Breathtaking...

I purchased this album when it first came out, in 1990. I have always enjoyed Madonna's music (with the notable exception of the album _Bedtime Stories_), and this album had the added bonus of being linked with the movie _Dick Tracy_, which I had seen on a date with a guy I had a huge crush on! Over time, I've also come to admire Madonna's ability to re-make herself, almost as if she were many different women.

This album stands out to me among Madonna albums, for numerous reasons. The most obvious is that the style of the music (except for the song "Vogue") does not fit into the usual pop-rock genre that Madonna usually adheres to. In fact, it is the singing on _I'm Breathless_ that first made me suspect that Madonna might actually be able to sing, rather than just perform music. (Later this suspicion was confirmed when she trained professionally to sing the role of Eva Peron in the film _Evita_.) The style of most of the album's music is best described as nightclub singing, circa the 1930's and 1940's, the era in which _Dick Tracy_ is set. I clearly remember my mother walking by my room and asking incredulously, "Is that _Madonna?!" Yes, even my mother liked it. Some of the music is written by Stephen Sondheim, which is equally impressive.

Other notable things about this album include the guest artists - Mandy Patinkin sings a lovely duet with Madonna called "What Can You Lose?", which ends all to quickly, and Warren Beatty - the portrayer of Dick Tracy in the film, and a Madonna love interest at the time - also appears, with vocals in "Now I'm Following You," Parts I and II.

The album includes 12 tracks, my favorite of which is "What Can You Lose," followed by "More," "Back in Business," and "Sooner or Later." (If I'm not mistaken, "Sooner or Later" won the Academy Award for that year's best original song in a motion picture). These are all songs that one can easily imagine being sung in a nightclub, by a siren with blond hair (Madonna, or "Breathless Mahoney" in the movie). "More" and "Back in Business" are more upbeat and fun than the other two; "Sooner or Later" features lyrics that involve a woman attempting to seduce a man. "Hanky Panky" is another fun song on the album; it is upbeat enough to swing to! (I should add that the lyrics of this one might be a bit controversial, since the singer is crooning about how she likes a good smack on the bottom...)

The weak points of the album are "I'm Going Bananas" and "Cry Baby," which, while amusing, border on the annoying. I always skip "I'm Going Bananas;" nothing about the song appeals to me - it just seems like nonsense cooked up to fill the album.

"Vogue" is the final track on the album, probably because it fit in nowhere else and has little - if anything - to do with any of the other songs. It does pay tribute to many glamorous forties film stars, but for the most part, it is the usual pop/rock Madonna music. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm glad it's at the end of the album.

This is probably one of my all-time favorite albums; I am still listening to it ten years after it came out. Madonna fans will no doubt enjoy it, but people who aren't fans should also check it out - it is totally different from any of her other albums before or since.