True Blue [Bonus Tracks]

by Madonna

Overview

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. [Warner Bros.' 2001 reissue included two bonus tracks.]

Product Details

Release Date:	05/22/2001
Label:	Warner Records
UPC:	0093624790228
catalogNumber:	47902
Rank:	369

Tracks

1. Papa Don't Preach
2. Open Your Heart
3. White Heat
4. Live to Tell
5. Where's the Party
6. True Blue
7. La Isla Bonita
8. Jimmy, Jimmy
9. Love Makes the World Go Round
10. True Blue
11. La Isla Bonita

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Madonna   Primary Artist,Vocals,Background Vocals
Siedah Garrett   Background Vocals
Bill Meyers   Strings
Jackie Jackson   Background Vocals
Stephen Bray   Drums,Keyboards
Keithen Carter   Background Vocals
Paulinho Da Costa   Percussion
Bruce Gaitsch   Guitar,Electric Guitar,Rhythm Guitar
Dann Huff   Guitar
Paul Jackson   Guitar
Edie Lehmann   Background Vocals
Patrick Leonard   Drums,Keyboards
Richard Marx   Background Vocals
Jonathan Moffett   Percussion,Drums,Background Vocals
John Putnam   Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
David Williams   Guitar,Rhythm Guitar,Background Vocals
Fred Zarr   Keyboards
Dave Boroff   Saxophone

Technical Credits

Bill Meyers   String Arrangements
Gardner Cole   Composer
Brian Elliot   Composer
Stephen Bray   Composer,Programming,Producer,drum programming
Madonna   Composer,Producer
Bruce Gaitsch   Composer
Michael Hutchinson   Engineer
Patrick Leonard   Composer,Programming,Producer,drum programming
Peter Rafelson   Composer
Michael Verdick   Engineer
Jeri McManus   Art Direction
Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff   Art Direction