A True Blue Album Appreciation Thread

[Guest]

What are your fond memories or thoughts of this album era? I know that some of you were too young or may not even been born when this album was released, but I am curious to learn how you came across this album and your thoughts.

 

Here's my story... this is the album which turned me into the huge fan I am today. Before this album, I was more of a closet fan (my sisters were fans). I did love "Into The Groove" and knew of her prior to this song, but it was the True Blue album which sucked me in.

 

 

When I saw  the "Live To Tell" video, my heart skipped a beat. She looked absolutely gorgerous. I loved that she took off all the jewelery and gave us a more mature look. At the time, I wasn't able to run out and buy everything she released up to this period. Instead, I started recording everything they played on the radio and went to the local library, checked out her albums, and recorded them.

 

This was the time Madonna was hailed for bringing forth a "New Madonna".  It was the first of many transformations throughout her career. A few months later when the album dropped and her "Papa Don't Preach" video was released, my jaw dropped again. She looked so Marilynesque. She was becoming a world-wide star at this point. I remember all the hoopla over the subject matter of the song. I didn't care, and obviously much of the world didn't either.

 

The way some fans/people criticize and hate on other female artists reminds me of this time with Madonna and throughout the rest of the 80's.  All the nasty comments spewed about the current girls in pop were very reminiscent of what was said of Madonna during this time. There was a lot of talk of how she was ripping off Marilyn Monroe's image. Some were saying she was a poor role model for the youth at the time. She was said she uses controversy to gain attention.  She proved to be tough and rose above and ignore the criticisms and explained Marilyn comparisons with this:  "I am not a victim of my success" as she claimed what happened to Marilyn Monroe.

 

 

Despite the criticisms and some of the hate thrown at her, she was still on top of her game. I felt while she gained a lot of fans during this period, she did lose a lot of fans (especially girls) who loved her during the Virgin era. I also felt more males (particularly gay males) became fans of her during this time.  She was a huge supporter of the gay community, and the cure for the  AIDS epidemic.

 

While she was said to be delivering a more mature album and look, she was hamming up the ditzy blonde attitude as well. (She started filming Who's That Girl?). I had notice the way she spoke, it was more gum smacking girly.  I figured it was because she was exploring her character for 'Who's That Girl?'  The film was initially called "Slammer", but since her husband at the time kept getting into legal trouble and was in jail at the time, they decided to rename it "Who's That Girl".

 

There were other rumors of her taking on other films at the time.  One in particular I recall,  was a comedy with Demi Moore where both her and Madonna would be a duo cop team. Of course, that never panned out.

 

Radio was her best friend at this point. She kept pumping out hit after hit. Radio was even playing her non-singles such as "Where's The Party" since it got a lot of air play at the time. The "True Blue: Make my video contest" spawned off Madonnathon's on MTV.  This is when I started videotaping her videos and came across the rarely seen "Burning up" and "Everybody" videos.

 

 

The media were all over Sean and Madonna during their tumultuos marriage. They were nicknamed "The Poison Penns".  Sean would be known for lashing out at the paparazzi while Madonna at times would be seen hiding herself from the cameras. Their film "Shanghai Surprise" was panned by the critics and media. 

 

 

As '86 drew to a close, Madonna was back again with another controversial video for "Open Your Heart".  I remember freaking out, because I thought she dyed her hair black. Though I liked it, I was releived it was just a wig at the time. Once again, the critics were all over her for using sex to sell her music. This is the time I discovered 12 inch remixes. I remember walking into the local music store and seeing this album size cover of "Open Your Heart". At first,  I had no idea what it was. My obsession grew even more and this is when I started buying a lot of her past stuff and trying to catch up with all the 12 inches that were released on her.

 

While '87 was another big year for her, she ended the True Blue era with the release of "La Isla Bonita".  Another smash top 5 for her. Again, she slightly changed her image, only to go back to the blonde bombshell for the release of "Who's That Girl" and embarking on her first World Tour.

