I'll Remember...1994

NO BULL: The Making of 'Take a Bow'

Madonna Covered

Kelly Clarkson covers 'Take A Bow'.

Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories” Turns 20: Backtracking

Throughout her extensive career, Madonna (a.k.a. The Queen of Pop) has worn many, quite controversial hats. Whether it be a girly-girl for 1986′s True Blue, a political rebel for 2003′s American Life or a disco goddess for 2005′s Confession On A Dancefloor, the entertainer always knows how to switch up her persona to keep her fans interested and the world guessing what her next move will be. (Well, maybe not with MDNA. I’d like to forget that album.)

But one of the singer’s greatest musical eras was arguably her most subtle. On October 25, 1994, her sixth studio LP Bedtime Stories released worldwide. The album found Madonna easing up on her naughty persona and going for a softer vibe, and today (October 24) we celebrate its timeless sound.

Madonna’s much talked about album, Erotica (released in 1992), did not go over well with critics or some of the entertainer’s fans. The backlash she received from it stemmed from its explicitly sexual nature (which included the infamous Sex book). Two years later, Bedtime Stories acted as the tamer, more mellow sister that tried to gloss over the singer’s panned image. While it was obviously a cleaned-up and more accessible album, it still signified another era of change for Madonna. Sure, she makes incredible dance-pop classics, but Bedtime Stories displayed the evolution of a soulful singer, and it helped lead to albums like the adventurous Ray of Light (1998) and possibly even the “B-girl” edge of 2008′s Hard Candy (as crazy as that sounds).

Perfection

I'll Remember...1994

I'll Remember...The Evita Years

In honor of what truly is a remarkable career, we press play on Madonna’s ‘Evita’ era. An era, which kicked off towards the end of her ‘Bedtime Stories’ and influenced the shape and sound of 1998′s ‘Ray Of Light’.

She may not have known it then, but the 1994 release of ‘Stories’ would no doubt serve as the catalyst behind what many would agree was the strongest creative era of Madonna’s career.

An era, she used to lobby for the role of ‘Evita’ with the Haussman directed clips, ‘Take A Bow‘ and ‘Something To Remember‘s ‘You’ll See’.
Peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Bow’s video and subsequent chart success marked yet another triumph for R&B driven music in the decade, with BabyFace responsible for the direction she took on the jam and its supporting album.
Winning her the role of Eva, ‘Donna’s portrayal of the political icon earned her a reported $1 million but served to strengthen her brand on a far deeper level, by way of vocal lessons she took in preparation for the musical.
Under the pupilage of ‘CATS‘ producer Andrew LLoyd Webber, the mezzo-soprano saw her entire range utilised in ways prior projects hadn’t warranted. On this era, she told ‘Spin‘:

“I studied with a vocal coach for Evita and I realised there was a whole piece of my voice I wasn’t using. Before, I just believed I had a really limited range and was going to make the most of it.”


So, with a new found confidence in her voice and the birth of daughter Lourdes birthing a new outlook on her craft, 1997 saw her begin work on the William Orbit driven ‘Ray Of Light’. An album, the saw the icon ditch the sex and sass found on ‘Erotica‘ and swim toward a new creative shore.

A shore, that gave the world ‘The Power Of Goodbye’ and the haunting…’Frozen’.

Peaking at #11 and #2 on the Hot 100 respectively, both singles saw sales of the album pushed to the commercial height of 16 million units moved worldwide, going 4x Platinum in the US, 6x Platinum in the UK and 7x Platinum in Russia.

While eras that followed failed to serve the magic ‘The Evita Years’ did, its ‘time’ marks one of the greatest ‘moments’ in Pop music- marking the only time the ‘Material Girl’s craft was allowed to take center stage and solidifying her status as one of the world’s greatest musicians.

With today’s scene lacking the emotion and artistry we were introduced to on ‘Light’ and ‘Stories’, here’s hoping the coming years see a number of her a number of her less talented Pop daughters pull from the era to deliver material and videos just as riveting.

 

 

 

I'll Remember...1995

Take a Bow -Wetten Dass?

I'll Remember...1995

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