Even if you're not a fan of Madonna, you have to allow that the work she did in the 1980s was pretty staggeringly wonderful. 1984's Like a Virgin is a stone cold classic, but the follow-up (True Blue, which came out on this day in 1986) gets short shrift but might actually be the better, more consistent album. Largely inspired by her relationship with then-husband Sean Penn, True Blue finds Madonna exploring a more traditional form of femininity and exploring the practical side of personal relationships, all against a backdrop of rugged dance beats, sugary melodies and a handful of genre-pushing experiments.
True Blue also saw Madonna really find her voice. It's a great and powerful instrument capable of some stunning things, and on tracks like "Open Your Heart" and "Live to Tell," she really lets her pipes go in a way that mirrors the emotional freedom held within the lyrics. In fact, "Open Your Heart" may be the strongest vocal of Madonna's career (at least from a technical standpoint), as her voice sounds clean, powerful and totally under her control.
It wouldn't be a Madonna album without controversy, and for this album it came in the form of "Papa Don't Preach," a tune that deals frankly with the issues of teenage pregnancy and abortion, both bold steps for a pop star (even today). That track got her into hot water with the Vatican, as she dedicated "Papa Don't Preach" to Pope John Paul II after he called for a boycott of some of Madonna's concerts. Like Like a Virgin, True Blue was a tremendous commercial success that topped the charts in 28 different countries and has sold 24 million copies worldwide since its release.
Always looking to tap into new sounds, True Blue's "La Isla Bonita" found Madonna exploring the line between island music and R&B in a song that still holds up today.
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