The Sound Of A Diva
1. Lucky Star
2. Borderline
3. Burning Up
4. I Know It
5. Holiday
6. Think Of Me
7. Physical Attraction
8. Everybody
MADONNA (1983)
Although the critics didn't care too much for it upon release, Madonna's self-titled debut (dedicated to her father) was one of the strongest dance records of the early '80s, featuring state-of-the-art production and a handful of soon-to-be classics. While most dance albums tend to have tracks sounding one like the other, "Madonna" is a rare exception. Each song has it's own unique personality. From the pure lust of "Burning Up", to the simple pain of "Borderline", to the party atmosphere of "Holiday". It is now considered a must for any pop or dance collection.
1. Material Girl
2. Angel
3. Like A Virgin
4. Over & Over
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore
6. Dress You Up
7. Shoo-Bee-Doo
8. Pretender
9. Stay
LIKE A VIRGIN (1984)
With the help of producer Nile Rodgers (Chic, Diana Ross), Madonna's richly produced sophmore album became one of the best selling albums of the 80's. With virginity being the main theme here, Madonna consideres this her first "real" album for almost everything was at her control (eat your heart out, Janet Jackson). Not only did it contain her first Number One hit "Like A Virgin", but the album also has Madonna's first shot at a ballad, the beautiful remake of Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here Anymore". The opening song is the commonly misunderstood, "Material Girl", which created a nickname that will forever belong to Madonna. The album was dedicated "to the virgins of the world".
1. Papa Don't Preach
2. Open Your Heart
3. White Heat
4. Live To Tell
5. Where's The Party?
6. True Blue
7. La Isla Bonita
8. Jimmy Jimmy
9. Love Makes The World Go Round
TRUE BLUE (1986)
"True Blue" was not only an enormous chart-topper, but it proved Madonna was more then just a bimbo-dance siren. The album has a little something for everyone. Feel like a tribute to classic gangter flicks? Try "White Heat". Feeling a little silly? How about "Where's The Party?". A sweeping romantic ballad? "La Isla Bonita". A social commentary on the issue of teenage pregnacy with postive results that you can dance to? No problem! The controversial "Papa Don't Preach" opens the album. "Live To Tell", her most critically acclaimed song, is also here. The album was dedicated to her then husband Sean Penn, "the coolest guy in the universe".
1. Who's That Girl? -Madonna
2. Causin' A Commotion -Madonna
3. The Look Of Love -Madonna
4. 24 Hours -Duncan Faure
5. Step By Step -Club Nouveau
6. Turn It Up -Michael Davidson
7. Best Thing Ever -Scritti Politti
8. Can't Stop -Madonna
9. El Coco Loco (So So Bad) -Coati Mundi
WHO'S THAT GIRL? (1987)
For Madonna's film vehicle of the same name, she had the honor of putting together her own soundtrack. Although most of the new artists she choose never went anywhere, the album perfectly represents the fun, chaotic atmosphere of the film. Needless to say, Madonna's four new tracks are not only the best selections on the album, but also represent her growth as an artist. She get's us moving with "Can't Stop", brings tears to our eyes with "The Look Of Love", knocks the socks off of us with the dynamic "Causin' A Commotion", and serenades us with the beautiful #1 hit title track.
1. Spotlight
2. Holiday
3. Everybody
4. Physical Attraction
5. Over And Over
6. Into The Groove
7. Where's The Party?
You Can Dance! (1987)
Madonna's first compilation album was a collection of tracks that will make you believe in what the title says. With the addition of the brand new track "Spotlight", her greatest dance hits are remixed into one long groove that's absolutely perfect for parties. This album, released just in time for Christmas shoppers in '87, was one of the very first remix albums ever produced. The CD and cassette editions each contain bonus dub versions not found on the vinyl edition.
1. Like A Prayer
2. Express Yourself
3. Love Song
4. Till Death Do Us Part
5. Promise To Try
6. Cherish
7. Dear Jessie
8. Oh Father
9. Keep It Together
10. Spanish Eyes
11. The Act Of Contrition
Like A Prayer (1989)
Arguably the most important album of her career, Madonna showed the world what an incredible artist she was with "Like A Prayer". Full of Catholic images from her past, the album was a statment that maybe the Material Girl was (GASP!) a sensitive human being. It was dedicated to her mother, "who taught me how to pray". The lyrics are her deepest and most personal; she sings about her abusive relationship with Sean Penn ("Till Death Do Us Part"), the death of her mother ("Promise To Try"), her strict upbringing ("Oh Father"), and the importance of her family ("Keep It Together"). She still manages to have fun though, "Cherish" and "Dear Jessie" show a innocent childlike side to her we've never seen before. Throw in a duet with Prince ("Love Song"), her self-anthem "Express Yourself", the show-stopping ballad "Spanish Eyes", and the controversial title track; and what more can you ask for? How about a fun little skit called "The Act Of Contriction", where Madonna is trying to confirm her "reservation" in heaven. A truely incredible album.
