Unforgettable ballads (Something To Remember - Madonna)

Member Name: josh_debbarman

Product:	Something To Remember - Madonna
Date:	09/05/02 (471 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: , great ballads collected together

Disadvantages: , One More Chance

Madonna's greatest ballads collection, this album contains many of Madonna's best ballads of yesteryear, as well as a few new ones.

I Want You (with MASSIVE ATTACK) is a powerful, seductive song. "I want you to want me, I want you, but I want you to want me too" Madonna croons, silkily. Resist that if you can. MASSIVE ATTACK add a powerful backing music to it that adds weight to the song. A long introduction starts this song, with a hip-hop drum with exceptional emphasis on the bass, and a semi-tone string figure. Madonna sings this song of desire and unrequited love in a languid manner, her vocal right to the front of the mix. The theme of wanting to change the mind of a reluctant lover could almost be from a James Bond theme tune, indeed this song could well be one in its style. The second chorus comes in with the swirl of a harp. The drum loop goes on repeating, complete with a strange bleeping noise on top of it, which has the same effect as a telephone ringing when you're otherwise engaged late at night. The singing is supplemented by spoken passages. Though it does seem overlong if just listened to, if watched with the black and white video, it is extremely fitting and conveys the heartache of waiting for love that will never be returned.

I'll Remember is from the film 'With Honors'. Madonna sings of how she's been helped by the love of someone who is no longer with her, but for whom she feels great gratitude - "and I'll remember the love that you gave me, now that I'm standing on my own". A lovely ballad. Which is interesting, as the song was arranged by dance/soul buffs and slowed down. A steadily reverberating synth keyboard pulses throughout the track like a heartbeat. Backing vocals on the later choruses add nice support, along with a few strings cascading down just before the third chorus. In style, this could be a Seventies song in places, apart from the arrangement and the very
heavy low bass. Madonna's voice is submerged behind the keyboard and there is no climax to the song, it just plays and then fades in a very understated way - which is particularly classy and effective. This was one of Madonna's biggest radio hits in the US, but it is something of a forgotten gem (which is ironic, given the title!), probably because the film wasn't so big.

Take a Bow is a classic Madonna song - an extremely successful song that Americans in particular liked, though Europeans were less keen. A slow and rhythmic recitation, Maddy 'commends' her lover on his acting ability, and says that he ought to get an award. This doesn't refer to any acting aspirations, but to his relationship with her. He broke her heart and it's time to end it all...very sentimental. Musically, there is more than a hint of the Far East here, with oriental pentatonics and exotic chop-suey strings. The verse is sustained by a long descending chord sequence with a few odd twists. Backed and produced by Babyface, it bears all of his languid and laid-back style. Lyrically, it contains quite a few cliches, also drawing inspiration from William Shakespeare with "all the world is a stage and everyone has their part". As stylish and beautifully performed as it is, it lacks the final stage of emotion that would make it a great track, and it is perhaps a trifle over-long. I think it fits better in this album rather than in the Bedtime Stories album, where it jars with the preceding ambient title track.

But the real jewel in the crown of ballads is You'll See, which was written at around about the same time that Madonna was being seriously harassed by a stalker. Maybe this song is a get-back at him, who knows (though Madonna did say this was more about self-empowerment than revenge), but it is simply the most beautiful of ballads. A reiterated low bass, wind-chimes and the occasional twist of Spanish guitar introduce this sombre
ballad, whose story is one of defiant perseverance. In the song, Madonna's lover treats her badly, leaves her and thinks he's destroyed her. Though obviously hurting badly, Madonna insists "I will survive, I will stay alive" and warns him "you think that you are strong, but you are weak. It takes more strength to cry, admit defeat. I have truth on my side, you only have deceit". What wonderful lyrics - and Madonna puts in a performance to match. Let no-one say that Madonna's voice lacks emotion - refer them to this song. Indeed, the chord changes of the progression and the turns in the melody give Madonna a chance to really show off her voice - there is a greater rate of harmonic change in this track than in many others. The overall sense of the song is one of controlled drama, building as percussion hits, but not overbearing the song. Again, the song is beautifully understated, with Madonna harmonising with herself pleasingly.

From the film 'Vision Quest', Crazy For You is a more country-style of song. True country fans may see this as mediocre, but it is an interesting diversion for Madonna and one that underlines her versatility and willingness to experiment, especially as this song was recorded in 1985 when no-one thought Madonna could do anything except dancepop music. It's an increase in sophistication from her previous material, though the boldness that is Madonna's signature is also evident here. The intro to the song has electic guitar chords with woodwind supplementation - which is a theme that recurs through the song. The other strong feature of the music is the snare drum that kicks in at the end of each bar. Otherwise, there is harp, guitar and bass synth. Vocal-wise, this track shows Madonna's increasing, as most of the song is deeper than her wont at the time, and yet she goes pretty high at times. The song may sound raw compared to some of the other material on this album, but given the el
even-year difference in time, that is not surprising (and it is actually pleasing), and it helps underline Madonna's journey through the years.

