Madonna: 'True Blue' Rankdown (Finished!)

[SHOOTER]

On the next episode of the True Blue rankdown, we find out the winner! There's only THREE points separating them so it's a real nail-biter. Stay tuned!

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Party Is Here}
Albie alexcuse andrewantonio bat1990 BB🌕 ccarter1023 chanman LBTrocks Glove Slap Doc Indie Party Rock 🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 fearlessarrow Troublemaker God gonecountry @greento newpower Ginger Spice Sambalada .indulgecountry jenglisbe born Juanca jumpb4uthink Ky 🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 mamooshka rowellfarm490 samo🦕 someguy Soulsista spiritboy Mirago
walt91 wrip wyckyd

[fearlessarrow]

Both songs in the top 2 are iconic! I thought "Open Your Heart" would take this, so I'm really happy that "Papa Don't Preach" is putting up a fight! "Papa Don't Preach" is such a memorable song from its content and the chorus.

[bat1990]

WTF is La Isla Bonita doing at #4?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

9. Jimmy Jimmy
I figured this would be tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fun for most players. This sounded like it should have made the "Summer School" soundtrack. perfect 80's. Useless trivia fact #1.: Ric Ocasek also wrote a song titled "Jimmy Jimmy" for his first solo album. better song tho.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RczATjSmdNs

8. Love makes The World Go Round.
I found this one a bit too tropical for my taste, but she did look hot in that video.

7. White Heat
Not a bad song, but obviously a filler. The other songs on the album where a better version of this song.

6. Where's The Party
This is a good dance pop song, but from here on it's single after single, and they just kinda fall into place.

5. True Blue
Obviously I was gonna be one of the ones who put this one in his top 3. Perfect melody and lyrics all according to teen lovebirds music.. I always loved the doo wop whatever 50's pop style you could find in an Olivia Newton-john/John Travolta movie.

4. La Isla Bonita
Beautiful song. Just tropical enough for me to sway too, and she looks like a Spanish goddess in the video.

3. Live To Tell
Another iconic ballad, but with 80's percussion it never sounds ,limp. This was the Penn/Madonna era. Two Leos will always clash one way or another.

The last two made my top 5, but it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out my #1.

[jumpb4uthink]

In my opinion, Live to Tell has the best lyrics of any of her songs and probably one of the best lyrics for any song. So emotional and profound, most can relate to.

[gonecountry]

Mar 3, 2021 1:55:56 GMT -5 Doc Indie Party Rock said:

The last two made my top 5, but it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out my #1.

The song where the video takes place in a peep show?

[Deleted]

Open Your Heart for the win! But these are my top 2 so i don’t mind either winning

[samo🦕]

I kept going back and forth on the order of my top 3, but right now I'd probably have given Open Your Heart my #1 instead

[spiritboy]

The lack of taste you guys show. I hope that boring Open Your Heart isn't #1.

[SHOOTER]

I've had to work much harder than this
For something I want, don't try to resist me...





*5th-highest/lowest SD*

bat1990 : 1
BB🌕 : 1
Glove Slap : 1
Troublemaker : 1
@greento : 1
newpower : 1
Ginger Spice : 1
Sambalada : 1
born : 1
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 : 1
someguy : 1
chanman : 2
LBTrocks : 2
fearlessarrow : 2
God : 2
SHOOTER : 2
rowellfarm490 : 2
Soulsista : 2
andrewantonio : 3
jenglisbe : 3
Ky : 3
mamooshka : 3
samo🦕 : 3
wyckyd : 3
Albie : 4
.indulgecountry : 4
jumpb4uthink : 4
walt91 : 4
alexcuse : 5
Doc Indie Party Rock : 5
Juanca : 5
spiritboy : 5
Mirago : 5

ccarter1023 : 6
🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 : 6
gonecountry : 6
wrip : 6

Originally a rock song titled Follow Your Heart, songwriters Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson penned with Cyndi Lauper in mind (although it never made its way to her); they also considered pitching it to the Temptations before Cole's manager learned from Madonna's management that they were sourcing material for her next album. One of three songs Cole and Rafelson submitted, Freddy (Madonna's manager at the time) asked if they could make a female demo version of FYH so Cole asked his then-girlfriend (and future M backup singer) Donna De Lory to sing the demo. Madonna liked it enough to take it and retool it along with Patrick to fit the sound of the album. Open Your Heart was the first song officially recorded for True Blue and ultimately became its fourth single and Madonna's fifth #1 hit on the Hot 100.

---

You always taught me right from wrong
I need your help, daddy, please be strong
I may be young at heart, but I know what I'm saying...





