The Celebration Rate: Four Decades Of Music - The Madonna Album Rate

[torontodj]

@Pop Life and @V3RYP05H are legends and have taste. But you already knew that. Not our fault that our tastes match the Queen of Pop who is also found of I'm Breathless.

I once met Stephen Sondheim a few years before his passing and he was very handsome. I was kind of in awe considering it was Stephen Sondheim. There is an excellent box set of Sondheim's work that features demos/early takes of the Madonna songs by the Queen herself. They're not that different from the finished versions but interesting to hear.

I still don't quite get the hate for I'm Breathless. In 1990, I didn't really enjoy it only because I was expecting bops and well-crafted pop as she had given us on True Blue and Like a Prayer. I would always fast forward on my Sony Walkman cassette player to Vogue. But a few years ago I listened to the album again and I really appreciated the songwriting and Madonna's vocals, not to mention her penchant for playing characters. A bit of Breathless Mahoney, a bit of Madonna and a lot of her imagination and role-playing, which is why she is the Queen of Pop.

I think What Can You Lose is gorgeous.

 

[phoenix123]

Vogue
Something To Remember
Sooner Or Later
Hanky Panky
Back In Business
More
He’s A Man
Now I’m Following You

Id much rather listen to any of these than anything on MDNA. Not sorry.

Her vocals on this album are seriously underrated.

 

[LTG]

Dick Tracy is iconic, let’s be fair. I went to a screening of it at the BFI last year. The BFI CEO asked to introduce it because he was a teenage stan who only cared about two things in summer 1990: Blond Ambition and Dick Tracy. That’s the kind of person we need running our cultural institutions.

I felt the role actually worked for Madonna, as I said in her thread after I saw it. She’s not a naturalistic performer, and the icy 30s/40s screen siren she’s portraying fits her well.



Obviously she’s amazing in the filmed performances, I just wish they focused on her more/showed the whole songs etc.

It’s just not at the same standard as the rest of her music. A nice little curiosity that can’t compare to pop masterpieces.

 

[V3RYP05H]

I tried to approach each album in a vacuum (with its own stipulations) by rating each song by itself and then used the average as my score, so that’s the reason it got a 9. Overall, I thought it was an interesting effort as a concept album and that there were a few triumphs despite some mindbogging tracks (“Bananas” and “Cry Baby” back to back? ICK!). I wouldn’t rate it my favorite album (and I will probably not be returning to it in full for another decade) but I appreciate it more as a bold idea fully committed to and executed (and I even found some new faves like “Back In Business” and “He’s A Man”).

“Vogue” was obviously tacked on because of the very loose connection to the era and is, ironically, the only track that feels like it made sense for Madonna *THE Popstar * to do for Dick Tracy the movie (because so many movies have had a superfluously connected soundtrack single throughout history), when in reality it was just a b-side upgraded to A-side status (and it still leaves everything on the album bald).

 

[RJF]

To Madonna's credit, I think what makes her the finest popstar to ever exist is also what makes such a disorientating presence in a film. There's just such a massive sense of self to her that she... exudes doesn't feel like a strong enough word; she's powerfully herself. So when she's on screen having to be a different self, it's hard for the audience to let her let into it. All you see is her.

I also think it's something that just doesn't come naturally to her, which - considering how talented she is at most things - fascinates her even further. Like I said in the write up, things out of reach are intriguing even if they're mundane, while the spectacular can seem ho hum when you're saturated in it.

ANYWAY. One down! I won't lie, I was slightly struggling to summon the energy and the enthusiasm to do this last week, but now we're rolling, the muscles are warming up, and I think I'm in the zone. It's good to be back here with you all. I'm going to loosely aim for around two eliminations a week, so we'll wrap this up around the end of March which will feel appropriate given The Celebration Tour will be wrapping shortly after that. Forty years... Legend.

Let's say... Sunday for the next elimination?

Me writing two essays a week for two months:

 

[Andy French]

when in reality it was just a b-side upgraded to A-side status

I'll never get over this.

Sometimes I wonder about the alternate timeline where Vogue was "just" a B-side - would it eventually have eclipsed Keep It Together and reached its lofty Pop Classique status anyway somehow? Obviously "virality" as it currently exists for music wasn't a thing in 1990, but I find it so difficult to imagine any scenario where it didn't eventually become what we know it to be in 2024 - would it have been a Kate Bush-style retroactive hit? It's wild to think about.

 

[RJF]

I'll never get over this.

Sometimes I wonder about the alternate timeline where it was "just" a B-side - would it eventually have eclipsed Keep It Together and reached its lofty Pop Classique status anyway somehow? Obviously "virality" as it currently exists for music wasn't a thing in 1990, but I find it so difficult to imagine any scenario where it didn't eventually become what we know it to be in 2024.

The amount of bullets "Vogue" dodged to come to us in the way that it did... Queen.

