Bedtime Stories - Madonna (CD 1994)

There comes a time in every artist's career where they have to complete reinvent themselves. People may have gotten tired of their old, familiar image, so it's time to spice things up a little. But in most cases, they've got damage control to do from a tremendous flop. And nobody knows it better than the queen of reinvention.

The flop was Erotica. Madonna tested the "sex sells" theory with unfortunate results. First she bared her soul, then she bared it all, and it was obvious Lady M needed a different approach. She took two years and came back covered up (and with a nose ring. Ew.) and to greater successes on her 1994 R&B infused Bedtime Stories.

A jazzy R&B beat starts off the CD on Survival, as Madonna gives us her blatant testimony. "I'll never be an angel. I'll never be a saint, it's true. I'm too busy surviving. Whether it's heaven or hell, I'm gonna be living to tell." It's a tremendous way to introduce us to an album "all about survival." It's a gentle retort to the press and those who have critisized her. The beat is gentle, soft. The melody could definitely go along with a very strong, heavy, R&B beat, but it works awesomely with the cozy, warm background vocals and laid-back tempo. This is a great way to start off the album.

Madonna keeps the R&B groove going as an acoustic guitar starts up the instantly recognizable Secret. It's a very basic song at first, with just the guitar and Madonna's deep vocals cooing over it. But a great beat kicks in on the chorus. "Mmmmm, mmmmm, something's coming over me... my baby's got a secret." Apparently this song is about transexuals, but I don't get it. It just sounds like a love song to me, besides that whole "secret" bit. All I know is it is a dang catchy tune, with delicious harmonies that float through the chorus. It's a great, radio-friendly tune.

The beat gets a bit funkier as we're lead into I'd Rather Be Your Lover. The beat is pure hip-hop, but it's accompanied by an awesome bass lick. Unfortunately, the chorus opening up sounds a bit sloppy, like the production wasn't very well thought through. The harmonies are quite unnecessary. The melody is catchy enough, but nothing you'll instantly remember. It is a very smooth song though, even if the vocals don't blend as well as they could. Me'Shell NdegeOcello's rap is a little bit out of place, and makes this song sound even sloppier. It's okay, but definitely not one of my favorites.

If anybody can span genres on one single song, it's definitely Madonna. With a smooth R&B beat, disco inspired instruments pop into the mix on Don't Stop, a very simple song about dancing, but awesomely effective. The lyrics don't get overly creative ("Sing la de da de" anyone?), but it doesn't matter because this is such a laid-back, smooth dance song. The harmonies work much better in this one, melting into each other with ease. It's a very creative song, and one of the highlights of this album.

A smooth beat with jazzy instruments bring us into Inside Of Me. This song is good, but only gets better with Maddy's hollow, soulful vocals. The production of this song is so sexy, with the smooth instruments, blended harmonies, and sultry vocals. Oh, and that sound of Maddy's heavy breathing doesn't turn me off at all. This is such a sexy song, and everything in it works together so well.

"Express yourself, don't repress yourself." Madonna is never one to keep the tempo down for long, and we're brought into the infamous Human Nature. It has a harder beat than the rest, and Maddy sings in a strange nasally vocal. The lyrics are definitely the highlight of this song, a bitter retort to those who critisized Erotica. "Oops! I didn't know we couldn't talk about sex! Did I stay too long? Oops! I didn't know I couldn't speak my mind." The production is clean, and you can definitely groove a lot to this song. This one is great, especially if you get a bunch of people who know all the words. Trust me, you'll all be crying "I'm not your b*tch, don't hang your sh*t on me!" This is great song.

But we're back into that smooth sexerific pop on Forbidden Love. This one takes us back to the jazzy sounds we heard on Erotica, with a smooth R&B beat instead. It's even got the saxophone pitching in to set the mood. Maddy's vocals are husky and sultry, gliding over the gentle beat perfectly. She also sounds very emotional, which is always a good thing for a vocalist. Babyface pitched in on this one, which explains why it rocks. Because it does rock. It's so smooth and sexy. It does go on for a while, but it's a very good groove, so you don't notice too much. Another good one.

Some orchestral chords and the gentle strum of a guitar bring us into Love Tried To Welcome Me, which is then followed by another smooth R&B beat. Maddy's vocals are soft and sincere, and sound great over the beat. The chorus is a bit weak, as its built up to quite a bit, so it does somewhat disappoint in being less energetic than you would expect. But the production and verses make up for it, and by the end, it does seem to fit in quite well. The guitar is the most lovely touch in this song, and it turns out to be a decent track.

The hollow opening to Sanctuary sounds far ahead of its time, but it's basically ruined by the beat, which sounds like a broken teeter totter. The melody is very pretty, and the lyrics are very good as well. "Who needs the sun when the rain's so full of life? Who needs the sky when the ground's open wide?" Maddy's voice is beautifully subdued and full of emotion. With different production, this would have been great. (I can picture it with a dancy, techno beat.) But the production kind of fails.

The dancy beat isn't absent though, as a strange techno beat and cleverly placed moans open up Bedtime Story. This takes us back to the Erotica sound, a gritty dance number with empty chords strummed throughout. Maddy's voice is pure trance, and produced so well to fit in so perfectly. "Let's get unconcious, baby, let's get unconcious." This is a perfect dance tune. When you listen to it, you can even imagine strobe lights flashing and close dancing in the dark. It's awesomely produced and really stands out on this disc.

After such a strange, techno experience, Madonna takes the tempo down and turns the tame switch on with a very famous ballad of hers, Take A Bow. It has a very pop feel to it - no twinge of any other genres except maybe a little bit of jazz, as you can imagine Madge snapping her fingers and singing into a big microphone as she emotionally sings the lyrics. The harmonies are great, but the back-up vocals are a little bit distracting, as it's obviously not our Madonna (It's Babyface). When she is singing, she sounds great - innocent and emotional. And this is a really catchy song. You probably know it, and you could probably sing along to it cuz it's dang catchy. It's a great way to end an album.

Overall, Bedtime Stories is superior to some of Madonna's other discs, even if it is cold in the shadow of its predecessor. The smooth R&B direction works well for Madonna, but after listening to the album, there's a hole in it somewhere. It seems like something is missing, even though most of the tracks are really good.

But alas, it is mandatory. (This series is called Mandatory Madonna.) Madonna explored a completely different direction on this album, and it's one of her most diverse reinventions. This one brought her back into the spotlight, and proved what we've known all along: Madonna's here to stay.

Other Reviews In This Series
The Fluffy Debut
The Formulaic Sophomore Explosion
The Radio Friendly Lovey Dovey Stuff
The Controversial Masterpiece
The Hormonal Backlash
The Electronic Maternal Masterpiece
The Foray Into Folktronica
The Directionless Acoustic Experiment