*3rd-lowest SD*

ccarter1023 : 1
Doc Indie Party Rock : 1
fearlessarrow : 1
Juanca : 1
SHOOTER : 1
Albie : 2
andrewantonio : 2
Glove Slap : 2
gonecountry : 2
@greento : 2
Sambalada : 2
.indulgecountry : 2
jumpb4uthink : 2
Ky : 2
mamooshka : 2
samo🦕 : 2
BB🌕 : 3
chanman : 3
LBTrocks : 3
God : 3
Ginger Spice : 3
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 : 3
rowellfarm490 : 3
someguy : 3
spiritboy : 3
Mirago : 3
walt91 : 3
wrip : 3
alexcuse : 4
bat1990 : 4
Troublemaker : 4
newpower : 4
Soulsista : 4
🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾 : 5
jenglisbe : 5
wyckyd : 5

born : 7

Audience
@mirza
Zeebz

Papa Don't Preach was a "love song, just framed a little differently" written by songwriter Brian Elliot based on teen gossip he overheard outside his recording studio. Michael Ostin, the same Warner Bros. executive that found Like a Virgin, sent the demo to Madonna who liked the theme and made just a few slight adjustments to the lyrics before recording it for the album. It shot to the top of the Hot 100, spending two weeks at #1 (her fourth), and became one of her biggest hits worldwide, hitting #1 in a dozen other countries. It also earned her a second Grammy nomination in 1987 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (losing to Barbra Streisand ).

Thanks for taking this nostalgia trip with me! I was wondering if anyone else would pull off a clean sweep of perfect rankings but congrats to fearlessarrow for coming the closest (8/9).

[wrip]

Great winner, thanks for hosting SHOOTER ❤️

[jumpb4uthink]

And thank you Shooter
Papa Don’t Preach is a certified classic and that baby she kept is 35 years old.
Is that a nip slip at 1:39 during her dance?

[Soulsista]

I'd have been OK with any of the Top 4 winning.

Thanks for hosting SHOOTER

[spiritboy]

Thanks for hosting Shooter.

[mamooshka]

A great finish. Thanks for hosting, SHOOTER. 

[fearlessarrow]

YES PAPA DON’T PREACH we did it. Taste prevailed.

[Juanca]

Time to catch up and share some thoughts and anecdotes around this masterpiece of an album!


This was the first ever non-compilation cassette I ever bought -the first one was “Living on the rock” that had stuff like boys don’t cry, don’t leave me this way, real wild child, preparado para el rock’n roll.
I bought it in ‘87, once I had already heard all the singles and I had become a stan. Also, I remember regretting not buying the LP when I saw it in a store during my first trip to the US (Miami). I remember it had a nice poster -I already had a Madonna poster in my bedroom, but this one looked lovely! I thought I would find it in Peru but never did :’(


9. Jimmy Jimmy (9): Yup, this has always been my least favorite song of this album by a mile, and sounded more childish than fun to me. I’d often FF it to go directly to True Blue.

8. Love makes the would go round (7): For some reason the #1 pop station in Peru played this song for a lil while as if it were the last single. It didn’t manage to enter its weekly chart, but it got stuck with me, and was the cherry on top that sealed the deal for me to buy the cassette. I love the Latin sound, especially starting with the lalalalala bridge —I live for the moment when the percussion starts and then the lalalalalas. The effervescent party feeling is the strongest in the album IMO, and that chorus is super catchy! It really captures well the Latin party flavor, which of course I love. This was her 7th entry off the album in my personal chart, reaching the top 5 (and having better longevity than Open your heart). It was one of my mom’s favorite Madonna songs, too, which adds to my love for it. Even though I ranked it at #7, this is in my top 15 album tracks from her.

7. White heat (6): hearing this for the first time while playing my new cassette was an experience! I hadn’t heard a track like this at the time, almost like a movie soundtrack. (Maybe We built this city was the closest,) The harder edge of the song was also refreshing, as it provided the rock-pop component of the album just like Dress you up did to LaV. Just like in that track, the male backing vocals strengthen the song (get up! Stand tall!) and the grit she shows in her vocals at moments elevate the song as well. Plus the cinematic intro is a win too. It was a favorite of the album to me, becoming her 6th entry in my personal chart, reaching the runner spot, with good longevity, and having better chart performance than OYH and TB. I almost ranked it in my top 4 for this RD, as it’s in my top 5 album tracks for M.

6. Where’s the party (8): to me there’s a big difference between Jimmy and this, and between this and Love. This is fun and catchy but doesn’t go all the way to make me wanna dance like I do when I listen to as Love. It’s a decent fun dance tune, especially the last minute or so.

5. True blue (4): I assumed this would be the first single to go... I love it though. It was a top 5 in the #2 pop station in Peru, the video had pretty good rotation, and the song made my personal top 5. This was my mom’s favorite song from M til then. I love it, and to be honest, I cried when I heard this -finally!- live during the Madame X concert. I liked the song a lot in ‘86, and my love has only grown since then. I think she nailed the Motown song. Her vocals are great, as the song is in a key that suits her middle range perfectly where she sounds warm and tender and playful. The melody is heavenly, especially the layered harmonies in the chorus, and the bridge. The production is spot on, 80fying a classic genre with more modern synth and string sounds. Definitely my favorite of the Angel / Cherish / True Blue trilogy of sweet tunes :)

[newpower]

Great Top 2. Papa would have been my #1 a few years back, currently I like other songs in the album better.
Thanks for hosting SHOOTER ! Now on to MDNA.

