Erotica (album)
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{{Otheruses4|the album|other uses|Erotica (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Album | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Erotica
| Type = [[Album]]
| Artist = [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]]
| Cover = 67d34310fca0e749b95c2010.JPG
| Released = [[October 20]], [[1992]]
| Recorded = [[July 8]], [[1991]] - [[August 15]], [[1992]]
| Genre = [[Pop music|Pop]], [[Jazz music|jazz]], [[contemporary R&B|urban pop]], [[Dance music|dance-pop]], [[R&B]]
| Length = 75:24
| Label = [[Maverick Records|Maverick]], [[Sire Records|Sire]], [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| Producer = [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], [[Shep Pettibone]], André Betts
| Reviews =
*[[Robert Christgau]] (A) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=madonna link]
*[[Rolling Stone]] {{rating-5|4}} [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/130835/rid/6067636/ link]
*[[Slant Magazine]] {{rating-5|4}} [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=396 link]
*[[Allmusic]] {{rating-5|3}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fcfqxqu5ldde link]
|
| Last album = ''[[Immaculate Collection|The Immaculate Collection]]''<br />(1990)
| This album = '''''Erotica'''''<br />(1992)
| Next album = ''[[Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)|Bedtime Stories]]''<br />(1994)
{{Singles
| Name = Erotica
| Type = studio
| single 1 = [[Erotica (song)|Erotica]]
| single 1 date = [[October 13]], [[1992]]
| single 2 = [[Deeper and Deeper]]
| single 2 date = [[November 27]], [[1992]]
| single 3 = [[Bad Girl (song)|Bad Girl]]
| single 3 date = [[February 2]], [[1993]]
| single 4 = [[Fever (Madonna song)|Fever]]
| single 4 date = [[March 22]], [[1993]] <br>(U.K/Australia/Japan only)
| single 5 = [[Rain (Madonna song)|Rain]]
| single 5 date = [[July 1]], [[1993]]
| single 6 = [[Bye_Bye_Baby_%28Madonna_song%29|Bye Bye Baby]]
| single 6 date = [[November 15]], [[1993]]<br> (Australia/Germany/New Zealand/Japan only)
}}
}}
'''''Erotica''''' is the fifth studio album by [[United States|American]] singer-songwriter [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], released on [[October 20]], [[1992]] by [[Maverick Records]]. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication, ''[[Sex (book)|Sex]]''. The RIAA certified it Gold, Platinum & 2x Platinum on Jan 6,1993, denoting 2 million shipments throughout the United States, and worldwide has sold more than 5 million copies.<ref>[http://www.world4madonna.com/charts/ Madonna- Latest Madonna music, charts, awards, CDs, Confessions on a dancefloor, Madonna, American Life, Erotica, sales figures<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.mad-eyes.net/disco/erotica/index.htm Mad-Eyes - Madonna albums info - Erotica<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Album information==
''Erotica'' is a [[concept album]] about [[human sexuality|sexuality]] and [[Interpersonal relationship|relationships]]. Each track explores a different facet of sexuality, usually involving sexual relationships. Lyrically, the album does not tie sex and sexual relationships with the traditional ideals of romance. A dance record by all accounts, the album showcases hip hop and jazz-affected club production from co-producers [[Shep Pettibone]] and André Betts. It is interesting to note that the song "In This Life" is based on [[George Gershwin]]'s ''Prelude No. 2''.
Madonna's intentions were that the album would be an accompaniment to her book ''[[Sex (book)|Sex]]'', which share the same cover photograph - a colored reverse negative of Madonna's face done à la [[Andy Warhol]], from whom Madonna found much inspiration during her so-called "Erotica period" (for example, her "[[Erotica (song)|Erotica]]" and "[[Deeper and Deeper]]" videos were shot in near identical style to many of Warhol's films, with Madonna paying obvious homage to [[Edie Sedgwick]] in the latter). The photos included in the album's liner notes also come from the [[Steven Meisel|Steven Meisel Studio]] photographs shot for the ''Sex'' book.
The album is Madonna's first album to bear a "Parental Advisory" label (the only other albums to do so being 2003's ''[[American Life]]'' and 2007's ''[[The Confessions Tour (album)|The Confessions Tour]]''). A separate "clean" version was released without the sexually explicit song "Did You Do It?"
