Messiah is a decent track, doesn't deserve to be out quite yet. It's one of the ones that survived my cull on the album.

 

Astonished that Bedtime Stories still has everything in! :o

 

Astonished that Bedtime Stories still has everything in! :o

American Life, Bedtime Stories and Ray of Light still with 100% of songs left - what will be the last one to lose a track? :o

 

(Madame X only losing 1/18 tracks too! Very commendable ~)

I’m tempted to guess American Life as being the last one standing but could easily see it being Ray of Light too, depends upon how well Shanti / Ashtangi did

American Life is one of those album that years ago would probably have been pegged for a lot of early outs, but it's one I think that's grown with the fans over time. It reminds me so much of Christmas 2003 (I got it as a gift then) and I absolutely adored it from the off!

I'm not actually shocked that Bedtime Stories is a contender too because while it may not have the dizzying HIGHS of other albums, it also doesn't have any real LOWS like many of her albums have! All tracks are ~pleasant~ and so would fare decently in a rate against her entire discography.

American Life is one of those album that years ago would probably have been pegged for a lot of early outs, but it's one I think that's grown with the fans over time. It reminds me so much of Christmas 2003 (I got it as a gift then) and I absolutely adored it from the off!

Me too! Still think it’s one of her very best ^_^

American Life is one of those album that years ago would probably have been pegged for a lot of early outs, but it's one I think that's grown with the fans over time. It reminds me so much of Christmas 2003 (I got it as a gift then) and I absolutely adored it from the off!

 

I started secondary school that September and we were all asked to choose a topic to introduce ourselves with — I did a presentation on why American Life and Madonna were better than the Beatles.

 

That went well.

 

'In This Life' could do with a couple of minutes being trimmed off but I commend it for the topic it deals with. I like the jazzy-lounge style of 'Secret Garden' but the song itself doesn't hold up next to my highlights on the album.

 

'Give Me All Your Luvin'' is rightfully the last placed lead single. I can enjoy it for what it is now but at the time it felt like a real career killer. I could have accepted it being a one off for the Superbowl but it was the wrong choice for lead single (and I guess, even if it was released as a stand-alone ahead of a lead single, that would probably have killed momentum for the era anyway). It also doesn't help that Madonna decided to do no promotion for the MDNA era itself.

 

'Super Pop' is my guilty pleasure - it's possibly more lyrically cringe than 'I Love New York' but I can't help but bop to it.

 

'Falling Free' is probably the strongest MDNA track in terms of both the song itself and the quality of the post-production. Madonna actually sounds like herself and sings to her ability, the lyrics feel like they took more than 5 minutes to write and William Orbit's production is very familiar. There's songs I like more on the album but objectively I'd say it was the best.

 

'Inside Out' and 'Messiah' are my two favourite out of all the tracks that have left - gone far too soon, especially with 'Unapologetic Bitch' and a few others from Rebel Heart ahead of them. I like the latter but when I listen to the full album I always favour the tracks with more depth. 'Best Night' is probably the best sexual song Madonna has done in recent times; it's sensual, more love over lust and the production suits the mood so well.

 

Not surprised to see 'Physical Attraction' as one of the earliest songs to leave from Madonna's debut, but I genuinely rate it as one of the album's best. It's not very immediate, like I can understand why one may find it quite non-descript but there's something about the production and how laid-back the song is that I love.

I started secondary school that September and we were all asked to choose a topic to introduce ourselves with — I did a presentation on why American Life and Madonna were better than the Beatles.

 

That went well.

I love this! :lol:

I started secondary school that September and we were all asked to choose a topic to introduce ourselves with — I did a presentation on why American Life and Madonna were better than the Beatles.

 

That went well.

You are you not in my class at school?

 

Love.

I'm not actually shocked that Bedtime Stories is a contender too because while it may not have the dizzying HIGHS of other albums, it also doesn't have any real LOWS like many of her albums have! All tracks are ~pleasant~ and so would fare decently in a rate against her entire discography.

 

That’s very true!

