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Why is she so resistant to playing the hits properly?


Apples388

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Really, even when she was "hot" during DWT, everybody at those shows still wanted the 80's stuff hence the bitching at the time from casual fans and the press. So, I truly don't think it matters how her current album performs, most people will still want the 80's. Her 80's output is hard to live up to, even now when some casual fans think "Madonna" they think "80's" immediately. I think if she were to consistently perform her hits in original form and include more hits than new material in her shows each time, it would impact her legacy negatively as a live performer. She will just be seen as a heritage act that performs her hits every couple years. There are tons of those kinds of 80's acts that tour every year or two and literally put on the same exact show over and over. I'd hate for her to become that kind of act.

I think now that touring is the focus, she should approach it the way she has always approached recording albums and that is to take risks and do what her heart tells her. That mentality has always served her well, I think she would be incredibly bored and uninspired doing "hits shows" each time she tours. Just look at some of the performances on RIT, she really looked like she could've cared less. It looked like she really didn't want to be performing some of those songs. I think when she feels it has a purpose and is relevant to the presentation she can get into it (EY at MDNA) but when she does it because she feels like she has to, she gets bored (EY at RIT).

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she ll have a plenty of time to play hits when she not going to have new material or when she wont play as a relevant artist. times changed. we are not anymore in 80',90',00'. it is 2012. nowdays music is spread so quickly that when you put an album out you go to tour to promote it and sell it. also..imagine how is to playing decime music 30 years...she would be really dredfull to play it all the time again and again and it wouldnt be so interesting to her..to her fans or new fans.

i think she is doing the great job what numbers comfirming. she puts enough hits and she reinvent them so everything is fresh and new again. and if you like to sing along with some oldies...you can always play a CD or DVD. people wanna naturally stuck in something and dont want to move...and i m glad madonna is not one of those..

imagine that last 5 tours were hits tour. it would be borring.

also if you ask me...i wouldn t bother with those hits that we can hear --- i would play songs that are popular but not considered as hits...like she did with paradise on CT or something. it is all about performance and intime show experience and i enjoy in it every time. try not to be limited by conventions. there are no rules or expetations. just the flow. :p

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Guest Rachelle of London

she ll have a plenty of time to play hits when she not going to have new material or when she wont play as a relevant artist. times changed. we are not anymore in 80',90',00'. it is 2012.

you sure??? hahahaha

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She gets sick of old songs after performing them over and over. She's constantly reinventing herself, I'd only expect her to reinvent old songs to make them fresh for herself again. (Otherwise she most likely won't perform them)

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She gets sick of old songs after performing them over and over. She's constantly reinventing herself, I'd only expect her to reinvent old songs to make them fresh for herself again. (Otherwise she most likely won't perform them)

Completely off topic but how would i LOVE for her to perform Over and Over again!

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Guest Rachelle of London

Completely off topic but how would i LOVE for her to perform Over and Over again!

I'd go into cardiac arrest if she done Over and Over and Pretender

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Madonna's legacy is placing importance on the current. When all is said and done, future generations will have to consider all of Madonna and not just the "prime" era stuff from the 80's and 90's but every single studio album until she stops. It all has value. The fact she builds her touring set list for the album its promoting keeps the project relevant in the face of initial indifference you crave the Madonna of yesterday.

There's nothing she needs to do, but I'd like to see more music from EROTICA and AMERICAN LIFE and CANDY SHOP needs to become a new staple like LA ISLA BONITA.

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Guest bluejean
Madonna's legacy is placing importance on the current. When all is said and done, future generations will have to consider all of Madonna and not just the "prime" era stuff from the 80's and 90's but every single studio album until she stops. It all has value. The fact she builds her touring set list for the album its promoting keeps the project relevant in the face of initial indifference you crave the Madonna of yesterday.

Very good point. Afew more hits wouldn't go astray but a fully fledged hits tour would be boring as fuck (Otherwise known as Reinvention Tour.) I think its good to keep people craving more, for sure. She likes to approach it like theatre, and I think when you watch Reinvention it really feels like a concept that got twisted into something else that probably wasn't true to her original goal.

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Very good point. Afew more hits wouldn't go astray but a fully fledged hits tour would be boring as fuck (Otherwise known as Reinvention Tour.) I think its good to keep people craving more, for sure. She likes to approach it like theatre, and I think when you watch Reinvention it really feels like a concept that got twisted into something else that probably wasn't true to her original goal.

Very true about Reinvention. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast at the show so it served it's purpose in that way but there are so many great "half baked" ideas in there just waiting to be realized but it never happens. In retrospect, the full show doesn't quite live up to that grand opening.