Originally, "Bad Girl" was planned as the second single from the album with an X-rated video to match the '"Erotica" single, but it was changed due to the backlash of the ''Sex'' book and instead it was released as the third single. Madonna performed "Erotica", "Fever", "Bye Bye Baby", "Deeper And Deeper", "Rain", "Why's It So Hard" and "In This Life" on her 1993 [[The Girlie Show Tour]].
Early versions of some of the songs on the album, as well as demo versions of songs that were not included, were included in [[The Rain Tapes]] - a collection of songs registered during the album development stage.
==Original Artwork==
Originally, the album was to feature completely different artwork. [[Warner Bros. Records]] refused to use it, as it was too explicit. The original image is now seen in the final inlay sleeve of the album.
The final image used is identical to the ''Sex'' book foil cover; if you place the CD on the cover it is the same size and fits perfectly. Up until near the release date, the finished artwork did not include any writing on the cover. At the last minute a "Madonna" font sticker was added to the bottom right corner using the same font as the "[[Bad Girl (song)|Bad Girl]]" single.
The completed track listing was not what Madonna originally had planned, if the [[Maverick Records]] press information is to be believed:
#"Erotica"
#"Waiting"
#"Rain"
#"Deeper and Deeper"
#"Thief of Hearts"
#"Bad Girl"
#"Why's It So Hard"
#"Where Life Begins"
#"In This Life"
#"Words"
#"Bye Bye Baby"
#"Secret Garden"
#"Goodbye to Innocence"
#"Fever".<ref>[http://www.madonnatribe.com/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=159 Madonna Tribe News - Erotic-a(lmost)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
"Did You Do It?" does not appear and "Goodbye to Innocence" was included on the various artists compilation, ''[[Just Say Roe (album)|Just Say Roe]]''. The catalogue number for this track listing is the Parental Advisory version.
==Track listing==
{| class="wikitable"
! # !! Title !! Composers !! Production credits !! Time
|-
| 01 || "[[Erotica (song)|Erotica]]" <sup>1</sup>||Madonna, [[Shep Pettibone]], Anthony Shimkin<br><small>contains a sample of "Jungle Boogie", performed by [[Kool and the Gang]] ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone || 5:17
|-
| 02 || "[[Fever (Madonna song)|Fever]]"||Eddie Cooley, John Davenport||Madonna, Shep Pettibone || 5:00
|-
| 03 || "[[Bye Bye Baby (Madonna song)|Bye Bye Baby]]" <sup>1</sup> ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 3:56
|-
| 04 || "[[Deeper and Deeper]]" ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 5:33
|-
| 05 || "Where Life Begins" ||Madonna, André Betts||Madonna, André Betts|| 5:57
|-
| 06 || "[[Bad Girl (song)|Bad Girl]]" <sup>1</sup> ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 5:21
|-
| 07 || "Waiting" ||Madonna, André Betts||Madonna, André Betts|| 5:46
|-
| 08 || "Thief of Hearts" <sup>1</sup>||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 4:51
|-
| 09 || "Words" <sup>1</sup> ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 5:55
|-
| 10 || "[[Rain (Madonna song)|Rain]]" ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 5:24
|-
| 11 || "Why's It So Hard"<sup>1</sup> ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Anthony Shimkin||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 5:23
|-
| 12 || "In This Life" ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone||Madonna, Shep Pettibone|| 6:23
|-
| 13 || "Did You Do It?" <sup>2</sup><small> (featuring [[Mark Goodman]] and Dave Murphy) ||Madonna, Shep Pettibone, André Betts||Madonna, André Betts|| 4:54
|-
| 14 || "Secret Garden" ||Madonna, André Betts||Madonna, André Betts|| 5:32
|}
<sup>1</sup> ASCAP has officially added Anthony Shimkin as co-writer to these songs. Inlay notes to the album do not include this.<br>
<sup>2</sup> Performed by Madonna, Mark Goodman and Dave Murphy. Available only on the Parental Advisory version of the album, omitted from the clean version. Shep Pettibone has been officially added by BMI as co-writer of this song. <ref>[http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=301005&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID BMI | Repertoire Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><br>
==Controversy==
While Madonna had always expressed her sexuality suggestively through her art -- primarily through music and promotional music videos -- she was never as explicit as she had been during the ''Erotica'' period of her career. ''Erotica'' was one of a trio of sexually oriented mainstream projects released by Madonna or with her involvement within a span of several months. Released nearly simultaneously with ''Erotica'' was the coffee table book ''[[Sex (book)|Sex]]'', which featured the singer in photographs depicting simulations of sexual acts and [[BDSM]]. Less than four months later, a poorly received film titled ''[[Body of Evidence (film)|Body of Evidence]]'' was released to theatres, featuring Madonna fully nude and in scenes engaged in simulated sexual acts.
