Friday, November 18, 2011

You Can Dance - 24 Years Ago

Released November 18th, 1987.

You Can Dance. Spotlight, Holiday, Everybody, Physical Attraction, Over and Over, Into the Groove and Where's the Party. Loved all the mixes and that Physical Attraction was not. Solidified those songs as hits. Here's a fab Mitsubishi HI-FI Video Recorder commercial featuring Spotlight:

You Can Dance liner notes by Rolling Stone Magazine journalist Brian Chin

22 comments:

  1. 24 YEARS! Damn thats some many Madonnas ago. I remember the release was a YOUNG child. I feel the cassettes came in the fancy all clear plastic during this release.
    To go on about YCD. The concept of a DJ compilation was way ahead of it time. I think Madonna ruled the 12" maxi DJ market. She brought it all to another level from the remixes to the artwork. Fascinating that no official singles were released or re-released (except Spotlight in Japan) and it sold 5million copies. I was thrilled that I go the promo only single edit mixes and also the 12" non mixed. My favs are Everybody and Spotlight and WTP. On one more note this is our first bigger intro to Shep Pettibone work, he did do the TB remix maxi but to go from this then 5 years later to Erotica. wow!
    One more thing, Its funny how we were discussing the Nile Rodgers comment on how Madonna Fucked all her producers and others have reported she used them etc to get to the top blah blah... BS! as you see here Mrs. Madonna VLC Penn (then) has them all on the record including x jellybean working on the track sequence etc.
    They all worked together on this. I was thought that was Genius. She is the DJs dream artist then and now!
    Im going to be blasting it today!!

    THANKS "YOU CAN DANCE" AND CHEERS TO MADONNA THE ETERNAL DANCE CHART QUEEN!

    OH wait a question, Was Spotlight recorded with Jellybean during Sidewalk talk? Hmmmm?

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  2. oh if anyone else wants to blast the unmixed tracks here is a YT playlist

    http://www.youtube.com/user/MadonnaUnusual#p/c/A209A57379DCA392/0/ftkme9-_YUk

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  3. Thanks Pud, I love commemorating her work like this. I was a 12 year old kid spinning the vinyl in his bedroom on it's release. And thanks 39b9 for reminding us that this was Shep's work, mmm, quite a transition from this to Erotica.
    I love Spotlight. And the mitsubishi ad is almost like having a Spotlight video. Wonderful freestyle dancing, Spanish influence and the CHAIR that was such a cool prop to her dance from Open Your Heart through Blond Ambition and Erotica/Bye Bye Baby

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  4. Oh my god!!! (OMG)...as much as I love celebrating these times this takes me back to my confused 15 yr old self!.....I LOVED this album and it kept me happy for a good while (I have always been a big fan of the remix).....but FUCK...enough with the time going by so fast!!!.....anyhow...bottom line is I was super excited about this release and I'm SUPER SUPER excited for what the next era brings....what an achievement??

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  5. Oh how I loved this album. I bought it on cassette and had it in my walkman (yes...) all the time.
    Especially Over And Over <3
    And of course, now I have it on cd but I haven't played it for years. I'm gonna dust it off, thanks for the reminder.

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  6. I remember this came out before the internet...so new albums would just show up at the record store unexpectedly.

    when i walked in and saw a new madonna album on the shelf I was very surprised. i thought to myself "isn't it too soon after TRUE BLUE and WHO'S THE GIRL to album have a new album?

    When I looked at the track list I was confused. the idea of a dance/remix compilation was so new and different. (only other one even close at the time for me was EURYTHMICS "Touch Dance")

    Of course I bought the vinyl, took it home, and fell in love. Isn't it hard to imagine that "Into The Groove" existed without that piano solo for two years?

    I fell in love with "Spotlight" the moment the needle hit the wax. A vintage Madonna classic from the opening notes. I still love it today.

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  7. YCD is an interestingly very important album for the early fans. its runs deep and is a milestone album and every time it comes up, it seems everyone can remember where and what they were doing at this time in their life. I LOVE IT!

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  8. I listened to this album everyday in my brothers room as a kid.

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  9. Puddy thank you for adding in the liner notes and the collage! i love it.
    I forgot to mention i has the poster and as much as we've seen that herb ritts shoot, La Isla single, Japan promos, iconic RS cover, posters. I LOVED how Jeri Heiden cut her out and put in the RED, To me it felt very Christmas festive which is perfect timing of the release. Its such a nice red though, her spanish outfit blended well with it.
    LOVE it all! i downloaded the unmixed tracks and single edits and all the DJ promo dubs. ACK! take me back 87!
    PS i love reading everyones comments that were around then!
    xo

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  10. I used to listen to this a lot in the 90's, but now, it is so dated.

    I wish they would have remixed 'Into the Groove' back in 1985 when it came out. Like an extended version. The mix on here is so dated and bad!

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  11. And sorry, but the piano solo in Into the Groove RUINS the song and totally dates it.

    The version on The Immaculate Collection is an abomination!!

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  12. I see what you are saying Tony, but I guess I differ with you in the opinion of things being "dated".

    Sometimes I like things to look/sound/feel exactly like the era they came from. I love "Into The Groove" and YOU CAN DANCE because it reminds me exactly of 1987, not 2007.

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  13. Yes, but Into the Groove is from 1985, not 1987. That is my point. It SOUNDS like 1987 and I want the remix to sound like it's from 1985, when the song was released.

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  14. I got this record (yes record!) from Sound Wherehouse the day it came out. My mom had to tell the lazy ass workers to go to the back and get the new releases on the shelves! I loved Spotlight and most of the rest. But they really fucked up Into the Groove. That song was perfection. The remix I have hated since day one and still do.

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  15. Agreed, Trey! The rest of the album is amazing to me! 'Spotlight' should have been a new single from this album with full video!!

    Weird how 'Into the Groove' on here really pisses me off! lol.

    I just wish they had released an extended version back in 1985, with that great 1985 sound and feel.

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  16. if you werent pooping in your diapers in '85 you wouldnt have needed or wanted an extended or remix of into the groove for it was perfect. by the time 87 rolled around, the mix was great. by the time immaculate rolled around, it was tired. end.

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  17. The end for you. I was 7 in 1985 and have the original now and it is perfection, yes. My point was that if a 12'' single had been sold in 1985 with an extended or even a Dub Version, fitting the original production and the time this was released, it would have been a great bonus!

    The 87 mix is just blah (to me).

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  18. I listened to the album last night. I love every song, especially over and over. Its one of the few albums, were I had the record (my brothers), the CD, and the digital version :)

    I'm breathless is another great one!

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  19. yes pud, yes tony I agree on both.

    ITG 85 original-perfection!
    ITG remix by shep p is also 87 classic that was much part of madonna music evolution and us born in the 70s fans coming of age. ITG 87 remix stemmed from the live version played in WTG TOUR with the cmon cmon cmon repeat and the piano break. I loved it and I loved the bootleg versions. ITG was such a gem in any form back then. When Immaculate came out with the q sound mix version of the 87 I thought ok nice update. . BUT NOW like Tony said I always go back to the original I also love the movie demo slowed down version, don't love the last few live versions, Keep it classic.
    x

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  20. Great post Nick! Still ranks among my favourites and such an important release for M, despite being often overlooked. Plus it was my first proper M album that I owned, having got it on casette, along with a Sony Walkman to play the thing on Xmas morning '87. Until then I'd been pilfering my sister's M records.

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  21. Into the Groove was perfect Madonna. There never needed or should have been a remix of this song. PURE POP PERFECTION.

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