FEATURE:
White Heat
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1986/PHOTO CREDIT: Herb Ritts
Madonna’s True Blue at Thirty-Five
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I have written about Madonna’s True Blue…
before now. It is an album that turns thirty-five on 30th June. The third studio album from the emerging Queen of Pop, I think it is one of the most important albums of the 1980s. As I do with album anniversary features, I am going to include some information, a couple of reviews – in addition to my own thoughts and feelings regarding said album. Not to say that Madonna was enjoying modest success before 1986. That said, when True Blue was released, it took her career and popularity to new heights. Her eponymous 1983 debut was a magnificent and memorable one. 1984’s Like a Virgin portrayed a slightly bolder artist. With two years to wait until a third album arrived, I feel Madonna produced something more mature, varied and compelling. It was the first album of hers to really announce her presence. She would hit a new peak on 1989’s Like a Prayer. Today in Madonna History provide some details regarding True Blue:
“On June 30 1986, Madonna’s True Blue album was released by Sire Records. She worked with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard on the album while co-writing and co-producing all the songs.
True Blue was an immediate global success, reaching number one in then record-breaking 28 countries across the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. It spent 34 consecutive weeks at the top of the European Top 100 Albums chart, longer than any other album in history. It became the world’s top-selling album of 1986, as well the biggest selling album of the 1980s by a woman and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time with sales of more than 25 million copies worldwide. All five singles released from the album reached the top five on theBillboard Hot 100, with Live tTell, Papa Don’t Preach, and Open Your Heart peaking at number one”.
Listening to the exceptional tracks and how Madonna’s voice had strengthened since Like a Virgin, it is no wonder the album reached number-one in twenty-eight countries across the world. It spent thirty-four consecutive weeks at the top of the European Top 100 Albums chart - longer than any other album in history. It became the world's top-selling album of 1986. It was also well as the best-selling album of the 1980s by a female artist! With sales of over twenty-five million copies worldwide, True Blue remains one of the best-selling albums of all time. I really love the five singles (Live to Tell, Papa Don't Preach, True Blue, Open Your Heart, and La Isla Bonita) – though one of my favourite Madonna tracks, White Heat, was not a single. Inspired by and dedicated to Madonna’s then-husband, Sean Penn, True Blue is a romantic, gorgeous, sophisticated album that has plenty of fun. I do feel it is the most assured album of her career to that point. One can read more about the album and its legacy. I feel one of the most notable associations with any Madonna album is her look and fashion choices. If her first two albums saw her adopt a more New York street chic look (beads, bangles and a cooler look), her shorter hair and slightly spiker and tougher look was sexier and bolder. It is clear that Madonna was growing in confidence and, as a co-writer on every True Blue track, she was developing as a songwriter. Co-producing the album too (she worked predominantly with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard), this was an artist putting her stamp on the music and showing what a talent she was.
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1986/PHOTO CREDIT: Herb Ritts
I do feel as though True Blue is an album few talk about when they mention the Madonna classics! It is as important as any she ever released. I first heard the album when I was a child. It might have been a few years after it was released. I was aware of Madonna and was familiar with earlier hits such as Material Girl (from Like a Virgin). True Blue is an album that changed my perspective on Madonna and made me respect her even more. Not an artist to repeat herself, True Blue is a very different record to, say, her 1983 debut. Before getting to reviews, I might be repeating myself here by bringing in some Wikipedia information regarding True Blue’s impact. Not only is the music timeless and among the best of the 1980s; Madonna was becoming this style and music icon. A hugely influential and unique artist, even at that point, True Blue was a watershed moment. It is clear that True Blue has an immense legacy:
“Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that "True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became 'Madonna the Superstar'—the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer that knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews—and make good music while she's at it." Mark Savage from BBC stated that True Blue is the album which cemented Madonna's reputation as the 'First Lady of Pop'. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine said that with the album "Madonna made the transition from pop tart to consummate artist, joining the ranks of '80s icons like Michael Jackson and Prince."
Similarly, Robert C. Sickels, the author of 100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries, wrote that the album "cemented Madonna's place as the most popular female musical star of the 1980s, shining alongside male pop icons like Prince and Michael Jackson." NME dubbed the three as a "holy trinity" of pop music of the decade.
Regarding Madonna's influence on the record industry and younger artists, Debbie Gibson's then manager Doug Breitbart commented: "Madonna has brought back a really strong, melodic component to pop music. She has a very youth-oriented, up, bubbly, fun sound." Slant Magazine listed the album at number 60 on their list of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s" and stated that "True Blue was the album on which it became readily apparent that Madonna was more than just a flash-in-the-pan pop star." They added, "It's when she began manipulating her image—and her audience—with a real sense of clarity and purpose and made sure she had quality songs to back up her calculation and world-dominating ambition."
