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True Blue (album)

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True Blue is the third studio album by singer Madonna, released in 1986 (see 1986 in music). A remastered version was released in 2001.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Papa Don't Preach" (Elliot, Madonna) – 4:29
  2. "Open Your Heart" (Cole, Madonna, Rafelson) – 4:13
  3. "White Heat" (Leonard, Madonna) – 4:40
  4. "Live to Tell" (Leonard, Madonna) – 5:52
  5. "Where's the Party" (Bray, Leonard, Madonna) – 4:21
  6. "True Blue" (Bray, Madonna) – 4:18
  7. "La Isla Bonita" (Gaitsch, Leonard, Madonna) – 4:02
  8. "Jimmy, Jimmy" (Bray, Madonna) – 3:55
  9. "Love Makes the World Go Round" (Leonard, Madonna) – 4:35
  10. "True Blue" [The Color mix] [*] (Bray, Madonna) – 6:39
  11. "La Isla Bonita" [extended remix] [*] (Gaitsch, Leonard, Madonna) – 5:25
* bonus tracks on remastered version

Album history

Released in June 1986, "True Blue" was Madonna's third album and saw her continue to collaborate with Stephen Bray and begin to work with Patrick Leonard. Unlike on "Like a Virgin", Madonna wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, she also is credited with co-producing every track as well. The album was recorded in 1985, during the time Madonna married American actor Sean Penn. She dedicated the album to him, "the coolest guy in the universe". Internationally, "True Blue" is Madonna's biggest selling album.

The album starts off well but arguably ends on a weak note, which has led to mixed reviews from critics. The first half of the album contains the hit singles "Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart", and "Live to Tell". The highlight of the second part of the album is the fan favourite, "Where's The Party?". The album's first single, "Papa Don't Preach" was surrounded by controversy due to its message about a young woman who tells her father that she is pregnant out of wedlock, but is going to keep her baby. Madonna's love for the Golden Age of Hollywood can be seen in the Jimmy Cagney tribute, "White Heat", which features a sample from his famous Public Enemy speech. Track number four on the album, "Live to Tell" was originally recorded as the theme to the film "At Close Range", and was released as a single before the album was released. "Love Makes the World Go Round" closes the album and made its debut at Live Aid a year earlier in July 1985.

The album cover, shot by photographer Herb Ritts, is one of Madonna's most recognizable pictures. It features a picture of Madonna from the neck up; the main colours in the picture being grey, white and various shades of blue to reinforce the album's title.

In 1986 the album won a Juno Award in Canada for Best International Album.

In 2001, it was remastered and re-released with two bonus tracks, remixes of the hit singles, "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita".

Critical response

"True Blue" received mixed reviews from critics. Music critics were less than impressed with the album's ending but did praise the fact that Madonna's voice sounded stronger than it did on her previous efforts. Stephen Holden, in a review for The New York Times, said that "her singing, which has been harshly criticized as a thin imitation of the sixties girl-group sound, has strengthened"[link] and in a Rolling Stone Magazine review, Davitt Sigerson stated that Madonna was "singing better than ever".

The album's songs were called "catchy" but Sigerson in his review commented on the lack of outstanding songs. Forgetting about this comment, he later states that "True Blue" is a "sturdy, dependable, lovable new album" which "remains faithful to her past while shamelessly rising above it".[link]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review for the All Music Guide, named the album as the record that made Madonna a superstar. He also calls it "one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun".[link]

Whilst Madonna's first two albums have occasionally been seen as throwaway to some, True Blue was the first to be recognised as a classic album. In his guide to Madonna, Ricky Gardiner argues that it should be considered in any album-of-the-1980's list, whilst worldwide sales make it her second biggest seller after The Immaculate Collection. It also remains her only album to date to spawn multiple number 1s in both the USA ("Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart", "Live To Tell") and the UK (Papa Don't Preach, True Blue, La Isla Bonita). Where's The Party, despite not being released as a single, became a dance hit and was later remixed for You Can Dance.

Album credits

Personnel

Production

Design

Chart performance

"True Blue" is Madonna's biggest selling album internationally. It has sold over 8 million copies in the U.S. and a total of 24 million worldwide. On its release it hit number 1 in 28 countries, an achievement that The Guinness Book of World Records called "totally unprecedented". Only "The Immaculate Collection" would sell more records than "True Blue".

Chart (1986) Peak
Position
Australia albums chart 1 (2 wks)
Austria albums chart 2 (2 wks)
Brazil albums chart 1 (4 wks)
Canada albums chart 1 (14 wks)
Finland albums chart 1
France albums chart 1 (4 wks)
Germany albums chart 1 (8 wks)
Italy albums chart 1
Mexico albums chart 1
Norway albums chart 2 (5 wks)
Portugal albums chart 1
Spain albums chart 1 (3 wks)
Switzerland albums chart 1 (7 wks)
UK albums chart 1 (6 wks)
USA Billboard Top 200 1 (5 wks)
USA Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 47

Certifications

Note: Certifications are based on the number of shipped copies and not the number of copies sold.
Country Certification
Australia 4x Platinum
Belgium 2x Platinum
Brazil Diamond
Canada 10x Platinum (Diamond)
Mexico Diamond
France Diamond
Germany 2x Platinum
Greece 2x Platinum
Hong Kong Platinum
Italy Diamond
Nederlands Platinum
Singapore 5x Platinum
Spain 3x Platinum
UK 7x Platinum
USA 8x Platinum

References

Madonna
Discography | Albums | Singles | Videography | Tours | Filmography | Achievements/awards | Bibliography | Trivia | Unreleased songs | Controversies

 

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