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Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave Hall and Nellee Hooper, and decided to move into a more R&B direction and a generally more mainstream radio friendly sound. Madonna tried to soften her image after her sexually explicit works during Erotica period.
The album was an international success, peaking at number one in Australia and Brazil. In the United States, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and achieved Gold status after six weeks. On November 21, 2005, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Triple Platinum, recognizing three million shipments throughout the United States. In 1995, the album received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Album."
Album history
The album began as a collaboration with Shep Pettibone, and was to be stylistically similar to Erotica. However, due to Madonna's wish to soften her public image, as well as her admiration for Joi's Pendulum Vibe album (which contained tracks produced by Dallas Austin), she decided to move into a more R&B direction and a generally more mainstream radio friendly sound. She did thank Pettibone in the album sleeve notes for "understanding." This would be the last time she would collaborate with him. Also during the period of the album she would continue to have a more sexual image but considerably "toned down" in contrast with the "Justify My Love" and Erotica period.
While the album is intended to be more mainstream than its predecessor, and less controversial in terms of its lyrical content, it includes perhaps some of Madonna's most confrontational work. The song "Human Nature" appears to be a scathing commentary directed towards the media for its treatment of her during the Erotica and Sex book controversies, with lyrics like, "Did I say something wrong? Oops, I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex." Indeed, though Madonna sought to restore her image through the album, she has also stated that this period of her life was designed as a "vengeance period" for all the people (in particular the media) who were trying to invade in her private life, and that once it was all out in the open, she hoped that they would stop and focus on her music.
The album is unusual in Madonna's long career as being one of the very few occasions where she collaborated with well-known, established producers (the other exceptions being Nile Rodgers on Like a Virgin, David Foster on Something to Remember and Timbaland, Pharrell and Nate "Danja" Hills on Hard Candy). The album features writing collaborations and production work by R&B producers such as Dallas Austin, known at the time for his work with TLC; Babyface, who had worked with Whitney Houston and Toni Braxton; Dave Hall, who had produced Mariah Carey; and Nellee Hooper, who had produced Soul II Soul, and Björk, who co-wrote the title track.
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Several songs from this album found their way onto the cutting room floor for one reason or another, including "Your Honesty," which later surfaced on the 2003 EP Remixed & Revisited. "Freedom" was used for a rain forest benefit album entitled Carnival! and "Let Down Your Guard" (rough mix edit) appeared on the UK and Australian CD single for "Secret" and the Japanese edition of the album. See the list of unreleased Madonna songs for details.
The album contains samples from some rather prominent songs and artists. "Inside of Me" samples Aaliyah's first single, "Back and Forth" and "Outstanding", which was originally performed by The Gap Band. "Sanctuary" contains a sample of "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock from his iconic Head Hunters album. "Human Nature" samples "What You Need" by hip-hop group Main Source.
"Forbidden Love" is an entirely different composition from another song with the same title on Madonna's 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Tupac Shakur originally performed the rap on the song "I'd Rather Be Your Lover". It was removed due to criminal charges he was facing at the time and his rap was replaced by one from Me'shell Ndegéocello.[citation needed]
Out of all her albums, this has become the least represented on her tours and live shows. Madonna has however included "Secret" and "Human Nature" on the set list of her 2001 Drowned World Tour, a remix version of "Bedtime Story" as a video interlude on her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour and she performed a rock version of "Human Nature" on her 2008 Sticky and Sweet Tour, featuring Britney Spears in a video cameo appearance.
Upon initial release in North America, the CD cover picture of Madonna was right-side up. This was a mistake and was corrected on subsequent pressings, all of which feature the picture of Madonna upside-down (this version of the artwork was used outside North America). The CD tray was a light, powder blue color, but later pressings just have a white CD tray. The font used on the whole design of the album is Helvetica 25 Ultra Light.
Commercial reception
Despite the large success of lead single "Secret," which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, Bedtime Stories got off to a mild start. It debuted at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200, with 145,000 units shifted in its first week, and achieved Gold status after six weeks. Soon after, however, the album began to lose steam and descend the charts. It was not until the release of the second single, "Take a Bow," that the album picked up pace and made a noticeable rebound.
The album was eventually certified 3x Platinum in the United States, and shifting more than 6 million copies worldwide, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. In the UK, the success was moderate; it debuted at number two behind Bon Jovi's Cross Road: Greatest Hits'.