 

[IEngineered]

I’m pretty sure the scores for this album would’ve been much lower if Vogue had been relegated to the B-side hell that it was originally intended for. I’m also increasingly convinced that the album was the first in a series of evil jokes that Ms Thing unleashed onto her then naive, adoring fans just to see how far she can push them. A way of proving her sway to her bad boy beaus, perhaps? That said, I confess to having developed a fondness for Something To Remember as a result of the airbrushed ballad compilation that doubled as a campaign tool for Evita. It’s not a particularly brilliant song, but it does feel at home there.

 

[LTG]

I'll never get over this.

Sometimes I wonder about the alternate timeline where Vogue was "just" a B-side - would it eventually have eclipsed Keep It Together and reached its lofty Pop Classique status anyway somehow? Obviously "virality" as it currently exists for music wasn't a thing in 1990, but I find it so difficult to imagine any scenario where it didn't eventually become what we know it to be in 2024 - would it have been a Kate Bush-style retroactive hit? It's wild to think about.

There have been cases like Rod Stewart’s Maggie May originally being the b-side, but radio stations preferred it.

I don’t know if the same thing could have happened with more controlled label releases in the 90s, but it’s such a behemoth I can’t see it ever being held down.

 

[nikkysan]

My 3 points were (mostly) for Vogue. I can appreciate what she’s going for on it, and aside from Cry Baby and I’m Going Bananas and More sorry @Andy French nn it’s definitely not a bad album. It’s just not my thing. I echo the sentiments that she sounds incredible on it however, I really love her scratchy 80s/early 90s vocals. She was so full of fire and determination. The vocal training for Evita sanded off those edges and while I love her vocals after as well obviously (Ray of Light and American Life are her finest records from a vocal standpoint), she did lose some of that magic she had before she got proper vocal training. She sang like she had something to prove.

 

[DinahLee]

My film degree was worth it every time I remember one of my teachers talking about Production Design and how important it is to choose the right fabric for costumes and then going "What's the name of that movie............. the one with Madonna........... she wears a blue (?) dress it's just so gorgeous... it shines across the screen you know............with Al Pacino" and I just sat there watching the woman struggle until she got a real Lightbulb moment and screamed "DICK TRACY" because I just had no idea of what movie she could be talking.

 

[ohaimanabu]

It was fun having a reason to actually listen to the entirety of I’m Breathless again, but really aside from the novelty of
it (and Vogue obv) I don’t think I’ll ever find a reason to revisit it again any time soon. I tried to be fair to it though, it’s not “horrible” but when you have THE pop album catalog, this bugger really isn’t eligible. Cute next to gorgeous etc etc.

 

[dodoriazarbon]

I get it, but I had the album on shuffle while reading the elimination and how anyone could have voted it lower than MDNA... I'll pray for you. And those dirty ears of yours.

Can we talk about the rumour (? Fact?) that Now I'm Following You Pt 2 was being lined up a single? I assume in a Prince - Batdance fashion, seeing as it's obviously inspired by that and it's success (bizarre as it was) the year before.

 

[Pop Life]

Well, I would say "you had to be there" but I know damn good and well that many, many of you were.

Strolling into any retail space that stocked music a year out on the 'Like A Prayer' album...riding on the high created by the "Vogue" single, the "Vogue" video, and all of the 'Blond Ambition World Tour 90' hype...then finding this shiny (sometimes shrink-wrapped and gloriously long-boxed, see below) delicacy on the new release end caps? HEAVEN!

Over time, 'I'm Breathless: Music from and inspired by the film Dick Tracy' understandably became a complicated curio. But then? For those who were indeed there? It was the new album by the now officially world-conquering icon Madonna. It was what she served up for that most definitive Summer.

For those who weren't there, trying to comprehend it in 2024: It actually once made sense...landing on the heels of her contemporary Prince's 1989 'Batman' film soundtrack. Plus, 'I'm Breathless' only had 6 months on the market before 'The Immaculate Collection' claimed "Vogue" and all of those coveted holiday sales at the end of 1990. (Really, 'I'm Breathless' never stood a chance.)

But giving you the benefit, a'la Pebbles, perhaps my fondness for this release was influenced by my situation. Back then there was a severe limit on how many new albums I could acquire, and therefore music purchases were...informed. They were special. They were sacred.

Sometimes these selections disappointed, they challenged. I may not have wanted to air them out at full blast for all to hear, but under the cover of headphones? They were mine to enjoy and kept my young, queer self entertained. These limitations invited repeated listens that absolutely would not have happened in the fast-paced streaming-centric existence that we now endure enjoy!

'I'm Breathless' absolutely does not contain my preferred genres of music, and it was never my favourite Madonna album. It is certainly not the first album I'm going to put on when the mood strikes to revisit her ouvre. Yet, even today when I listen to it, it puts a smile on my face and never feels like I've wasted what precious time I have left in this mortal realm.