1. He's A Man
2. Sooner Or Later
3. Hanky Panky
4. I'm Going Bananas!
5. Cry Baby
6. Something To Remember
7. Back In Business
8. More
9. What Can You Lose?
10. Now I'm Following You (Part I)
11. Now I'm Following You (Part II)
12. Vogue
I'm Breathless (1990)
If "Like A Prayer" was Madonna's most ambitious album, this was her riskiest. If a pop star decides to do an album full of Broadway-style showtunes, it might be considered career suicide. But not Madonna. A tie-in with her hit film "Dick Tracy", "I'm Breathless" not only includes the Oscar winning "Sooner Or Later", but one of Madonna's greatest classics ever, the incredibly popular and musically thrilling "Vogue". Along with "Sooner Or Later", two other songs are from the film, "More" and "What Can You Lose?". Former fling Warren Beatty duets with her on "Now I'm Following You", which is followed by a hilarious remix. A classy and fun album which remains very underrated.
1. Holiday
2. Lucky Star
3. Borderline
4. Like A Virgin
5. Material Girl
6. Crazy For You
7. Into The Groove
8. Live To Tell
9. Papa Don't Preach
10. Open Your Heart
11. La Isla Bonita
12. Like A Prayer
13. Express Yourself
14. Cherish
15. Vogue
16. Justify My Love
17. Rescue Me
THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION (1990)
The Holy Grail for all followers of Madonna. From the tongue-in-cheek title pun, to the wonderfully written liner notes, to her sarcastic dedication to the Pope; this "greatest hits" album is everything you could ask for from Madonna. Some of the songs had to be shorten to fit on the nearly 80 minute long album, and others were remixed for a fresh new feel to them. Although some may complain, those alterations are far from crucial mistakes. The entire album was mixed in Q-Sound, which gave the songs a 3-D effect to them. And to top it off, two new songs were recorded just for this compilation! The new songs weren't useless filler for the album, but songs that became classics themselves. The steamly "Justify My Love" still ranks as one of the sexiest songs of all-time, and "Rescue Me" was a preview of the daring risks (lyrically and musically) Madonna would take in the rest of her career. The album was also released in a boxed set called "The Royal Box"; which contained a video collection, poscards, a poster, and a deluxe version of the album, all house in a beautiful velvet box. "The Immaculate Collection" is a definite must-have for everyone's music collection, regardless of their feelings on Madonna.
1. Erotica
2. Fever
3. Bye Bye Baby
4. Deeper & Deeper
5. Where Life Begins
6. Bad Girl
7. Waiting
8. Thief Of Hearts
9. Words
10. Rain
11. Why's It So Hard?
12. In This Life
13. Did You Do It?
14. Secret Garden
EROTICA (1992)
Perhaps one of the most underrated albums of all-time, "Erotica" is regarded as everything Madonna stands for; lust, love, fun, pain, depth, camp, and mystery. All these themes are explored on what may be her most perfect and artistic album. It was designed to be a blockbuster, but since Madonna was going through so much bad press because of her more controversial project at the time (the SEX book), the album didn't quite set the charts on fire and was tossed away as merely a companion to the book. But while the book concentrated on Madonna's sexual fantasies, the album concentrated on everything else on her mind. From the pure pleasure/pain of the title track, to the jazzy wonderland of "Secret Garden"; listening to "Erotica" is more of an emotional journey then a pop record. She becomes dancable ("Deeper & Deeper"), bitchy ("Theif Of Hearts"), raunchy ("Where Life Begins"), guilty ("Bad Girl"), defensive ("Words"), mad ("Why's It So Hard?"), sorrowful ("In This Life"), or just plain romantic ("Rain"). Many people won't like the dark tone of "Erotica", but if you find yourself drawn into Madonna's world for an hour and twenty minutes, you'll be grateful for what you've experienced.
1. Survival
2. Secret
3. I'd Rather Be Your Lover
4. Don't Stop
5. Inside Of Me
6. Human Nature
7. Forbidden Love
8. Love Tried To Welcome Me
9. Sanctuary
10. Bedtime Story
11. Take A Bow
BEDTIME STORIES (1994)
When we last left Madonna she was ridiculed by the world, they had hyped her up and then dragged her to the ground. "Bedtime Stories" was not only an account of the depression she went through during this time, but it also put an end to the slump. Lonliness is one of the main themes on the album, and Madonna choose the heartbreaking sounds of R&B to express her sadness and anger toward her critics. The opening track "Survival" makes it very clear that she is aware of what the world thinks of her, but before she gets too whiney she gives us "Human Nature", an in-your-face hardcore rap wich is basically a big FUCK OFF to all that put her down. She becomes very vunerable on tracks like "Take A Bow" & "Love Tried To Welcome Me", and even hints back to "Like A Prayer" with the spirituality of "Secret" and "Inside Of Me" (a funky remake of "Promise To Try"). The album's highlight is the trippy suite made up of the poetic "Sanctuary", and her collaboration with Bjork, "Bedtime Story".
