Madonna’s next album, True Blue opened up with controversy. Her song Papa Don’t Preach seemed to bother activist groups all over the place. The religious groups thought the song was promoting premarital sex. The Pro Choice people were upset that she didn’t get an abortion. What bothered me was that this was turning point where Madonna ceased to be a song, dance and fashion icon and adopted the role of artist which is just a step away from activist. That transition always bothers me. I really hate it when popularity artificially elevates the opinions and expertise of somebody who is not really qualified.
True Blue is still a good album and there are numerous gems here. Sadly the Madonna that I loved from the prior two albums was disappearing. You can hear it. Her voice is more mature and the themes and delivery conjure images of a woman who has risen to the top and is now concerned about staying there. The bubble gum fun and simplicity has been replaced with the drive to be excellent.
Live To Tell is a prime example. That song was on MTV every 15 minutes it seemed. This isn’t the Dress You Up girl, is it? I understand that Madonna had to evolve. She couldn’t remain Like A Virgin forever. She was doing what she felt she needed to do to secure her position as Queen of Pop. I can respect that but it didn’t make me miss the old Madonna any less.
For the music video of True Blue, Madonna partnered with MTV and opened the creation of the video to the public as a contest. For weeks and weeks, viewer submitted videos for the song were played on MTV. The eventual winner was a good one and was key in motivating me to buy this album. True Blue wasn’t like previous Madonna songs but it was still good. It had this faux 50’s do-wop kind of feel. After owning the album for a while, La Isla Bonita emerged as the favorite. Listening to it right now, it is still a great piece of work.
Papa Don’t Preach
Open Your Heart
Live To Tell
True Blue
Here is the contest verison
La Isla Bonita