The Madonna Collection: October 2015

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Monday, October 26, 2015

Rebel Heart Tour - LIVING FOR LOVE & LA ISLA BONITA

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Rebel Heart Tour - LIVING FOR LOVE

Rebel Heart Tour - LIKE A VIRGIN

Madonna’s The Girlie Show tour recently turned 20, kicking off as it did on September 25th 1993. Its logistics almost seems quaint now - at only 39 dates and lasting barely 3 months, it bears little comparison to the mega-tours which are the norm nowadays. As a concert, however, its imprint is evident all over pop. The Blond Ambition tour of 1990 had taken Bowie and Broadway as its palimpsest, Madonna stamping her authority to create something daring and iconic. Afterwards she had vowed to never tour again. By 1993, however, Madonna was in the eye of the worst backlash she had ever faced following the perfect storm of her Erotica album, Sex book and Body of Evidence film. The critics had savaged all three (which, to be fair, was justified with the film) and while prurience ensured the Sex book was an instant sell-out, Erotica proved to be Madonna’s lowest-selling studio album to date. All three projects, of course, had sex at their core: having turned the controversy surrounding Blond Ambition and the panting Justify My Love to her own advantage, Madonna no doubt felt emboldened in her daring. It wouldn’t be the last time that she misjudged the mood of her audience but it perhaps remains the most spectacular and most informative.

Labelled as ‘desperate’ and every other epithet still deployed today against women who use their sexuality in ways deemed ‘unacceptable’, Madonna didn’t apologize and she didn’t back down. She understood what most critics did not - that Erotica was an astounding concept album far beyond what any of her peers (save Prince) were capable of rather than limp, lazy titillation (viewed through the prism of the album, the Sex book makes much more sense than it does taken as a standalone project.) Added to the hubris built over the preceding few years, this passionate belief in her work meant that Madonna came out fighting. Thus, her pledge to never tour again was revoked and The Girlie Show was born.

Rebel Heart Tour - DEVIL PRAY

For the Record...1990

"Rescue Me" was one of two new songs recorded for Madonna's first greatest hits album, 1990's "The Immaculate Collection." It was the second single to be released from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection on February 26, 1991 by Sire Records. When it debuted at No. 15 on the March 2, 1991 Hot 100 chart, it marked the highest-ever bow for a single by a woman. Further, it was -- at the time -- one of only four titles to debut in the top 20. The song had been an airplay hit for a full three months before it finally arrived on the Hot 100, as the single had been held back from commercial release. As "Rescue Me's" release was delayed until it had reached its peak of popularity on the radio, it had an artificially short run -- 8 weeks -- on the Hot 100. It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 24, 1991.

In the UK, a remix of "Crazy for You" was released as the second single, from The Immaculate Collection, in February 1991, so the release of "Rescue Me" was pushed back until April 1991. The artwork for the UK was changed due to the fact that the same image for the North American release had been used on the "Crazy for You" single, so a photograph by Jean-Baptiste Mondino was used instead.

Elsewhere in the world, "Rescue Me" placed within the top-five in countries such as the UK, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa. According to The Official Charts Company, "Rescue Me" has sold 134,767 copies in the United Kingdom as of August 2008. It also peaked at number three in Europe.

Some of the remixes for "Rescue Me" include vocal samples from other Madonna songs. The Houseboat Vocal includes the "Hey" said by Madonna, followed by "What!" said by the back-up singers, from the single "True Blue", in the beginning of the remix. The S.O.S. Mix includes the "Watch out" from the beginning of the single "Open Your Heart", but it is transposed down and distorted. The Titanic Vocal and Demanding Dub include the "So now what?" sample taken from the single "Justify My Love". The Demanding Dub also includes a sample of "Ladies" from the single "Vogue".

I'll Remember...1985

Madonna on the set of Desperately Seeking Susan

Thursday, October 22, 2015

For the Record...Now I'm Following You

Originally to be released as the third single from ‘I'm Breathless, ‘Now I'm Following You’ was cancelled due to the release of The Immaculate Collection. Warner Brothers favored ‘Justify My Love’ and ‘Rescue Me’ as the next singles in her catalog. A remixed version of the song was commissioned by Grammy Award-winning remixer Mark Saunders but never released. The12" remix can be heard on his website at www.marksaunders.com.

Although the song appears in the movie ‘Dick Tracy’ the version on ‘I’m Breathless’ is different from the one in the film. The film version was not performed by Madonna, but by the composer Andy Paley.

Madonna gave an electrifying performance of the song on her 1990 ‘Blond Ambition’ tour. Check it out below.