Bill Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I DO! WHOLEHEARTEDLY! http://www.queerty.com/something-to-remember-the-10-most-underrated-madonna-songs-of-all-time-20141011 This week marked the 20th anniversary of the release ofMadonna’s sixth studio album, the smooth, sleek, R&B-inspired Bedtime Stories. Despite selling more than 3 million copies in the U.S. (7 million worldwide), receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Album, and featuring Madonna’s longest-running number-one single (“Take a Bow” spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart), Bedtime Stories remains one of Madge’s most underrated, under-appreciated albums of all. She did not tour with the album, and rarely, with the exception of “Human Nature,” does she include any songs from it in her world tours. Ask any Madonna fan where Bedtime Storiesfalls on their list of favorites, and they’ll probably tell you it doesn’t rank particularly high. How come? We have no idea. It’s a great album, and one that deserves far more attention than it ever received. Scroll down for 12 of Madonna’s most underrated efforts over the past 30 years. Thief of Hearts Why this banger was never released as a single from her 1992 album Erotica and yet the sappy, mid-tempo “Bad Girl” was still baffles us to this day. “Thief of Hearts” opens with the sound of a glass shattering and Madonna shouting “Bitch!” What follows are five frenetic minutes of Lady M slut shaming the woman who tried to steal her boyfriend, calling her a criminal and a whore, and threatening to break her legs. “You’ll be sorry!” she warns. “No one ever takes what’s mine!” Time Stood Still Despite her efforts to convince people otherwise (as exampled by 1995’s compilation album Something to Remember), ballads have never been Madonna’s strong suit. But every now and then she manages to record a convincing one. Time Stood Still was written for the soundtrack to the 2000 film The Next Best Thing. The movie may have been a complete and utter disaster, but the song was pure gold. It’s an orchestra-driven ballad that has Madonna reflecting on a relationship that simply wasn’t meant to be. Had this song actually been promoted by her record label (and had the accompanying film not flopped), we’re convinced it could have been a hit. Spotlight Initially rejected during her True Blue album recording sessions, “Spotlight” was included on Madonna’s 1987 remix album You Can Dance. It’s a bouncy, synth-heavy dance number about how “everyone is special in their own way.” Cheesy? No doubt. But that’s part of its charm. The song didn’t impress critics and was never released as a single in the U.S., but it still managed to find a spot on Billboard‘s Airplay chart in early 1988, and it was a minor hit in Japan. Today, “Spotlight” epitomizes ’80s dance music, and serves as an unexpected reminder of why we fell in love with Madonna in the first place. Animal When this Timbaland-produced outtake from 2008’s Hard Candy leaked online in 2010 it had many fans wondering: With so many throwaway tracks on that album, why the hell didn’t this one make the final cut? It’s catchy, it’s danceable, and it’s far superior to assaults like “Dance 2Nite” or, worse, “Spanish Lesson.” “If you want, I’ll treat you like an animal,” the Queen talk-sings in the three-minute, whip-cracking, S&M-themed anthem. To which the only appropriate response is: “Yes, master!” Supernatural While we’re on the subject of Madonna outtakes, “Supernatural” was a previously unreleased track included as a B-side to 1989’s “Cherish” single. It was originally recorded during the True Bluesessions, but it didn’t make the final cut because, well, we’re not entirely sure. It’s a great song. It has a spooky/Halloween/haunted house sort of vibe to it. In it, Madonna details a late night bedroom rendezvous with… a ghost? Yes, a ghost. “Made your acquaintance late one night,” she sings. “You were floating around/You know you gave me quite a fright.” So what exactly is sex with a ghost like? According to Miss Ciccone, it’s some of the best lovin’ she’s ever had. “I’d say that your skills as a lover are very refined,” she coos. “You know just what I want and I don’t have to ask/Are you reading my mind?” ‘Til Death Do Us Part Perhaps one of Madonna’s most honest and vulnerable songs ever, “‘Til Death Do Us Part”, from 1989’s Like A Prayer, was rumored to be inspired by her abusive relationship and subsequent divorce from actor Sean Penn. “The bruises they will fade away/You hit so hard with the things you say/I will not stay to watch your hate/As it grows,” Madonna sings, her voice laced with heartbreak and shame. Unfortunately, the track gets overshadowed by some of the other powerhouse songs on the mammoth of an album. Gambler Originally recorded for the soundtrack to the film Vision Quest (along with one of our all-time favs “Crazy For You”) “Gambler” is an fast-paced, synth-disco track that’s 100 percent classic Madonna. In it, our lady asserts her independence, a theme she would often revisit (and eventually exhaust) throughout her career. “You can’t stop me now,” she proclaims. “‘Cause I’m a gambler, I only play the game my way!” The song reached the top-ten in seven different countries and Madonna shot a music video for it, but she only ever performed it once, during her 1985 Virgin Tour. But these days, we’d be surprised if she even remembers “Gambler” anymore. It’s been forgotten about by pretty much everyone, eclipsed by her bigger hits from the mid-80s. Still, we love it. Gone Anyone who’s ever doubted Madge’s songwriting abilities needs to sit down and listen to “Gone,” track 10 on 2000’s Grammy-nominated Music. At the time of its release, Slate praised the song for being “possibly one of Madonna’s best performances,” calling it “the most human she has ever been.” The song is stripped down and introspective, offering a thoughtful close to an otherwise upbeat and ebullient mid-career album. Pretender At first listen, “Pretender” may sound like just another banal ’80s filler track included on Madonna’s second studio effort Like A Virgin to satisfy record execs who wanted