 

I didn’t really think of this at the time and whilst as a whole it’s not one of my favourite albums it is pleasant enough and whilst a lot of her other albums have those high highs what this doesn’t have it doesn’t have a stinker on it.

No other man said love yourself

 

 

170. Think of Me // Madonna // 5.875

169. Fever // Erotica // 5.885

168. Future (with Quavo) // Madame X // 5.885 (more 7.5s)

167. I'm So Stupid // American Life // 5.893

166. Something to Remember // I'm Breathless // 5.923

 

'Think of Me' sees Madonna warn her lover to give her more consideration otherwise she'll leave; the self-assurance of its message elevates the song and helps the album depict an image of Madonna's confident personality. Madonna's house rendition of Little Willie John's 'Fever' came to light by a matter of chance: upon recording 'Goodbye to Innocence', Madonna began singing the lyrics to 'Fever' over the instrumental and liked the way it sounded. It was released as the fourth single from Erotica, just one month following the third. One of the Madame X pre-release songs, 'Future' sees Madonna team up with Quavo and Diplo for a Jamaican dancehall, semi-political piece that states only love, hope and positivity has a place in the world. American Life takes its first hit as 'I'm So Stupid' drops out - Madonna reflects on her past disillusions of fame and fortune, misconceptions that are still prevalent in the world today, and blatantly calls out the stupidity of the situation. Mirwais' production is typically unconventional and features a frozen vocal effect by use of a Roland VP-9000. 'Something to Remember' is one of the few serious moments on the I'm Breathless soundtrack, dealing with Madonna's failed marriage to Sean Penn. It's a bittersweet song as Madonna dwells on everything that went wrong, but ultimately takes one, significant positive away from the experience: he taught her to love herself.

 

Madonna: 5/8

Like A Virgin: 6/9

True Blue: 8/9

Like A Prayer: 9/11

Other (80s): 7/10

I'm Breathless: 2/12

Erotica: 9/14

Bedtime Stories: 11/11

Evita: 3/13

Ray of Light: 14/14

Other (90s): 8/12

Music: 12/13

American Life: 10/11

Confessions On A Dancefloor: 12/15

Hard Candy: 10/13

Other (00s): 2/5

MDNA: 7/16

Rebel Heart: 12/25

Madame X: 16/18

Other (10s): 2/3

 

80s: 35/47

90s: 47/76

00s: 47/57

10s: 36/62

Oh I forgot about I'm So Stupid! Surprised that hadn't gone already actually... I always get it confused with I Deserve It.

Oh I forgot about I'm So Stupid! Surprised that hadn't gone already actually... I always get it confused with I Deserve It.

I hope that's because of the name only and not the actual music :o I Deserve It is MAJESTIC and one of her best album tracks!

Think of Me - decent but quite repetitive and dated

Fever - not sure why this was ever a single, but the music video is warped and fantastical so i'm glad we got it looking back

Future (with Quavo) - the worst on Madame X! Finally out :cheer:

I'm So Stupid - deservedly the first track to drop out of AL

Something to Remember - a strong ballad and my second favourite on I'm Breathless ~

I hope that's because of the name only and not the actual music :o I Deserve It is MAJESTIC and one of her best album tracks!

Yes it is absolutely because of the name! For some reason I always think it is on American Life when it is of course not!

 

As for the rest... I despise Fever so glad to see that out, the others are all middling efforts with, yet again, the one from I'm Breathless being my preferred choice! :lol:

Not surprised that 'I'm So Stupid' is the first out from American Life - for a while, I really disliked it, although I think I never really gave the song a chance due to the vocal effect at the beginning which always used to annoy me. I actually prefer it to the first two singles from the album now! I like that signature Mirwais style of easy flowing vocal melody over a jolty production and the overly simple lyrics suit the song.

 

I like 'Fever' in the context of the album but I don't think it should have been a single. My thinking is that the record company panicked following the flop of 'Bad Girl' and the backlash towards Madonna in the media so decided to go with something people would recognise. I guess it did the job as it performed better than 'Bad Girl'.