In [[Malaysia]], ''Erotica'' was the first album banned for homosexual-related content (the second would be ''[[The Confessions Tour]]'' for the crucifixion scene during "[[Live to Tell]]"). At the same time, ''[[Sex (book)|SEX]]'' was also banned from bookstores around the country. In spite of this, her singles "[[Rain (Madonna song)|Rain]]" and "[[Deeper and Deeper]]" were significant airplay hits.
==Critical reception==
The controversial sexuality presented to the mainstream by Madonna during the ''Erotica'' period was not well received. It was widely taken down and Madonna had always been considered an expert at "pushing buttons", but many thought she had greatly misstepped here. At the time of ''Erotica'''s release, she was widely condemned in the media for having pushed the limits of sexuality too far and was no longer considered acceptably suggestive, but vulgar and raunchy.
Interestingly, the sexual imagery Madonna put forward in both ''Erotica'' and ''Sex'' was widely criticized for not actually being erotic, but sterile and calculating. On the subject, Madonna said to CNN's [[Larry King]] on [[January 19]], [[1999]], "I didn't write a book about sex. I wrote a book that -- I mean I published a book that basically was sort of a -- an ironic tongue-in-cheek, sticking-my-tongue-out-at-society photo essay..."
Reviews of ''Erotica'' that concentrated only on the musical aspect of the album were mostly positive; ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'' hailed the album as one of Madonna's best. In hindsight, both fans and critics have warmed to the album over the years, with some even considering it to be among her best work. In its 15th anniversary review of the album, [[Slant Magazine]] called it "Madonna at her most important, at her most relevant."<ref>[http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=396 Slant Magazine - Music Review: Madonna: Erotica<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Commercial reception==
The surrounding massive media and critical backlash hurt ''Erotica'''s sales. While sales were initially brisk, the album didn't go through the roof as many predicted. It debuted at #2 in the [[Billboard 200]] shifting 167,000 in the first week. It was knocked off the top spot by [[Garth Brooks]]'s blockbuster album ''[[The Chase (Garth Brooks album)|The Chase]]''. In the UK the album also debuted at #2, there blocked by [[Simple Minds]]'s ''[[Glittering Prize 81/92]]''. The album stalled over the long-term, selling a disappointing two million copies each in the USA, and Europe. ''Erotica'' also became the first album since her debut to yield no number one hits in either the UK or the USA, with the [[Erotica (song)|title track]] reaching #3, being the highest charting single from the album. In fact, the #36 [[Billboard Hot 100]] peak of "Bad Girl" made it the first Madonna single to fail to reach the U.S. top 20 after 29 consecutive releases stretching back to "Holiday" in 1983 had done so. Nonetheless, the album produced six singles and was well received on the dance club circuit. To date, "Erotica" has shifted more than 5 million units globally.
