The video made the song for me. I remember being home sick from school one day and watching the MTV making of the video all day and it cemented my love for the song. I haven’t watched it in ages, but I remember her being fairly relaxed and funny behind the scenes with Kurt Loder and it made me like it all even more
Take a Bow is in my top ten favourite Madonna songs. It’s very indicative of its time but I love 90s R&B anyway and it’s a gorgeous song.
"It's nice... and that's about it." is where I am with Take A Bow. I have to give it credit for being the song that was the first big step in repairing her image post-Erotica, but for this to be her biggest hit in the US... why? I guess it was really good timing and a beautifully shot and aesthetically pleasing video.
Two albums top ten in the U.S and WW. Queen of Quarantine. Worldwide iTunes Album Chart - 2020/05/01 | 3 NEW Madonna - I Don’t Search I Find 1 3 (x1) 8 = Madonna - Bedtime Stories 2
Take a Bow is glorious and when the next tour comes around, I can expect the usual "She should perform it" posts.
I just re-listened to the Luke Slater remixes of The Power Of Good-Bye for the first time in years to see if I was too hard on them and they weren't as bad as I remembered. They were worse.
That special with Kurt Loder was glorious. "I've never met the woman... Rather transparent, wouldn't you say?" "Is that damn Bodyguard soundtrack still number one?"
It's like a symphony condensed into 5 minutes. I know people say it's very of its time but I'd be hard pressed to find something else Babyface worked on that matches its scale and romantic sweep. Also,
I was just coming in to mention that song. What a mood! I can't believe Dallas Austin produced that song. I wonder what a Nellee Hooper Madonna album would sound like.
The slightly haunting imagery of Sanctuary combined with that vocal and Watermelon-Man-sampling beat always stunned me. I tend to think of the song as a precursor to Mer Girl. Kinda sends shivers down my spine. It feels dark. “Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life Who needs the sky, when the ground's open wide It's here in your arms I want to be buried You are my sanctuary... Who needs a smile, when a tear's so full of love... Who needs a home, with the stars up above ... Who needs the light, with the darkness in your eyes”
I may get slapped for saying this, but I honestly don't know if she could vocally perform that song now. Madonna had a such a deep voice back in the early 90s. She did perform it at least once on the Rebel Heart Tour. "Take a Bow" resurrected her music career in the US BIG TIME. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing that song. It was insane. Bedtime Stories really deserves its own mini-tour. I'm repeating myself, but, oh, well. It's such a sophisticated body of work. Honestly, nothing beats 90s Madonna. The 80s were big for her but people were still on the fence about her actually being a creative force. The 90s not only had the music but the persona and really pushing boundaries. The woman literally had a new hairstyle every other week. It was just amazing. It was her iconic decade. There were so many sides to her presented. I would love for Madonna's past albums to be re-released on cassette. I have all the vinyls. EDIT: Bedtime Story music video storyboard art: http://grantshaffer.com/music-videos-1/2016/3/2/bedtime-stories
Her deep voice in the 90s was phenomenal. I remember loving Rain, I'll Remember, You Must Love Me, Don't Cry For Me Argentina are some of her best ballads. I think she started to have this baby voice in Music or American Life era.
