I'm Breathless - Madonna > Reviews > Before it goes wrong (but I like it!)

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Madonna at her peak
Disadvantages:	but about to go into her trough

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I really love this album. As the accompaniment to her 1990 film Dick Tracy, this film gets the right mood and keeps it through out the album (even the last track, the number 1 Vogue, has a campy 40’s feel to it, although it is meant to be modern: just look at the video!). Madonna creates different voices on the album. In He's A Man, she becomes a sassy nightclub singer. In Hanky Panky, she becomes a foxy naughty little minx with her hands definately behind her back. In I'm Going Bananas, she is a fruity Jamaican singer who keeps the accent through out, doing well not to burst out laughing. In Cry Baby, she brings out the little girl behind her main frame, singing like Shirley Temple. And of course in Vogue she sings as the Madonna we have all grown up to love: the woman who years later is still the same, just a bit older.
The only sad thing about the album is that it is when Madonna is about to take a fall (this album is just more than a year before the sex book). But hey, lets enjoy this album for what it is: Madonna at her best and classi [excluding Hanky Panky] est stage in her long career.

Here is a line or three on all the songs, and a rating out of /10

1. He's A Man. This song has a very bluesy feel to it and a very strong bassline. Madonna sings very senstively getting the mood right. 8/10

2. Sooner or Later. Written by Stephen Sondheim (he got an oscar for it), this song is fully orchestrated, with Madonna singing very bluesy. 9/10

3. Hanky Panky. Do not be put off... Okay, you can be, but you would be missing out. This song is about the obvious, and it got to number 2 in 1990, failing Christman Number One (what a sight it would have been!). With the words: spank me, ooh I like that, through out the piece, this is Madonna at her wildest while keeping her clothes on. 8/10

4. I'm Going Bananas! A short tropical song with Madonna singing like a Jamaican. It is very childish, and Madonna 'Ay, Ay, Ay's' many times. You cannot tell it is her. 7/10

5. Cry Baby. I don't like this! It is another childish song. Madonna singing with a New York accent, and an annoying loop of crying, this is dreadful. 3/10

6. Something to Remember. This is the big ballard on the album. With the words 'Still love yourself, whoever you are', this song is very meaningful. Big orchestra again, Madonna sings amazingly, excellent. 10/10

7. Back in Business. A big bang song not used in the movie, but should have been. Madonna sings again amazingly with a big orchestra. With wild dynamics of Madonna and the orchestra, you are taken back to the forties with style. 9/10

8. More. Childish again with Madonna talking about her bank balance like Marilyn Monroe. With cheeky lines like 'Never been good at maths cos I'm only good at addition', this song (full orchestra again) is stylish. Practically a sister song to 'Life is a caberet 8/10

9. What can you lose (feat. Mandy Patinkin). I don't like this because it is too boring. They sing well together, but it is quite mundane. 6/10

10. Now I'm Following You (Part 1 feat. Warren Beatty). This is a camp happy song which is sort of a view from the part of the film you don't see (Warren Beatty being Dick Tracy, Madonna being Breathless Mahoney). This song, which features tap dancing, is orchested and happy. Good. 8/10

11. Now I'm Following You (Part 2). Absolute opposite to the first one. The song is remixed to the most awful late 80's/early 90's beat and it is an absolute album thriller. With synthenise pops for the tap dance, horrid special effects and embarrasing clips from other songs, this song is abysmal. 3/10

12. Vogue. Number 1 in 1990, this is one of Madonna's greatest. With campish lines as 'Let Your Body move the the music [hey, hey,hey], this song doesn't fail to impress. It is the start of Madonna in the 1990's, the one which we start to love/hate: it is a two way arguement. When she raps at the end, she raps about the hollywood greats. This song reminds me of American Life, 13 years later. She is singing about hollywood, and she raps like American Life. This is her 7th number 1, and one of her finest. 10/10