Tag Archives: Demo

Today in Madonna History: June 8, 1992

June 8, 2025 By in 1992, June Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

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On June 8 1992, Madonna began recording sessions for the Erotica album at Soundworks, in New York.

While the writing and recording of Madonna’s previous albums had typically unfolded rather quickly, Erotica marked a change of pace in the creation of a Madonna record. Songwriting sessions for the set had occurred sporadically throughout the previous year with Shep Pettibone, Tony Shimkin and Andre Betts, in between movie projects and photo shoots for her upcoming coffee table book, Sex.

In contrast to the slick production qualities of the albums that preceded it, Madonna wanted Erotica to feature a darker, more gritty and less polished sound. This led to the decision to carry over many of the original demo vocals recorded during the songwriting process at Shep’s home studio to the final versions, with mainly lyrical additions/changes, musical overdubs, background vocals and final mixing taking place during the sessions at Soundworks.

One notable change that did occur in these final recording sessions was Madonna’s decision to swap her original lyrics for the song Goodbye To Innocence (which had gone through various incarnations in an attempt to keep the track off the cutting room floor) with the lyrics of the torch classic, Fever.  An earlier arrangement of Goodbye To Innocence with lyrics intact was later featured on the pro-choice compilation album, Just Say Roe, while a dub version of the same arrangement was retitled Up Down Suite when it appeared as a b-side on the Rain maxi-single. Another rough demo of the same track (streaming above), which is referred to as the “Straight Pass” mix on its original submission for copyright registration (which indicates that mixing of the track had not been finalized and that it is not mastered), leaked to file sharing services in February, 2008.

The “Straight Pass” mix bears some similarity to another unreleased track that was discarded early in the recording sessions, You Are The One. Aside from the lyrical paradox (with “You are the one” flipped to “I am the one”), both feature samples from Arabic singer Fairuz that would be reworked into the released version of the Erotica album’s title track and lead single.

Today in Madonna History: March 7, 1996

March 7, 2025 By in 1996, March Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On March 7 1996, Madonna’s One More Chance was released as the third single in the UK and several other European countries, and the second single in Australia and Japan, from her ballads collection, Something to Remember.

The song received positive response from music critics overall, who praised its musical simplicity and Madonna’s nuanced and emotive vocal delivery.  Since Madonna was busy filming the Evita, the song received little promotion and no original music video was produced to accompany the release.

The Spanish version of You’ll See, titled Verás, appeared as the B-side of the single release.

In a January 1996 interview with Spin magazine, Madonna said of the song: “Often in my songwriting, I take things people say to me and turn them around, and put it in the first person. So it’s actually something that was said to me.”

One More Chance was written and produced by Madonna and David Foster. Foster initially did not expect Madonna would collaborate with him, as he believed that his music was not “really hip enough for her.” Madonna and Foster worked on the song during the writing and recording session for Something to Remember, in the third weekend of September 1995. They wrote and recorded three songs for the project, but only You’ll See and One More Chance made the final cut.

Their third track from the sessions, titled I Can’t Forget, was later offered by Madonna’s songwriting publisher to the to the UK electronic/dance group, Tilt, to record. Their version, retitled Come Closer, was released on their 2006 rarities collection, Vaults. Several years after Tilt’s version was issued, Madonna and Foster’s original demo recording of I Can’t Forget surfaced on the internet.

 

Today in Madonna History: February 13, 1999

February 13, 2025 By in 1999, February Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On February 13 1999, Madonna’s Nothing Really Matters single was reviewed by Billboard magazine.

The North American two-track single for Nothing Really Matters included the album version of To Have And Not To Hold as its b-side.

Prior to the release of the Ray Of Light album, it was reported that Madonna had fourteen tracks mastered but wanted to cut one, as she felt that thirteen was a lucky number. According to the article, Madonna’s final selection was between two songs: To Have And Not To Hold or Has To Be.

As we all know, Has To Be ended up being cut from the final track list (except in Japan, where it was included as a bonus track).

If you had to choose between including To Have And Not To Hold or Has To Be on Ray Of Light, which song would you include? Keep in mind, your selection should not simply be which individual track you prefer – Madonna would also have had to consider how her choice would affect the overall flow and emotional arc of the album, both musically and lyrically.

Today in Madonna History: January 7, 1998

January 7, 2025 By in 1998, January Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

On January 7 1998, filming began for Madonna’s Frozen music video in the California desert with director Chris Cunningham.

Cunningham recalled the initial concept for the video in his book, Directors Label:

“The original treatment was, like, massive piles of bodies in the desert. All these figurative sculptures made up of bodies that were all multiple Madonnas. They were all going to split and break up and change into ravens and then change into dogs. Just a performance video, but a really elaborate one using her, her clothes, and any shapes that would come out of her clothes.”

Today in Madonna History: August 21, 1989

August 21, 2023 By in 1989, August Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

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On August 21 1989, the music video for Cherish premiered on MTV in the U.S.  The video was the directed by Madonna’s frequent collaborator and friend, photographer Herb Ritts.

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While the single from the Like A Prayer album went on to become another hit single, it’s interesting to note that Madonna had previously written an entirely different song using the title Cherish. Her handwritten lyrics for the unreleased track – along with several others that have yet to surface in musical form – turned up at an auction in 2011.

Today in Madonna History: May 29, 1992

May 29, 2023 By in 1992, May Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

On May 29 1992, the FBI recovered 44 nude photographs of Madonna from a collection by photographer Steven Meisel that was set to appear in her upcoming book, Sex. The “thief of nudes” was arrested in West Hollywood, California for trying to sell the pictures for $100,000 to an undercover FBI agent.

Today in Madonna History: March 14, 1998

March 14, 2023 By in 1998, March Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

On March 14 1998, Madonna’s Ray of Light album was reviewed in Billboard magazine.

The Ray of Light album would debut at #2 in the U.S. the following week, being held back from the top spot by the blockbuster soundtrack for the film, Titanic.

Meanwhile in Canada, the album would enter the chart at #1, pushing Titanic into the runner-up position.