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"Playing the hits properly" is appropriate for TV spectacles like the SuperBowl, but for a MADONNA SHOW? Absolutely not.

How can she sing a song written in her 20's, the exact same way at 40? 50? What I admire about Madonna most (in terms of live performance) is that she strays from the pack, refusing to put on a two hour oldie-but-goodie extravaganza, and always delivers something different. I feel the studio albums/ songs were created as templates, and the performances add or subtract to them.

Although fans of a particular song will be disappointed, the remixed/ reinvented version adds to the bigger picture: Madonna moving forward. Re-creating the music is what keeps her relevant, and stops her from becoming a novelty BLAST-FROM-DA-PAST Act (que Celine, Bette Midler, Mariah, etc).

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Guest bluejean

I think it would have been great to see in person, just being there enjoying hearing all the hits and having a blast. But as someone who never saw it live and only on DVD its definitely not at the standard of pretty much every show she's done since Blond Ambition. It's enjoyable but abit uninspired.

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Guest bluejean
"Playing the hits properly" is appropriate for TV spectacles like the SuperBowl, but for a MADONNA SHOW? Absolutely not. How can she sing a song written in her 20's, the exact same way at 40? 50? What I admire about Madonna most (in terms of live performance) is that she strays from the pack, refusing to put on a two hour oldie-but-goodie extravaganza, and always delivers something different. I feel the studio albums/ songs were created as templates, and the performances add or subtract to them. Although fans of a particular song will be disappointed, the remixed/ reinvented version adds to the bigger picture: Madonna moving forward. Re-creating the music is what keeps her relevant, and stops her from becoming a novelity Vegas Act (que Celine, Bette Midler, Mariah, etc).

Funny you should mention Mariah because she just did some concerts here and the media tore her apart for being under rehearsed and not performing her biggest Australian hits (Fantasy, Dreamlover, Honey etc.) It would be interesting to see their reaction to a Madonna concert because they seem to rip female pop singers to shreds.

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In a way it might have been a blessing for her not to tour Australia with MDNA. The album was #1 for one week and out of the Top 40 just 2 weeks later.

The issue after not touring for two decades would have been the total lack of hits. Papa Don't Preach, Express Yourself, Open Your Heart, Vogue and Like A Prayer would have been the only recogizable hits - Aussie fans would be expecting to see Frozen, Ray Of Light, Music, Don't Tell Me and other hits she's had in the past 20 years over MDNA songs they don't know, Celebration and Revolver were not hits here, Candy Shop is unknown and Like A Virgin and Hung Up were unrecognizable.

The thing is, any Australian M fans under say 33 years of age, have not seen her live unless they have travelled overseas, I was 16 last time I saw her live.

I've seen all her shows on DVD or youtube obviously and I love the MDNAtour but even I would expect Ray Of Light or Music.

M says she is bring 'the greatest show on earth" to Australia sometime in the future so hopefully she throws in some hits we haven't seen....and that includes Like A Prayer which among many of her 80's hits have not been performed in Australia. The only pre Erotica songs I've seen live are Everybody, Holiday, Like A Virgin. La Isla Bonita, Express Yourself, I'm Going Bananas, Vogue and Justify My Love - not many hey

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she doesnt want to repeat herself..besides..most of the big classic were not reinvented on this tour: vogue, EY, LAP.

AND Guy told her GGW, TUTR and GMAYL were No.1 hits (whispers: on dance chart).

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That's why i always say as a show MDNA is better...but as a CONCERT...Sticky was way better.

MDNA? Not really. People cheered for Girl Gone Wild (first song), then Papa Don't Preach. Then we had to wait for Express Yourself...then Vogue. (Open Your Heart was a bit meh actually)

When Candy Shop started and then Human Nature...i remember looking around and people were on their cellphones texting and talking to each other...you could see they were not that interested even though Madonna was moving so much on stage and performing like no one else does.

I never saw this happening in a concert here!

They woke up for Like A Virgin. Actually...everyone just shut up for that one and couldn't take their eyes off of her! It was magical actually. But at the same time...you could tell the stadium was trying to keep up with the lyrics...but the song was just so different that no one could.

After this? Well...Like A Prayer! Celebration was a huge surprise for me! Got a huge response.

I completely agree. The first part of the concert was so devoid of any hits that it was only when she started singing Papa Don't Preach that the crowd really became engaged. After that, there was only Express Yourself, Vogue and Like A Prayer which were classics that stood out and hadn't been redone beyond recognition. LAV and OYH just fell flat.

