You didn't really think I was going to devote a blog post to thumbnails, did you? No, what I'm sharing today are my responses to a small fan poll thingy asking to rank and review Madonna's twelve studio albums. I had no intention of sharing this here, it was just something I did for fun for some fellow fans. But I thought, hey, this is just the kind of thing I post here so why not share it. These are really brief (hence, thumbnails) and don't delve too deeply, but hopefully you like them anyway. Let's get started...
12. MDNA (2012) By any other singer MDNA would be heralded as a brilliant modern pop album. Unfortunately, Madonna has her towering back catalog to deal with. When you're the person who brought us Vogue, Like A Prayer, and Live To Tell, Girl Gone Wild ain't gonna cut it. MDNA does have it's moments: the pounding finale of Love Spent, the steady build and calculated release of I'm Addicted, the deranged climax of Gang Bang. All great songs, all pure Madonna. But for the most part MDNA feels halfhearted, like the songs are almost there but needed just a little more attention from their makers. A good enough effort nonetheless, and it gave us Madonna's best tour, so I can't be too mad at it. But I do hope next time around she has her head a little more in the game.
Key lyric: "Wrap your arms around my neck / It's time to deal so cut the deck / If you wanna play this game with me / I'm not like all the rest / Some girls are second best / Put your lovin' to the test -- you'll see"
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11. True Blue (1986) Madonna stepped it up for True Blue, delivering her strongest vocal performances to date and some solid songwriting, along with her first credited co-productions. Songs like Live To Tell and Papa Don't Preach evinced a new depth to her music and were a sign of the future. Personally, though I like True Blue, it's my least favorite of her 80's albums. It doesn't have the gravity of Like A Prayer and it's not as fun as her self-titled debut and Like A Virgin . It's somewhere in the middle musically and as such, so are my feelings on it.
Key lyric: "If I ran away I'd never have the strength to go very far / How would they hear the beating of my heart / Will it grow cold, the secret that I hide / Will I grow old / How will they hear, when will they learn, how will they know"
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10. American Life (2003) This is the natural continuation of 2000's Music, offering up a more cohesive listening experience than that album, although the highs here don't come close to those on the previous record. Still, it's a good album that Madonna clearly put a lot of heart and soul into. As good as it is I find I rarely listen to it nowadays outside of a couple of songs. At the very least I admire her for it. The woman who sang Vogue now disowning "the pretty pictures"? Pretty damn ballsy.
Key lyric: "I want to let go of all disappointment that's waiting for me / What I want is to live forever / Not defined by time and space / It's a lonely place"
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9. Madonna (1983) The album that started it all, and arguably the quintessential dance-pop album. It's the 80's pop album that people who don't like 80's pop will listen to. That says it all really.
Key lyric: "Unlike the others I'd do anything / I'm not the same, I have no shame / I'm on fire"
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8. Music (2000) Following up an "album's album" like Ray of Light (1998) with what is essentially a single's collection was a surprising move on Madonna's part. Maybe she knew after all the praise, sales, and awards Ray of Light got that the follow-up could never live up to it anyway. It's ironic that only three singles were pulled from Music because it really does seem to have been made for just that -- releasing singles. At least two or three more songs could've been released and likely would've seen success. (Amazing and Impressive Instant come immediately to mind.) Oh well. Here you'll find what is, in my opinion, Madonna's best ballad: the stirring and sweeping Paradise (Not For Me).
Key lyric: "Don't think of yesterday and I don't look at the clock, I like to boogie-woogie / It's like ridin' on the wind and it never goes away / Touches everything I'm in, got to have it every day / Music"
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7. Hard Candy (2008) Despite positive reviews and respectable sales this album seems to get a bad rap. It's a real shame because this fun, tongue in cheek record also happens to be brimming with some genuine emotion. It was written and recorded while Madonna's marriage to Guy Ritchie was falling apart, and though it was released before we knew they had hit splitsville, in hindsight it's clear her anguish and anger over their impending divorce informed much of the lyrical content. (See: Miles Away, Voices, Incredible.) But it's not all gloom and doom as the bulk of the album is actually quite upbeat and positive. Candy Shop, Give It 2 Me, and Beat Goes On are jams that always get me on my feet and put a smile on my face.
Key lyric: "I just woke up from a fuzzy dream / You never would believe the things that I have seen / I looked in the mirror and I saw your face / You looked right through me, you were miles away"
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6. Bedtime Stories (1994) It was tough to be a Madonna fan in 1994, what with the Sex backlash and general hate seemingly everyone was throwing her way. Can you imagine what it must've been like for the woman herself? Yikes. But Madonna persevered, offering up her sixth studio album, an R&B tinged collection of smooth pop. There was a lot of talk about Madonna laying low and purposely going soft for Bedtime Stories, and while that's definitely true, she didn't completely lie down and take it. Survival and Human Nature both highlight her fighting spirit: even when she's soft she's gonna make sure she gets her point across. Lyrically, Bedtime Stories deals a lot with seeking comfort and finding inner peace, and the music perfectly fits the mood. This album is like a warm blanket on a winter night: cozy, comforting, and just what you want to sink into to escape the world, if only for an hour.