Track listing
| Writer(s) |
Producer(s) |
| 1. |
"Survival" |
Madonna, Dallas Austin |
Nellee Hooper, Madonna |
3:31 |
| 2. |
"Secret" |
Madonna, D. Austin, Shep Pettibone |
Madonna, Dallas Austin |
5:04 |
| 3. |
"I'd Rather Be Your Lover" |
Madonna, Dave Hall, Isley Brothers, Christopher Jasper |
Madonna, Dave "Jam" Hall |
4:39 |
| 4. |
"Don't Stop" |
Madonna, D. Austin, Colin Wolfe |
Madonna, Dallas Austin |
4:38 |
| 5. |
"Inside of Me" |
Madonna, D. Hall, Nellee Hooper |
Nellee Hooper, Madonna |
4:11 |
| 6. |
"Human Nature" |
Madonna, D. Hall, Shawn McKenzie, Kevin McKenzie, Michael Deering |
Madonna, Dave "Jam" Hall |
4:53 |
| 7. |
"Forbidden Love" |
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Madonna |
Nellee Hooper, Madonna |
4:09 |
| 8. |
"Love Tried to Welcome Me" |
Madonna, D. Hall |
Madonna, Dave "Jam" Hall |
5:21 |
| 9. |
"Sanctuary" |
Madonna, D. Austin, Anne Preven, Scott Cutler, Herbie Hancock |
Madonna, Dallas Austin |
5:03 |
| 10. |
"Bedtime Story" |
N. Hooper, Björk, Marius De Vries |
Nellee Hooper, Madonna |
4:52 |
| 11. |
"Take a Bow" |
K. Edmonds, Madonna |
Babyface, Madonna |
5:21 |
Additional notes
- "Secret": Shep Pettibone has been added as co-songwriter of this track by ASCAP, he is included in the inlay sleeve of GHV2 Remixed: The Best of 1991-2001
- "Don't Stop": Additional production and remix by Daniel Abraham
- "I'd Rather Be Your Lover": contains a sample of "It's Your Thing" performed by Lou Donaldson and has special guest Me'Shell NdegeOcello on bass and rap
- "Inside of Me": contains samples of "Back and Forth" performed by Aaliyah, "Outstanding" performed by The Gap Band and "The Trials of Life" performed by The Guttersnypes
- "Human Nature": contains a sample of "What You Need" performed by Main Source
- "Forbidden Love": contains a sample of "Down Here On The Ground" performed by Grant Green, not to be confused with the 2005 track on the album Confessions on a Dance Floor
- "Sanctuary": Remixed by Nellee Hooper, contains a sample of "Watermelon Man" performed by Herbie Hancock
Charts and certifications
Charts
| Chart |
Peak
Position |
| Australian Albums Chart |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart |
7 |
| Brazil Top Albums Chart |
1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart |
7 |
| Dutch Albums Chart |
13 |
| French Albums Chart |
2 |
| German Albums Chart |
4 |
| Hungarian Albums Chart |
7 [1] |
| New Zealand Albums Chart |
5 |
| Swedish Albums Chart |
5 |
| Swiss Albums Chart |
7 |
| U.K. Albums Chart |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 |
3 |
|
Sales and Certifications
| Country |
Provider |
Certification |
Sales/Shipments |
| Australia |
ARIA |
2x Platinum[2] |
140,000 |
| Austria |
IFPI |
Gold[2] |
10,000 |
| Brazil |
ABPD |
Platinum[3] |
250,000 |
| Canada |
CRIA |
2x Platinum[4] |
200,000 |
| Europe |
IFPI |
2x Platinum[5] |
2,000,000 |
| France |
SNEP |
2x Gold[6] |
200,000 |
| Germany |
IFPI |
Gold[7] |
250,000 |
| Switzerland |
IFPI |
Gold[8] |
25,000 |
| United Kingdom |
BPI |
Platinum[9] |
300,000+ |
| United States |
RIAA |
3x Platinum[10] |
2,504,000[*] |
|
Notes:
- ^ * As of August 2009, the album has sold 2,309,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan,[11] with an additional 195,000 sold at BMG Music Clubs.[12] Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service.[13]
Album credits
Personnel
Production
- Producers: Madonna, Dallas Austin, Babyface, Marius De Vries, Dave Hall, Nellee Hooper
- Engineers: Michael Fossenkemper, Brad Gilderman, Darin Prindle, Alvin Speights, Mark "Spike" Stent[14]
- Mixing: Jon Gass, Daniel Abraham
References
- "Bedtime Stories". Mad-Eyes. link - last accessed on October 24, 2005.
- "PierPinto's Charts Updates". Madonna Tribe. link - last accessed on December 24, 2005.
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