I'm probably one of the few people who liked this album, some of it quite a lot. I was spinning it off and on recently, and the years (and my subsequent experience with standards) have afforded me a better appreciation of the record. I liked it in 1990, but in 2017 I better understand why I liked it, and how it compares to other singers' (and composers') work.
For starters, I think the tracks are all pretty much perfect for the Dick Tracy character of Breathless Mahoney, one of Madonna's few good cinematic performances. Maybe she could have been a star in a different era. The album also sounds phenomenal - it's an analog recording but sounds digital, very cool, crisp and transparent. It does not however suffer from '80s-itis. There's considerable bass, it's rich and not boomy, and it's deep. The low end is satisfying and natural on both the acoustic and electronic-driven numbers. Great EQ, excellent mastering by Stephen Marcussen. This might be the best she's ever sounded on disc.
For starters, I think the tracks are all pretty much perfect for the Dick Tracy character of Breathless Mahoney, one of Madonna's few good cinematic performances. Maybe she could have been a star in a different era. The album also sounds phenomenal - it's an analog recording but sounds digital, very cool, crisp and transparent. It does not however suffer from '80s-itis. There's considerable bass, it's rich and not boomy, and it's deep. The low end is satisfying and natural on both the acoustic and electronic-driven numbers. Great EQ, excellent mastering by Stephen Marcussen. This might be the best she's ever sounded on disc.
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| Madonna played a singer in the film. That's novel... |
Her vocals here are excellent, for Madonna. Actually that's not even a fair caveat - technically she's much improved here over many of her prior performances, certainly more than adequate especially when given the style, and her performances are good to great, with a few sporadic exceptions. A big deal was made about Sondheim's three contributions, but I'm gonna be blunt here - only one of these tracks is a great song, "Sooner Or Later", which Madonna does an unexpectedly good job on. However, the best American songbook styled cuts on this record were all written by Madonna herself and Pat Leonard. They were a lot more broadly talented than most have given them credit for.
That the duo are surprisingly adept at this is apparent from the first few moments of the album-opening "He's A Man", with Madonna in fine vamping form. From effectively channeling Mae West when she sings, "I could show you some fun . . . and I don't mean with a gun . . ." to the Kate Bush-esque chorused vocals, it's a dramatic, sexy, arresting delight. The idea of Madonna doing what amounted to standards - self-written ones at that - had embarrassing bomb written all over it, but it's apparent from this first track that the worst this album is could ever be is simply somewhat disappointing.
That the duo are surprisingly adept at this is apparent from the first few moments of the album-opening "He's A Man", with Madonna in fine vamping form. From effectively channeling Mae West when she sings, "I could show you some fun . . . and I don't mean with a gun . . ." to the Kate Bush-esque chorused vocals, it's a dramatic, sexy, arresting delight. The idea of Madonna doing what amounted to standards - self-written ones at that - had embarrassing bomb written all over it, but it's apparent from this first track that the worst this album is could ever be is simply somewhat disappointing.
"Sooner Or Later" is next, and Madonna rises to the challenge of a really difficult song to perform. Nobody's gonna mistake her for Lena Horne or Sarah Vaughan or whatever, but her work here is far beyond adequate, and perfect for the character of Breathless. It won Sondheim an Academy Award, so Madonna musta done something right!
Madge and Pat try to have a bit of fun on the next three tracks, "Hanky Panky", "I'm Going Bananas" and "Cry Baby". It was probably a bad idea to put so many novelty tracks back-to-back. "Hanky Panky" is the most fun and least annoying of the two - Madonna channels Mae a bit again - and the cloying sexuality is sorta period appropriate for the kind of venue where this would have played.
The Carmen Miranda fest of "I'm Going Bananas" is annoying and ill-advised, although it does show Madonna had quite a bit more range than anybody had given her credit for. I've always thought Warners missed a great opportunity to slap her into a duet with Bugs Bunny on this one - he had quite the Carmen Miranda fetish after all - and produce a funny video for the cut. They could have traded lines perfectly, and the hamminess would have been a lot less annoying and more amusing with that wascally wabbit at her side. Ah well.
"Cry Baby" commits the rare sin of being annoying and dull.