From the baseball film, 'In A League Of Their Own', set in the Forties and starring Madonna, This Used To Be My Playground has to be a contender for the saddest Madonna song. She sings regretfully of how her past life is dead and gone. It is a quite beautiful ballad, where Madonna revisits her childhood, torn between the pull of the past and letting go it, concluding finally that letting go is too much to ask. It's very much in the theme first explored in her 'Like A Prayer' album, deeply personal and emotional as there are subtle references to her mother ("wishing you were here with me"). Arranged by Shep Pettibone, the music is very lush and romantic, starting off with a nice swirl from a keyboard and a swell of strings, introducing a song which has many swells, and troughs within it. The structure of the song is very interesting, where the chorus and the verses seem to flow into each other almost seamlessly. Madonna's voice is very expressive but in a subdued, haunted way. This has to be another gem of this album, or even of Madonna's entire career and underlines Madonna's skill in songwriting.

Despite the different quality of 'Crazy For You', Live To Tell must have been a great surprise at the time that it came out in 1986. Madonna's voice suddenly sound several shades deeper and more mature. The theme tune to then-husband Sean Penn's film 'At Close Range', it is a real tear-jerking ballad. Madonna describes how her man proved unworthy of her love ("a man can tell a thousand lies, I've learned my lesson well. Hope I live to tell the secret I have learned, 'til then it will burn inside of me"). This has some really beautiful lyrics and another example is "if I run away, I'd never have the strength to go ver
y far. How would they hear the beating of my heart ?". Madonna tackles the theme of child abuse, a very brave move, as her lack of experience in this area of songs could have made the song fall flat on its face with the critics. Music-wise, the strong snare drum adds drama to the track, but this quality is most well provided by the synth strings and electric piano, with heavy metal guitar adding twists of style in tightly controlled doses. Another very compelling ballad, it is surprising to learn that it was recorded from a single take onto a demo (producer Pat Leonard says you can hear the lyrics sheet in Madonna's hand rustle faintly, though I can't quite make that out) - done this way because of the shy, naive, raw and yet powerful delivery by Madonna. It is well worth a listen, and especially since it is one of Madonna's earliest ballads. It is very important in the history of Madonna's musical progression and recognition by others as a serious artist. To this date, the song remains shrouded in mystery but it was the song that made other musicians join in the worldwide fever for this exciting new star. The song is a complete antithesis to her previous songs about love and sex. It was haunting and dark and instead of the customary shrill bubbles resonating from Madonnas vocal cords, we hear a deep, measured, plaintive sound that only makes the world even more astounded by the new object of their affections. Could Madonna be more than just a sexy pop tart with great dance songs and Marilyn Monroe aspirations?? Could she actually be a great singer/songwriter? America hadn't seen a great female singer/songwriter who was also a star. Carole King decades ago, Joni Mitchell wrote but rarely troubled the summit of the worlds pop charts. And here was Madonna, showing the potential of being all things to everyone.

Love Don't Live Here Anymore was not commercially successful, but I can't for the live of me think why - just listen
to Madonna's voice and tell me this is not a great song. Sung previously by Rose Royce (in 1978), Madonna's version is far more powerful and emotional - sounding very different to the shrill disco diva voice - giving insights to the talent that Madonna would show later on. It was her very first attempt at an increase in sophistication, and was certainly a brave one - with Madonna trying different vocal tricks used by soul singers, not being entirely successful with all of them, but generally handling them well. She managed to pull a lot more tone and power out of her voice for this song, sounding in places like a higher-pitched Alison Moyet, though maybe (if one is being hyper-critical) lacking in the deeper resonance. The song deals with abandonment by a lover, quite familiar territory for popular music. Music-wise, the song is carried by acoustic guitar and synth strings, with drums coming in later. It was given a new lease of life on this album - nearly twelve years after it was originally recorded - where it was released with a new video and a remixed, slinkier tune. Personally I prefer the original, but it's still a good song.

Something To Remember, the title track was from the album 'I'm Breathless'. It's a slow slinky number with restrained by slightly funky electric piano supported by strings and delicate percussion. The chord sequence has many unexpected shifts and the melody is equally unpredictable in the way it changes direction. The music's unpredictable jazz changes have the effect of bracing the tune against sentimentality. Lyrically, the words sum up a love affair which hasn't worked out but from which some good has come - a complex emotion. The message of the song, from the departed lover is "love yourself". Madonna's is voice full of regret and acing loss. The last part of the song has drums to kick it along. A very classy song and another forgotten song with an ironic title.