[gonecountry]

 Thanks SHOOTER, great rankdown.  I was hoping that Madonna's most iconic single (Live to Tell) would win.  I'll have to settle for #3.

[Juanca]

4. La Isla Bonita (3): That intro is classic and would get all Latins excited! One thing was to see Conga being a top 10 in 85, but a totally different thing was to see one of the biggest new stars in the world embracing Latin music a year later! YES! That video is also an 80s gem, with the flamenco red dress and her more natural look. The song was the second biggest hit of the album in Peru, after Papa. It’s maintained pretty good recurrent airplay, too. And btw I prefer the original over the Immaculate Collection version. I still love hearing it, which I do many times a year. The instrumental is heavenly, including the Spanish guitar, castanets, bongos. Her warm and seductive vocals work very well, as do the backing vocals. The melody is super strong, including the bridge, and hearing her speak Spanish is great! (I didn’t know this was pitched to MJ, though... I’m glad that never happened!). In Latin music, this song inspired one of the most popular bubble pop female singers, Yuri, mature her style and production.

3. Live to tell (3): Hearing this song for the first time in the radio was a moment. Hearing this song with lights off in my living room playing my just-bought cassette was an emotional experience. And I had to replay it a few times. There was nothing like this song in the radio at that time. It was like a movie screening, especially when the music stops and then the amazing bridge starts, with perfect melody and lead and backing vocals. Wow! This was leaps and bounds growth for Madonna. It left Crazy for you in the dust in terms of production, structure, and especially vocals —her most emotional and matur thus far. The lyrics are also strong. Releasing a whole 5+ minute ballad as a single and changing her image radically in a video jumpstarting a new era was the definition of being bold. Frankly, this deserved a Grammy nomination, too, just like her entire album. I loved that this was a hit in Peru. It’s a gem in her catalog, and my second favorite ballad from her (right now, I still like you’ll see a bit better).

2. Open your heart (5): This was a pretty competent 4th single. I liked it but it didn’t grab me as strongly as the previous ones. It was a minor hit back home, and a personal top 5 but with less longevity than TB. I liked the intro and verses more than the chorus -that synth brass sound felt a bit cheap to me. I did like the percussion and the outro section with the “open your heart, I’ll make you love me” chant in the background and ad-libs at the forefront. It reminded me of typical salsa songs, even more with all the percussion. The video is great, too, and together with the lyrics have made me like it more with time. Back when it was released I was also a bit influenced by hearing the Spanish version Abre tu Corazón by Peruvian-Venezuelan singer Melissa at the same time as Madonna’s —apparently the song was shopped around at the same time to Melissa and Madonna, and Melissa’s version ended up being available first, as her album was released earlier than Madonna’s, and the credits of Melissa’s version didn’t include Madonna...

1. Papa don’t preach (1): this was the best follow-up to LtT, as it also had quite a mature sound. The orchestral intro was as epic as it could be, especially for 1986; her vocals were her most powerful, emotional, even raw to date; the lyrics were also as mature in addition to being controversial for that time, as it addressed abortion and motherhood. Despite the controversy, it was a huge hit in our pop stations, becoming a multi week chart topper and one if not the biggest song of the year. I also loved it at first listen, and it was her best performing single in my personal chart after LaV, and my personal yearned #1.
Also, watching the video was another just as impactful experience, as it had a clearer storyline than any of her previous videos, plus she displayed a couple of important image changes: the iconic short hair glam look that she rocked while doing a similarly iconic dance break in the black room; and the much more subdued short hair with simple wardrobe and makeup. Papa was the song that made me a Stan :) I was all about Cindy Lauper from ‘83 to ‘85, as she got 6 personal chart-toppers and 7 top 5s. M had 4 and 10, respectively. With LtT and PDP, Madonna got firmly ahead of Cyndi and was never surpassed as my favorite pop artist :)


Thanks, SHOOTER for another great rankdown -sorry for commenting so late!!!

[Doc Indie Party Rock]

Mar 3, 2021 8:19:18 GMT -5 gonecountry said:

Mar 3, 2021 1:55:56 GMT -5 Doc Indie Party Rock said:

The last two made my top 5, but it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out my #1.

The song where the video takes place in a peep show?

A great guess, but back ion the 80's the songs were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo great that it was the music that got me into the groove. Both songs are iconic, but I went for "Papa Don't Preach" , because of the melody and I always thought she sounded a bit more sultry during the verses. I was almost preteen so I was curious, but I wasn't really into the sex of videos until Glam Metal introduced me to blondes in tight leather.  

SHOOTER

Great rankdown, great music, but most importantly great winner.