1. I Want You
2. I'll Remember
3. Take A Bow
4. You'll See
5. Crazy For You
6. This Used To Be My Playground
7. Live To Tell
8. Love Don't Live Here Anymore '96
9. Something To Remember
10. Forbidden Love
11. One More Chance
12. Rain
13. Oh Father
14. I Want You (Orchestral Version)
SOMETHING TO REMEMBER (1995)
Madonna makes great dance music, and here's a package of some more music you can dance to... slowly. After "Take A Bow" became her most successful hit ever, Madonna showed the world an even softer side of her with this collection of her greatest ballads. Included for the first time on a Madonna album are "I'll Remember" (from the film "With Honors") and "This Used To Be My Playground" (from her own film, "A League Of Their Own"). Four new ballads also round out this compilation. "You'll See" is a strong athem declaring that Madonna can survive all by herself. "One More Chance" is a beautiful accoustic piece with some of her most sensitive lyrics to date; there is a rumor that this song is actually written about Madonna's fans' reaction to the SEX project. There are two versions of Madonna's remake of the Marvin Gaye classic "I Want You"; the album opens with a trip-hop version, and closes with an orchestral version. Both version feature Massive Attack. Also included is a remix of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", Madonna's first ballad. "Something To Remember" prooves that Madonna isn't your typical dance diva, but a first-class singer as well.
EVITA (1996)
Can you say EPIC? Madonna's longest, most expensive, difficult, and orchestral album was the soundtrack to the musical of the 90's. Many critics consider this to be the finest recording of the classic rock opera. And if anyone dares to say Madonna can't sing, they need to listen to this. She hits the high notes, the low notes, and gives the most jaw-dropping vocal performance of her life. When listening to her sing the signature song, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", you either freeze in awe or cry your eyes out. This album is unlike anything Madonna has ever recorded before. I still find it hard to belive that the woman singing "Another Suitcase In Another Hall" is the same one that teased audiences with "Dress You Up". The supporting vocals by actors Jonathan Pryce and Antonio Banderas are surprisingly excellent. In a time where opera rarely even hits the top 100, the "Evita" album was an incredible success. It redifined Madonna as the premeire female artist of the century and gave her an entirely new adult-contemporary fan base. To sum it all up, the project was a very wise thing to do.
DISC 1:
1. A Cinema In Buenos Aries, 26 July 1952
2. Requiem For Evita
3. Oh What A Circus -Antonio Banderas/Madonna
4. On This Night Of A Thousand Stars -Jimmy Nail
5. Eva And Magaldi -Madonna/Jimmy Nail/Antonio Banderas/Julian Littman
6. Eva Beware Of The City -Madonna/Jimmy Nail/Antonio Banderas/Julian Littman
7. Buenos Aries -Madonna
8. Another Suitcase In Another Hall -Madonna
9. Goodnight And Thank You -Madonna/Antonio Banderas
10. The Lady's Got Potential -Antonio Banderas
11. Charity Concert -Jimmy Nail/Jonathan Pryce/Antonio Banderas/Madonna
12. The Art Of The Possible -Jimmy Nail/Jonathan Pryce/Antonio Banderas/Madonna
13. I'd Be Suprisingly Good For You -Madonna/Jonathan Pryce
14. Hello And Goodbye -Madonna/Andrea Corr/Jonathan Pryce
15. Peron's Latest Flame -Antonio Banderas/Madonna
16. A New Argentina -Madonna/Jonathan Pryce/Antonio Banderas
DISC 2:
1. On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada 1 -Jonathan Pryce
2. Don't Cry For Me Argentina -Madonna
3. On The Balcony Of The Casa Rosada 2 -Madonna
4. High Flying, Adored -Antonio Banderas/Madonna
5. Rainbow High -Madonna
6. Rainbow Tour -Antonio Banderas/Gary Brooker/Peter Polycarpou/Jonathan Pryce
7. The Actress Hasn't Learned The Lines (You'd Like To Hear) -Madonna/Antonio Banderas
8. And The Money Kept Rolling In (And Out) -Antonio Banderas
9. Partido Feminista -Madonna
10. She Is A Diamond -Jonathan Pryce
11. Santa Evita
12. Waltz For Eva And Che -Madonna/Antonio Banderas
13. Your Little Body's Slowly Breaking Down -Madonna/Jonathan Pryce
14. You Must Love Me -Madonna
15. Eva's Final Broadcast -Madonna
16. Latin Chant
17. Lament - Madonna/Antonio Banderas
There is a single disc version of this album availible that omits tracks 1, 10, & 14 on Disc One; and tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, & 16 on Disc Two.
RAY OF LIGHT (1998)
Coming soon, a whole page dedicated to "Ray Of Light"!
Main Page•The Life•Quotes•Multimedia•Message Forum•Links
