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Rating: Bad girl she has always been. Maybe not extremely bad, but a little unconventional, yes. And then there's always that story: more a cunning manager of herself than an artist. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but for many it is. In one word: Madonna.
For better or worse, amidst a thousand controversies (on which she cleverly thrives) and some good records scattered here and there (by the way, the last one wasn’t bad at all). Occasionally even an actress, although the results have always been terrible. In the 1980s she caused quite a stir because she told young girls the fairy tale that it's good to be virgins. Everyone agreed, but then, secretly, everyone did what they wanted. And looking back, between her and Michael Jackson, the 1980s weren't as boring as many stubbornly claim. Perhaps they weren't exciting from a musical point of view, but who cares, the important thing is to exaggerate.
But then, inevitably, the string tends to snap. And pull after pull, in the end, it breaks. The 1980s ended, and it was the turn of the 1990s. And the scandal, the one carefully crafted, began to wear out even the most devoted fans. "Like a Prayer" (1989) was practically the same thing as "You Can Dance" (1987), which was practically the same thing as "True Blue" (1986). The image begins to lose favor, and a soundtrack that is, all things considered, quite tidy ("I'm Breathless") is not enough to return to the glory days of a few years before.
However, Madonna always has a backup card, the joker to draw when you can't even attempt a flush. First thing: the label change. She goes from Sire to Maverick (created by her for this purpose), reconstructs a sort of lost identity (she’s no longer a young girl, alright, but still, she's very attractive) and pushes the boundaries: this time she declares it openly, it's "Erotica". Well played Ms. Ciccone! You certainly know what you're doing!.
"Erotica" comes out in 1992 and is accompanied by a book, "Sex," that Madonna releases for the occasion. In short, after the frivolous and carefree era, the time for the adult and spicy era has arrived, the one where the line between mass pornography and elite provocation is something more than a 'thin red line'. It's better not to disturb Terence Malick (or Conrad for that matter) since, despite the great publicity, "Erotica" is a negligible album, light as a feather. And too little 'musical', even disappointing some fans.
Yes, because what should have been the grand-style comeback will soon turn out to be a half-step back, one of those falls that don't make much noise but cause some slight tremor. "Erotica" is an album that bets everything on the image but has little substance, little meat on the bones: the music is banal, or rather, already heard, and the dance proposed by Madonna is less innovative and more past its expiration date. Dance tracks that no DJ would ever play (because they're too sophisticated) and tracks for teenagers that no kid would ever listen to (because they're too complex). Some old soft-hearted fan who loved Madonna might even enjoy listening to the album, but then let's label the work for what it is: an album for a few because it is extremely boring. And it doesn't matter that the video accompanying "Bad Girls" is more hard than soft, the result doesn’t change, nor does the boredom.
And then the much-loved transgressions: in the track that gives the album its title, Madonna declares herself (gasp!) a Mistress Sadomaso, and this already says it all. The other tracks are what they are (that is, little) if you exclude at least two fairly successful pieces: "Rain" (nothing special, but with an extra gear) but, above all, the nice cover of a jazz piece by Peggy Lee, "Fever." A track turned upside down, in Madonna's hands, becomes a great pop number, full of rhythm and dance undertones, all things considered quite fun.
Accompanying this massive media operation, here comes a quasi-promotional film. It's "Body Of Evidence" performed alongside Willem Dafoe and Joe Mantegna. In the director's chair, a certain Ulrich Edel. Here too, as in the album, erotic attitudes, handcuffs, whips, ropes, loads of sadomasochism thrown in the spectator's face as vulgar as they are harmless. An obscene film (let’s not even mention the plot, it's better this way) that was snubbed by the public and mistreated by critics.
"Erotica," as noted, is thus a turning point in the career of the Italian-American artist. Like every crossroads, it is not linear and proceeds in zig-zags: it lacks the compactness of some of Madonna's historic albums, it lacks above all a main idea to support the structure. Cheap and pointless eroticism is not enough, contents are also, and above all, necessary. And good music is needed. However, the album sells around 5 million copies (not a small feat!), but compared to Madonna's previous albums, a result below expectations. An immense joy, to be honest, for all those detractors who couldn't stand Madonna from the very start: they were waiting for a misstep, and here they are satisfied, they got it.