Tours for any artist are about promoting an album and always have been so playing new stuff is always the main point of a concert so nobody should be surprised when they get new stuff. However, Madonna is in the unusual position of being successful for so long that she has a massive back catalogue to draw from that people want to hear. Secondly, when she played previous tours, there usually had been several singles released before the tour so they were also known. In this case, she started touring with only one song released from the album that was very unpopular. The following two singles bombed so nobody knew those either so it seemed like she was playing more album tracks.

MDNA Tour could definitely have been rejigged to have made a really tight show with more hits particularly the first half. She gets so rapped up in her theatrical concepts and taking us on a 'journey' that she can miss the point of a live concert. I think after the hysteria has died down, people here will look back and realise that it could have been better like the Confessions Tour which really flagged in the middle.

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Guest bluejean

In a way it might have been a blessing for her not to tour Australia with MDNA. The album was #1 for one week and out of the Top 40 just 2 weeks later.

The issue after not touring for two decades would have been the total lack of hits. Papa Don't Preach, Express Yourself, Open Your Heart, Vogue and Like A Prayer would have been the only recogizable hits - Aussie fans would be expecting to see Frozen, Ray Of Light, Music, Don't Tell Me and other hits she's had in the past 20 years over MDNA songs they don't know, Celebration and Revolver were not hits here, Candy Shop is unknown and Like A Virgin and Hung Up were unrecognizable.

The thing is, any Australian M fans under say 33 years of age, have not seen her live unless they have travelled overseas, I was 16 last time I saw her live.

I've seen all her shows on DVD or youtube obviously and I love the MDNAtour but even I would expect Ray Of Light or Music.

M says she is bring 'the greatest show on earth" to Australia sometime in the future so hopefully she throws in some hits we haven't seen....and that includes Like A Prayer which among many of her 80's hits have not been performed in Australia. The only pre Erotica songs I've seen live are Everybody, Holiday, Like A Virgin. La Isla Bonita, Express Yourself, I'm Going Bananas, Vogue and Justify My Love - not many hey

Alot of people would have bitched and moaned about it but we would have loved it.

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Guest bluejean

I think something along these lines would be okay....

- 9 absolute classics in original or recognizable form

- 2 reinvented classics

- 2 more old songs that were not big hits

- 7 or 8 new songs

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The only problem I had with this tour is the lack of new oldies. With the exception of Open Your Heart, she had done all the classic hits on previous tours. A big chuck of this tour was done during S&S.

Edited by FrznDrwnWrlD
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I love the re-invented/remixed versions - if done properly, ie. not some lazy mash-up

As for the general public, yes, they want hits, and yes, not giving people what they want might prove risky in the long run at least if she plans on playing stadiums.

Just imagine yourself buying quite pricey tickets for an act that you like, but are not a proper fan of. Now picture yourself at that show. Sure you would enjoy the lighting, theatrics and the spectacle of it all, but you would probably stand there feeling a bit let down if you know hardly any of the songs performed - and you would probably leave thinking it was good for what it was but you won't bother going again

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I think Madonna is right not performing much old hits. It's far better to focuse in the current album, even if it didn't sell as expected. It's a way to bring a new Madonna each time!

I do miss though like a middle part with loads of sing along. Madonna being very near the public, singing some accapella, some hits just for the pleasure of lighting up the stadium and we all cheering and she singing along with us...

But the rest of the show, i rather have album tracks completly new than listen to oldies that have no meaning in the sections.

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How about a 50/50 split. One old song for every new song.

What I would like to see ( from YouTube clips being Australian of course:) is a mix up of the old songs. How about dropping LAV and doing a ballad version of dress you up. Forget PDP and do a disco version of True Blue, death metal version of Cherish instead of Ecpress Yourself, Rescue me instead of Justify my love interlude etc.

The woman has a vast variety of hits that most singers would give up their own genitals for, and yet she just keeps repeating the same old hits ( which is odd considering she does not like to repeat herself)?

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I'll preface this by saying I didn't see the concert in person... (regrettably)

As a fan who loved MDNA to bits, I think I would have enjoyed the entire show... but would have been left feeling a little unfulfilled by the lack of hits, as I always am. Every tour, I think: That was a great show, but I wish she would have sang "____" instead of "____". Or, I wish she didn't change up "_____" so much.

I do wish she'd perform more hits. It's ultimately up to her, of course, but I'm sure she knows that not every person in her audience is a mega fan who has memorized all of her songs. I'm sure she sees the reactions when she plays album tracks. Well, we know she does because she commented on how people get up to go to the bathroom during the ballads (IGTTYAS).

