Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)
Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on October 25, 1994, by Maverick and Sire Records. In 1992, Madonna released her fifth studio album Erotica, the coffee table book Sex, and starred in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. Due to their sexually explicit nature, all three projects were negatively received by critics and fans alike, who felt the singer had "gone too far" and that her career was over. Madonna decided that she needed to soften her image if she wanted to regain her audience. The first attempt was the ballad "I'll Remember" from the soundtrack to the 1994 film With Honors, which gained positive critics and reached the second spot of the Billboard Hot 100. For her sixth studio album, Madonna decided to incorporate R&B elements, and collaborated with Babyface, Dallas Austin, and Dave Hall. She also chose to explore the British club musical scene, where genres such as dub had been growing in popularity, and hired producer Nellee Hooper.
Bedtime Stories
October 25, 1994
February – August 1993-1994
- Axis Studios, The Hit Factory, Soundworks (New York City)
- Chapell Studios (Los Angeles)
- The Music Grinder (Hollywood)
- DARP Studios, Tea Room (Atlanta)
- The Enterprise (Burbank)
- Wild Bunch Studios (London)
51:50
- Madonna
- Dallas Austin
- Babyface
- Dave Hall
- Nellee Hooper
A pop, album with elements of R&B and hip hop, Bedtime Stories explores lyrical themes of love and romance, but with a toned-down, less sexual approach. In the song "Human Nature", Madonna explicitly addresses the backlash and controversy surrounding her previous projects, whereas title track "Bedtime Story" saw her working with Icelandic singer Björk. To promote Bedtime Stories, Madonna performed at the 1995 American Music Awards and Brit Awards. A concert tour was planned, but did not take place due to Madonna acquiring the title role in the 1996 musical film Evita. The album yielded two Hot 100 top-three singles, "Secret" and "Take a Bow"; the latter stayed at number one for seven weeks on the chart. Follow-ups "Bedtime Story" and "Human Nature", were both top-ten hits on the UK Singles Chart.
Critics reacted positively towards the album, applauding its romantic nature. Additionally, it was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 38th Grammy Awards. The album debuted and peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It reached the first spot in Australia, and charted within the top-five in many other countries, including Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Worldwide Bedtime Stories has sold an estimated eight million copies. In retrospective reviews, it has been referred to as one of Madonna's most important yet underrated albums. Bedtime Stories has also been credited as album that started the "second phase" of Madonna's career, which began in the mid-to-late 1990s with Evita and Ray of Light (1998). Influence of the album has been noted on the work of contemporary artists.
Background[edit]
In 1992, Madonna released her fifth studio album Erotica, the coffee table book Sex, and starred in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence. Due to their sexually explicit nature, all three projects were negatively received by critics and fans alike, who called Madonna a sexual renegade, felt she had "gone too far", and that her career was over.[2] In March 1994, Madonna appeared on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman. The appearance was noted for an extremely controversial series of statements and antics by the singer, which included many expletives. In particular, she said the word fuck fourteen times throughout the interview. This made the episode the most censored in American network television talk-show history while at the same time garnering host David Letterman some of the highest ratings he ever received;[3] nonetheless, critics commented Madonna had reached her "lowest low".[4] Regarding this controversial period of her career, the singer recalled: "I feel I've been misunderstood. I tried to make a statement about feeling good about yourself and exploring your sexuality, but people took it to mean that everyone should go out and have sex with everyone [...] I decided to leave it alone because that's what everyone ended up concentrating on".[5] Madonna came to the conclusion that she needed to "soften" her image in order to reconnect with her audience.[6]
The "first step to redeem herself" was the ballad "I'll Remember", recorded for the film With Honors (1994). The song reached the second position on the Billboard Hot 100, and received positive critical feedback.[7] For her sixth studio album, Madonna decided to venture in the R&B and hip hop mania that was dominating the charts in the early-to-mid 1990s.[6] She envisioned the album as being stylistically different to Erotica; "I wanted to make something else [...] an R&B-influenced record, which is in a way going back to my roots, because my very first record was more R&B", she explained.[8]
Notes
Sample credits[11]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[11]