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Madonna ... TRUE BLUE (1986)

Chad DeFeo | Philadelphia, PA. | 09/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1986, Madonna had released her third album entitled, TRUE BLUE. This album had shown us a new Madonna. The clunk jewelery and black outfits were gone. The rubber bracelets and clunk bracelets were gone. The lion's mane was now cut down to a bleach-blonde pixie style cut. And the outfits were now of a feminine Tom-Boy style. tHIS album is one of the many albums where Madonna has re-invented herself. And this album is another of one of the greatest albums Madonna has ever put out.



PAPA DON'T PREACH

The album's second single. This one of Madonna's greatest songs. In the song (and video), Madonna takes on the part of a teenage girl, who has been dating a boy she really loves. This boy has gotten her ... pregnant. But her boyfriend loves her to the point of moving in with her and helping her raise their child. But, Madonna has a problem ... telling her father, who will "Preach" to her about what she is doing is wrong. This song went on to become Madonna's fourth #1 hit single (Billboard Hot 100). The second #1 (Billboard Hot 100) was "Crazy For You" in 1985, and third #1 (Billboard Hot 100) was "Live To Tell", which I will get to in just a moment.



OPEN YOUR HEART

The album's fourth single. This was actually the first song I have heard from Madonna and it is the song that turned me into the huge fan that I am today. This song's music video is nothing short of a classic, where Madonna takes on the part of an Italin exotic dancer. The little boy in the video tries to get in to see Madonna, but is refused admission, where he stands outside, imagining what Madonna's performance is like. At the end of her performance, Madonna and the kid go running off into the sunset, just having plain old fun.



WHITE HEAT

This is a great song, and is named after the James Cagney movie of the same name. The movie was, I think, a Mob movie from the 1940s, and because this song is very similar to a Mob concept, Madonna named it after the original Cagney movie. Just so you know the excerpts you hear in the beginning and middle of the song, are actually of James Cagney in the film of the same name. On backing vocals is ... Richard Marx, another one of my favorite artists. He had done this the year before his self-titled debut album.



LIVE TO TELL

The album's first single. This song, while being Madonna's third #1 hit (Billboard Hot 100), was also the theme song to the 1986 thriller, "At Close Range", starring Christopher Walkin and Sean Penn (whom Madonna had been married to a year by the time of this album's release). This is one of the most beautiful ballads Madonna has ever recorded. The song is so haunting, yet so moving. Controversy had stirred up in 2006 when Madonna, after kicking off her CONFESSIONS TOUR, performed this song, while hung up on a mirrored cross, wearing a red blouse and the crown of the thorns, symbolizing Jesus' crucifixion. Madonna has stated that she did not do this to poke fun at the Catholic faith, but to point out the hatred in this world.



WHERE'S THE PARTY

Great party song.



TRUE BLUE

The album's third single. A great tune here.



LA ISLA BONITA

The album's first & final single. This is the first of two Madonna ballads to feature a Spanish influential sound. This is another one of Madonna's major hits and has been perfoming an uptempo version of this song on her CONFESSIONS TOUR.



JIMMY JIMMY

A little bubble-gummy, but the song is real catchy.



LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND

"Make Love, Not War We say", and that's exactly what we all should be doing: making love, not making war. A great song.



This album, in which Madonna had dedicated it to, "...My Husband, The Coolest Guy In The Universe...", is another one of the great ones in Madonna's catalogue. Make sure not to skip this one."