My last installment of the Decades series came back in April, when I wrote about the albums of 1976. I had a hard time coming up with a list of my personal favorites from that year.
Today I’m jumping ahead a decade, diving into the releases of 1986, and I have the opposite problem. I had a hard time narrowing my list of personal faves down to ten, and my top five are all-time classics.
As usual, I’ll run through my favorite albums before giving a listen to some critically and/or commercially successful albums with which I’m less familiar.
#10 – True Blue – Madonna
Howard Hawks once said a good movie must have at least three good scenes and no bad ones. I feel similarly about good albums, and I’d amend it a bit to say a great album must have four great songs and no bad ones.
By that criteria, Madonna’s True Blue is a great album. The qualifying songs are ‘Papa Don’t Preach,’ ‘Open Your Heart,’ ‘Live To Tell,’ and ‘True Blue,’ and I’ll throw ‘La Isla Bonita’ in there to make it five. No appreciator of pop music can deny the addictive power of that quintet.
True Blue found Madonna taking the reins of her musical direction, writing or co-writing every song and introducing new instruments and sounds to the production. The creative gamble paid off, resulting in her second straight album to sell more than 20 million copies worldwide.
From the baroque strings that kick off opening track ‘Papa Don’t Preach,’ this album announces itself as something a little more adventurous. That carries through with the retro girl group sound of the title song, the Latin pop of ‘La Isla Bonita,’ the elegant balladry of ‘Live to Tell,’ and even the gangster movie sampling of ‘White Heat.’
In the mid-80s, Madonna was the biggest and most fascinating music star not named Michael Jackson, and this album is a major reason.
I’ve had other guys
I’ve looked into their eyes
But I never knew love before
‘Til you walked through my door
I’ve had other lips
I’ve sailed a thousand ships
But no matter where I go
You’re the one for me, baby, this I know
[Chorus]
‘Cause it’s true love
You’re the one I’m dreaming of
Your heart fits me like a glove
And I’m gonna be true blue, baby, I love you
[Verse 2]
I’ve heard all the lines
I’ve cried, oh, so many times
Those teardrops, they won’t fall again
I’m so excited ’cause you’re my best friend
So if you should ever doubt
Wonder what love is all about
Just think back and remember, dear
Those words whispered in your ear, I said
[Chorus]
True love
You’re the one I’m dreaming of
Your heart fits me like a glove
And I’m gonna be true blue, baby, I love you
‘Cause it’s true love (This time I know it’s true love)
You’re the one I’m dreaming of (The one I’m dreaming of)
Your heart fits me like a glove (Heart fits just like a glove)
And I’m gonna be true blue, baby, I love you
[Bridge]
No more sadness, I kiss it goodbye
The sun is bursting right out of the sky
I searched the whole world for someone like you
Don’t you know, don’t you know that it’s
[Refrain]
True love, oh baby, true love, oh baby
True love, oh baby, true love, it’s (True love, baby)
True love, oh baby, true love, oh baby
True love, oh baby, true love, it’s true
[Verse 3]
So if you should ever doubt
Wonder what love is all about
Just think back and remember, dear
Those words whispered in your ear, I said
[Bridge]
No more sadness, I kiss it goodbye
The sun is bursting right out of the sky
I searched the whole world for someone like you
Don’t you know, don’t you know that it’s
[Chorus]
True love (This time I know it’s true love)
You’re the one I’m dreaming of (The one I’m dreaming of)
Your heart fits me like a glove (Heart fits just like a glove)
And I’m gonna be true blue, baby, I love you
I love you (This time I know it’s true love)
La, la, la-la, la-la-la (The one I’m dreaming of)
La, la, la-la, la-la-la (Heart fits just like a glove)
And I’m gonna be true blue, baby, I love you
[Outro]
‘Cause it’s (True love, baby) true love, oh baby, true love, oh baby
True love, oh baby, true love, it’s (True love, baby)
True love, oh baby, true love, oh baby
True love, oh baby, true love, it’s true (True love, baby)
La, la, la-la, la-la-la (True love)
True love, true blue (True love, baby)
Meet Me In Montauk 
Oh, I’m looking forward to this installment of the decades series! 1986, my freshman year in college, was probably when I was the most into music.
I agree Madonna was a huge star!
Thanks for the reminder of what a great album this is. I also like your adaptation of Hawkes’ great movie philosophy. Haven’t listened to a Madonna album in… decades, but maybe it’s time to give this one another listen.