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Erotica

Madonna - Erotica Audio CD

A fair review of the Madonna "Erotica" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Madonna reviews here, or go back to the Madonna tabs.

Band: Madonna
Title: Erotica
Rating:

Release Date: 1992-10-20
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Erotica 2: Fever 3: Bye Bye Baby 4: Deeper and Deeper 5: Where Life Begins 6: Bad Girl 7: Waiting 8: Thief of Hearts 9: Words 10: Rain 11: Why's It So Hard 12: In This Life 13: Did You Do It? 14: Secret Garden

Madonna ... EROTICA (1992)
If any of you thought that "Justify My Love" showed Madonna going too far, sexually, then you all thought wrong. In October of 1992, Madonna had released her eigth album entitled, EROTICA. Wrong, indeed. EROTICA, or at least the album's title track, along with Madonna's SEX Book, and starring role in the 1992 erotic thriller, "Body Of Evidence", show Madonna going to the furthest point, sexually. But to me, it is no bother because this album is 100% pure brilliance.

EROTICA
The album's first single. What an awesome track. I cannot think of anything else to say that would describe how great, not to mention, dark, this song is. And I love it when there's darkness in a song.

FEVER
The album's fourth single, though, not released in the U. S. This is an awesome cover of the original Peggy Lee hit. In my opinion, Madonna's cover is so much better than Peggy Lee's original. True, Peggy Lee recorded it first and many people prefer originals, but I prefer Madonna's version, always.

BYE BYE BABY
The album's sixth & final single, though, not released in the U. S. Awesome song.

DEEPER AND DEEPER
The album's second single. This is one awesome song, with an amazing innovative music video.

WHERE LIFE BEGINS
This is an okay song.

BAD GIRL
The album's third single. The song's music video, to me, is one of Madonna's greatest. The story behind the whole video is just amazing. And Madonna looks absolutely gorgeous in the video. Not that she never looked beautiful.

WAITING
A great song.

THIEF OF HEARTS
A great song. A word of advice to all the women out there: Keep your paws off of Madonna's beau because she will slaughter you. LOL!!!!

WORDS
Another awesome song. Actions, in many ways, do speak louder than "Words", but "Words" still do hurt, at times.

RAIN
The album's fifth single. This song is simply beautiful. "Rain" is actually a song about Madonna's mother, and Karen Carpenter, who had sadly passed away, due to complications with anorexia. . Karen was the lead singer of The Carpenters, a recording duo that also featured Karen's brother, Richard. The Carpenters, to Madonna's claim, were one of Madonna's favorites, while growing up. This is such a beautiful song. The music video is another one of Madonna's greatest. The video was actually shot completely in black and white. Once the video was filmed, it was, then, hand-colored during the post-production process. It was said to have been done this way to make the video look more vibrant.

WHY'S IT SO HARD
What an awesome song. It does send out an outstanding point: "Why's it so hard to love on another?"

IN THIS LIFE
This beautiful song was written by Madonna, and is about two friends of Madonna's, who have both passed on due to AIDS, to which Madonna claims, "The greatest tragedy of the 20th century", during a concert in Sydney, Australia, during her "Girlie Show 1993 Tour".

DID YOU DO IT? (Remix of "Waiting") (performed by Madonna, Andre Bettis, Dave Murphy, & Mark Goodman)
This is a remix of waiting, with three rappers, by the names of Andre Bettis, Dave Murphy, and Mark Goodman, rapping to the entire remix, with Madonna's pre-recorded ad-libing vocals in the chorus. Horrible remix. If ain't broke, doin't fix it.

SECRET GARDEN
An okay song.

What an awesome album this one turned out to be. This album is very, very underrated and it should've gotten the credit and respected it so outstandingly deserves. If it weren't for the big-mouth, crap-for-brains critics, this album would've faired so much better. But, who cares? The opinions that truly matter are the opinions given by us Madonna fans, and EROTICA is one of Madonna's greatest pieces of work, and it will always be.

Erotica! Give It Up!
They would pay to be humiliated, punished, slapped, and mistreated on purpose. When this album,cassette, or compact disc first came out, Madonna introduced a dark side of sexuality--the sado-masochism where dominatrixes would dominate over mostly men in the dark out of side. Erotica is surely an erotic song, very sensual and romanticizes the sado-masochistic world as something both dark and exciting and secretive. It's a hidden side of sexuality even in today's world. Madonna unveiled the darkness with this song. Yes, it's both sensual and erotic. With sexuality, Madonna has shown to be no prude and unveils all for her audience. There are some other songs on this compact disc but it starts off with Erotica and followed by Fever as a cool down song. Her version is a nice tribute to Peggy Lee's song. There are some other songs on there. I believe this was her Truth or Dare tour. Now, Madonna has pretty much unveiled everything sexually speaking. She allows sexuality to be both sensual and daring and a free-ing experience rather than the shameful, vulgar, and embarrassing part of human nature. I give Madonna credit for changing her styles in music and fashion over the years. She reinvents herself so much that we don't get bored with her but who can get bored with Madonna? She's the naughty Italian Catholic girl from Detroit.

it's erotic......a
She uses spoken poetry in her songs and uses house/jazz to set the mood. i don't care if critics consider this a flop or how controversial it was, this is MOST artistic album that Madonna has ever done. I honestly think that Erotica album has a great theme. It's very sensual, moody, dark, and intimate. It really feels like i'm in some cafe. Not only do I find this album very artisitic, but also very underrated. It's definately one of my top five favorite Madonna albums. if you listen to this album, you will find that not all of the songs are bout sex. don't let the album title fool you.

