True Blue (Madonna album)

True Blue is the third studio album by Madonna. It was released on 30 June 1986 by Sire Records and is named True Blue after the song of the same name. It is the first album on which Madonna wrote a majority of the songs herself, co-writing most with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard. Musically, the album differs from its predecessor Like a Virgin by having a more classical influence. The music was recorded with acoustic guitars, drums, synthesizers and Cuban musical instruments.

The content of the songs range from themes of love and freedom to social problems, especially Papa Don't Preach, which is about teenage pregnancy. The album was largely well received by music critics and is considered "one of the great dance-pop albums". Among other things, Madonna's vocals were praised as being "better than ever".

After the already very successful and highly acclaimed previous album Like a Virgin, True Blue finally made Madonna a superstar and one of the most successful and influential artists of the 1980s. Commercially, the album was a worldwide success, selling over 24 million copies, reaching #1 in 28 countries, and was the most successful album of 1986 as well as the best-selling album by a female singer of the 1980s. The album was certified seven platinum for over 7 million copies sold in the US. Five songs were released as singles: Live to Tell, Papa Don't Preach, Open Your Heart, which all became number one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and True Blue and La Isla Bonita, which both reached the Top 5.

Reception

The All music guide describes the album as "one of the great dance-pop albums" and as an album "that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun." Germany's Musikexpress wrote: "One half of TRUE BLUE consists of sure Top 20 hits, the other [...] of mediocre filler." The American Rolling Stone also attested the album a lack of outstanding songs, but highlighted Madonna's strong vocals.

Cover design

The cover photo is by Herb Ritts. You can see Madonna's face in profile, she has lifted her head, exposing her neck. The background is designed blue, at the bottom in the middle is the title of the album True Blue. Madonna shows herself in an elegant pose and at the same time presents her new image with a short hairstyle and platinum blonde hair. The cover image is the same on the LP and CD, only on the cassette version it is completely included on a poster.

According to Lucy O'Brie, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, the cover image was inspired by Andy Warhol's concept of Pop Art as well as Marilyn Monroe. She suggests that Madonna's image is a mix of ignorance, idealism, and the 1950s style of Technicolor, and that these characteristics referenced Warhol's art of the 1960s: "With this image, Madonna shows her connection between Warhol and herself, the connection between pop art and commerce. The later '80s marked a new era of the artist as total object, and Madonna was the first to attempt this, and the first to succeed."

Jeri Heiden, the designer of the cover image, commented, "She was smart and excited about her new image and she knew how to control it."