FEATURE:
Give It Up, Do As I Say!
Madonna's Erotica at Thirty: Going Deep with Its Iconic Title Track
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I discussed the title track…
back in March as part of a series where I highlighted iconic music videos. This is a feature that I need to get back to! Anyway, as Madonna’s Erotica is thirty on 20th October, this feature about it concerns its amazing title track. Released as the album’s first single on 29th September, 1992, I can see why she wanted to lead with it. Erotica is a title track that defines the album in my view. Announcing this new-look and sounding Madonna, it was the introduction to her alter ego, Mistress Dita, and it was also one of the most sensual and controversial tracks. Wanting to announce this new album with one of her defining cuts, the singles from Erotica started off quite raw and sexual – Deeper and Deeper and Bad Girl -, whilst Rain announced something more sensitive. Reaching number three in the U.K. and U.S. upon its release, Erotica is considered to be one of Madonna’s best singles. I am going to come to a Wikipedia article, where they list the reaction to the song. Having had so many remixes through the years, this is a track that has endured and evolved in various forms. I think, when the video premiered in 1992, there was this more negative reaction. Many felt Madonna was repeating herself and that the sexualisation of her image and music was old hat. Perhaps feeling she was trying to be provocative and shocking rather than artistic or credible, the Sex book (which came out the same day as Erotica) and Erotica album definitely cemented the fact that this was a bold and liberating phase for Madonna.
It is a shame that she experienced a lot of blowback and criticism in 1992. Having triumphed and released this acclaimed album with Like a Prayer in 1989, 1990 saw the release of Vogue, in addition to the greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection. In the lead-up to Erotica, Madonna was definitely an artist going from strength to strength! Not that Erotica took her down, but it was definitely a more difficult period when it came to winning over critics. The title track, now, is seen as stunning and one of Madonna’s best releases. It is interesting thinking about Erotica and the first taste of the album of the same name. In a feature from Billboard in 2017, they spoke with Here’s what producer-writer Andre Betts, backup singer Donna De Lory, producer-writer Shep Pettibone, co-writer Tony Shimkin and Living Colour bassist Doug Wimbish recall of the writing and recording of Erotica. One part of the interview was about the release of Erotica. Similar in tone and sound to Justify My Love (released as a single in 1990 around the release of The Immaculate Collection), the second single. Deeper and Deeper, took her back to House and Disco roots:
“The first single and title track, “Erotica,” set the tone for her album and the Sex book (a Middle Eastern-flavored version entitled “Erotic” was included on a CD with copies of Sex). But unlike many of the other tracks on Erotica, “Erotica” underwent numerous radical changes during the album sessions.
Shep Pettibone: “Erotica” was four different songs throughout the process. She loved the groove. She would sing it one way, background vocals harmonies and all, then decide to erase everything and start over again. Every version was very good. Shame she made me erase stuff.
Shimkin: The original version of “Erotica” wasn’t as slinky and sexy and grimy and dirty sounding until we were in the mixing process of the record, [which was] more toward the final stages. It was experimentation. When we realized it was going to be the first single and started working on the remix, it took on a different, darker vibe. That’s when the character emerged, this Dita, when she ad-libbed the speaking parts. Then the character became something that took over.
Pettibone: At one point this was a finely tuned album. She scrapped that and wanted it dirty, murky and not polished.
De Lory: She was more grown up; she was more mature. She had her statements to make and you were there supporting her.
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1992/PHOTO CREDIT: Steven Meisel
If “Erotica” was a bold sonic departure for Madonna, the second single, “Deeper and Deeper,” found her in more familiar disco and house territory – it even featured a lyrical shout-out to her No. 1 hit “Vogue,” which “Deeper and Deeper” producers Pettibone and Shimkin also worked on.
