Never liked her singing ballads until I heard Love Tried To Welcome me from the Bedtime Stories Album (she was always on the dancefloor!!!)

Yeah, I know Live to Tell & Crazy for You are her fans' favs (and I am a fan) , but she never touched me until that song...

After that, I could really feel her singing a slow (love)song.

The Drowned World Tour is a DVD I never cared much for, I just saw it once, and just today I discovered Gone was there...

She doesn't have the best voice out there, she's far from that... But she's hard working enough to have come this far... at 50.

My 6 favorites are... Which ones are yours?

I only like her ballads. Most of her uptempo songs are trite or silly.

My favorite is, "Love Tried To Welcome Me".

I love Gone and I Deserve It from Music...

Nothing Fails and this used to be my playground are favorites too...

And not mentioning Secret would be a crime...

but when it comes to Madonna's ballads for me nothing beats

[Edited 7/31/11 19:41pm]

i don't feel her ballads ever get the credit they deserve.

LOVE ALL OF THEM!!!

[Edited 7/31/11 15:16pm]

Something to remember was a great CD.

Favourite ballads of hers:

-you'll see

-this used to be my playground

-Forbidden love

-the look of love

-promise to try

to name a few....

Favourite ballads are:

Spanish Eyes

Easy Ride

Nothing Fails

Power of Goodbye

Oh Father

Love Don't Live Here Anymore

Where Life Begins

Secret

You'll See

This Used To Be My Playground
In This Life

Spanish Eyes

I'll Remember

Bad Girl

Take A Bow

You'll See

Rain

Crazy for You

Live to Tell

Oh Father

Forbidden Love

Drowned World

...I always loved her ballads.

[Edited 7/31/11 15:22pm]

Ugh I can't believe I forgot I'll Remember! LOVE it!

and Bad Girl and Rain, couldn't get enough of them

Her ballads not getting credit are the reason people like to write her off as someone who just made it selling sex *cough* jackson fans *cough*

Ehhh..... if Nothing Ever Matters or Justify My Love is considered a ballad then I like those. Otherwise Madonna and ballads are a sin.

"This Used To Be My Playground" , "Take A Bow" and "Crazy For You" are my favs.

-

too many to mention but the real underrated gem in my book would be Time Stood Still. that music solo towards the end is sublime.

Ballads in my top 20 favorite Madonna songs [overall rank in brackets]:

1. The Power of Good-Bye [1]

2. Live to Tell [4]

3. Bad Girl [5]

If "Secret" counts, it goes right here [6]

4. Take a Bow [10]

5. Frozen [11]

6. Oh Father [12]

7. Drowned World/Substitute for Love [13]

8. To Have and Not to Hold [20]

Timmy84 said:

This Used To Be My Playground
In This Life

Spanish Eyes

I'll Remember

Bad Girl

Take A Bow

You'll See

Rain

Crazy for You

Live to Tell

Oh Father

Forbidden Love

Drowned World

...I always loved her ballads.

[Edited 7/31/11 15:22pm]

Those two songs may not be great single material, but I still feel like they should be among her best known. They are def among her most sincere songs IMO.

Madonna is one of the few pop-dance type artists who actually makes really good ballads, too; with a lot of them, their dance stuff is great but their slow stuff is shit.

shorttrini said:

My favorite is, "Love Tried To Welcome Me".

Same here. I ADORE that track.

is "Miles Away" considered a ballad? I love that song I hope the new album has a few songs in that vein.

Take A Bow

Rain

Gone

Live To Tell

Bad Girl

You'll See

"This Used To Be My Playground"

"The Power of Good-bye"

"You'll See"

"You Must Love Me"

"Bad Girl"

"One More Chance"

RKJCNE said:

It is the alpha and the omega for me when it comes to Madonna's ballads alongside "Take A Bow". I generally love her live renditions of ballads more, like "Gone" on Drowned World Tour, or "You Must Love Me" on the most recent tour, a lot more than their studio versions.

As for Something To Remember, sometimes I'm the mood for it but many times I find it a bit too much, especially songs like "I Want You" or "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" which are far from her best.

shorttrini said:

My favorite is, "Love Tried To Welcome Me".

That's a smooth one.

Timmy84 said:

shorttrini said:

My favorite is, "Love Tried To Welcome Me".

That's a smooth one.

Written by Kenny Green, of the group "Intro".

shorttrini said:

Timmy84 said:

That's a smooth one.

Written by Kenny Green, of the group "Intro".

He has written two of my favorite songs, for two of my NOT so favorite artist's.

This song, for Madonna and "Love No Limit", for Mary J.

shorttrini said:

He has written two of my favorite songs, for two of my NOT so favorite artist's.

This song, for Madonna and "Love No Limit", for Mary J.

Well I like Madonna and Mary J. so it's both pluses to me.

For me I really liked that she stepped away from the high-energy sound of 1992/1993 Erotica singles. Erotica had "Rain" and "Bad Girl" for singles but the era was stamped with that house/club sound.

In 1994 she had the huge hit "I'll Remember" and then "Take A Bow" from Bedtime Stories.

THEN in 1995, she delivered that collection of ballads (Something To Remember) that made you realize... she wasn't simply a quote-unquote dance artist. She had enough ballads to carry a 71 minute disc!

Her albums had that balance before, but Something To Remember is when I realized it.

LiveToTell86 said:

It is the alpha and the omega for me when it comes to Madonna's ballads alongside "Take A Bow". I generally love her live renditions of ballads more, like "Gone" on Drowned World Tour, or "You Must Love Me" on the most recent tour, a lot more than their studio versions.

As for Something To Remember, sometimes I'm the mood for it but many times I find it a bit too much, especially songs like "I Want You" or "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" which are far from her best.

Really?! I adore her version of I Want You, especially with the brilliant music video

oooh props to whomever posted "Love Tried to Welcome Me"

LOVE that joint!

other best M ballads:

"You'll See"

"Live To Tell"

"Forbidden Love"

"Inside of Me"

"Rain" (!!!!!!!) <------------------------- sooo fucking underrated / underappreciated

"Shoo Be Doo" (Shut the noise)

"Promise to Try"

"The Power of Goodbye"

I really don't get all the fuss over "To Have and not to Hold" - i like it, but it always sounded / felt like a b-side, and people go nuts for that one. Same on "Drowned World" - good tune, but not as awesome (for me) as the stans think it is.