the album to include nine songs rather than eight. And it was certainly treated as such. “Pretender” was never released as a single, never had a music video, and has never been included in any of Madonna’s live shows. But 30 years later, after songs like “Like A Virgin” and “Material Girl” have been played to death, “Pretender” sounds surprisingly fresh and fun. Today we find ourselves skipping over those more famous hits just to get to this diamond, er, rhinestone in the rough. Don’t Stop We’ll be the first to admit that this is a silly song. It really isn’t about anything (other than “moving” and “grooving”), and the music kinda sounds like the soundtrack to a bad porno, but there’s still something totally infectious about Don’t Stop. Maybe it’s the unabashedly awful lyrics? “Feel it in your body,” Madonna croons, “Sing la-de-da-de.” One can’t help but wonder what the hit maker was thinking when she wrote that. Or if she was thinking at all. Then again, we can’t remember a time when we didn’t sing “la-de-da-de” at that part. Erotica/You Thrill Me 25 years into her career, Madonna proved she still had a few tricks up her sleeve, er, leotard, when she performed this remixed version of her 1992 hit “Erotica” during her wildly successful Confessions Tour in 2006. The performance featured additional lyrics from the song’s original demo, which were not included in the final version, and the results were simply divine. By toning down the explicit sexual nature of the song, Madonna made it even sexier. Of course, the tasteful white bodysuit and flawless choreography also helped. I’ll Remember Recorded for the film With Honors and released in 1994, “I’ll Remember” was a radical departure for Madonna, who had spent the previous two years being lambasted by critics for her book Sex, her album Erotica, and her erotic thriller Body of Evidence. The single was Madge’s attempt at repairing the damage that her over-sexed image had caused to her career. And it worked! “I’ll Remember” reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Grammy and Golden Globe. And then it was forgotten. Ask any casual Madonna fan what they think of “I’ll Remember” and they’ll probably look back at you with a blank expression on their face. But for us die hards, the song remains one of the many hidden gems in our queen’s illustrious and ever-growing catalog. 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Supernatural Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I'd pick Waiting or Words off Erotica over Thief Of Hearts (and a lot of people love Secret Garden). Impressive Instant over Gone Sanctuary or Love Tried To Welcome Me over Don't Stop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Oh but Thief of Hearts is so unbelievably kick ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 I never knew Supernatural was recorded during the True Blue sessions... Is that true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Technician Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Pretty much agree with the list. Glad to see Pretender/Supernatural there. However, I take extreme umbrage at the remark that "ballads have never been Madonna's strong suit." UMBRAGE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Coffin Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's very unnecessary to diss "Bad Girl" as a choice for a single (it gave us one of her best videos of all-time) to glorify "Thief of Hearts" (which is a great song). Yikes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karbatal Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I don't agree with Pretender or Don't Stop. I don't agree either with Spotlight or Supernatural. I LOVE those 4 songs, but imo there are better examples like Inside of Me, Love Tried to Welcome Me, Why's it so Hard, Sky Fits Heaven or Paradise. More recent, i think other songs are pretty underrated by main public, like Nothing Fails, Future Lovers, Let it Will Be, She's Not Me, Love Spent... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Pretty much agree with the list. Glad to see Pretender/Supernatural there. However, I take extreme umbrage at the remark that "ballads have never been Madonna's strong suit." UMBRAGE!!! Yeah, that statement pissed me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernatural Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I never knew Supernatural was recorded during the True Blue sessions... Is that true? No. Isn't Prince playing guitar at the start of Supernatural? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzzy Dream Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's very unnecessary to diss "Bad Girl" as a choice for a single (it gave us one of her best videos of all-time) to glorify "Thief of Hearts" (which is a great song). Yikes. Yes, Bad Girl is one of her all time best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 No. Isn't Prince playing guitar at the start of Supernatural? I knew it. Not sure about Prince, but that song has way too much of a "like a prayer" feel to be from "true blue". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonoka Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 What about White Heat? It's a pretty common opinion by fans that it's the singles which make the True Blue album (which is certainly accurate), but too often, I found all the non-single tracks to be thrown in the same pot, aka dismissed as bland filler tracks... While this is certainly true for the dire Jimmy Jimmy or horribly cheesy LMTWGR, I find White Heat to be way above it. It might not be up to par with the singles, but I find it to be a pretty solid track. It's well-thought, it's got a memorable chorus and it doesn't display that cheesy sound of the other non-single tracks. I also love how she interwined these snippets from older crime movies with the music. Definitely a highly underrated song IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horn Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 What about "One More Chance"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattress Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I never