 

This truly was one of the coolest times to be a Madonna fan. While she did get a lot of criticism thrown at her, this is when she became a global phenomenon. She was the girl everybody loved to hate. She was being compared to other legends/Megastars of the time; Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Tina Turner,  U2 and George Michael. There were a number of girls that came out around this time namely Debbie Gibson and Kylie Minogue which seemed to immitate her early success. In Kylie's defense, she managed to break that mold and become her own person and highly successful herself.

 

[groovyguy 63,862]

I luv luv this epic Madonna era. Didn't even know the album release date. Just happened to check out the local music store which was playing Love Song. Saw the nicely stacked True Blue cassettes and immediately bought one. 

 

[Guest]

I luv luv this epic Madonna era. Didn't even know the album release date. Just happened to check out the local music store which was playing Till Death Do Us Part. Saw the nicely stacked True Blue cassettes and immediately bought one. 

 

Hmmm? So does this mean that you didn't know this album exist until LIKE A PRAYER was released. "Til Death Do Us Part" was on the LAP album.

[Voguerista 11,999]

Awesome tribute post...and pics too!!! It was "Papa Don't Preach" during this era for what made me a fan. Before that I was so mesmerized by her but, she didn't quite seal me into being a hard core fan.

[Fighter 28,811]

Great reading 

 

I wasnt born when this album came out but anyways I became a fan around 2003-2004 lol

 

I bought it with the other albums.

 

It's great to read what it was like back then! 

[groovyguy 63,862]

Hmmm? So does this mean that you didn't know this album exist until LIKE A PRAYER was released. "Til Death Do Us Part" was on the LAP album.

Lol. My bad! I meant White Heat. No idea why mind kept going to LAP. 

[Guest]

Lol. My bad! I meant White Heat. No idea why mind kept going to LAP. 

Well because that album is equally as great. ;)

[groovyguy 63,862]

http://www.allmusic.com/album/true-blue-mw0000190762

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became Madonna the Superstar -- the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer that knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews -- and make good music while she's at it. To complain that True Blue is calculated is to not get Madonna -- that's a large part of what she does, and she is exceptional at it, but she also makes fine music. What's brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as "Papa Don't Preach," where she defiantly states she's keeping her baby. It's easy to position anti-abortionism as feminism, but what's tricky is to transcend your status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl-group pop ("True Blue," "Jimmy Jimmy") to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves ("Open Your Heart," "Where's the Party"), touching on Latin rhythms ("La Isla Bonita"), making a plea for world peace ("Love Makes the World Go Round"), and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover ("Live to Tell"). It's even harder to have the entire album play as an organic, cohesive work. Certainly, there's some calculation behind the entire thing, but what matters is the end result, one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun.

[groovyguy 63,862]

http://www.allmusic.com/song/live-to-tell-mt0016764273

Live to Tell Song Review by Stewart Mason

Throughout her career, Madonna has occasionally reasserted herself as an artist by releasing a dramatic ballad that proves that behind all of the contrived controversy and manipulation, she's a genuinely talented singer. "Live To Tell" was the first of these reminders; written and recorded as the theme for then-husband Sean Penn's film At Close Range (and cannily tied to a complete image overhaul featuring a sleek new Jean Seberg blonde gamine cut and more streamlined wardrobe), "Live To Tell" is a slow, atmospheric ballad unlike anything Madonna had recorded up to that point. Showing off her newly developed lower range, which would quickly become her strongest vocal asset, Madonna delivers one of her all-time strongest vocal performances, singing the slightly melodramatic lyrics with just the right blend of restraint and emotion. Patrick Leonard's wide-open, spacious production -- which even dispenses with drums at a couple of points, daring for such a dance-oriented artist -- perfectly suits his simple but effective tune, where the verses are merely connecting points between reiterations of the utterly beguiling melody of the chorus. "Live To Tell" belongs at the top of any reasonable list of big '80s ballads.

[groovyguy 63,862]

http://www.entertainmentscene360.com/index.php/song-reviews-papa-dont-preach-by-madonna-3465/

Song Reviews Papa don’t Preach by Madonna

By: Ben Kenber 

“Papa Don’t Preach†remains one of Madonna’s best and most emotionally powerful songs. Many see it as having strong political overtones, and they may be right in saying it has either a pro-life or pro-choice message. Others have claimed that it was Madonna’s attempt at making teen pregnancy look cool, but that’s like saying the movie “Juno†did the same thing which is ridiculous. In the end, “Papa Don’t Preach†gets its power from its simple story of a young woman desperate to have her father’s support in the difficult and life-changing decision she has made for herself.