 

I seem to like 'Future' more than most but it's probably still one of my least favourites from Madame X, so not too fussed to see it leave.

 

'Something to Remember' is one of those Madonna ballad that I like but feel goes on a little longer than it should. I love the lyrics though, it's a bit of a sister song to 'I'll Remember'.

How did I’m so stupid get this high it is not as good as many of the songs below it.

 

I’m very fond of all the other songs they would place higher on my individual list. The one edit of Fever (single version) is far superior to the album version.

 

Future should not be out before killers are partying and batuka !!

See which flavor you like and I'll have it for you

 

 

165. Iconic // Rebel Heart // 5.923

164. Love Makes The World go Round // True Blue // 5.938

163. Wash All Over Me // Rebel Heart // 5.962

162. Candy Shop // Hard Candy // 6.000

161. Broken // Other (10s) // 6.000 (higher score)

 

Iconic the Rebel Heart Tour opener is out first in this batch. It features the heavy weight knockouts of Chance the Rapper and Mike Tyson and is an empowering song with the lyrical genius of separating icon with I can. It's hard-hitting and in your face with trap-EDM spliced throughout. Love Makes The World Go Round as the title suggests is a healing, world-peace, love-filled number, that was also the first writing collaboration between Madonna and Patrick Leonard - so much followed! It closes the album and was performed at Live Aid 1985 - a very fitting song for the occasion. The Avicii soaked Wash All Over Me is one of the most celebrated songs on the album, but it has favoured less than positively here. The song leaked in demo form early, but the album version changed considerably as it became less dancey. The opener of Hard Candy Candy Shop is the first song to receive a 6+ average (so we're entering 'like this song' territory now ~ It has featured on 3 of Madonna's recent tours and seems to be one that she always wheels out. Lyrically it's a choice song.. as she goes through an array of sugary snacks on top of an R&B beat, accompanied by Spanish guitar - all over the place to say the least, but enjoyable for that reason? The debate rages on. Finally Broken which was intended to be included on 'Celebration' received a limited release on a promotional vinyl but for many, it's a totally unheard track. It's managed to do decently here despite that!

 

Madonna: 5/8

Like A Virgin: 6/9

True Blue: 7/9

Like A Prayer: 9/11

Other (80s): 7/10

I'm Breathless: 2/12

Erotica: 9/14

Bedtime Stories: 11/11

Evita: 3/13

Ray of Light: 14/14

Other (90s): 8/12

Music: 12/13

American Life: 10/11

Confessions On A Dancefloor: 12/15

Hard Candy: 9/13

Other (00s): 2/5

MDNA: 7/16

Rebel Heart: 10/25

Madame X: 16/18

Other (10s): 1/3

 

80s: 34/47

90s: 47/76

00s: 46/57

10s: 33/62

'Iconic' used to be one of my Rebel Heart favourites; it's slipped in my affections since but still remains a song I like. The tour performance is fire though - can we talk about that interlude intro a second?!

 

 

Not Madonna making a better interlude video for the tour than she did the lead single video! 🙈

 

'Love Makes the World Go Round' is more catchy than I gave it credit for but they definitely made the right choice to ditch this as the lead single for True Blue. Things would have worked out a lot differently and I don't think for the better.

 

I really enjoyed the Avicii demo of 'Wash All Over Me' but I must say it's much improved in its final form. I love that gentle military-esque drum beat and it suits the resilience and power of the song. A shame to see this drop out much earlier than it should have done.

 

I'm not ashamed to say I actually really like 'Candy Shop' now. It's always been a bit of a guilty pleasure but I'm fully on board after watching the Sticky & Sweet Tour in full for the first time last year. Love the performance and it's made me realise it's a genuinely fun song. MY SUGAR IS RAW.

 

Quite impressed that 'Broken' has done this well for such a hidden, deep cut - even I didn't really know about it before the rate! I'd have rather had this appear on Celebration in place of 'Revolver'. The production, like the other songs recorded at the time, is quite dated by today's standards but it's such a bop and the lyrics are a suitable summary of Madonna's career.