Even without the behemoth that is "Vogue...Vogue...Vogue...", it is a prime example of not only Madonna's vocal abililties, but her fierce and awesome sense of humour. 'I'm Breathless' felt sincere both then and now, as though she felt free to experiment within the confines of the character she was embodying in Warren Beatty's film...and most definitely not like a jaded attempt at trolling her fanbase.

¡Viva la Breathless!

 

[dodoriazarbon]

The influence of Batman ‘89 is all over this album and film more than just Batdance itself, you’re totally right. Batman by Prince is the better album (just) but I still think sounds totally inappropriate for a Batman movie. Madonnna and Sondheim understood the assignment more.

 

[Laurence]

So is someone gonna tell me why Vogue is actually on that album or not? Because I still don't know.

 

[LTG]

So is someone gonna tell me why Vogue is actually on that album or not? Because I still don't know.

A worldwide #1 single released a couple months before the album, makes sense to tack it on to raise album sales.

Also, while it doesn’t fit sonically, thematically if you’ve made an album inspired by a 30s/40s comic strip, a song listing Hollywood icons of that era fits.

 

[Maki]

This is the correct first album elimination. "I'm Breathless" got a 5 from me, obviously as my lowest score in this rate. It's technically the least 'Madonna' album of them all, I often think of it as purely a soundtrack like "Evita" but forget it was mostly inspired by the movie. So it really should be the first one out.
It's surely an interesting addition to her discography both thematically but also vocally because it's a very rare moment to hear her be so playful with them. Speaking of vocals, it also showcases the first glimpses of her vocal peak that started not long after. The album itself is patchy, to say the least, and the camp factor of most tracks quickly turns into something overly tacky and redundant. Songs like "Cry Baby" and "More" are just bad and among her ultimate career lows. "I'm Going Bananas" is at least charming for the utter madness of it but there are some more successful takes on the jazzy 30s sound like "Sooner or Later" and "Now I'm Following You Part 1", though personally I find these pleasant but kinda boring. "He's a Man" and "Back in Business" are really good examples of that sound working well, "Hanky Panky" to some extent too but I can't really take that one seriously at all. "Vogue" is so far detached from the album concept that it's mostly likely just a sales boost inclusion and I can't even see it as a proper part of the album.
Basically I don't ever see myself returning to any of these songs but re-listening to some of them, it's a perfectly decent set of tracks with some big missteps. Kinda makes sense to call it inessential but then again, it's one of her most adventurous records and I imagine it could've sparked her creativity for the 90s output so maybe it needed to happen. Overall, it's must've been such a weird era to follow for the fans at the time, happening immediately after "Like a Prayer". The whiplash. But then we know what else she brought during the rest of the 90s.

 

[Mirwais Ahmadzaï]

I've been reading Madonna: A Rebel Life — which I'll provide more thoughts on elsewhere sometime — but the author does a wonderful job of piecing so many tales together, including charting Madonna's film ambitions in that early part of her career. I find the Beatty relationship so fascinating in its unapologetic, calculated symbiosis. Some of the things that have been touched on in this thread irked Madonna: Beatty and Pacino physically going too hard, performance sequences cut short. I also loved that Madonna wanted to be a proper Hollywood star for a moment, and when a who's who of Tinseltown celebrated her (singing happy birthday at a party Beatty threw for her), she thought, hmm.... that's nice, really nice, but also... that's enough of that! And the Hollywood fantasy (in the 'I wanna be a proper A-list film star' sense) was somewhat over. She realized she didn't want validation from Hollywood, but she wanted respect and genuine recognition of her ability.

I think it's quite telling that, even in film, Madonna doesn't really take the easy route. Either that or she has bad taste in scripts... But I think the former weighs more heavily. Just like her musical artistry is often unconventional and generally uncompromised, she searched for the roles that spoke to her. I'm sure Madonna could have had more success in film if she had gone for obvious, unchallenging parts in conventional films with broad mass appeal. She could have chosen roles that allowed her to rest on her laurels. But that's not Madonna, is it?

Anyway, I rated I'm Breathless poorly based on my personal enjoyment or lack thereof. I still think it's a fun, commendable project that allows for a fascinating footnote in her overall discography. I don't like the album version of Vogue nearly as much as any other version, so even Vogue couldn't inflate my score too much. That said – I do fear perhaps I underrated it slightly, because there are a couple more listenable songs than I remembered.

Looking forward to the MDNA elimination on Sunday! Unless some of my fellow messy Girl Gone Wild lovers have pipped Like a Virgin to the post, but I highly doubt it!

Bonus thought: Where would have Evita placed in the rate? Would it be the second elimination?

 

[Andy French]

Bonus thought: Where would have Evita placed in the rate? Would it be the second elimination?

Honestly, as good as her renditions of Argentina, Another Suitcase, You Must Love Me, and Buenos Aires are (Patti LuPone is not and never will be my Eva Peron)...it probably would, yeah. If people could barely tolerate Sondheim here, there's no way in hell Andrew Lloyd Webber would be received any better dd