If you manage to drag yourself thru the middle of the album though, you're rewarded at the end, mostly. A bunch of movie critics assumed "Something To Remember" was a Sondheim tune but surprise, Madonna and Leonard wrote this one and it's as good as "Sooner Or Later", if a bit less effectively retro. It was good enough she named her mid-'90s ballad/filler/I'm-shooting-a-movie-right-now "hits" collection after it.
"Back In Business" is surprisingly just as good, and the only one of the uptempo Madonna/Leonard tracks that's truly a solid, classic piece of work. She sounds incredibly cool and sexy when she coos, "When I want something now I say it with a gun," and when the track opens up it really swings. Vocally, this might be her best performance on the album. Drama, baby!
Madge and Pat try to have a bit of fun on the next three tracks, "Hanky Panky", "I'm Going Bananas" and "Cry Baby". It was probably a bad idea to put so many novelty tracks back-to-back. "Hanky Panky" is the most fun and least annoying of the two - Madonna channels Mae a bit again - and the cloying sexuality is sorta period appropriate for the kind of venue where this would have played.
The Carmen Miranda fest of "I'm Going Bananas" is annoying and ill-advised, although it does show Madonna had quite a bit more range than anybody had given her credit for. I've always thought Warners missed a great opportunity to slap her into a duet with Bugs Bunny on this one - he had quite the Carmen Miranda fetish after all - and produce a funny video for the cut. They could have traded lines perfectly, and the hamminess would have been a lot less annoying and more amusing with that wascally wabbit at her side. Ah well.
"Cry Baby" commits the rare sin of being annoying and dull.
If you manage to drag yourself thru the middle of the album though, you're rewarded at the end, mostly. A bunch of movie critics assumed "Something To Remember" was a Sondheim tune but surprise, Madonna and Leonard wrote this one and it's as good as "Sooner Or Later", if a bit less effectively retro. It was good enough she named her mid-'90s ballad/filler/I'm-shooting-a-movie-right-now "hits" collection after it.
"Back In Business" is surprisingly just as good, and the only one of the uptempo Madonna/Leonard tracks that's truly a solid, classic piece of work. She sounds incredibly cool and sexy when she coos, "When I want something now I say it with a gun," and when the track opens up it really swings. Vocally, this might be her best performance on the album. Drama, baby!
Sondheim's "More" is a bit too stagey and on-the-nose in comparison, and Madonna's performance - while certainly appropriately crass and strained - isn't particularly enjoyable. The lyrics never struck me as being as clever as they seem to think they are, although listening to it lately perhaps that effect was intentional. "What Can You Lose" meanwhile goes for earnest and respectable but just strikes me as a dull misfire, although there are moments (the "leave it alone" passage) where it almost coalesces into a touching expression of sadness. I suppose you could blame Patinkin and Madonna for their performances, but I think the problem is the song. Something about it comes off as formulaic Sondheim - I feel like I'm watching special effects but seeing all the strings.
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| Match met. |
Then we get two versions of the tune "Now I'm Following You", the only thing on the record not written by Madonna/Leonard or Sondheim. The first, a traditional ballad sung by Madonna and Warren Beatty, is at least more fun than "What Can You Lose". It feels warmer and not as overwrought and overthought. The second half of the song, twice as long, is more of a sweeping overview of the record, with quotes back to earlier cuts like "Hanky Panky" and Madonna saying naughty things, all cut up over hip hop inflected beats, a first here for Madonna. It's a bit clunky but surprisingly it's this cut even more than "Vogue" that pointed the way toward Madonna's future.
Unbelievably, Dick Tracy costars Beatty and Madonna were an item for about a month. Twenty years his junior, people assumed Madonna would end up just another of the infamous lothario's many, many conquests. As Carly Simon said about her time with the famous sex symbol, and the speculation swirling around the lyrics to her infamous hit "You're So Vain":
Unbelievably, Dick Tracy costars Beatty and Madonna were an item for about a month. Twenty years his junior, people assumed Madonna would end up just another of the infamous lothario's many, many conquests. As Carly Simon said about her time with the famous sex symbol, and the speculation swirling around the lyrics to her infamous hit "You're So Vain":
It certainly sounds like it was about Warren Beatty. He certainly thought it was about him - he called me and said thanks for the song. At the time I met him he was still relatively undiscovered as a Don Juan. I felt I was one among thousands at that point – it hadn’t reached, you know, the populations of small countries.
