Pretender1978

The best for me are True Blue (US) Erotica and AL
The worst is a toss up between confessions and HC, but confessions is more of a mess, HC at least still has a bit of irony.
I's a pity that since MDNA we have the multiple cover thing, which makes them a bit less iconic, here the MDNA one I absolutely hate, graphically it's not a pretty picture. The negative spaces are too big for such an obscured image, the deluxe version however is gorgeous. I have the same problem with MX, I hate the cheap font on the lips, but the font used on the blonde cover is stunning etc.

Clear

That standard Madame X cover is ruined by the way 'Madonna' is slapped haphazardly over it in a manner and font that makes it look like someone did it on their mobile. They should just have had the image without her name.

I disagree , while Hard Candy the concept is as corny as a dad joke. With CODF the whole concept is dated and so 2000 amateur graphic designer job. I remember discussing it in the forum before and went down investigating and is the same guy that did I believe rebel Heart and MDNA design.
Bedtime stories is far more interesting and better put together.
The typefonts are an interesting choice, using a modern style font,  with an attempt of neon effect (just go into layer styles and add glow) matching with a cursive handwritten. Adding a 3D element of a globe that suppose to look like a disco ball. But is not a disco ball is a globe. None of the typefonts represent 70s or disco.
Background: an overlay gradient with pattern of circles that suppose to represent the disco ball reflecting, but they don't. They look like  a weird circle pattern from the 50s
Madonna cutout like a paper-doll and buttered up with a soft filter removing any shadows or lines and adding color over layers that make her hair and skin look like the coloured photos from the 20s. She even has a shadow over , from the title, because nothing cast more shadow than a neon light (?)
It's a mess from a visual graphic point of view. The photoshoot with Klein has lots of great photos and they used the lights and reflection so good.  Just to get them all wiped out and do that cover.
One of the photos with some profesional editing, keeping the disco lights contrast  and add some simple but retro typeface. Like from Studio 54. And you have a great, classy effective cover.

Dissing Hard Candy for looking like a blotched photshop job and putting CODF on the top. along the best, better designed and more photographic cover.
That cover is whack. looks like a parody

Sometimes I wonder how dramatic people would get if we had social media back in 1990 and people recording every show from every angle.

"OMG SHE'S OVER SHE LOST HER VOICE AGAIN"

"THIS TOUR IS A MESS, EVERY SHOW HAS A DIFFERENT TECH ISSUE"

"SHE WAS RUDE TO A FAN"

"WTF DID SHE DO WITH HER HAIR, EUROPE'S GOING TO BE A FLOP WITHOUT THE PONYTAIL"

"WHERE'S BORDERLINE AND LUCKY STAR, THE SETLIST IS TERRIBLE"

You know which Madonna vocal is underrated? Beautiful Stranger.

Her voice is like honey on the verses. A very controled delivery but she manages to read the song so well. She's flirtatious, doubtful, even hurt and then the chorus explodes it's just fun. I love it.
 
 

How incredibly boring that this thread has become yet another trite discussion on M's live vocals, when one's ability to sing is a much bigger subject. On that note the whole title of this thread already suggests a negative point of view. To me M was always a great singer in her delivery, it's already there on songs like PA, Stay, CFY  ut becomes truelly powerful on True Blue, especially its first half. Than LAP and IB arre the highlight of her raw and very emotive soulful vocals. Evita put a bit of a dent in her singing personality (I had difficulty recognizing her voice) and ufortunately that still lingers on ROL. Of course the vocals there are good but they are so controlled there is very little space for emotion. Music and AL are among my favorite M vocals, after that technology takes over and it's hard to find that urgency in her voice. We had to wait until MX for a real proper delivery (even with all the autotune the emotion is still there.

How incredibly boring that this thread has become yet another trite discussion on M's live vocals, when one's ability to sing is a much bigger subject. On that note the whole title of this thread already suggests a negative point of view. To me M was always a great singer in her delivery, it's already there on songs like PA, Stay, CFY  ut becomes truelly powerful on True Blue, especially its first half. Than LAP and IB arre the highlight of her raw and very emotive soulful vocals. Evita put a bit of a dent in her singing personality (I had difficulty recognizing her voice) and ufortunately that still lingers on ROL. Of course the vocals there are good but they are so controlled there is very little space for emotion. Music and AL are among my favorite M vocals, after that technology takes over and it's hard to find that urgency in her voice. We had to wait until MX for a real proper delivery (even with all the autotune the emotion is still there.

