Exciting tease from the Billboard article So why now for this long-awaited debut? “It was Madonna’s personal request,” according to a representative at Rhino. It’s the latest release in the ongoing catalog campaign announced in 2021. While “Gambler” is the final Madonna reissue from Rhino/Warner in 2022, Rhino promises “more fun things to look forward to in 2023” and that “Gambler” is “just a small glimpse of what fans can expect” next year.
Amazing to finally have Gambler on streaming, it's Top 10 Madonna for me. I'd say it's her most forgotten 80s single despite being a Top 5 hit, having never appeared on a studio or compilation album. It's such a bop and this new remaster is great (I bought the Vision Quest soundtrack off iTunes and it's so quiet on there). This will be me for the rest of the day
Hey You is credited to solo Madonna on the publisher's website and that's the citation Wikipedia (where I got the tidbit) had https://web.archive.org/web/20150219054951/http://www.warnerchappell.com/song-details/WW008801988000
I remember something about this song being written by Madonna and produced by Pharrell? This was just before Hard Cardy came out so it probably spilled from those sessions? Mirwais involvement is strange but who knows, maybe the seed of the song came from the American Life sessions?
The lyrics come from a song produced by Mirwais. The demo is out there. It’s a dance track. I think it’s “Keep the Trance”.
These things are not always accurate, though. Madonna is credited as a writter of Physical Attraction (and of Borderline, If my memory is not failing me) on one of these publisher's websites and is not credited on the album, so...
It started out as a much better Confessions outtake. Mirwais later repurposed the instrumental for Get It Right by Y.A.S.
Thanks for sharing, I never knew this! Keep The Trance certainly could be improved but it shows some fire. It's shocking how like all the magic of the song was dried out for the Hey You conversion. And even though Pharrell was there, it also lacked his characteristic beats. It feels like they decided to go anthemic but ended up anemic.
Why not both? I kinda like the Madame X version, it has a cool production. But I don't think it goes well with the lyrics from Back That Up. Probably she should release an EP with the original Pharrell demo, the sped up version, the slowed down one and the Madame X version. And I stand corrected, seems like it is re-peaking in TikTok/Shazam. Now that she's aware, maybe they'll not act too late this time. Same, I had read about it but I never even bothered looking it up. It's fun indeed.
Pharrell's stuff is kinda minimalist and the Madame X version is the opposite. It has an 'everything but the kitchen sink' vibe to it. I don't have a problem with the latter approach but for Back That Up I feel the Pharrell version is superior.
Madonna should ride on trend and get Back That Up To The Beat along with the other Madame Xtra tracks online (maybe with the Pharrell demo as a bonus) Ciao Bella is a stomper.
Nn my biological dad, who saw the Virgin Tour and then didn't see her again until we went to the Madame X Tour, texted me about Gambler being out. He cannot be surprised by how I turned out given what he and my mother played while I was growing up.
