Category: Music

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Released 33 Years Ago Today

Madonna: True Blue (1986)

From Behind the Grooves:

“True Blue”, the third album by Madonna is released. Produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, it is recorded at Channel Recording in Los Angeles, CA from December 1985 – April 1986. After the massive whirlwind success of the “Like A Virgin” album and “The Virgin Tour”, the pop superstar does not rest on her laurels, beginning work on the crucial follow up at the end of 1985. Working with long time collaborator Stephen Bray and new producer Patrick Leonard (Michael Jackson, Jody Watley), the album is praised upon its release as her strongest effort to date, and is widely regarded today as one of the best albums of her career. It spins off five top five hits including “Live To Tell” (#1 Pop), “Papa Don’t Preach” (#1 Pop), “Open Your Heart” (#1 Pop) and the title track (#3 Pop). “True Blue” also marks the beginning Madonna’s long association with famed fashion photographer Herb Ritts who shoots the LP’s iconic cover photo. The original LP package also includes a poster of the album cover shot. As a promotion for the album, MTV sponsors the “Make My Video” contest, inviting viewers to submit their own visual interpretations of the title track. The winning entry comes from Angel Gracia and Cliff Guest, whose black & white clip is rotated heavily on the video channel. The pair are awarded a check for $25,000 by the pop superstar herself at MTV’s New York studios. The alternate video directed by James Foley, featuring Madonna with close friends actress Debi Mazur and fashion designer Erika Belle is shown largely outside the US. Madonna also supports the album with the worldwide “Who’s That Girl Tour” beginning in June of 1987. It is remastered and reissued on CD in 2001, with the extended 12″ mixes of “La Isla Bonita” and the title track included as bonus tracks. The vinyl LP is reissued in Europe in 2012, including the original inner sleeve lyric sheet and poster featured in the original release. In October of 2016, a limited edition release of the LP pressed on blue vinyl, is issued as exclusive through the European supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. “True Blue” spends five weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 7x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

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Released 35 Years Ago Today

Prince: Purple Rain (1984)

I was not a fan of this record (or, for that matter, Prince in general) back in the day. Over the years however, I developed a great appreciation for the music and now consider Prince one of the greatest pop musicians of the last century and find myself wistfully eyeing the listings for the purple vinyl version of this recording on Discogs.

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At The Risk Of Having My Gay Card Revoked…

Meh. Just meh.

This, on the other hand…

I listened to this on my morning commute today, and I actually arrived at work in a really good mood. There’s just something about this album that puts a smile on my face, no matter how cranky I might be otherwise. There’s an exuberance, a life in the music that is sadly lacking from Madge’s more recent work.

And I may have just spent a ridiculous—at least for me—amount of money to secure a copy of True Blue on true blue vinyl. Just sayin’…

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Released 39 Years Ago Today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OeX9Rq9cFk&list=PLrpyDacBCh7D9LYtNqpCNxIAyLk4R26uA

Grace Jones: Warm Leatherette (1980)

My favorite—or maybe second favorite—Grace Jones album. I can never definitively say if this or Nightclubbing is my favorite. They’re both so good they could easily have been released as a double LP.

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Recent Acquisitions

I saw this disc on an Instagram post and had to have it. It’s always been a favorite film and soundtrack of mine, so seeing it on Tiffany-blue vinyl was all I needed. Tracking down this particular pressing was a bit more difficult. I bought one from Discogs.com that was listed as “blue vinyl,” but it was actually royal blue, not this gorgeous teal.

Of course, I hadn’t favorited it on Instagram, so tracking it down again was a bit of a chore, but after messaging the owner I got the specific record label and catalog number and was able to find it that way.

I don’t know what prompted me to seek this one out, but I’m glad I did.

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