I think all her vocals are great. I think the least impressive for me is Rebel Heart and/or MDNA and/or Hard Candy. 
 
She revived her vocals in Madame X though!

Well for starters, it’s a robe 😆

OMG. Imagine going there, being in the back, and then having the audacity to tell people the next day that you went to a Madonna concert. I mean, I was basically at the Madison Square Garden shows when I was at my apartment watching TV that night then. 

I totally agree about the Madame X discourse here. I was already becoming a fan, but Madame X was the album / era that really made me a huge Madonna fan and convinced me to go back and check everything else out.
This album is totally in line with Madonna's ethos of the majority of her career. Experimental, sonic exploration through a particular concept and mission statement. I've always loved it! I rank it at #5 of my Madonna Albums Ranking. Medellin is one of my favorite songs of her whole career; I was so obsessed with it for the months after it came out as the lead single in 2019. My last semester of undergrad, that was MY SONG.

Madame X will get re evaluated in time ...for me it's as important as her debut, like a prayer, erotica and ray of light albums a milestone album at 60 then reflecting social satire with world music is so meta it was the Avengers Endgame, JOKER and Twin Peaks the Return music equivalent in pop music and it got paid dust thanks to bizarre Eurovision performance and weird singles choices 
Madame X is sublime it had nees coverage she deserved to be number 1 in pride month ugh!! 
Yeah winter 2025 new album I guess 

Madame X is one of her most interesting albums in many ways. That so many fans didn’t get it simply left me a bit baffled and disappointed.  It was such a confidant and totally out there record in oh-so-many ways.  To me it was also very Classic Madonna in a lot of ways.

15 studio albums...
Justice for I'm Breathless

I would lowkey love Madonna's next album to have 0 vocal collaborations. She doesn't usually choose people I like as her duet / feature partners. A Kylie Minogue collab would be welcome, but besides that I'd love her to keep it solo.

I wanted Madonna to work with DEV HYNES to do a dream pop , soft rock, funk , neo soul style album.    That would've been so magic like I fantasise that she did something like that and it be so dreamy and rocking and soulful just imagine that style album by her ....like what Charli XCX and sky Ferreira did in the early 2010s and solange knowles just great grooves and emotive expressive lyrics and raw vocal 

t @Sultrysully 
 
Evita really 

the poetry:
Cambiaste un Ferrari por un Twingo, cambiaste un Rolex por un Casio
Vas acelera'o, dale despacio
==========================================
Le-do-lo-le-lo-le, le-do-lo-le-lo-le
Whenever, wherever, We're meant to be together
I'll be there, and you'll be near, And that's the deal, my dear
==========================================
Don't wait up
Don't wait up, up, up, up, up
Don't wait up
Don't wait up, up, up, up, up
Don't be afraid if it gets late, yeah
You'll survive, it's just one night
Don't wait up
Don't wait up, up, up, up, up, up, up

American Life is Madonnas best album and my favorite period!!! 

I love it but really prefer Rain 

american life like madame x are two masterpieces totally understimated when they was  published but they have all the potential to become 2 of her most important works and be in the future reevaluted and finally have the recorecognition they deserve .......

Thank you for pointing this out! Most iconic M looks are stripped back, almost cartoon like. Funny enough the Lacroix corset was already a bit fussy to begin with (compared with the other costumes from RIT, though it's absolutely beautiful) I think the red negligee is actually a fantastic costume

I love this ongoing debate among fans wether or not it's an original album or a soundtrack. I agree with you that of course it's both. I just always feel that fans don't want it to be part of her album discography because it's not as contemporary as the rest of her catalogue. Talk to a Prince fan and tell them Purple Rain doesn't count as an album, or Parade for that matter. Not sure though if she wanted additional songs in the movie as she only started writing and recording long after shooting was done. The three Sondheim tracks are also rearranged and re recorded for the album.