So imagine everyone's surprise when Madonna did not, in fact, limp away cockshocked from the relationship. In fact, just the opposite happened - she chewed Beatty up and spat him out. Having finally met his match, his female equivalent, he was so traumatized by the experience he immediately settled down post-Madonna with Annette Benning, who he's remained married to ever since.
The hunter got captured by the game. Poor thing.
Back on the altogether less traumatizing I'm Breathless, "Vogue" is tacked on at the end, but with its callouts to stars from the golden age of Hollywood, surprisingly doesn't feel particularly out of place. The album is all about glamor, personas and drama, and "Vogue" is the perfect summation of it all. It’s probably my favorite Madonna song and one of the best #1 hits ever, by anybody. I'd become a pretty big fan of Madge by this point, especially post-"Express Yourself" and Like A Prayer, so I guess I was primed for this hit, but wow.
So imagine everyone's surprise when Madonna did not, in fact, limp away cockshocked from the relationship. In fact, just the opposite happened - she chewed Beatty up and spat him out. Having finally met his match, his female equivalent, he was so traumatized by the experience he immediately settled down post-Madonna with Annette Benning, who he's remained married to ever since.
The hunter got captured by the game. Poor thing.
Back on the altogether less traumatizing I'm Breathless, "Vogue" is tacked on at the end, but with its callouts to stars from the golden age of Hollywood, surprisingly doesn't feel particularly out of place. The album is all about glamor, personas and drama, and "Vogue" is the perfect summation of it all. It’s probably my favorite Madonna song and one of the best #1 hits ever, by anybody. I'd become a pretty big fan of Madge by this point, especially post-"Express Yourself" and Like A Prayer, so I guess I was primed for this hit, but wow.
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| Glamor, sex, drama and probably music video's most effective callback to a bygone era |
If you read this interview with Shep Pettibone, the most stunning
thing about the making of the song is that it was only recorded because they
needed a B-side for "Keep It Together". Madonna cut her vocal in a
folding-door closet that someone had converted into a studio, a makeshift
recording booth. Total production cost: $5,000. Trevor Horn could spend more
than that recording the intro to a song - Madonna got one of the biggest hits
of the decade out of it. If memory serves, it broke Chic's "Le Freak"
sales record for Warners, which had held for over a decade (impressive, given
the pop market had exploded in the interim).
The fantastic roster of movie stars bit - the best list to crop up in a Madonna song (Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys must have been beside himself - he loves list songs and PSB used the trick several times) - was something Madge and Shep came up with on the spot. She also apparently nailed the vocal in a single take.
Funny story about hearing it for the first time. I was in college when "Vogue" dropped, working for the distance learning department - they broadcast university classes over a special microwave link to various sites in the Phoenix metro area. That day they'd asked me to run an errand in a giant blue Chevy Suburban that used to belong to Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke), who'd passed away a few months before. She'd donated this land yacht to the public television station at the university. I had to haul some transmitter part up a narrow, winding road to the top of South Mountain, where the transmitters were. Since I had learned how to drive mostly in a tiny little Fiat Spider and tooled around town in a small Toyota, this was something of a white knuckle challenge. Fortunately for the many cyclists foolish enough to be on the road that day, I accomplished it without incident. On the way back, once on flat land and in the vicinity of the university again, I worked up the nerve to switch on the radio just in time for them to announce they were gonna play the latest Madonna single, "Vogue".
Funny story about hearing it for the first time. I was in college when "Vogue" dropped, working for the distance learning department - they broadcast university classes over a special microwave link to various sites in the Phoenix metro area. That day they'd asked me to run an errand in a giant blue Chevy Suburban that used to belong to Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke), who'd passed away a few months before. She'd donated this land yacht to the public television station at the university. I had to haul some transmitter part up a narrow, winding road to the top of South Mountain, where the transmitters were. Since I had learned how to drive mostly in a tiny little Fiat Spider and tooled around town in a small Toyota, this was something of a white knuckle challenge. Fortunately for the many cyclists foolish enough to be on the road that day, I accomplished it without incident. On the way back, once on flat land and in the vicinity of the university again, I worked up the nerve to switch on the radio just in time for them to announce they were gonna play the latest Madonna single, "Vogue".