Constantly torn between movies and music (no point talking about "Evita," it would be like shooting at the Red Cross), Madonna would only seriously return to work in 1998 with the album "Ray Of Light," her best in at least ten years. Then came the world tours, the definitive consecration, the 'forties' quite surpassed, to arrive finally at the present day. Provocative and seductive as always, just a few years older and with experience which is never a bad thing: today, beyond the image, not always but often, there is also substance. "Erotica" is a distant memory. And let's hope it stays as distant as possible!.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Erotica (05:18)
Erotica Romance
Erotica Romance
My name is Dita
I'll be your mistress tonight
I'd like to put you in a trance
If I take you from behind
Push myself into your mind
When you least expect it
Will you try to reject it
If I'm in charge
And I treat you like a child
Will you let yourself go wild
Let my mouth go where it wants to
Give it up
Do as I say
Give it up
and let me have my way
I'll give you love
I'l hit you like a truck
I'll give you love
I'll teach you how to
uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh
I'd like to put you in a trance
All over
Chorus
Erotic,Erotic
Put your hands all over my body
Erotic,Erotic
Put your hands all over my body
Erotic,Erotic
Put your hands all over my body
Erotic,Eotic
Once you put your hand in the flame
It will never be the same
Theres a certain satisfaction
and a little bit of pain
I can see you understand
I Can tell you're the same
If You're Afraid, Well Rise Above
I Only Hurt The Ones I Love
Give It Up
Do As I Say
Give It Up
And Let Me Have My Way
I'll Give You Love
I'll Hit You Like A Truck
I'll Give You Love
I'll Teach You How To
UUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH
I'd Like To Put You In A Trance
All Over
Erotic , Erotic
Put Your Hands All Over My Body
Eroic , Erotic
Put Your Hands All Over My Body
Erotic , Erotic
Put Your Hands All Over My Body
Erotic , Erotic
Erotica Romance
I'd Like To Put You In A Trance
Erotica Romance
Erotica Romance
Put Your Hands All Over My Body
I Don't Think You Know
What Pain Is
I Don't Think
You've Gone That Way
I Could Bring You
So Much Pleasure
I'll Come To You When You Say
I Know You Want Me
I'm Not Going To Hurt You
Just Close Your Eyes
Erotic(Repeat Several Times)
Put Your Hands All Over My Body
All Over Me
All Over Me
Erotica Romance
(Give It Up ,Give It Up)
I'd Like To Put You
In A Trance
Erotica Romance
(Give It Up , Give It UP)
I'd Like To Do A Different
Kind Of uuuuuuuhhhh
Only The One That Hurts You
Can Make You Feel Better
Only The One That Inflicts The Pain
Can Take It Away
Eroti--ca
02 Fever (05:00)
You give me
You give me fever
Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
Listen to me baby, hear every word I say
No one can love you the way I do
'Cause they don't know how to love you my way
Chorus:
You give me fever, when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
My eyes light up when you call my name
'Cause I know you're gonna treat me right
Bless my soul I love you, take this heart away
Take these arms I'll never use
And just believe in what my lips have to say
(chorus)
Everybody's got the fever
That is something you should know
Fever isn't such a new scene
Fever started long ago
You give me fever, fever
You give me, you give me fever
(chorus)
Romeo loved Juliet
Juliet, she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said Julie baby, you're my flame
He gave her fever
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
My eyes light up when you call my name
'Cause I know you're gonna treat me right
(chorus)
Fever, with his kisses
Fever when he holds me tight
Everybody's got the fever
That is something you should know
Fever isn't such a new scene
Fever started long ago
Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said, daddy oh don't you dare
He gives me fever
With his kisses
Fever when he holds me tight
Fever, I'm his Misses
Daddy, won't you treat him right
Fever, when you kiss them
Fever, if you live and learn
Fever, 'til you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn (repeat twice)
04 Deeper and Deeper (05:33)
Deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper
Sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter
Chorus:
I can't help falling in love
I fall deeper and deeper the further I go
Kisses sent from heaven above
They get sweeter and sweeter the more that I know
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything
That's what my mama told me
Round and round and round you go
