I still believe, I still believe
'Cause after all is said and done
I'm still alive
And the boots have come and trampled on me
And I'm still alive
'Cause the sun has kissed me, and caressed me
And I'm strong, and there's a chance
That I will grow, this I know
So I'm still looking for

theodore said:

That's a good start.

Cloudbuster said:

Seriously... there should b a complete different forum 4 all the Madonna threads

theodore said:

Better that boriah scarey!

MikeMatronik said:

Do you mean Mariah Carey?

I don't make 500 threads about her a week

definitely some underrated madonna gems on that CD, love it!

Great great album!

Much better then than now...dueting with MJ-wanna-be's...ffs...

I could go on and on...

There have been many Madonna albums that have struck me, but I keep going back to this one as my favorite.

And "Secret Garden" is an underrated masterpiece.

GangstaFam said:

I think words and why's it so hard are underrated dance tracks

theodore said:

wouldn't it be nice!! I've heard that there are websites that are like totally devoted to that talentless whore,


[Edited 8/5/07 20:23pm]

this album marked the height of my Madonna fandom.

i remember purchasing it in October 1992 on my 11th birthday from the wherehouse. i stuck aside for ages, still digging on im breathless and the immaculate collection.

then sometime around early 93 i discovered 'rain.' rain is definitely the all time best Madonna ballad. the vocals, the harmonies, the words...though it now sounds dated as hell, it's still her least appreciated hit of her career.

i have to say that the first four tracks in a row make for the most killer opening segment of a madonna - no, ANY pop album out there. 'fever' is dynamite, and 'deeper and deeper' might be my favorite song along with 'burning up' of hers of all time.

'where life begins'...damn, that one was ahead of its time. i remember playing it on non stop repeat until my mom said 'no more.' i didnt get what it was about...awkward mom conversation!

'waiting' is probably her best album track ever. i really wish she would have stuck with andre betts for more of the album and on bedtime stories. a jazzy r&b infusion with madonna's vocals is brilliant - she should make a whole record in the vain of 'waiting' and 'secret garden.'

'theif of hearts' and 'words' are so throw away, so bubble gum, such great trash...that they are almost like underground madonna classics. they sound so b side that they're a side.

'whys it so hard' sure didnt really come alive for me until hearing it (or seeing it) live on the Girlie Show. i think the reggae thing could have been taken further on the album version, but it's still a fantastic song with great lyrics and probably her best message ever.

and then there is 'secret garden'...there are no words. by far the greatest lyrics she has ever written/co written...amazing production...the best closer you could ever hope for.

the title track is now a classic. i thought of it as a mere rip off of justify my love with a mediocre classic...but the sample of 'jungle boogie?' GENIUS. the bass line is funky as hell. i swear janet jackson must have ripped off the style of this song for half the shit on 'the velvet rope.' though VR might actually be the only janet album that can give erotica a run for its money.

my 2 cents...oh, and 'bad girl.' hmmm...what to say except an incredible chours...but did she have a cold when she recorded the vocals? they're so undercooked it's almost as if she phoned it into the studio. i thought that song always had hit written all over it but i do remember it being her lowest charting single up to that point. still a great sleeper top 40 track. when i heard she might dig this one out for RIT i was thrilled...too bad that didnt pan out but 'lament' did.

i'll never be 11 and madonna will never be 34 again but damn...she was great back then, not that she isnt now, but that record made me the superfan i was for the rest of my adolescence and young adulthood...i think Madonna historians 50 years from now will study the 'erotica' period as madonna at her most prominent, cutting edge, and of the moment.

My favorite Madonna album.As someone mentioned above,"Words" is an underrated gem What I love most of about this album is,it has a very dark,moody sound.It's very New York-sounding too.

It is my favourite Madonna album as well.

It isn't my favourite Madonna album in fact, it was my least favourite M album until American Life appeared in 2003
Mmm, the production is too dance-club oriented (which makes the album repetitive and lifeless) and all that sex-charged lyrics are tedious; there are amazing songs here (title track, Rain, her best ballad, Deeper and Deeper, Bad Girl, Fever, Secret Garden) but there are some truly awful songs as well, I think the album would have worked better with 11 or even 10 songs...
Nevertheless, I'm not a huge fan of M early 90's career: Bedtime stories isn't a favourite of mine either.

