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Into The Groove/Crazy For You/Gambler (1985) - Singles Review







Welcome back on Blogger!
1985 was inarguably Madonna's biggest year for soundtracks. Three successful soundtrack singles were indeed released: Crazy For You, Gambler and Into The Groove. 
I'm ready to delve into them with you! 


(Madonna on the set of Vision Quest, photographed by Richard Corman)

Crazy For You: Released as the lead single from the soundtrack album to the film Vision Quest, Crazy For You was the first proper Madonna ballad. It was written by John Bettis and Jon Lind and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez. The song is about sexual desire between two lovers and it features one of Madonna's best vocal performances, technically and emotionally, especially during the chorus. Madonna manages to convey sexual desire, love and pain through her voice, just like on Borderline. 
The song was well received by music critics, who defined it "sophisticated" compared to Madonna's previous singles. Crazy For You ended up receiving a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards (1986). It was Madonna's first Grammy Award nomination. 
Commercially, the song was also a success. It became Madonna's second #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #2 in the UK. The success of the song was so big that in some markets the movie itself was renamed Crazy For You. 
It is one of my favorite Madonna songs and I'm not gonna lie: I've watched the movie just to see Madonna's cameo during the piano bar scene. 


(Madonna on the set of Vision Quest, photographed by Richard Corman)

Gambler: In September, Gambler was released as the second single from the soundtrack album to Vision Quest. An upbeat, energetic and rock-ish song, it was written by Madonna and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez. Madonna sings to her lover who, according to her, can't keep up with her. She is independent, she can't be stopped, she plays the game as she wants and at the speed that she wants: "I'm a gambler and I will take you by surprise / Gambler, I'll aim this straight between your eyes / Gambler, yeah I know all the words to say / 'Cause I'm a gambler, I only play the game my way".
A fan favorite Madonna seems to have forgotten (and even refused to sing live during the "request" section at the Sticky & Sweet Tour, in 2008), Gambler was a commercial success at the time, peaking at #4 in the UK and becoming a european hit. It was not released in the USA and Canada. 


(Madonna in 1985, photographed by Steven Meisel)


Into The Groove: The main theme of the movie Desperately Seeking Susan, Into The Groove was written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray. It was released in July 1985 as the third single from Like a Virgin. The album was indeed re-issued in Europe and the song was added to the tracklist. 
Into The Groove is a synthpop and dance-pop song with a killer bassline. It also has what I call the "multi-chorus" feature: not only the main chorus but the verses and the multiple irresistible bridges can be considered choruses and this helped the success of the song for sure. Into The Groove isn't considered the perfect pop song for nothing.
Lyrically, it is an invitation to dance and to stop hiding in a corner: "Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free / At night I lock the doors, where no one else can see / I'm tired of dancing here all by myself / Tonight I want to dance with someone else". Madonna's girlie voice also shines on the track, probably the best use of that voice she's made in her career. 
Considered by many critics at the time as Madonna's best song, it is one of the most timeless dance tunes of all time and in 1989 it was named "Dance single of the decade" by Billboard. Commercially, the song became one of the biggest hits of 1985 (and Madonna's career), peaking at #1 in the UK (Madonna's first number one there). It wasn't released in the USA as Warner Bros. Records didn't want to have too many Madonna singles charting at the same time and didn't want them to compete with each other, like it happened with Crazy For You and Material Girl.  It was thus released only as the b-side to the maxi-single of Angel in the USA. 
The original studio version is one of my favorite Madonna songs ever but the definitive version to me is the extended one released on You Can Dance, in 1987. An absolute triumph of a song. 

"Let your body move to the music" 

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