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Rating:
Yesterday, just for fun, I spent a couple of hours going through my personal music collection, looking for something forgotten yet valuable. I leafed through records from elementary school, middle school, and the more recent ones listened to once or twice. Among albums I'm ashamed to own ("Elephunk" by the Black Eyed Peas, an epically awful album, received as a gift from a cousin... well, it’s the thought that counts), nostalgic ones (the Spice Girls... how could I forget when I was madly in love with them?) and the more recent ones (Bjork, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Autechre, Pj Harvey, Tori Amos, Sugarcubes, Sigur Ròs... my current loves), I found my Madonna CDs, cruelly forgotten under a heap of dust: back in middle school, before my love for Bjork arrived, I was madly in love with her.
Among "Like A Prayer," "Erotica," and the beautiful "Ray Of Light" (which I still listen to regularly), I took pleasure in rediscovering "Bedtime Stories," an album underrated by critics and the public, which instead reflects great personality. If "Erotica" was a forward-thinking, cold, and feverish album focused on languid and seductive sounds, "Bedtime Stories" is exactly the opposite: warm and enveloping, pure pop pleasure. Catchy and essential songs, never too long (as were the pieces of the albeit beautiful "Erotica"), that put you in a good mood: indeed, just the opening of "Survival" makes you smile: Veronica Ciccone improvises warm soul rhythms and sings over them with a voice that’s part childish, part sexual, creating a colorful pop tune that sticks in your head after just one listen. The album, then, is a kaleidoscope of more or less successful tracks, but without which the album wouldn't have achieved its completeness: accompanying syrupy and nearly useless pieces ("Forbidden Love" - strange that Madonna uses the same title for a completely different song on "Confessions On A Dancefloor" and the overrated "Take A Bow"), there are also truly moving and often rarely beautiful pseudo-trip hop pieces (the splendid "Inside Of Me", which, despite the rather banal lyrics, turns out to be a great trip-hop-flavored ballad, "I'd Rather Be Your Lover", a great piece of electronic influence, "Bedtime Story" is pure avant-garde, a piece written by none other than Bjork, which is perhaps the best on the album precisely for its experimentalism).
The fun "Human Nature", a dance-like piece where Madonna displays her irony in a track that targets those who did not appreciate the hot turn of "Erotica," also pops up; "Secret" is also good, a ballad with a golden heart, where over an acoustic guitar and a soul rhythm, Madonna manages to impress with really great vocal quality, and especially "Love Tried To Welcome Me", a piece obviously influenced by the more modern beats of the times: trip hop, house, and gentle electronica with jazz-soul accompaniment.
In conclusion, an excellent album, absolutely worth rediscovering and not prejudging, whose black sheep—meaning the track that turns out to be a disaster—is only "Don't Stop", a song abomination in terms of lyrics and sound, which drops a debaser star off an album that is still pleasant to listen to.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Survival (03:31)
Verse:
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, so
Bridge:
Here's my story [my story]
No risk no glory [no glory]
A little
Chorus:
Up and down and all around
It's all about survival
(verse)
Here's my question [my question]
Does your criticism [criticism]
Have you caught up in what you cannot see
Well if you give me respect
Then you'll know what to expect, a little
(chorus, repeat)
(verse)
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat 3 times)
[Up and down and all around]
I'll never be an angel
[Up and down and all around, survival]
[Up and down and all around]
I'll never be a saint it's true
[Up and down and all around, survival]
(repeat and fade)
02 Secret (05:05)
Things haven't been the same
Since you came into my life
You found a way to touch my soul
And I'm never, ever, ever gonna let it go
Bridge:
Happiness lies in your own hand
It took me much too long to understand
How it could be
Until you shared your secret with me
Chorus:
Mmm mmm (skip for the first two times)
Something's comin' over, mmm mmm
Something's comin' over, mmm mmm
Something's comin' over me
My baby's got a secret
You gave me back the paradise
That I thought I lost for good
You helped me find the reasons why
It took me by surprise that you understood
You knew all along
What I never wanted to say
Until I learned to love myself
I was never ever lovin' anybody else
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat)
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat)
Mmm mmm, my baby's got a secret
Mmm mmm, my baby's got a secret
Mmm mmm, my baby's got a secret for me
Mmm mmm, mmm mmm, mmm mmm
05 Inside of Me (04:11)
I can't stop thinking of you
The things we used to do
The secrets we once shared
I'll always find them there
In my memories
But this heartache isn't going anywhere
In the public eye I act like I don't care
When there's no one watching me
I'm crying
Chorus:
I will always have you, inside of me