By the way, the booklet should have had a lot of the pictures of the Sex book

It's good, but my main complaint is that it's too long. The album isn't one of my favorites, but "Bad Girl" and "Deeper and Deeper" are certainly up there.

Madonna's best ballad is still "Live to Tell."

JoeTyler said:

I'm actually surprised that the album isn't more sexual,considering it is titled 'Erotica' There are only two songs about sex: the title track and "Where Life Begins".I recall a critic complaining about this in his review.He wrote...

This album has a song called "Why's It So Hard" and it's about world peace!

If Ray Of Light and Like A Prayer are her most accomplished albums, Erotica is her most important, the album she was born to make. It sums up her entire message, and was the culmination of everything she'd been trying to say throughout her career up to that point. Such a shame that it was pretty much ignored upon its release due to the hype and controversy of SEX.

Shep comes into his own on this record for sure, but its the Andre Betts tracks that still sound as fresh and inventive as they did back in 92. Waiting is the ultimate underrated madonna album track. Its a slice of sublime soul/jazz/hip hop magic that i think is one of the coolest things shes ever recorded: "And the next time you want pussy.....just look in the mirror baby".

There is so much brilliance on this album that i cant cover everything that i love about this record. Its COLD. Sex is supposed to be warm, but the ice cold delivery on all tracks, particularly Fever, is perfect. She hardly belts a single number and the message is all the clearer for that. Speaking of messages, there was no clearer message than the Whys It So Hard / In This Life, and its one of the best sequencing of songs on any of her albums.

While the production may be too of its time to allow Erotica to go down as a classic, there is a certain group of Madonna fans who worship this record, and the videos, imagery and tour that went along with it.
It is the ultimate madonna era IMO. Conservative America of the early 90's wasn't ready to be given a pussy whipping by Madonna, but erotica proved that she could be everything they accused her to be, and more, but in spite of it all Erotica is the most serious and direct record she's ever made. You couldnt ignore it.

SoulAlive said:

Well, most of the lyrics aren't explicit, but the album is FULL of metaphors and all that double meaning stuff; or maybe is just me and my sick mind

This album was released around the same time as Prince's 'Love Symbol' album.I was listening to both of these CDs non-stop Prince and Madonna were at the top of their game in the early 90s.

SoulAlive said:

They both released much better albums later that decade (Ray of Light and The Gold Experience).

Probably my favorite Madonna album. It's Madonna bringing her A-game for sure. Everything seemed to be leading up to this one. Nearly every album was better than the last. Her lyrics were getting better, her hooks catchier but not stilly, her sound a bit darker, her themes more mature. After "This Used To Be My Playground", not to mention the "Immaculate Collection" tracks, "Vogue" and just about everything that happened in the early ninties, I don't think anyone was expecting her to ever make anything like "True Blue" again but "Erotica" was still a bit of a surprise. Funky at times, danceable with a good smartering of strong AC ballads and some experiments ("Secret Garden", "Waiting"). I love this album.

SoulAlive said:

thank you! I finally found someone who loves this song, I love the intro, something about it strikes me emotionally and then how the dance beat coems in, and the lyrics. Definitely an emotional dance song that doesn't enough recognition

I also like where life begins, awesome r&b beat, and verrrrryyy naughty

By the way, I thought Like a prayer (or even Madonna or Ray of light) was the favourite M album of everyone here, now I see that it's Erotica, I'm really surprised...

JoeTyler said:

It's Ray of Light by far for me. I think Confessions is #2.

CrozzaUK said:

In my old age her albums rank like this:

1. Erotica
2. Bedtime Stories


3. Like A Prayer
4. Madonna


5. I'm Breathless
6. Ray of Light
7. Confessions
8. Like a Virgin
9. Music


10. True Blue
11. American Life

badujunkie said:

1.Like a prayer
2.Ray of light
3.True Blue
4.Madonna

5.Music
6.Like a virgin
7.Confessions on a dance floor

8.Bedtime Stories
9.I'm breathless
10.Erotica
11.American Life