knew Supernatural was recorded during the True Blue sessions... Is that true? No, it's definitely a "Like A Prayer" outtake. Not sure who played the guitar on the intro, though it could very well be Prince. It sounds a lot like the beginning of Pat Benatar's "Cool Zero" from Summer '88. Madonna even stole her hair! (j/k) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattress Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 http://www.queerty.com/something-to-remember-the-10-most-underrated-madonna-songs-of-all-time-20141011 This week marked the 20th anniversary of the release ofMadonna’s sixth studio album, the smooth, sleek, R&B-inspired Bedtime Stories. Despite what wikipedia or any of the millions of digital music providers may state, a self respecting Madonna fan should have it burned into their brain for all eternity that Bedtime Stories was released on October 25, 1994 in North America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 touché Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madonnasuperfan01 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 It's very unnecessary to diss "Bad Girl" as a choice for a single (it gave us one of her best videos of all-time) to glorify "Thief of Hearts" (which is a great song). Yikes. Totally agree. Also Sky Fits Heaven is not on the list?? It should be, it's one of her best album tracks. I agree with some of the songs but not all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I felt like they should Jabe stuck with singles. If they wanted to do album tracks too, then I wouldn't have included unreleased material and remixes/mashups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Gold Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Stay is underrated "scoop, scoop, scoop, scoodooly be bop" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 don't agree at all....and some of the other songs cited here are not underrrated, on the contrary they are between the most loved by fans.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aorlaan Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Shit list... not even 1 song from AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick00 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 It just makes me happy that someone wrote an article on the past music of M. There are so many amazing forgotten singles & album tracks that a new generation of music lovers have not been exposed to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasticlimbo Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Please Love Tried To Welcome Me would give a fantastic video or Thief Of Hearts too... But Don't Stop must remain in the garbage. And I also agree that Stay is more underrated than Pretender. Love Tried To Welcome Me Thief Of Hearts Stay Has To Be Sanctuary Time Stood Still Gone Heartbeat Spanish Eyes Where's The Party Physical Attraction Intervention Til Death Do Us Part Voices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruey Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I can definitely agree with Thief of Hearts & Time Stood Still on that list. Personally I think "Love Spent" is her most underrated song. It is by far the most sophisticated track on MDNA and despite sounding a little demo-like it still rocks my Madonna world. Could have been a monster hit with more vivid vocals and production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruey Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Stay is underrated "scoop, scoop, scoop, scoodooly be bop" And this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITG Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Time Stood Still is definitely underrated. Thief of Hearts didn't have the passion vocally for the theme & lyrics for the song. When she says Stop bitch, now sit your ass down, it sounds like she's nodding off. It would've been powerhouse in my opinion if it had a 'Rescue Me' style vocal. Agree that Love Tried to Welcome Me is more underrated than Don't Stop, that's a bad choice, although I do like the song. And of course Stay....*sigh* ❤️ Bad Girl a bad choice! No way! Great song! And Madonna doesn't do good ballads!!!?????!!! Her ballads are amaaaazing!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madonnasuperfan01 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Time Stood Still is definitely underrated. Thief of Hearts didn't have the passion vocally for the theme & lyrics for the song. When she says Stop bitch, now sit your ass down, it sounds like she's nodding off. It would've been powerhouse in my opinion if it had a 'Rescue Me' style vocal. Agree that Love Tried to Welcome Me is more underrated than Don't Stop, that's a bad choice, although I do like the song. And of course Stay....*sigh* ❤️ Bad Girl a bad choice! No way! Great song! And Madonna doesn't do good ballads!!!?????!!! Her ballads are amaaaazing!!!!! The article lost almost all credibility after that. Her ballads are VERY strong, any true fan knows that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 This list is definitely missing Beautiful Killer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 This list is definitely missing Beautiful Killer though. Beautiful Killer was amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runa Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Time Stood Still Despite her efforts to convince people otherwise (as exampled by 1995’s compilation album Something to Remember), ballads have never been Madonna’s strong suit. But every now and then she manages to record a convincing one. Time Stood Still was written for the soundtrack to the 2000 film The Next Best Thing. The movie may have been a complete and utter disaster, but the song was pure gold. It’s an orchestra-driven ballad that has Madonna reflecting on a relationship that simply wasn’t meant to be. Had this song actually been promoted by her record label (and had the accompanying film not flopped), we’re convinced it could have been a hit. I stopped reading there. Nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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