What do you think of when you hear “Madonna“? Is it her larger-than-life persona that she embodies in each of her new albums, her bravado and courage to face haters and critics, or her versatility as a musician? For fans and even some casual listeners, the answer is—all of the above, if not even more. The reality is that the artist, whose full name is Madonna Louise Ciccone, didn’t just change pop music; she rewired the cultural motherboard.
With four decades, 14 studio albums, and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction under her belt, Madonna is one of the greatest to ever do it. Still, even GOATs have underrated music or songs that weren’t streamed or listened to as much as they should be. We could discuss the best Madonna albums for a while, but what about the most underrated Madonna albums? Here are six worth revisiting.
6
“Rebel Heart” (2015)
Standout Tracks: “Living for Love,” “Ghosttown,” and “Joan of Arc
Rebel Heart is one of the more experimental albums by Madonna, in which she made sure the selection of featured producers and artists was colorful; the producers who worked on Rebel Heart were Diplo, Avicii, Kanye West, and SOPHIE, among others. The release of the album was preceded by 13 demo leaks around six months prior, forcing a chaotic roll-out and uncertain critics and fans. Pair this with an accident at the BRIT awards, where Madonna was performing “Living for Love” and fell down a flight of stairs, and the album was just considered a mess all around. It’s funny, since Madonna wasn’t in control of either of these events, but they reflected directly on her. Rebel Heart still has some of Madonna’s sharpest late-career writing, and it led to a fruitful tour.
The standout tracks on Rebel Heart are “Living for Love,” a gospel-house empowerment track that critics likened to Madonna’s 90s style and work. It’s truly a great song, talking about strength after a tough breakup and holding onto hope that love is still waiting for her. Another great track is “Ghosttown,” which is an interesting and catchy ballad about two lovers surviving the apocalypse. Finally, “Joan of Arc” stands out as an acoustic self-portrait of vulnerability behind armor. This song was the inspiration for the tour poster, where Madonna is looking saintly and wearing armor and a crown and embracing a sword.
5
“American Life” (2003)
Standout Tracks: “Nothing Fails,” “X-Static Process,” and “Mother and Father.”
The 2003 album American Life is definitely one of Madonna’s least appreciated ones, and there could be plenty of reasons why: she’s posed as Che Guevara on the album cover, wearing the same cap and assuming a similar position; the anti-war title single clashed heavily with the post-9/11 patriotism; and the progress into electronic influences felt unnatural for an artist like her. Even the first video for “American Life,” made in cooperation with Jonas Akerlund, was heavily anti-war, anti-establishment, and anti-Bush, sending a message against American progress into Iraq that year. The video was made and ready to go, but the producers on various music channels decided not to air it.
The biggest influence on the sound and identity of American Life was Madonna herself, who learned to play the guitar just a bit before the album; another influence was Mirwais Ahmadzai, a famous British producer who also worked on the album Music with her. One of the album’s standout tracks, “Mother and Father,” was dedicated to her mother, who died when Madonna was only five; the track “X-Static Process” is acoustic and stripped down, with Madonna sporting only her voice and guitar. Later critical reevaluations of the album praise its raw self-scrutiny of fame, faith and consumerism. A fun fact is that American Life was one of the first major releases sold digitally on Apple’s then brand-new iTunes Store.
4
“Madame X” (2019)
Standout Tracks: “God Control,” “Crave,” and “I Don’t Search I Find”
Mostly die-hard fans of Madonna were aware that she would release an album in 2019 titled Madame X, inspired by her stay in Lisbon, Portugal. Around this time, radio largely ignored veteran acts, so most of the singles from Madame X were in niche playlists. Despite creative marketing efforts, the album slipped under the radar. The great part about this album is that it was sung in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and Madonna learned Portuguese and sang in it despite not being fluent. She felt it was important to sing in the language that inspired her journey of creating the album, aligning the Portuguese and Latin influences, which seemingly puzzled casual listeners but thrilled global pop fans. Madame X received critical praise, and one of the featured producers on it was, once again, Mirwais.
One of the standout tracks on Madame X is the ABBA-esque disco tune “God Control,” whose lyrics tightly clash with the instrumental. “God Control” is a plea for gun control and one of Madonna’s best songs in a while; the video, running nearly 10 minutes, shows a mass shooting in a club, shown in a timeline disarray. This was another collaboration between Madonna and Jonas Akerlund. Another standout track is “Crave,” featuring Swae Lee, a modern R&B track, and “I Don’t Search I Find,” which is a ballroom-inspired house throwback. The Madame X tour was interesting, too, as it became Madonna’s first major pop outing staged exclusively in smaller venues and theaters since the 1980s.