 

Madonna sings from the perspective of a teenage girl who admits to her dad that she has become pregnant and that she plans to keep the baby. It’s essentially a monologue to a father she deeply loves, and she’s terribly frightened of what her decision will mean to him. The song alludes to how her friends have encouraged her to make a different decision (though it’s never explicitly stated what) and that she and her boyfriend do truly lovely one another, and Madonna makes us see that this character is an intelligent person that has carefully weighed the decisions handed down on her.

 

This was the first track off of Madonna’s third studio album “True Blue†which marked one of her many image makeovers. After the bouncy pop aesthetic of her previous records, this one had Madonna getting a little more serious. The string arrangements on “Papa Don’t Preach†help add a strong dramatic element to the fraught emotions she sings of, and while it is essentially a dance-pop song, it showed to the world that she was growing up and that everyone needed to recognize that.

 

Now Madonna herself never dealt with an unplanned pregnancy when she was a teenager, but listening to the lyrics makes one see why she related to the song emotionally. The character she sings as no longer wants to be seen as a baby or a little girl anymore, and Madonna was out to prove the same thing here. Critics were quick to dismiss her up to this point and questioned her talents as an artist, and “Papa Don’t Preach†was her attempt to show them all she was not some one-hit wonder they could keep ignoring.

 

To say that Madonna proved her naysayers wrong with “Papa Don’t Preach†is an understatement, and that’s regardless of the face that they still criticize her work every chance they get. Here she sings with a passion and intelligence here that has shown up in her best work, and she gives us a strong character who never comes across as dumb or thoughtless in her actions.

 

What also makes this song especially powerful is the uncertainty and ambiguity which surrounds it. She may have already made up her mind, but who’s to say what will happen from here? Will her father stand by her decision to have this child? Will she be forced to give the child up? How will she face the challenges ahead of her? It’s the lack of answers which makes the song all the more emotionally involving to listen to, and it stays with you for a long time afterwards.

 

“Papa Don’t Preach†is also proof that if you give Madonna the right material, she can indeed act. This is made even clearer with the song’s music video which was directed James Foley, and she shares some powerful moments with Danny Aiello who plays her father.

 

Madonna has been known for making many bold political statements over the years, but she’s not doing that with “Papa Don’t Preach.†It’s a song that has been and will continue to be misinterpreted by many, but those who take the time to listen to the lyrics will see it for what it really is: a daughter’s love song to her father. Madonna is simply singing a song and not encouraging anyone to do anything rash, and “Papa Don’t Preach†is written and performed in such a way that doesn’t invite easy interpretation. That’s why it remains one of her best songs ever.

[groovyguy 63,862]

http://audiophileparadise.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/review-of-madonna-true-blue/

Review of: Madonna – True Blue Single

History: “True Blue†is the third single from Madonna’s third studio album, True Blue, which was released on September 29, 1986. The song is actually originally written by Steve Bray. It was well received by the critics, who dismissed the song as “A cute and light-hearted†retro song. This song topped almost everywhere! It peaked at the penultimate position (No. 1 position, duh!) in the U.K., Ireland and Canada. It also went on to peak at Number 3 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart. It received a Platinum certification in Australia, Gold in U.S., and Silver in U.K. and France. For the complete list of peak positions (There are a LOT!), click here. The video is a 50′s inspired theme, and it’s really cute. I’ll provide the Youtube link below, too. Madonna dedicated this song to Sean Penn, her husband back then.

 

What it tries to convey to us: It’s a uber easy song to understand. It’s about a girl who falls in love for the first time with (Whom she thinks is) the man of her dreams.