Even though you're gone
Love still carries on
Love, inside of me
I keep a picture of you
Next to my bed at night
And when I wake up scared
I know I'll find you there
Watching over me
Bridge:
When my world seems to crumble all around
And foolish people try to bring me down
I just think of your smiling face
And I'm flying
(chorus)
You'll always be inside of my heart
Inside of me
(bridge)
(chorus)
I will always have you, inside of me
Even though you're gone
Love still carries on
Love still carries on
I will always feel you
You'll always be inside of my heart
I'll always have you inside of me
I will always have you
09 Sanctuary (05:02)
(Spoken:)
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice
Him or her I shall follow
Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life
Who needs the sky
It's here in your arms I want to be buried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life
Who needs the sky, when the ground's open wide
It's here in your arms I want to be buried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs a smile, when a tear's so full of love
Who needs a home, with the stars up above
It's here in your heart I want to be carried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs the light, with the darkness in your eyes
Who needs to sleep, with the stars in the sky
It's here in your soul I want to be married
You are my sanctuary
(Spoken:)
And the earth was void and empty
And darkness was upon the face of the earth
Is all of this pain so necessary
You are my sanctuary
(Spoken:)
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice
Him or her I shall follow
As the water follows the moon, silently
Who needs the sun [with fluid steps]
Who needs the sky [around the globe]
Who needs to sleep [I hear your voice]
You are [you are] my sanctuary
You are [you are, you are]
You are [you are] my sanctuary
10 Bedtime Story (04:53)
Today
Is the last day
That I'm using words
They've gone out
Lost their meaning
Don't function anymore
Let's get unconscious honey
Today, is the last day
That I'm using words
They've gone out, lost their meaning
Don't function anymore
Traveling, leaving logic and reason
Traveling, to the arms of unconsciousness
Traveling, leaving logic and reason
Traveling, to the arms of unconsciousness
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
Words are useless
Especially sentences
They don't stand for anything
How could they explain how I feel
Traveling, traveling, I'm traveling
Traveling, traveling, leaving logic and reason
Traveling, traveling, I'm gonna relax
Traveling, traveling, in the arms of unconsciousness...
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
Let's get unconscious honey
Let's get unconscious
And inside
We're all still wet
Longing and yearning
How can I explain how I feel?
Traveling, traveling
Traveling, traveling
Traveling, traveling, in the arms of unconsciousness
And all that you ever learned
Try to forget
I'll never explain again
11 Take a Bow (05:21)
Take a bow, the night is over
This masquerade is getting older
Lights are low, the curtains down
There's no one here
[There's no one here, there's no one in the crowd]
Say your lines but do you feel them
Do you mean what you say when there's no one around [no one around]
Watching you, watching me, one lonely star
[One lonely star you don't know who you are]
Chorus:
I've always been in love with you [always with you]
I guess you've always known it's true [you know it's true]
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
Make them laugh, it comes so easy
When you get to the part
Where you're breaking my heart [breaking my heart]
Hide behind your smile, all the world loves a clown
[Just make 'em smile the whole world loves a clown]
Wish you well, I cannot stay
You deserve an award for the role that you played [role that you played]
No more masquerade, you're one lonely star
[One lonely star and you don't know who you are]
(chorus, repeat)
Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
All the world is a stage [world is a stage]
And everyone has their part [has their part]
But how was I to know which way the story'd go
How was I to know you'd break
[You'd break, you'd break, you'd break]
You'd break my heart
I've always been in love with you
[I've always been in love with you]
Guess you've always known
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye
Say good-bye [bye bye], say good-bye
Say good-bye
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Other reviews
By Dave
"Bedtime Stories is warm and enveloping, unlike the cold and detached Erotica."
"Human Nature fiercely defends Madonna's artistic freedom and boldly addresses sexual taboos."
By pluto1992
This album is about a return; the return of a woman battered by what 'Sex' and 'Erotica' were.
Her 'Bedtime Stories' are beautiful songs put together with art and taste.
By Darius
"I’ll never be an angel, I’ll never be a saint it’s true, I’m too busy surviving."
"Human Nature is the response to all the critics who fiercely criticized her image as a femme fatale and sexual manipulator."
By Danny The Kid
"The voice is pathetic, truly pathetic: flat, tragically ill-suited to communicate anything."
"They call you the queen of pop, but you are not, you never have been, and you never will be."