1. Erotica-the beats are cool. "give it up do as i say. . give it up and let me have my way. i'll teach you how to. . . . " I love her Dita Parlo look in the video. Her nails and thin-pencil eyebrows. I love it. It's one of my favs. 5/5

2. Fever-Madonna spices up in her version. I love the video where she has different looks. 5/5

3. Bye Bye Baby-bye bye bye baby bye bye. . . it's your turn to cry, that's why we have to say good bye. . so say goodbye". yup, i can relate to this song. this song goes out for all women who don't take any mess from guys. you tell them, madonna!!! 5/5

4. Deeper and Deeper-a great party song. one of my favorites. it's a great song to dance to when you're in the club with friends. 5/5

5. Where Life Begins-i love her use of metaphors in this song. "it's finger-lickin good"!!! 5/5

6. Bad Girl-my most favorite off this album. i play this song all the time. she looked gorgeous in the video. 5/5

7. Waiting-i love the spoken poetry in this song. 5/5

8. Thief of Hearts-fun, hilarious song! it's one of those catgirl fights. it's really fiesty. 5/5

9. Words-i can relate to each word. . . lyric by lyric. . . i know when a man tries to sweet talk you and make everything seem so perfect and surreal. yup, i've been there and done that. i played this song alot when i was going through a very painful heartbreak. 5/5

10. Rain-i adore this song!!!! it's so uplifting and inspiring. everytime i take a shower, i think about this song. it's beautiful. 5/5

11. Why's It So Hard-she sounded better when she sang this song live on the girlie show, but i love the reggae influence on this song. 4. 5/5

12. In This Life-this song is sooooo sad. it makes me cry when i hear this song. 5/5

13. Did You Do It?-this song is actually from the "Waiting" song. they just included some rappers to this talking some crap. 3/5

14. Secret Garden-it's sounds very different from what she has done in the past. that's what i like about madonna. she's very experimental in her work. i love the sounds on this. 5/5

.

A Bridge Into Troubled Waters
And why? Because in her book, and in her film "Body of Evidence", and on this album, Madonna dared to trumpet the very adult notion that SEX IS OK. So, in 1992, what was all the fuss about? This was when the mainstream press turned against Madonna. "Erotica", probably her most under-appreciated album, is to me one of her best. On "Like A Prayer" she had matured, but with "Erotica" she became the goddess that her fans know and love. She led us mainstream urchins from the sunny pop 80's into the darker, more uncertain 90's. Her lyrics described a graphic adult world, and her music reflected the newly emerging club scene, the forerunner of dominant rap and hip-hop. This is exhibited very strongly in the title track, of which most of the lyrics are spoken, not sung, a disconcerting phenomenon in 1992. (Of course, it proved to be the shape of things to come. ) The old sultry standard "Fever" is given a no-frills, hard dance treatment. "Bye Bye Baby" is similar, a little less frenetic, but the barely audible nasal vocal suggests thought rather than speech, and the words are hilariously sarcastic. Things get serious again with "Deeper and Deeper", a rich, lavish fusion of disco and club music that morphs into 3 or 4 songs before it is over. And the lyrics! "Daddy couldn't be all wrong, and my mama made me learn this song. " She may as well have been writing my bio. At the climactic moment, she recalls her own hit "Vogue" by singing, with extreme ecstasy, "You've got to just let your body move to the music. . . Let your body go with the flow!"

Two tracks I did not appreciate that much in 1992 are "Where Life Begins" and "Secret Garden". But now, a little older and wiser, I see that they simply strayed from pop territory into a more adult jazz feel. We get back on track with "Bad Girl", a hypnotic, mid-tempo description of how we all loathe ourselves "later", when we have had just a little too much fun. "Waiting" is similar to "Erotica" in that most of it is spoken and it features state-of-the-art (then) dance music sound effects. (Love the ticking clock!) There is yet another set of twins - "Thief of Hearts" and "Words" - adult themes, pure club music. The last line of "Thief of Hearts" is priceless: "Stop Bitch - now sit your ass down. " "Rain" combines the spoken word with layered harmonies in a ballad that compares the heartbreaking beauties of Nature and of Love. "Why's It So Hard" is similar in style to "Keep It Together" from "Like A Prayer", and it continues that song's theme of "family" by addressing us all as "Brothers, Sisters" as Madonna pleads for the respect she, and we, deserve. "In This Life" sounds appropriately dirge-like, since it tells of the ravages of AIDS, its effects on the singer's life, and society's apparent apathy.

If anyone can listen to "Like A Prayer", "Erotica" and "Ray Of Light" and still refer to Madonna as a lightweight "fluff" pop star, then he or she needs thorough auditory and psychiatric examinations.

(. . . For Adrienne. . . )
.

Less pop and more trance.
Many listeners rejected this new approach. With Erotica, Madonna distanced herself from catchy pop hooks and embraced a more trance like quality. As a result, the album and subsequent singles sold below expectations. When one listens to the tracks, it's readily apparant that the chorus sections are less "in your face" from M's previous efforts. Instead, the vocal hooks are interlaced more closely to the accompanied instrumentation. In addition, swirling stereo effects and growling bass lines are creatively utilized to pull the listener into the mix. Sex isn't really emphasized much on this album except on the title track and Where Life Begins. This nonsense, regarding the album being rejected by the buying public because of it being too sexual is absolute rubbish. The record, although great, incorporated a sound that was less poppy than the general audience wanted from Madonna and therefore it struggled commercially. A shame really, as it is one of her most accomplished and unique recordings to date.

You can see a complete list of all Madonna discography, or go back to the Madonna tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.