 

Review: As always, Madonna has started this song off with high tempo drum beats and a keyboard and synthesizer rift added in between. With the occasional addition of “Hey!†(00:08) and “Listen†(00:14), the song becomes REALLY lively, and being a ‘Pop- Dance’ genre, it makes you want to dance (No, seriously!). The background vocalists also add an extra charm to the song. Actually, it’s the background vocalists who adhere to the song when Madonna goes off-track and sings out of the blue (Pun very much intended!). Anyways, she starts the vocals at 00:18. She has resorted to the voice of an innocent, 18 year old girl for this song, and BOY, has she delivered! The vocals are ever so cute, and the music just adds to the innocence of this song. That’s what make “True Blue†really click in our minds – the innocence. The first chorus starts at 00:49. The song is very fast paced, so you’ll hardly notice the verses go by. The second chorus will start at 01:38. but you’ll feel as if the first one didn’t even end. This time, the chorus is looped and played twice, with the addition of some strong background vocals in the second loop. Madonna then starts with her ‘vocal bridge’ (As I call it) at 02:12, and “True Love, Oh Baby†is looped from 02:26 to 02:42. The third stanza commences at 02:43 and ends, only for the chorus to begin again at 03:15. This time, the chorus is made cheesier with the addition of some strong background vocals. The “La la la la†makes the song REALLY innocent (I mean, just picture it. An 18 year old girl [Not this generation's 18 year old, though], strolling down the street, singing about her first love and saying “La la la laâ€. You can’t help but smile at the thought). The song progresses in the same tempo, and gradually fades out at 04:05 (Ends at 04:17). After the song ends, I always smile to myself, imagining that young girl strolling down the street. Listen to the song; I’m sure it’ll have the same effect on you too!

 

Rating: A flat-out 10/10! Innocence filled to the brim! Awesome tempo, and REALLY awesome vocals, courtesy The Queen of Pop, Madonna. Really, they don’t make songs like these anymore!! Go eat your heart out on this one guys! Enjoy!

[groovyguy 63,862]

http://www.allmusic.com/song/open-your-heart-mt0016759927

Open Your Heart Song Review by Stewart Mason

Although it's mostly remembered for the eye-popping video -- starring a newly-shorn and platinum blonde Madonna in a remarkable black leather catsuit, performing in a quarter peep show -- "Open Your Heart" was also proof that Madonna had not lost her ability to create a powerful dance song. In fact, with its newfound rock and roll power (electric guitars join the synthesizers in the front line of instruments, a rarity in Madonna's music to that point), "Open Your Heart" was one of Madonna's most exciting grooves yet. The drawback is that the lyrics are on the flimsy side, and no match for the kinetic production and enticing groove. However, in context near the start of Madonna's most wide-ranging album yet, it serves its purpose as a reminder of her dance-rock roots.

[groovyguy 63,862]

La Isla Bonita Song Review by Stewart Mason

"La Isla Bonita" is the most prescient song on True Blue, an early indicator of the Latin influence that would wash over dance pop a year or so after this album's release (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's singles, Pet Shop Boys' "Domino Dancing," too many other examples to count). Its combination of flamenco guitar, Latin percussion and electronics sounds a bit dated after the flood of similar songs that followed -- which, it must be said, includes Madonna's own "Who's That Girl," which sounds like a hastily cobbled-together rewrite -- but at the time, "La Isla Bonita" was something fresh and enjoyably new. It still sounds better than most of its followers due to Madonna's purring lead vocal, one of her sexiest and most understated performances.

[Fighter 28,811]

Great reviews  :wink:

[Guest]

Groovyguy... you the man!!  Thanks for all the reviews. Other than Live To Tell was pretty much a great dance/party album. Very 80's pop!!

[Guest]

Like to add that I recall back in the day, I was super annoyed MTV (in the U.S.) rarely played the original video for TRUE BLUE. It was all about the "Make My Video" contest at the time, which was fine. Though, I assumed there was no official video by her. They obviously aired Madonna's version from time to time, but I kept missing it. Later the next year (1987), I went to visit my Uncle in another state, and he liked Madonna at the time. I remember telling him I wished there was an OFFICIAL video from Madonna for True Blue. He surprised me and pulled out his VHS tape and showed me the video. The official video was considered the "European Version" at the time. When MTV had Madonnathons during the Blond Ambition Tour, they aired the video many times then. Though, the "True Blue" video, "Burning Up" and "Everybody" (especially the latter) was rarely played on MTV at the time.