Shimkin: The music [for “Deeper and Deeper”] was fairly complete when we handed it to her, with the exception of the middle break bridge section, which took on this Spanish flamenco feel. It had the disco-y feel, the chorus and the melody was all intact, but when we were in the studio transferring the demo elements and adding new elements and getting ready for the mix, I was sitting on the couch in the control room with a guitar and started futzing around with the guitar line in the flamenco guitar section. And she was like, “Yeah, let’s do that.” Then Shep came up with the idea, “If we’re going to go for it, let’s go for it – let’s add castanets and really take it there.” It was an odd thing — it’s not what you normally think of doing in a disco song or club song. But it was a creative process and a lot of fun. [Ed. note: Originally, “Deeper and Deeper” was Shimkin’s only credited co-write on the album; he’s since been officially credited as co-writer on six other tracks.]
De Lory: All the records with her, you’d show up at the session and you just couldn’t wait to hear what she was doing now. By then I’d gotten to know the fans really well, and I thought “the fans are going to love this,” especially when we did “Deeper and Deeper.” Niki and I loved those songs because we wanted to belt it out. We had so much fun. I remember the brilliance of her vocal arrangements, how she’d wait ’til the end to bring something new in, and you don’t want it to fade out, but it is fading.
Shimkin: We were in the process of adding background vocals [to “Deeper and Deeper”]. Most of the vocals came from a Shure SM57 and a quarter inch tape from the demo session, but we did recut some of the vocals. And Shep, while recording, was singing the “Vogue” line over “Deeper and Deeper.” She heard it and emulated it, and it just made it. It’s happenstance when the melody and key of an original song meld with another one. I think Shep may have suggested [keeping the “Vogue” reference] as a joke and she did it, and we decided to keep it.
Pettibone: Yes [that’s what happened]”.
You can actually get a special picture disc vinyl or Erotica to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary. I will finish off in a little bit. I can imagine what it was like seeing the video for Erotica and hearing this song for the first time in 1992. Many Pop artists since have taken Erotica to heart and helped to reshape Pop. The title track and album definitely gave confidence to a lot of women in music coming through in terms of expressing themselves. Here is Wikipedia’s collation of the changing and varied reaction to Madonna’s Erotica:
“Upon release, "Erotica" was generally well received by music critics. For Billboard, Larry Flick referred to it as a "sensual slice of aural sex" that "twists the vibe of 'Justify My Love'", and highlighted the "deep and complex" arrangement. From the same magazine, Joe Lynch named the song a "bold sonic departure" for the singer. Writing for AllMusic, Jose F. Promis classified it as one of the "darkest, most sinister, and most interesting" singles in her catalog. Rolling Stone's Arion Berger wrote that, unlike "Justify My Love", which gathered its "heat from privacy and romance", "[The Madonna of] 'Erotica' is in no way interested in your dreams [...] [the song] demands the passivity of a listener, not a sexual partner". Berger concluded his review by referring to "Erotica" as "insistently self-absorbed — 'Vogue' with a dirty mouth, where all the real action’s on the dance floor". Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani deemed it "brilliant". J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, pointed out that "['Erotica'] wasn't a surprise for anyone who had been paying attention to [Madonna's] recent music. She had shown her hand earlier with Breathless when she sang 'Hanky Panky', the song about spanking [...] then there was her single 'Justify My Love' [...] 'Erotica' though, was the full-blown music exploration, an exhibition, of what we were to believe was Madonna's sexual reality." The New York Times' Stephen Holden praised the singer's "foggy growl [that] contrasts dramatically with the shrill little-kid voice from [her] earliest records". For Gavin Martin from The Seattle Times, the singer's voice "sounds as though it's coming from somewhere dark and menacing: as far as you can tell it sounds like a man".