The global success of True Blue marked the first time Madonna entering the Guinness Book of World Records in its 1988 edition, where she was dubbed as the most successful singer for 1986. The album also held the record for number one in the most countries, topping the album charts in a total of 28 countries around the world. True Blue was later included in the 1992 edition of Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling album by a woman, with copies sold of more than 17 million until October 1990. True Blue was also the world's top-selling album of 1986 and the best-selling album of the 1980s by a female artist. With sales of more than 25 million copies worldwide, True Blue remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.
True Blue also made social impact through its music videos, as author John E. Semonche observed in his book Censoring Sex that Madonna pushed the envelope of what could be shown on television which resulted in increase of her popularity. The music video for "Open Your Heart" was a subject of analysis among scholars for its concept of the stereo-typical male gaze and voyeurism. She appeared as a stripper in the video, who escapes with a young boy from the strip parlour in the end. MTV had some reservations initially before airing the video, which was later resolved after a meeting with Warner Officials. Feminist writer Susan Bordo reacted negatively to the video, saying that the leering and pathetic men in the cubicles and Madonna's escape with the boy is "cynically and mechanically tacked on [as] a way of claiming trendy status for what is just cheesecake—or, perhaps, pornography". Author Donn Welton pointed out that the usual power relationship between the "voyeuristic male gaze and object" is destabilized by the portrayal of the male patrons of the peep show as leering and pathetic”.
I will come to some reviews too. I know Madonna fans around the globe will celebrate her third studio album on 30th June. It is such an amazing album that does not suffer like a lot of music did from 1986. That year gets a bad rap as being a bit bad or substandard. Maybe it was the use of drum machines or a slightly soulless sound. True Blue is a rich and eclectic album that can never grow weary or sound like a product of the time.
It is staggering to think that, for such a classic album, there have been mixed reviews. The review I am about to quote says True Blue is of its time. I disagree with that. It is not an archetypal 1986 album or one that has lost potency since its release. I wonder how many reviewers are giving the album a proper listen. Are they just focusing on the singles?! True Blue is an album where the non-singles are as strong as anything else. This is what SLANT wrote in their review:
“With five extremely varied hit singles, Madonna’s third album, True Blue, was a supreme archetype of ‘80s pop music. With songs like “Papa Don’t Preach,” Madonna made the transition from pop tart to consummate artist, joining the ranks of the decade’s icons like Michael Jackson and Prince. The songs were undeniably more mature than fare like “Material Girl,” dashing some critics’ assertions that she was just another flash in the pan. The striking “Live to Tell” was not only a brave first single, but a statement in and of itself. The ballad rewrote the rules of what a lead single could sound like, while at the same time, ironically, speaking volumes about Madonna’s unwavering drive for fame and mass-acceptance: “If I ran away, I’d never have the strength to go very far.” True Blue includes some of Madonna’s biggest, most influential hits (the robust “Open Your Heart” and the timeless “La Isla Bonita”), but it’s also home to some of her biggest clunkers. Like much of Like a Virgin, the title track is an authentic throwback to the girl-group-era pop that was an admitted influence on the singer, but the effect seems significantly more contrived on “Jimmy Jimmy” and the obligatory save-the-world anthem “Love Makes the World Go Round.” Time stamped with ‘80s-era keyboard and drum synths, True Blue, though chock-full of hits, is undeniably of its time”.
Although True Blue is not in my top-two Madonna albums (Like a Prayer and Ray of Light takes those honours), I think True Blue is her most important release. It took her from the potential Queen of Pop to being this worldwide star who was everywhere! MTV was fairly fresh at that point (it was launched in 1981); Madonna was a star of the channel, in addition to being this much-copied and adored icon. This review from AllMusic is a lot more positive and closer to getting to the truth of True Blue:
“True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became Madonna the Superstar -- the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer who knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews -- and make good music while she's at it. To complain that True Blue is calculated is to not get Madonna -- that's a large part of what she does, and she is exceptional at it, but she also makes fine music. What's brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as "Papa Don't Preach," where she defiantly states she's keeping her baby. Her real trick here, however, is transcending her status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl group pop ("True Blue," "Jimmy Jimmy") to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves ("Open Your Heart," "Where's the Party"), touching on Latin rhythms ("La Isla Bonita"), making a plea for world peace ("Love Makes the World Go Round"), and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover ("Live to Tell"). It's even harder to have the entire album play as an organic, cohesive work. Certainly, there's some calculation behind the entire thing, but what matters is the end result, one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun”.
On its thirty-fifth anniversary (on 30th June), people will be re-spinning True Blue. Let’s hope that radio stations around the world mark the anniversary. Still one of the most successful albums ever released, True Blue is the sound of a then-twenty-seven-year-old producing strong, melodic Pop music. It is a mature album that also has playfulness and takes risks. In my opinion, there is no denying the fact that Madonna’s True Blue is…
A masterful album.