Product Description

Not to take away from the two fine party albums that preceded it, but TRUE BLUE is arguably the first great Madonna album, the one on which she discovered that great soul music isn't just a beat; it usually requires delving into one's own soul. As originally released on LP, the album's first side, featuring a dizzying single about teen pregnancy ("Papa Don't Preach"), a perfect Tin Pan Alley pop song ("Open Your Heart") and the amazing "Live To Tell", a ballad on which she discovers, for the first time, the low end of her vocal range, is almost undoubtedly the finest album side she ever cut.
TRUE BLUE also includes "Where's The Party", a catchy throwback to the forget-your-cares dance pop of her debut album, and "La Isla Bonita", which represented the beginning of Madonna's fruitful obsession with Latin beats and culture. Five songs from the album, including the girl-groupy title cut, made the top five of the pop chart; three of them hit #1.

Track Listing

1. Papa Don't Preach
2. Open Your Heart
3. White Heat
4. Live To Tell
5. Where's The Party
6. True Blue
7. La Isla Bonita
8. Jimmy Jimmy
9. Love Makes The World Go Round
10. True Blue
11. La Isla Bonita

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11840 in Music
• Released on: 2001-05-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
A quintessential 1980s pop artifact, Madonna's third album was a huge musical leap forward and ranks with Like a Prayer and Ray of Light in the top echelon of her works. Only the title track (a bit too obviously a 60s girl-group homage) and the fine-but-nothing-special "Jimmy Jimmy" slightly lower the quality bar. Most of the songs share a jittery dance-pop sound, edgy, distracted, and nerve- jangling but simultaneously invigorating and exhilarating and almost dangerously giddy--a perfect soundtrack for the mid-1980s. Highlights include the hedonist's credo of "Where's the Party", the subtle and pretty Latin pastiche "La Isla Bonita", and, towering above all, three stunning mega-hits. "Papa Don't Preach", with its gorgeous pseudo-classical strings intro, is a sumptuous airwaves banquet, as Madonna wrestles with the have-the-baby-or-give-it-up dilemma (abortion's not in the picture) in newly gritty tones. "Open Your Heart"'s marriage of jitter-pop and wistful melody underscores the singer's yearning but forceful stance ("You better open your heart to me, buster"). And "Live to Tell" is a riveting ballad, lushly melodic yet spare and haunting--a place, as the song says, where beauty lives. --Ken Barnes

Customer Reviews

Holds Up A Standard...
...That Madonna keeps up for the rest of her career!

1. Papa Don't Preach. 10/10
2. Open Your Heart. 10/10
3. White Heat. 9/10
4. Live To Tell. 10/10
5. Where's the Party. 8/10
6. True Blue. 9/10
7. La Isla Bonita. 10/10
8. Jimmy Jimmy. 8/10
9. Love Makes the World Go Round. 7/10

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10
With "True Blue", Madonna sets a standard higher than no one else had and has done!!!

HER BEST TO DATE !!! THE TRUTH I TELLS YAH :P
I HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO AN ALBUM AS ACCOMPLISHED AS THIS ONE IT IS A GREAT ALBUM FILLED WITH POWERFUL TRACKS AND ARTHOUSE BALLADS ALL OF WHICH YOU CAN MAKE UP A LITTLE JIVE TO/THE REMIXES ARE GREAT TOO.
ALL OF THE SONGS ARE GREAT HERE I JUST CANT PICK HER BEST TRACK FROM THE ALBUM, BUT I DO LOVE-TRUE BLUE, OPEN YOUR HEART, PAPA DONT PREACH, LIVE TO TELL, AND WHITE HEAT.
A GREAT ALBUM AND MY FAVORITE AND JUST AHEAD OF LIKE A PRAYER, THIS IS THE ALBUM THAT MADE HER AN ICON, A GREAT BUY :).
review-
Papa don't Preach-10+/10-fantastic track-bye bye bubblegum pop(one of my faves).
Open your heart-10*+/10-another one of Maddies greatest songs.
White Heat-10/10-very retro(think Dick Tracey/i'm Breathless only better)
Live To Tell-10/10-fantastic ballad.
Where's the party-9/10-a hint of bubblegum pop but not as extreme.
True Blue-10/10-fantastic song and very enjoyable.
La Isla Bonita-10/10-great beat/great song.
Jimmy Jimmy-10/10-a great tribute to James Dean/awesome beat.
Love Makes the world go around-9/10-strangely addictive.
fabulous

Madonna-True Blue
I would believe that this album was her first masterpiece upon both an artistic and creative level, and that most of the singles on it are timeless classics.
However, a couple of the songs in my opinion are pretty poor, and could have been replaced with better tracks, thus making the whole album a much better one. But still, I would consider it (due to the the great tracks that are on it) her best album out of any of the first three.

My personal ratings:

Papa Don't Preach - 5/5
Open Your Heart - 3/5
White Heat - 3/5
Live To Tell - 5/5
Where's The Party - 4/5
True Blue - 4/5
La Isla Bonita - 5/5
Jimmy Jimmy - 1/5
Love Makes The World Go Round - 2/5