Chico1 said:

Interesting fact, Chico. Where is that picture?

VinnyM27 said:

Madonna's weird and wonderful visit to Michael Jackson's estate.

VinnyM27 said:

It's from Rolling Stone magazine 1986

Although Madonna photos will ALWAYS intrigue and inspire me, the True Blue cover is a classic. Man, do I miss Herb Ritts.

jillybean said:

i agree, Dress You Up and Ain't No Big Deal are bad, but ANBD is saved by a certain amount of charm.

when i was declaring OMC the absolute worst, i'd forgotten about Shoo Bee Doo. the lowest piece of crap she's put out in her entire career. but perhaps OMC still takes the title, because, as you say, she shouldn't have had any songs/performances that bad at that point in her career.

"Jimmy Jimmy" is absolutely dreadful.I don't know why that song even made it past the demo stage

GrayKing said:

With "One More Chance" (and "You'll See"),Madonna was clearly trying to reach an adult contemporary crowd."Take A Bow" became her biggest hit single ever,and I think she was trying to capitalize on it's success.She was getting ready to start filming 'Evita' and she knew that it was time to present herself as a classy,sophisticated artist.I think that's the whole point of the 'Something To Remember' album.

I like "One More Chance".This is gonna sound crazy,but I think it was refreshing to hear Madonna singing a rather ordinary ballad for a change (lol).And who could have imagined Madonna working with someone like David Foster?

GrayKing said:

I think "Spotlight" is a crappy song too


Another interesting opinion about the 'True Blue' album...

I think the song "White Heat" should have been a single instead of the lackluster "Open Your Heart".


running to my box
[Edited 12/13/04 5:15am]

"Jimmy Jimmy" is not her best song no, but her worst? Have any of
you ever even heard the "I'm Breathless" album?



Gawd. I sold that piece of crap with a quickness. I bought it when
it came out and a month later I sold the turd. It was the first cd
that made me think that perhaps not all great musicians will always
make for great albums.

I can't remember much of it, but one thing that sometimes recurrs in
my worst nightmares is a tune called "I'm Goin Bananas"

IstenSzek said:

I liked hearing her go in a totally new direction and there are a few gems on that album: "Something To Remember","Sooner Or Later","Now I'm Following You" and of course,"Vogue"


But I admit,some of those tunes are disastrous: "Cry Baby" and "I'm Going Bananas"

..
[Edited 12/13/04 6:43am]

DavidEye said:

yeah, White Heat is a nice track, but Open Your Heart "lackluster"????

and no, Spotlight ISN'T very strong. but it's miles ahead of Jimmy Jimmy.

DavidEye said:

yes, but why? as with Babyface ("Take A Bow" is great, "Forbidden Love" is mediocre), she was able to only get one great collaboration out of David Foster ("You'll See") and one dreadful one ("One More Chance"). what's worse is that there were already 2 new songs on STR (with one of them even appearing twice). it's a waste of space that's taking the place of a song that should be there ("Bad Girl," "The Look Of Love," "Promise To Try," etc. take your pick.)

DavidEye said:

If I'm not mistaken STR was released without any promotion so people could just focus on the music for a change

DavidEye said:

Oh David

I love to see you post cause you're a fellow Madge fan, but how could you speak like this?
Open your Heart is one of Madonna's best dance tracks to date

Easily the worst song Madonna has ever recorded. Terrible, terrible track and it spoils an otherwise great pop record.

Axchi696 said:

If, by "navel-gazing", you mean "re-examining your values and coming out with a more mature and wise outlook", yes - its navel-gazing to the max.

jayaredee said:

not only that, one of her best extended versions too. damn i love that 12inch.

DavidEye said:

So you like "One More Chance", but not "Open Your Heart"? DavidEye, that must be some finely graded crack.

DavidEye said:

"Spotlight" crappy? LACKLUSTER "OPEN YOUR HEART"!?

You better run or you're going to hit in the mouth!

I like "White Heat" a lot but my problem with it was the movie dalouge. I'm sorry, but it took away from the song a little (it too away enough from it to keep it from being a single, I would say). "Open Your Heart" is a classic pop song. I can't understand your reservations with it.

VinnyM27 said:

well, it is a tribute to James Cagney, so the movie dialogue makes sense (even though it's hard to see what the song has to do with him beyond the title). but my greatest wish for that song, even if it wasn't going to be a single, is that any of the various times it was used as a b-side in 86/87, it would have had a 7" version with the dialogue taken out of the beginning. it's a difficult one to edit on your own, because she kicks into the chorus as soon as he stops talking

I'm sorry guys,but I just never really liked "Open Your Heart".It's too "poppy" or something and it sounds horribly dated.But I must confess that,overall,'True Blue' isn't one of my favorite Madonna albums.With the exception of "Live To Tell" and "Papa Don't Preach" (two exellent songs),much of it is average at best.


I guess I better go back into my box,huh?

DavidEye said:

Stay in that box, dammit!

I like Open Your Heart a lot. Part of me does wonder, however, how it would have been if given to Cyndi Lauper as Follow Your Heart, like it was originally intended.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Madonna co-wrote that song...she was going to give it to Cyndi?

DavidEye said:

VinnyM27 said:

No, Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson wrote it with Cyndi in mind. "She never heard it," Cole reveals. At one point, the Temptations were under consideration to perform the tune. "(They) put the song on hold. Benny Medina, who was at Motown at the time, called Peter up and asked us if he could cut the song with the Temptations. Well, about a week later we found out that Madonna had already cut it. Once the temptations heard that Madonna had cut the song they didn't have any interest in it any longer."

Cole and Rafelson wrote "Open Your Heart" as a rock and roll song, although the original title was "Follow Your Heart."

"Madonna redid some of the lyric ideas and, (with) Patrick Leonard, changed the arrangement around. Pat and her put a...bass line underneath the song and got it into a rock and roll dance area instead of just rock and roll. The original song was more pop/rock than dance. Pat and her just cut it into a dance song."

VoicesCarry said:

Wow,that's interesting.I never knew that The Temptations almost recorded that song! I did hear that the song "La Isla Bonita" was originally offered to Michael Jackson,presumably with different lyrics though.

this is a perfect thread idea...."Songs that were intended for other artists to sing".

DavidEye said:

David Bowie wrote/recorded "Golden Years" for his RCA label-mate Elvis Presley. the King turned it down.
[Edited 12/15/04 17:57pm]