True Blue: Madonna's Third Album. A Review (True Blue - Madonna)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	True Blue - Madonna
Date:	23/05/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Papa Don't Preach, White Heat, Live To Tell ~ 3 very good songs

Disadvantages: Jimmy Jimmy ~ best forgotten

Madonna's third album was released in 1986 &, continuing the habit she started on Like A Virgin, she choose to collaborate on all the songs that she had a hand in rather than writing any of them herself. This album sees her working with Pat Leonard for the first time

01) Papa Don't Preach:
From the opening notes of this track you can tell it's going to be a hit ~ and a big one at that.
Madonna's got herself pregnant but defiantly tells her Daddy that her & the child's father are in love and that she's going to keep the baby. The backing track was one of Madonna's best (upto that time) & her voice sounds much stronger & more mature than it does on her first two albums. A great song to open with. This was the second single to be released from the album, giving Madonna her second UK number 1.

02) Open Your Heart:
Fourth single released from the album peaking at number 4 in the UK. There's no Pat Leonard or Steve Bray credited for writing this track which might be why I've always thought that it has a different feel to Madonna's other songs from this period.
It's full of synths, drums & a bit of what sounds like a xylophone & Madonna's voice stands up rather well but, as a track, it's never really worked for me & is one of my least favourite singles from her first 3 albums.

03) White Heat:
By Madonna & Pat Leonard. This song is dedicated to Jimmy Cagney & features (slight edited) spoken lines from the film of the same name.
Another strong backing track based about synth, drums & guitar & a strong vocal from Madonna ensures that this is a good track. Some people might dislike the spoken bits from White Heat but I've got a bit of a soft spot for them. This is also, in my opinion, better than Open Your Heart, although perhaps not quite as commercial sounding.

04) Live To Tell:
The ballad was the first single to be released from the album, peaking at number 2 in the UK. It's another Madonna / Pat Leonard collaboration & starts off rather slowly (the vocal doesn't kick in until we're 54 seconds into the song).
There's a steady drumbeat, surrounded by strings and synths as Madonna tells us all how she hopes she'll live to tell the secret that she's learned. But, until then it'll burn inside of her.
A strong contender for the best song on this album & without, a doubt, her best ballad from her first 3 albums (not that ther's much competition on that front).

05) Where's The Party:
A change of pace after Live To Tell with this piece of umtempo fluff from Madonna, Pat Leonard & Steve Bray. It's a pleasant enough track but not up to the standards of Papa Don't Preach, White Heat & Live To Tell.

06) True Blue:
The third single to get a UK release also provided Madonna with her third UK number one hit. This is a Madonna / Steve Bray.
A slight change of pace from the previous song as this is a more mid-tempo track. I don't think anyone would ever claim that this was, lyrically, Madonna's best track but it's rather infectious & light & very pleasant to listen to.

07) La Isla Bonita:
This ballad was the last single from the album to be released in the UK. It reached number 1, giving Madonna three number 1 hits from this album & four in total.
It's a light summery track with bongos & a Spanish guitar added to the usual mix. Bit of the lyric are in Spanish, something which was also used on Who's That Girl, and, all in all, it's pleasant to listen to.

08) Jimmy Jimmy:
Without doubt the most annoying song on the album. If it wasn't enough to have an annoying, repetitive backing track we also get Madonna warbling "Jimmy Jimmy, oh, Jimmy Jimmy" rather too much for my liking. The sort of the you need to listen once just to see what it's like, then skip over when you play the album again.

09) Love Makes The World Go Round:
The album closes with this fairly pleasant song with a distinct South American / salsa-ish vibe. It's another Madonna / Pat Leonard collaboration &, whilst not the strongest note on which to end the album, is a definite improvement on the annoying Jimmy Jimmy.

In terms of overall standards then:-

Excellent: Papa Don't Preach / Live To Tell / White Heat
Very Good: True Blue / La Isla Bonita
Good: Open Your Heart / Love Makes The World Go Round / Where's The Party
Best Avoided: Jimmy Jimmy


This album is, without a doubt, better than Madonna's first album. The comparison with Like A Virgin is perhaps slightly more difficult because there's nothing as annoying as Jimmy Jimmy on there!

Summary: Overall a strong album