For
bidden Love is another slow, slinky, sexy and sensual song with Babyface providing partly-whispered, partly-sung backing vocals. It is about a crush Maddy has on a man who is off-limits - hence 'forbidden love' - and she knows it's not right, but she doesn't care. The track is carried mostly by the vocals as the instrumentation is sparse, but strings do come in at the midpoint of the song to brighten the sound somewhat. At this point, Madonna whispers a piece of genius lyrics "rejection is the greatest aphrodisiac". The song stylishly fades to Madonna improvising vocals over the intro.

One More Chance is too regretful, grovelling and self-deprecating for its own good, and in this sense this song is the weak link of this album. The music is very organic, not using synthetic sound as is Madonna's wont, but the lyrics are rather bland and performed rather flatly where perhaps Madonna should have dropped the understated whiney sound and gone for something bigger and more dramatic. That's not to say that the song doesn't have redeeming qualities - the chorus has a nice interval leap up with "if you care for me" and there is a nice harmony at points between Madonna's voice and the guitar - but it ends up sounding like something of a filler. "Give me one more chance, tell me that it's not too late", Madonna begs you. Madonna begging me? Oh well, all is forgiven!

Rain is a real beauty, yet another gem of this album, chock-full of clever sound tricks, right from the beautiful intro. Romantic rather than sexual (though it deals with sex as part of love), it shows Madonna's vocal range well as most of the song is sung in a deeper pitch, with a higher pitch version overlaid in pleasing self-harmony. A strong drumbeat is nonetheless placed firmly behind Madonna's vocals to provide a good base for the song, as is the strong chords of a synth organ. Quieter percussion in the form of the t
wittering of the high-hat also augments this. Lyrically, there is a nod to the Beatles with the line "here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say, never go away", which is lifted almost word-for-word from their single 'Here Comes The Sun' (Abbey Road album) and which is preceded by a crescendo of deep synth sound that sound likes an alien spaceship taking off! Following this there is a clever spoken breakdown where Madonna whispers and speaks phrases almost but not quite simultaneously from both channels, the effect through the different speakers being bewildering and quite powerful. Near the end, the song shifts up in pitch, a trick used only infrequently Madonna, before a beautifully sung last few vocals come in, fading into the sound of distant thunder and rainfall. Exhilarating and healing in equal measure, this is one of Madonna's best songs, gorgeously performed, melding voice and music in a way which we had not heard in Madonna's music until this point.

Madonna's relationship with her father was difficult and complex, and the revisitation of her childhood in Oh Father goes some way to explain this, explaining how much better she feels now she is no longer under her father's control and anger. The hurt from her father remarrying after her mother's death is quite evident here, and though the sound of the voice is mature, the wounded child in Madonna is plain to see. A classically beautiful stanza from the song, the vocal bridge asks the question, "Oh father, if you never wanted to live that way, if you never wanted to hurt me, why am I running away ?". Somewhat confusingly, and deliberately, Madonna sings "Oh father, I have sinned" which is an example of the play on words that Madonna loves. Is it her biological father she is addressing, or God (at a time when she was questioning the nature of Catholicism, the religion she was born and brought up in)? Or both? A strangely nostalgic feel c
ounterbalances the criticism of her father, and shows what a complex relationship this is, and this is emphasised by a generous compassionate and conciliatory note near the end: "Maybe some day, when I look back I'll be able to say, 'You didn't mean to be cruel - somebody hurt you too.'", which is preceded by a very tasteful instrumental break. Again, Madonna uses contrasting timbre, with a smoother higher voice in a background with a more grainy deep voice as the main voice. As atmospheric as an old Simon and Garfunkel ballad, this haunting song has an ethereal quality and the chorus sees Madonnas voice as a ghost-like chime. This track becomes embellished with dramatic piano as it concludes and contains some nice usage of echoed slide guitar. A very conflicting, but immensely interesting and deeply personal song, it has been compared to Kate Bush's 'The Fog' and Tori Amos' 'Winter' in terms of the power of exploration of childhood. One of the most powerfully emotive songs of Madonna's career.

I Want You (orchestral) has a more dramatic feel about it, more refined than the sheer power of MASSIVE ATTACK's backing and is about twenty seconds shorter. The original drum-percussion and bass are removed and replaced by orchestral equivalents, starting with a low string bass line amd gradually bringing in more string. There is harp and brass too, and a high point is a dramatic moment near the end where the strings cease, leaving just Madonna's voice, before returning for a slow, gentle fade. A worthy beginning and end to this fabulous album.

This is one incredible album. Madonna nearly always does well with ballads, but collected together under one roof, so to speak, the effect is mind-blowing. It is difficult to say how this could have been made any better.

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