Key lyric: "You gave me back the paradise that I thought I'd lost for good / You helped me find the reasons why / It took me by surprise that you understood / You knew all along what I never wanted to say / Until I learned to love myself I was never ever lovin' anybody else"
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5. Like A Prayer (1989) Like A Prayer is a great album that got a little boost by being the first "serious" work by an artist that had up 'til then been perceived as a disco dolly. There's no denying the power and potency of songs like Like A Prayer, Express Yourself, Till Death Do Us Part, and Oh Father, and you're gonna spend a long time searching for a "current" pop singer who takes their work and craft this seriously. Nonetheless, Madonna had bigger fish to fry and her best work was still to come.
Key lyric: "The bruises, they will fade away / You hit so hard with the things you say / I will not stay to watch your hate as it grows / You're not in love with someone else / You don't even love yourself / Still I wish you'd ask me not to go"
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4. Like A Virgin (1984) Over the years many Madonna collaborators have spoken of how "alive" and "present" she is as a person and artist. Of all her albums that's perhaps clearest on Like A Virgin. Here Madonna is warm and engaging, fun and flirty throughout. No pretensions, no big messages, just great pop songs you can dance to. In terms of craft it's not her most accomplished album by a long shot. But Madonna's charisma and effervescence hook the listener; there's an immediacy to these songs that's palpable. It's easy to see why this album would come to define the decade.
Key lyric: "Make me strong, yeah you make me bold / Your love thawed out, yeah your loved thawed out what was scared and cold"
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3. Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) Her previous album, American Life, didn't do too well so Madonna went into damage control mode. A hits tour (or as close as she's gonna get to one) and a dance album to the rescue! And it worked -- Confessions and it's lead single Hung Up broke sales record around the world. (How amazing is it that Madonna's biggest hit to date came not in the 80's but over two decades into her career!) The funny thing is, thematically, Confessions is just American Life with a disco beat. The fame stuff, shattering illusions, it's all still there, just gussied up in a pink leotard. And it's fantastic. The mammoth beat of Hung Up is impossible to resist and it paves the way for a surprisingly personal dance record. Get Together tugs at your heart while Let It Will Be may just be the funnest (and quirkiest) paean to accepting life's disappointments ever recorded. People didn't like it when you strapped on a guitar and told them that fame kinda sucks? Throw on a house beat, dye your hair a flamboyant red, then tell 'em!
Key lyric: "Now I can see things for what they really are / I guess I'm not that far / I'm at the point of no return / Just watch me burn"
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2. Ray of Light (1998) I remember when MTV was gearing up for the premier of the Frozen video back in early 1998. They were running teasers featuring only a brief clip of the video accompanied by a snippet of the song. Those eerie, pulsating drums in the clip would send a jolt of excitement shooting up my spine every time I heard them. Even my friends who weren't into Madonna were curious about the forthcoming song and album. When it hit it was unreal the level of interest surrounding this "new" Madonna and her cool new record. It was incredible; I hadn't seen this much "Madonna mayhem", as the magazines were calling it, since 1990. That clip and the ensuing hysteria is a microcosm of the whole album and era. If you didn't live it you may think I'm throwing out hyperbole -- I'm not. And as for the quality of the music? Frozen still sends a jolt up my spine today.
Key lyric: "And the ground gave way beneath my feet / And the earth took me in her arms / Leaves covered my face, ants marched crossed across my back / The black sky opened up, blinding me"
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1. Erotica (1992) Erotica is aggressive, abrasive, angry, decadent, silly, and smart -- and utterly brilliant. It was the first time Madonna got real -- truly real -- about life and love: the ups and downs, the good and bad, and everything in between. She's swooning with love one minute (Deeper and Deeper, Fever), bitter and broken the next (Waiting, Words), and sometimes she just needs a moment to herself (Secret Garden, In This Life). And luckily for us she's willing to share the experiences. Make no mistake, from the ghostly feedback at the start of the title track to the bleeped ending of Bye Bye Baby to the typewriter pounding out a missive on Words to the blazing sunshine that comes bursting forth during Rain's bridge, Erotica is top-shelf Madonna, the best you're gonna get.
Key lyric: "Once you put your hand in the flame you can never be the same / There's a certain satisfaction in a little bit of pain / I can see you understand, I can tell that you're the same / If you're afraid, well rise above / I only hurt the ones I love"
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In other news, I've got some comments built up that I'm gonna go ahead and publish. I can't respond individually to them just yet but I'll back tomorrow to do just that! See you soon!