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| An icon drops an iconic video |
There have only been a few times in my life when I heard a single and knew without a doubt it was going to be a monster smash, and apart from Blondie's "Call Me" none of the others were bigger hits than this one. Like "Call Me", I agree that it sounded like nothing else on the radio at the time, and as "Call Me" ushered in the era of the power pop single, so too I've always felt "Vogue" kicked down the door for club music to takeover the pop charts again. It was unabashedly modern disco, but also way sleeker and glossier, more electronic, with rougher vocals, and most importantly not obviously retro. The synth strings in "Vogue" gave it the kind of sweep classic disco like "Love's Theme" had possessed over a decade and a half before, but the twinkling, glassy electronics in the background of the song were pure 1990. And then there was Madonna's surprisingly soulful vocal, which I think tends to get overlooked but is one of the best of her career.
A call to the dancefloor, "Vogue" is like a slick black Porsche when compared to the funky Honda scooter of its spiritual predecessor, the previous decade's "Into The Groove". They both have the same goal - to get your ass moving - but "Vogue" accomplishes it with a lot more precision and upscale style. If "Into The Groove" was the dance single of 1985 (if not of the decade), "Vogue" was the same to 1990 (if not the decade).
I used to hit the clubs up in Scottsdale around this time, and the impact "Vogue" had on the dance scene was unmeasurable. No other song got butts onto the dancefloor like "Vogue". The only thing that came close during that era was "Strike It Up" by Black Box. I think you can trace the rise of EDM as a major hitmaking genre to those two songs, along with C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat". Once the labels saw these hits flying off the shelves, it was off to the races.
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| More bang for the buck than probably any other video in the decade this side of Sinead's "Nothing Compares To You" |
The video was a work of genius as well. It can't have cost much money to make - it's mostly little set pieces and minimalistic snippets of dance, beautifully shot with gorgeous cinematography, sporting all sorts of callouts to (mostly) '30s Hollywood glamor. Madonna never became a movie star, but in "Express Yourself" and this video (which almost feels like a sequel of sorts) she plays a movie star better than any Hollywood actress of her generation. It also has callouts to modeling - this was peak supermodel - and the best hair, makeup and wardrobe she's ever sported. She's never looked better than this, just stunning.
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| Taking the whole thing deftly over the top |
My favorite performance of this though is the 1990 VMA's Dangerous Liaisons-inspired romp, which was not only the cleverest thing she's ever done, but also incredibly daring, because the whole notion of dancing to EDM in those getups - while being as raunchy/sexy as Madonna was known for - could have fallen flat on its "Rock Me, Amadeus" ass. But Madge pulled it off - I remember watching this live and bouncing off the walls. The choreography in this performance is incredible - raunchy, funny, genuinely sexy in spots, comedically so in others, and generous to her dancers who virtually all get something great to do. It's also loaded with the unexpected, my favorite moment in the whole routine being when they go all Georgian State Dancer and glide horizontally across the stage in a big, Voguing clump. And then at the conclusion the dancers bring out a settee for her to recline on, and cart her offstage. And as she goes, she whips out opera glasses to stare back at the audience. Unreal. Nobody's topped her since, either.
Michael Jackson might have been the King of Pop, but I only ever bowed down to the Queen.
As an unusual and uneven album tied to a period, comic book film, Warners can't have expected this thing to fly off the shelves. But it did, such was the chart appeal of Madonna's in 1990. I'm Breathless sold boatloads - with "Vogue" tacked on people apparently treated it like a "real" Madonna record. But soon copies started flooding the used CD stores and I'm sure you can pick this up today for about a quarter. Per Wikipedia she sold 7 million units of the album worldwide, which I find absolutely incredible.
While Dick Tracy wasn't a huge hit, it wasn't a bomb either, and Madonna got decent notices. Unfortunately, that just encouraged her...
I'm Breathless is widely regarded as an oddity and a detour in Madonna's catalog, but from her improved singing and her flirtation with hip-hop beats to the EDM powerhouse of "Vogue" and the warped sexuality of "Hanky Panky", what you actually have here for the first time are all of the ingredients for her next decade of success. So in the long run this didn't turn out to be a detour at all, but instead is another integral brick in the road for Madonna's journey of conquest across the pop landscape.
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In case you missed 'em, here are overviews of Madonna, Like A Virgin, True Blue, Who's That Girl / You Can Dance, and Like A Prayer.
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