Music is a great trigger for memory; just play the opening of a track you loved as a kid and it will suddenly plunge you deep into another time, calling up sounds, smells or sights that hopefully fill you with pleasure (though in some cases, a good song can be connected to a very bad recall). I had a great Christmas in 1994: I was old enough to not need supervision but young enough to still think that everything was a golden opportunity, and to accompany this feeling was Madonna’s brand new release, Bedtime Stories. It remains my favourite Madonna album of all time, though given its paltry sales (in comparison with her other records) I appear to be in the minority on this one. The album lightens up on Erotica’s gritty club feel for a more stardust-ballroom, mellow disco magic that is hugely pleasurable and remains so after sixteen years. Tracks like Secret and I’d Rather Be Your Lover inspire a funky dance beat, while ballads like Love Tried To Welcome Me and Forbidden Love (not to be confused with the Confessions on a Dance Floor track of the same name) are just plain gorgeous. There’s also some experimentation, with Madge daring to get a little more upbeat on Human Nature (and its fabulous video accompanying it) without breaking the theme, while the title track, co-written with the ever fascinating Bjork, stretches her into the moody electronica that she would develop further in Ray Of Light, her next full studio album. Despite its low popularity, the album actually contains Madonna’s biggest hit single to date, Take A Bow, which while not fully in mode with the rest of the album, is organic enough to make a fitting ending. Of course, the memories that the album takes me back to aren’t quite so salacious to repeat: mostly it was me listening to the CD over and over again while cutting out magazine photos for my movie scrapbook (which had reached twenty binders by that point), but with not a care in the world it’s a lovely time to recall. Bedtime Stories is available on CD from Maverick and for download on ITunes.
Music is a great trigger for memory; just play the opening of a track you loved as a kid and it will suddenly plunge you deep into another time, calling up sounds, smells or sights that hopefully fill you with pleasure (though in some cases, a good song can be connected to a very bad recall). I had a great Christmas in 1994: I was old enough to not need supervision but young enough to still think that everything was a golden opportunity, and to accompany this feeling was Madonna’s brand new release, Bedtime Stories. It remains my favourite Madonna album of all time, though given its paltry sales (in comparison with her other records) I appear to be in the minority on this one. The album lightens up on Erotica’s gritty club feel for a more stardust-ballroom, mellow disco magic that is hugely pleasurable and remains so after sixteen years. Tracks like Secret and I’d Rather Be Your Lover inspire a funky dance beat, while ballads like Love Tried To Welcome Me and Forbidden Love (not to be confused with the Confessions on a Dance Floor track of the same name) are just plain gorgeous. There’s also some experimentation, with Madge daring to get a little more upbeat on Human Nature (and its fabulous video accompanying it) without breaking the theme, while the title track, co-written with the ever fascinating Bjork, stretches her into the moody electronica that she would develop further in Ray Of Light, her next full studio album. Despite its low popularity, the album actually contains Madonna’s biggest hit single to date, Take A Bow, which while not fully in mode with the rest of the album, is organic enough to make a fitting ending. Of course, the memories that the album takes me back to aren’t quite so salacious to repeat: mostly it was me listening to the CD over and over again while cutting out magazine photos for my movie scrapbook (which had reached twenty binders by that point), but with not a care in the world it’s a lovely time to recall. Bedtime Stories is available on CD from Maverick and for download on ITunes.