I may be in the minority, but I would really love to see her do a true Greatest Hits tour that included MANY of her 80's and early 90's hits. Some that I've been longing for for years are:

Who's That Girl

Gambler

Where's The Party

Cherish

This Used To Be My Playground

I'll Remember

You'll See

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Even if she did a full on Greatest Hits Tour, she's had so many hits that there would still be some big ones missing. People will still be leaving wishing she had performed this or that. Also, the majority of the album tracks she performs, will never be performed again so it's good to have performances of those songs. Imagine looking back at the tour DVD's she's released since 2001 and just having mostly old hits on them, it would get awfully boring. The theme of her tours tend to reflect the album it's supporting (or vice versa these days), so it's that new music that gives it it's "story" or "theme".

Ideally, I think most casual fans would like her shows to feature just the hits....majority 80's hits and the theme of the show to be based on past images and themes she's explored. You know there were a few people at every MDNA show that REALLY thought she'd pop out of a wedding cake in a wedding dress and a BOY TOY belt to sing LAV. :lol: At least they got the cone bra....sort of.

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I think if the hits are reworked to sound fresh and updated like Stuart Price did with LAV, Erotica/You Thrill Me, Music and Lucky Star

then they work and the audience react really well. It's when she does this awful RAWK versions of Borderline and HU

complete with CROW VOX that don't go down well, then she looses the audiences interest.

Why she thinks she sounds good on those versions I will never know.

Celebration was a real surprise, as a show closer it really worked, the lighting the dancing,

the bit at the end where she is a dj with all the dancers on the cubes. A good example of how a reworked song

can really get the audience moving and retain their interest. LAV as good as it was didn't really work in a big

stadium unless you are in the golden circle or dance pit. Half the audience didn't have a clue what was happening

when she was writhering on the floor.

The MDNA version of HU didn't work either she had already played 3 songs that most of the audience barely knew.

The 90 seconds of PDP really got the audience involved for the fist time since the start of the show then she left the audience

confused and bored when one of her biggest hits became auto tuned unrecognisable. By the time EY came on the audience were relieved to hear song they knew and could singalong to.

If she wants to keep playing stadiums then half her setlist needs to be big hits that general public can recognise

especially if she is charging top dollar.

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MDNA - she is taking the piss now. (Seriously) As much as we hardcore fans loved the show and the theatrics of it, I think that relying so heavily on the MDNA album setlist-wise was an error that will not be forgotten quickly on the next tour. No one knew any of the songs she was playing pretty much! And then of course the problem was with the "hits" she chose to play. 90 seconds of "Papa Don't Preach"? "Hung Up" reinveted beyond recognition? "Like a Virgin" - as beautiful as it was, had nothing to do with the album version (or even an updated mix like Confessions Tour version). It is no surprise that the crowds all went mental for "Like a Prayer" in all shows because she performed it straight-up with no frills.

Well, that's what I posted here after I had seen the show myself.

Personally, I enjoyed every second of the show, even though I couldn't hear anything but the bass during "Vogue", and so did most hardcore fans. I even think it might be my favourite tours of hers.

But most concert-goers expect to hear the hits, i.e. the ones included on Celebration, and in arrangements similar to the ones they know.

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There was a problem with MDNA in that she'd done a lot of these songs previously. I think people were expecting to hear the hits, so when they did they perked up, even if they actually enjoyed the other songs and the drama of those more. Case in point was Vogue - Candy Shop. Vogue was classic, and a giant spectacle, and everyone went crazy for it, but it felt more like they were crazy for it because they knew it. Candy Shop on the other hand was totally unknown, but you could tell people liked it and got into the drama of it more. Same with I Don't Give A, everyone was seriously feeling it, even if they had no idea what it was, and the final section of Nicki-the chorus repeat and the choral outro, sent everyone wild. Like a Virgin confused people, but everyone was so reverential.

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I really don't mind the lack of oldies, & I love some of her re-inventions...like Vogue S&S was out of this world.

It sounded soooooooo good. PDP MDNA was perfect, u have 2 b an idiot 2 not c how well it works. The

1st part of the show is a live movie aka PERFECTION. LAVMDNA was a career highlight. :fag:

But shit like OYH, is just re-inventing 4 the sake of re-inventing. It was just shit. She really can't pull

the 'I'm so tired of playing my old songs' card on us anymore, cuz at this point it's like she hasn't ever done them a all.

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