True Blue [Original recording remastered]

True Blue [Original recording remastered]

ASIN: B00005J6T0

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
A quintessential '80s 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-'80s. 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

Tracks:

A Day In Hollywood A Night In Ukraine: Just Go To The Movies - Priscilla Lopez/David Garrison/Frank Lazarus/Stephen James/Peggy Hewett/Kate Draper
Babes In Arms: I Wish I Were In Love Again - Christopher Fitzgerald Jessica Stone
Pal Joey: Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered - Patti LuPone
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - KT Sullivan
Nunsense: I Just Want To Be A Star - Christine Anderson
Louisiana Purchase: Wild About You - Debbie Gravitte & New York Voices
Oil City Symphony: Beaver Ball At The Bug Club - Mike Craver/Mark Hardwick/Debra Monk/Mary Murfitt
Falsettoland: The Baseball Game - Michael Rupert/Chip Zien/Faith Prince/Janet Metz/Heather MacRae/Stephen Bogardus
Very Good Eddie: Isn't It Great To Be Married? - Virginia Seidel/Spring Fairbank/Charles Repole/Nicholas Wyman
The Fantasticks: A Perfect Time To Be In Love - Harvey Schmidt
Call Me Madam: You're Just In Love - Tyne Daly/Lewis Cleale
Taking My Turn: Fine For The Shape I'm In - Margaret Whiting/Marnie Nixon/Cissy Houston
A Party With Betty Comden & Adolph Green: The French Lesson - Betty Comdon/Adolph Green
The Madwoman Of Central Park: Better - Phyllis Newman
Greenwillow: Never Will I Marry - Anthony Perkins
Song Of Singapore: I Can't Remember - Loretta Swit & Company
Tintypes: Elite Syncopation/I'm Goin' To Live Anyhow, 'Til I Die - Lynne Thigpen
I Love My Wife: Someone Wonderful I Missed - Joanna Gleason/Ilene Graff
The Good Companions: The Pleasure Of Your Company - Malcolm Rennie/Christopher Gable
Forbidden Broadway 20th Anniversary: Liza One-Note - Christine Pedi
Meet Me In St. Louis: The Trolley Song - Donna Kane & Ensemble

Tracks:

4 Guys Named Jose...And Una Mujer Named Maria!: Feel It - Philip Anthony/Henry Gainza/Allen Hidalgo/Ricardo Puente
Fame - The Musical: There She Goes!/Fame - Natasha Rennalls & Ensemble
Do Re Mi: What's New At The Zoo? - Heather Headley/The Animal Girls
High Society: Once Upon A Time/True Love - Melissa Errico/Daniel McDonald
Tenderloin: Artificial Flowers - Patrick Wilson
State Fair: Driving At Night/Our State Fair - Company
Kiss Me, Kate: Were Thine That Special Face - Brian Stokes Mitchell
Black And Blue: Black And Blue - Linda Hopkins/Ruth Brown/Carrie Smith
The Green Bird: O Foolish Heart - Company
Out Of This World: From This Moment On - Marin Mazzie/Gregg Edelman
The Boys From Syracuse: This Can't Be Love - Davis Gaines/Sarah Berry
Snoopy!!!: Poor Sweet Baby - Pamela Myers
SeesawNobody Does It Like Me - Michele Lee
March Of The Falsettos: I Never Wanted To Love You - Michael Rupert/Stephen Bogardus/Alison Fraser/Chip Zien/James Kushner
Lunch: Perfectly Alone - Carol Burnett
3hree: Foolish Dreamin'/Something Beautiful/Real Enough To Change My Mind - Jessica Molaskey/Will Gartshore/Rachel Ulanet
Lucky In The Rain: Love Me As If There Were No Tomorrow - Barbara Cook
Godspell: All Good Gifts - Sal Sabella & Company
The Act: Walking Papers - Liza Minnelli & Company

Customer Reviews:

Great compilation.......2002-05-10

I don't actually own this particular compilation, however, since I own nearly every recording represented on these discs...I think I'm qualified to comment. This is a wonderful representation of the high quality of work that DRG Records does.
The previous review is way off the mark. This is definitely not a waste of time or money. This is 25 years of preserving Broadway shows, Off-Broadway shows, studio recordings (mostly from the city center concerts), etc. So what if they "aren't as good as the original", DRG is preserving many recordings and artists that other mainstream labels don't or won't. You have wonderful recordings from Brian Stokes Mitchell, Nathan Lane, Debbie Gravitte, Tyne Daly, Anthony Perkins, Joanna Gleason, Marin Mazzie, Carol Burnett, Heather Headley, Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, etc., and many of these are from Original Cast Recordings just as they appeared on Broadway. This is an excellent sampler of the work going on at DRG. No...I'm not an employee...just an avid listener and collector of theatre recordings.

A disappointment.......2001-12-15

There's a reason you've probably never heard of most of the songs and shows on this album, not to mention most of the artists. This is a second-rate collection of second-rate numbers performed by mostly second-rate artists. In the case of the shows that were revivals, the performances on the original cast recordings were better. Don't waste your money.

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