When you find love you'll always know
I let my father mold me
Bridge:
Daddy couldn't be all wrong
[Not gonna let you slip away, I'm gonna be there]
And my mama made me learn this song
[You're gonna bring your love to me, I'm gonna get you]
That's why
(chorus)
The deeper I go
All is fair in love she said
Think with your heart, not with your head
That's what my mama told me
All the little things you do
Will end up coming back to you
I let my father mold me
(bridge)
(chorus, repeat)
Someone said that romance was dead
And I believed it instead of remembering
What my mama told me
Let my father mold me
Then you tried to hold me
You remind me what they said
This feeling inside
I can't explain
But my love is alive
And I'm never gonna hide it again
(bridge)
(chorus)
Deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper
Never gonna hide it again
Sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter
Never gonna have to pretend
(repeat)
You got to just let your body move to the music
You got to just let your body go with the flow
Falling in love, falling in love, falling in love
I can't keep from falling in love with you
You know there's nothing better that I'd like to do
07 Waiting (05:46)
Well, I know from experience
That if you have to ask for something more than once or twice
It wasn't yours in the first place
And that's hard to accept when you love someone
And you're led to believe in their moment of need
That they want what you want but they don't
Bridge:
Don't go breaking my heart like you said you would
Baby, you're no good
And you hurt me like no other lover ever could
Don't go making me cry
You're gonna say goodbye
Baby, tell me why
Tell me why or you're gonna have to justify this
Chorus (substituting "This" for "I'm" in 2nd line):
Waiting for you
I'm waiting
Can't you see I'm waiting for you
Don't break my heart
(repeat chorus)
It was so easy in the beginning
When you didn't feel like running from your feelings like you are now
What happened? What do I remind you of?
Your past, your dreams
Or some part of yourself that you just can't love?
I wish I could believe you
Or at least have the courage to leave you
Life has taught me that love with a man like you
Is only gonna make me blue
But I love you anyway no matter what you do
You don't come around here like you did before
When you did adore
Tell me what I did to deserve this
(chorus)
(chorus, substituting "Just" for "I'm" in 2nd line)
Intermediate:
Finally I see a different man
Only love can hurt like this can
Finally I see a different face
Tell me who is going to take my place
(bridge)
I knew it from the start that you would desert me
You're gonna break my heart
Baby, please don't hurt me
(repeat)
(intermediate)
(chorus, repeat)
I knew it from the start that you would desert me
You're gonna break my heart
Baby, please don't hurt me
(repeat)
(chorus)
Break my heart
Don't break my heart
(repeat twice)
Break my heart
You broke my heart (repeat twice)
Uh, next time you want pussy, huh
Just look in the mirror baby
09 Words (05:55)
Chorus:
Words, they cut like a knife
Cut into my life
I don't want to hear your words
They always attack
Please take them all back
If they're yours I don't want anymore
You think you're so smart
You try to manipulate me
You try to humiliate with your words
You think you're so chic
You write me beautiful letters
You think you're so much better than me
Bridge:
But your actions speak louder than words
And they're only words, unless they're true
Your actions speak louder than promises
You're inclined to make and inclined to break
(chorus)
You think you're so shrewd
You try to bring me low
You try to gain control with your words
(bridge)
(chorus)
Friends they tried to warn me about you
He has good manners, he's so romantic
But he'll only make you blue
How can I explain to them
How could they know
I'm in love with your words
Your words
You think you're so sly
I caught you at your game
You will not bring me shame with your words
(bridge)
(chorus)
Too much blinding light
Your touch, I've grown tired of your words
Words, words
A linguistic form that can meaningfully be spoken in isolation
Conversation, expression, a promise, a sigh
In short, a lie
A message from heaven, a signal from hell
I give you my word I'll never tell
Language that is used in anger
Personal feelings signaling danger
A brief remark, an utterance, information
Don't mince words, don't be evasive
Speak your mind, be persuasive
A pledge, a commitment, communication, words
10 Rain (05:24)
I feel it
It's coming
Rain... feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love's coming down like rain...