Allen Metz and Carol Benson, authors of The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary, said the track was "a bondage update on 'Justify My Love'". Similarly, while reviewing GHV2, Cinquemani called it a sequel to "Justify My Love", that is "as distantly icy as it was erotic", and a "creative high for a career on the verge of public turmoil". At Blender, Tony Powers considered the song one of the album's standout tracks. In less favorable comments, Anthony Violanti from The Buffalo News said the track was the album's weakest, and dismissed it for being a "carbon copy" of "Justify My Love". Cashbox's Randy Clark said that, musically, the single did not offer anything new, and called it a "melody-less 'Vogue'". Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters was also negative on her review; she felt the song did not age well, and referred to it as a "cold, dispassionate sexual fantasy" with "adolescent" lyrics intended to shock. Jude Rogers, writing for The Guardian, opined "Erotica" is an "oddly sexless Sex-era single, not helped by awkward synthesised sighs". Finally, Entertainment Weekly's David Browne panned it as "depressingly trite [...] between its frigid melody and your scary 'My name is Dita' spoken bits, it’s about as sexy as an episode of the Shelley Hack-era Charlie's Angels".
Retrospective reviews have been positive. In 2011, Slant Magazine placed the song at number 34 on their list of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s"; Ed Gonzalez praised Madonna's "throaty" vocals for making the song's "taunting, aggressive lyrics —an elaborate exploration of sex, from seduction to disease— feel unmistakably honest". Matthew Jacobs from HuffPost placed the song at number 23 of his ranking of Madonna's singles, calling it a "a period of innovation for the singer". On Gay Star News' ranking, the single came in at number 17; Joe Morgan called it "daring, sexy, and unabashed". Entertainment Weekly's Chuck Arnold considered "Erotica" Madonna's 10th greatest song, and PinkNews' Nayer Missim her sixth; the former opined it was "the boldest move she could have made at the height of her career", while the latter said the song was among the "most carefree, unpretentiously sexy music ever released". Arnold also pointed out that with "Erotica", the singer "introduced the pop-diva alter ego: Before Mariah gave us Mimi and Beyoncé gave us Sasha Fierce, [Madonna] gave us the dominatrix Dita".] This opinion was shared by Louis Virtel, writing for The Backlot, who named the song Madonna's eight best, and a "hot, smutty grind of a dance anthem". For Idolator's Mike Wass, the song is Madonna's seventh best lead single, and one of her most "wildly experimental" and interesting. Morgan Troper, for Portland Mercury, named "Erotica" an example of "scary-sexy" Madonna, and one of her "five sexiest songs that aren't 'Like a Virgin'".
Scott Kearnan from Boston.com wrote that, "No pop star of her fame has been this sexually transgressive before or since [...] Rihanna sings about 'S&M' like it’s a song about My Little Pony, but [Madonna] dishes on pain, pleasure, and power with the conviction of a whip crack"; he named "Erotica" the singer's sixth best. The song came in the 22nd position of Billboard magazine's list of Madonna's singles, with Lynch hailing it "the boldest, riskiest reinvention in a career full of them [...] An icy declaration that it was time to kick open the doors on kinks and own them without shame". For The Tab's Harrison Brocklehurst, it's "one of the sexiest songs of all time". El Hunt from NME wrote: "Defined by sleazy Shep Pettibone beats, orgasmic gasps, and choice lyrics [...] ['Erotica'] makes 50 Shades of Grey look tamer than a fully-domesticated alpaca".[49] From the Official Charts Company, Justin Myers considered the Sex version of "Erotic" to be one of Madonna's "hidden gems". Finally, WatchMojo's Lisa Yang placed "Erotica" among Madonna's most underrated songs, adding that it "has aged gracefully thanks to its progressive lyrics and seductive sound".
I think that there should be a lot of new respect and focus on Erotica’s title track on its thirtieth anniversary on 29th September. I also think that the, when it turns thirty on 20th October, warrants fresh inspection and re-evaluation. Its title track has split people, but I think that it is one of Madonna’s best and most defining moments! On 29th September, the world will mark thirty years of Erotica. There is no denying that Erotica’s title track was…
A historic moment in music history.