== Singles ==
{| class="wikitable"
! # !! Title !! Date
|-
| 01 || "[[Erotica (song)|Erotica]]" || September 1992
|-
| 02 || "[[Deeper and Deeper]]" || November 1992 (UK) / December 1992 (US)
|-
| 03 || "[[Bad Girl (song)|Bad Girl]]" || February 1993
|-
| 04 || "[[Fever (Madonna song)|Fever]]" || March 1993 (UK, France, Italy and Australia)
|-
| 05 || "[[Rain (Madonna song)|Rain]]" || July 1993
|-
| 06 || "[[Bye Bye Baby (Madonna song)|Bye Bye Baby]]" || September 1993 (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Italy)
|}
==Certifications, peaks & sales==
{| class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Country
!align="left"|Peak Position
!align="left"|Certification (if any)
!align="left"|Sales/shipments
|-
|Australia
|align="center"|1
|3x Platinum<ref>[http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-2001.htm ARIA]</ref>
|210,000+
|-
|Austria
|align="center"|10
|Gold<ref>[http://www.ifpi.at/edelmetal.php3 IFPI Austria]</ref>
|25,000+
|-
|Brazil
|align="center"|
|Gold<ref>[http://www.abpd.org.br/certificados.asp ABPD]</ref>
|100,000+
|-
|Canada
|align="center"|
|2x Platinum<ref>[http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=3&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25madonna%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=64&csearch=60&nextprev=1 CRIA]</ref>
|200,000+
|-
|France
|align="center"|
|Platinum<ref>[http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=3&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25madonna%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=64&csearch=60&nextprev=1 CRIA]</ref>
|
|-
|Germany
|align="center"|5
|Gold<ref>[http://www.ifpi.de/wirtschaft/gpergebnis.php?strAktion=suche&txtSuche=Erotica IFPI Germany]</ref>
|250,000+
|-
|Netherlands
|align="center"|8
|Gold<ref>[http://www.nvpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60461#resultaat NVPI]</ref>
|50,000+
|-
|Poland
|align="center"|
|Gold
|
|-
|Norway
|align="center"|11
|
|
|-
|Sweden
|align="center"|6
|
|
|-
|Switzerland
|align="center"|5
|Gold<ref>[http://swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=erotica IFPI Switzerland]</ref>
|25,000+
|-
|United Kingdom
|align="center"|2
|2x Platinum<ref>[http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=5286 BPI]</ref>
|600,000+
|-
|United States
|align="center"|2
|2xPlatinum<ref>[http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001015119 Billboard – Ask Billboard]</ref>
|2,100,000+<ref>[http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001015119 Billboard – Ask Billboard]</ref>
|-
|United World Chart
|align="center"|
|2xPlatinum
|5,000,000+
|}
==Credits==
===Personnel===
*Madonna - [[vocals]]
*André Betts - [[synthesizer]], [[bass guitar|bass]], [[piano]], strings, [[drums]], [[keyboard instrument|keyboard]], synthesizer strings
*Emile Charlap - contractor
*[[Donna De Lory]] and [[Niki Haris]] - background vocals
*Jerome Dickens - [[guitar]]
*Glen Dicterow - conductor, concert master
*Anton Fig - [[drums]]
*Mark Goodman - voices
*Joe Moskowitz - [[drums]], [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]]
*Dave Murphy - voices
*New York Philharmonic Orchestra
*Paul Pesco - [[guitar]]
*[[Shep Pettibone]] - [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]]
*James Preston - [[piano]], [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]], synthesizer strings
*Jimmy Preston - [[piano]]
*Tony Shimkin - [[Keyboard instrument|keyboard]], background vocals
*Danny Wilensky - [[saxophone]]
*Doug Wimbish - [[bass guitar|bass]]
===Production===
*Producers: Madonna, [[André Betts]], [[Shep Pettibone]]
*Engineers: Mike Farrell, Robin Hancock, George Karras, P. Dennis Mitchell, Shep Pettibone, Tony Shimkin
*Assistant engineer: Mark Goodman
*Mixing: Goh Hotoda, George Karras
*Mastering: Ted Jensen
*Sequencing: [[Shep Pettibone]], Tony Shimkin
*Programming: Joe Moskowitz, Shep Pettibone, Sander Selover
*Drum programming: Andre Betts, Tony Shimkin
*String arrangements: Jeremy Lubbock
*Contractor: Emile Charlap
*Art direction: Siung Fat Tjia
*Design: Siung Fat Tjia
*Photography: Steven Meisel
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.madonna-online.ch/m-online/interviews/interview-sites/92-10_the-erotica-diaries.htm Producer Shep Pettibone's "Erotica Diary"]
{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = ''[[Love Symbol]]''<br> by [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] and the [[New Power Generation]]
| title = Australian [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Albums Chart]] [[Number-one albums of 1992 (Australia)|number-one album]]
| years = [[November 1]] - [[November 14]] [[1992]]
| after = ''[[Keep the Faith]]'' by [[Bon Jovi]]
}}
{{end}}
{{Madonna}}
[[Category:1991 albums]]
[[Category:Madonna albums]]
[[Category:Maverick Records albums]]
[[Category:Sire Records albums]]
[[Category:Dance-pop albums]]
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