3
I’m Breathless (1990)
Standout Tracks: “Vogue,” “Sooner or Later,” and “Hanky Panky”
One of the albums people potentially forgot Madonna even made is I’m Breathless. It was for the movie Dick Tracy and dismissed as a mere tie-in but showed off Madonna’s prowess in the swing, jazz, and show-tune genres. This didn’t really fit into the Madonna = dance pop box she was being put in thus far, so people never really paid attention to it. The album was also released between her era-defining Like a Prayer and the controversial Erotica, so it kind of fell between the cracks. Critics, of course, admitted upon reevaluation that her vocals and the commitment to period music were far stronger than first evaluated; though plenty of Madonna’s work is much better upon reevaluation, that’s only a strong sign that she’s always been the artist ahead of her time and ahead of everyone else. In case you didn’t know, “Vogue” was the last-minute addition to this album, the “Vogue” that became a global smash hit.
The standout tracks of I’m Breathless are, of course, “Vogue,” the gay club scene-inspired track; “Sooner or Later,” an Oscar-winning song of the three tracks produced by Stephen Sondheim; and “Hanky Panky,” a tongue-in-cheek burlesque tune that peaked at No. 10 in the US. Madonna performed “Sooner or Later” at the 1991 Oscars dressed in a Marilyn Monroe-inspired gown and glam. Interestingly, I’m Breathless earned around $5 million in global sales, which is quite huge and a sign that this album was more than just a “side project.”
2
“Bedtime Stories” (1994)
Standout Tracks: “Bedtime Story,” “Secret,” and “Human Nature”
After the Sex coffee-table book that was accompanied by the album Erotica, people in public spaces were skeptical of Madonna’s new music and work. Obviously, Erotica made enough people uncomfortable, so to avoid further scrutiny and a potential career downfall, Madonna decided to step back and create a dreamier, more experimental and gentler album. Bedtime Stories is largely filled with hits inspired by R&B; this was one of the first, if not the first, albums falling into the “white-pop-meets-R&B” category, which later became commonplace. Then, that sort of influence was dismissed, while today, upon reappraisal, critics can easily claim Madonna made that happen. Babyface, Dallas Austin and Nellee Hooper were in charge of giving the album that R&B feel, while Björk co-wrote “Bedtime Story” with Madonna and Hooper.
The Bedtime Stories cover was shot by the French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, and Madonna looks similar to Jean Harlow or Marilyn Monroe in it, with curly blonde hair, flattering dark eye makeup and red lips, and wearing a white négligée, making her look dreamy and accompanying the album title. Standout tracks on the album include the track that inspired the album title, “Bedtime Story,” which is an electronic track made with a hypnotic, trippy vibe in a characteristic 90s electronica style. Another is the highly popular “Secret,” a blues-tinged mid-tempo track that really opened this new era for Madonna. Finally, “Human Nature,” perhaps the most direct response to criticism of Erotica, is definitely one of Madonna’s best songs and a defining point for the album.
1
“Erotica” (1992)
Standout Tracks: “Deeper and Deeper,” “Rain,” and “In This Life”
Erotica is undoubtedly the most underrated and underappreciated Madonna album. Releasing it at the same time as her explicit coffee-table book titled Sex, Madonna and her art were the targets of moral outrage, which very easily drowned out the discussion about the quality of the music. The album has plenty of trip-hop and deep house influences, unlike her previous work in pop; this was pretty alien to mainstream radio back in ’92, but in hindsight, Erotica predicted ’90s club culture and shaped today’s darker electro-pop (Lady Gaga might be the biggest successor of that). The album seems to have been recorded in Shep Pettibone‘s Manhattan apartment studio, who said he was looking for the next “Vogue,” but Madonna talked him out of searching for that sort of perfection. Bonus points go to anyone who seeks out the clean version of the album, because that version doesn’t contain arguably the weakest track on the album, “Did You Do It?”
Standout tracks include “Deeper and Deeper,” a joyous disco-house track that hit number one on the US dance charts and really hits the spot with that flamenco guitar and castanets in the middle. Another is “Rain,” a lush New Age-inspired ballad that compares rain to being in love; and finally, maybe the most important track on Erotica, “In This Life,” is the track that really nails why Madonna ventured into writing and creating the album. This song is a heartbreaking elegy to HIV/AIDS victims, in particular her two friends, artist Martin Bergoyne, who died at 23 from AIDS, and Christopher Flynn, Madonna’s ballet teacher and mentor, who suffered the same fate. In hindsight, Erotica is probably the best album Madonna ever made, though her activism and continued rebelling against oppressive powers still last to this day and are reflected in her music and art.