Wash away my sorrow
Take away my pain
Your love's coming down like rain...
When your lips are burning mine
And you take the time
To tell me how you feel
When you listen to my words
And I know you've heard
I know it's real
Rain is what this thunder brings
For the first time, I can hear my heart sing
Call me a fool but I know I'm not
I'm gonna stand out here on the mountain top
Till I feel your
Rain... feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on my window pane
Your love's coming down like rain...
Wash away my sorrow, take away my pain
Your love's coming down like rain...
When you looked into my eyes
And you said goodbye
Could you see my tears...
When I turned the other way
Did you hear me say
I'd wait for all the dark clouds bursting in a perfect sky
You promised me when you said goodbye
That you'd return when the storm was done
And now I wait for the light,
I'll wait for the sun, till I feel your
Rain... feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on the window pane
Your love's coming down like rain...
Wash away my sorrow, take away my pain
Your love's coming down like
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say... never go away...
Waiting is the hardest thing [It's strange]
I tell myself that if I believe in you [I feel like I've known you before]
In the dream of you [I want to understand you more]
With all my heart and all my soul [And more and more]
That by sheer force of will [When I'm with you]
I will raise you from the ground [I feel like a magical child]
And without a sound you'll appear [Everything strange]
And surrender to me [Everything wild]
To love
Rain is what the thunder brings
For the first time, I can hear my heart sing
Call me a fool but I know I'm not
I'm gonna stand out here on the mountain top
Till I feel your
Rain...
I feel it, it's coming
Your love's coming down like rain...
I feel it, it's coming
Your love's coming down like rain...
Feel it on my finger tips
Hear it on the window pane
Your love's coming down like rain...
Wash away my sorrow, take away my pain
Your love's coming down like rain...
I feel it, it's coming
Your love's coming down like rain...
I feel it, it's coming
Your love's coming down like rain...
You step out on the mountaintop
And you're free to call my name
Rain...
11 Why's It So Hard (05:23)
Why's it so hard to love one another
Why's it so hard to love
[repeat]
What do I have to do to be accepted
What do I have to say
What do I have to do to be respected
How do I have to play
What do I have to look like to feel I'm equal
Where do I have to go
What club do I have to join to prove I'm worthy
Who do I have to know
[Chorus:]
I'm telling you brothers, sisters
Why can't we learn to challenge the system
Without living in pain
Brothers, sisters
Why can't we learn to accept that we're different
Before it's too late [first time only]
Why's it so damn hard [all other times]
What do I have to learn to know what's right for me
What do I have to know
What am I going to do when I feel righteous
Where do I have to go
Who should get to say what I believe in
Who should have the right
What am I going to do with all this anger
Why do I have to fight
[chorus]
Bring your love, sing your love
Wear your love, share your love
[repeat twice]
Bring your love, sing your love
Wear your love, show your sister how
Brothers, sisters, what do I have to say
Brothers, sisters, how do I have to play
Brothers, sisters, who should have the right
Brothers, sisters, why do I have to fight
Why's it so hard to love one another
Love your sister, love your brother
[repeat]
Why's it so hard to love one another
Why's it so hard to love
[chorus]
Sing your love
Share your love
[repeat 3 times]
Love your brother now
Show your sister how
Love your brother now
Show your sister
[repeat]
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Other reviews
By flood
Madonna abandons the idea of an album as a collection of potential hits, with a varied sound to reach the largest possible number of listeners, and for the first time decides to create an album with a well-defined sonic project, organic.
The sex addressed in Erotica is not joyful but appears almost as a diversion, an escape, a desperate necessity.
By Darius
"Erotica represents the pinnacle of the 'scandal' function that Madonna has portrayed since 1982."
"Songs where Madonna’s voice is deliberately soft, muted, almost husky, represent the peak of sensuality on the record."
