:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hung Up (05:36) 2 Music (03:45) 3 Vogue (05:18) 4 4 Minutes (03:09) 5 Holiday (06:09) 6 Everybody (04:10) 7 Like a Virgin (03:11) 8 Into the Groove (04:43) 1 Like a Prayer (05:42) 2 Ray of Light (04:33) 3 Sorry (03:58) 4 Express Yourself (04:00) 5 Open Your Heart (03:51) 6 Borderline (03:59) 7 Secret (edit) (04:28) 8 Erotica (04:30) 9 Justify My Love (04:58) 10 Revolver (03:40) 1 Dress You Up (04:01) 2 Material Girl (04:00) 3 La isla bonita (04:02) 4 Papa Don’t Preach (04:29) 5 Lucky Star (03:38) 6 Burning Up (03:45) 7 Crazy for You (remix) (03:44) 8 Who’s That Girl (03:59) 9 Frozen (06:12) 1 Miles Away (03:45) 2 Take a Bow (05:20) 3 Live to Tell (05:51) 4 Beautiful Stranger (04:22) 5 Hollywood (04:23) 6 Die Another Day (04:36) 7 Don’t Tell Me (04:11) 8 Cherish (03:51) 9 Celebration (03:35) |
| Celebration : Allmusic album Review : Madonnas run at the top of the charts lasted so long, longer than almost any other star, its almost impossible to squeeze all the hits onto one collection. And so it is that Celebration, a double-disc, 36-track set that also has a companion single-disc condensation, misses a few songs, hits as gorgeous as "Rain" and as goofily camp as "Hanky Panky," but truth be told, theyre not greatly missed on this parade of pop genius thats hampered only slightly by its non-chronological order. Out of order, it does emphasize Madonnas consistency, and the bigger problem with the collection is that it mixes up album mixes, single edits, Q-Sound mixes pulled from The Immaculate Collection, and a couple of stray odd edits and mixes. This is a mess, but not quite enough to dilute what is one of the greatest bodies of work in modern pop -- even in this mixed-up confusion, these singles are a joy to hear. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 24 Title: MDNA Released: 2012-03-12 Tracks: 12 Duration: 50:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Girl Gone Wild (03:43) 2 Gang Bang (05:26) 3 I’m Addicted (04:33) 4 Turn Up the Radio (03:46) 5 Give Me All Your Luvin’ (03:22) 6 Some Girls (03:53) 7 Superstar (03:55) 8 I Dont Give A (04:19) 9 I’m a Sinner (04:52) 10 Love Spent (03:46) 11 Masterpiece (03:59) 12 Falling Free (05:13) |
| MDNA : Allmusic album Review : Most pop stars reach a point where they accept the slow march of time, but not Madonna. Time is Madonnas enemy -- an enemy to be battled or, better still, one to be ignored. She soldiers on, turning tougher, harder, colder with each passing album, winding up with a record as flinty as MDNA, the 2012 record that is her first release since departing Warner for Interscope. Thats hardly the only notable shift in Madonnas life since the 2008 release of Hard Candy. Since then, she has divorced film director Guy Ritchie and has seen her 80s persona co-opted and perverted by Lady Gaga, events so cataclysmic she cant help but address them on MDNA. Madonna hits the divorce dead-on, muttering about "pre-nups" when shes not fiercely boasting of shooting her lover in the head, and shes not exactly shy about reasserting her dominion over dance and pop, going so far as to draft Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. as maid servants paying their respect to the queen. Whatever part of MDNA that isnt devoted to divorce is dedicated to proving that Madonna remains the preeminent pop star, working harder than anybody to stay just on the edge of the vanguard. All this exertion leads to an excessively lean album: theres not an ounce of fat on MDNA, its all overly defined muscle, every element working with designated purpose. Such steely precision means theres no warmth on MDNA, not even when Madonna directly confesses emotions shes previously avoided, but the cool calculations here are preferable to the electronic mess of Hard Candy, not least because theres a focus that flows all the way down to the pop hooks, which are as strong and hard as those on Confessions on a Dance Floor even if theyre not quite so prominent as they were on that 2005 retro-masterwork. MDNA does echo the Euro-disco vibe of Confessions -- "Love Spent" consciously reworks the ABBA-sampling "Hung Up" -- yet as a whole it feels chillier, possibly due to that defensive undercurrent that pervades the album. Even if shes only measuring it in terms of pretenders to her throne, Madonna is aware of time passing yet shes compelled to fight it, to stay on top, to not slow down, to not waste a second of life, to keep working because the meaning of life is work, not pleasure. Naturally, all that labor can pay off, whether its through the malevolent pulse of "Gang Bang" or the clever "Beautiful Stranger" rewrite "Im a Sinner," but, ironically for all of Madonnas exhausting exertion elsewhere, these are the songs that benefit from her finely honed skills as a pop craftsman, illustrating that no matter how she combats it, she cant escape her age and may indeed be better off just embracing it. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 24 Title: Rebel Heart Released: 2015-03-05 Tracks: 25 Duration: 1:42:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Living for Love (03:38) 2 Devil Pray (04:05) 3 Ghosttown (04:08) 4 Unapologetic Bitch (03:50) 5 Illuminati (03:43) 6 Bitch I’m Madonna (03:47) 7 Hold Tight (03:37) 8 Joan of Arc (04:01) 9 Iconic (04:33) 10 HeartBreakCity (03:33) 11 Body Shop (03:39) 12 Holy Water (04:09) 13 Inside Out (04:23) 14 Wash All Over Me (04:00) 15 Best Night (03:33) 16 Veni Vidi Vici (04:39) 17 S.E.X. (04:11) 18 Messiah (03:22) 19 Rebel Heart (03:21) 1 Beautiful Scars (04:19) 2 Borrowed Time (03:25) 3 Addicted (03:33) 4 Graffiti Heart (03:38) 5 Living for Love (DJ Paulo & Jackinsky full vocal mix) (07:14) 6 Living for Love (Funk Generation & H3dRush dub) (06:07) |
| Rebel Heart : Allmusic album Review : Rebel Heart was introduced to the world with an indiscipline uncharacteristic of Madonna. Blame it on hackers who rushed out a clutch of unfinished tracks at the end of 2014, a few months before the records scheduled spring release. Madonna countered by putting six full tracks up on a digital service, a move that likely inflated the final Deluxe Edition of Rebel Heart up to a whopping 19 tracks weighing in at 75 minutes, but even that unveiling wasnt performed without a hitch: during an ornate performance of "Living for Love," she stumbled on-stage at the BRIT Awards. Such cracks in Madges armor happily play into the humanity coursing through Rebel Heart (maybe the hiccups were intentional after all?), a record that ultimately benefits from its daunting mess. All the extra space allows ample room for detours, letting Madonna indulge in both Erotica-era taboo-busting sleaze ("Holy Water") and feather-light pop ("Body Shop"). Although she takes a lingering look back at the past on "Veni Vidi Vici" -- her cataloging of past hits walks right on the edge of camp, kept away from the danger zone by a cameo from Nas -- Rebel Heart, like any Madonna album, looks forward. Opener "Living for Love" announces as much, as its classic disco is soon exploded into a decibel-shattering EDM pulse coming courtesy of co-producer Diplo. Madonna brings him back a few more times -- the pairing of the reggae-bouncing "Unapologetic Bitch" and Nicki Minaj showcase "Bitch Im Madonna," their titles suggesting vulgarity, their execution flinty and knowing -- but she cleverly balances these clubby bangers with "Devil Pray," an expert evocation of her folktronica Y2K co-produced by Avicii, and "Illuminati," a sleek, spooky collaboration with Kanye West. These are the anchors of the album, grounding the record when Madonna wanders into slow-churning meditation, unabashed revivals of her 90s adult contemporary mode, casual confession ("I spent sometime as a narcissist"), and defiant celebrations of questionable taste. Undoubtedly, some of this flair wouldve been excised if the record was a manageable length, but the blessing of the unwieldiness is that it does indeed represent a loosening of Madonnas legendary need for control. Certainly, the ambition remains, along with the hunger to remain on the bleeding edge, but shes allowing her past to mingle with her present, allowing her to seem human yet somewhat grander at the same time. | ||
 | Album: 24 of 24 Title: Madame X Released: 2019-06-14 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:10:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Medellín (04:58) 2 Dark Ballet (04:14) 3 God Control (06:19) 4 Future (03:53) 5 Batuka (04:57) 6 Killers Who Are Partying (05:28) 7 Crave (03:21) 8 Crazy (04:02) 9 Come Alive (04:02) 10 Extreme Occident (03:41) 11 Faz gostoso (04:05) 12 Bitch I’m Loca (02:50) 13 I Don’t Search I Find (04:08) 14 Looking for Mercy (04:50) 15 I Rise (03:44) 16 Medellín (Offer Nissim Madame X in the Sphinx) (05:30) |