Erotica

Background

On April 21, 1992, it was reported that Madonna had teamed up with Time Warner Inc. to form Maverick, a multimedia entertainment company. Maverick consisted of a record company, a film production company, and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing, and merchandising divisions. The deal paid the singer an advance of $60 million and gave her 20% royalties from the music proceeds, one of the highest rates in the industry, equaled at that time only by Michael Jackson's royalty rate established a year earlier with Sony. Madonna described Maverick as "the perfect marriage of art and commerce", further adding that she envisioned it as an "artistic think tank", and likened it to a cross between the German arts institute Bauhaus and Andy Warhol's The Factory; "it started as a desire to have more control. There's a group of writers, photographers, directors and editors that I've met along the way in my career who I want to take with me everywhere I go. I want to incorporate them into my little factory of ideas", she explained. The first two projects from the venture were Madonna's fifth studio album and a coffee table book depicting her "erotic fantasies", titled Sex.

Madonna described the album as "soulful, with a jazzy undertone and a lot of beatnik-style poetry in it". Titled Erotica, the record saw the singer reunited with producer Shep Pettibone, with whom she had previously collaborated on "Vogue" and "Rescue Me" from The Immaculate Collection (1990). Alongside Pettibone, Madonna enlisted help from producer André Betts, who previously co-produced "Justify My Love" from The Immaculate Collection. She was interested in working with Pettibone and Betts because of their ability to remain plugged into the dance underground; "they come from opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their music style and approach to music, but they're both connected to the street and they're still young and hungry".

Development

Following the release of The Immaculate Collection, by mid-1991, Pettibone began working on new music: "I knew I could do something great after 'Vogue' and 'Rescue Me' so I just started putting tracks together with my assistant, Tony Shimkin", Pettibone recalled. He and Shimkin created a three-track demo and sent it to Madonna, who was in Chicago filming A League of Their Own; she listened to the songs and liked all of them. In October, after filming was complete, Madonna met Pettibone in New York City to start working on more demos. Anthony Shimkin recalled that the singer brought with her a "book full of lyrics and melody ideas". Pettibone created the music, and Madonna the lyrics. Shimkin would program a Macintosh computer to play percussion and synthesizer parts and transfer them to an eight-track recorder; then, Madonna would record her vocals. According to author Mark Bego, the first batch of songs they worked on were the title track, "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Thief of Hearts", and "Rain". Recording took place at New York's Soundworks Studios, Master Mix Studios, and Clinton Recording Studios. The producer described their work schedule as "sporadic", because Madonna split her time between other ventures: She was working with Steven Meisel on Sex and would sometimes leave for two weeks; occasionally, she would also meet with producer André Betts. At first, Madonna did not like the first group of songs she had recorded. According to Mark Landeros from Classic Pop, Pettibone's "glossy sheen and pristine production" were the antithesis of what Madonna envisioned for Erotica. She wanted it to have a "raw edge", as if it were recorded in an alley in Harlem.

Problems also arose during sequencing; computer processes would take too long and delay recordings. Pettibone had to keep things moving as fast as possible because he did not want Madonna to lose interest in the music. Also at this point, the music was getting "a little melancholy" and Madonna's lyrics and ideas "a lot more serious and intense". It was Pettibone's idea to write a song for Madonna's friend Martin Burgoyne who died of HIV/AIDS, and wrote the chords for "In This Life"; she wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes. The title track "Erotica" underwent "numerous radical changes" during the recording process, with four different versions being recorded; the singer would first sing it one way, and then decide to erase everything and start all over again. Shimkin affirmed that the original version was not "as slinky and sexy and grimy and dirty", until the mixing process; at that stage, the song was still an "experimentation", but when they realized it was going to be the lead single, it took on a "different, darker vibe". While recording Erotica, Madonna was also working on Sex; for the book, she incorporated a dominatrix alter-ego named Mistress Dita, heavily inspired by German actress Dita Parlo. After seeing the book, Pettibone suggested that the singer incorporate the dominatrix theme into the song's lyrics: "'You have all these great stories [in the book]', I told her, 'Why don't you use them in the song?'". Madonna left the studio with a copy of Sex, returned and recorded her vocals to "Erotica" in a "very dry" way; Pettibone then realized the song "would never be the same again". The chorus and bridge were changed entirely and the song's "psyche" became "sexier, more to the point".

Composition

Sounds and themes

Author J. Randy Taraborrelli described Erotica as a "melting pot of nineties urban music — burgeoning hip-hop and house, partnered with a more conventional synthesizer-based rhythm and blues". It is a dance album that incorporates elements from classic disco, modern house, and techno. Additionally, it marked a departure from the "four-on-the-floor disco romp that listeners came to expect from [Madonna]", focusing instead on "heavy, cold [...] difficult and unpleasant" themes such as homophobia, queerness, female sex and sexuality, "not only in the hottest moments of physical relationships, but in their darker, more intimate instances, particularly in relation to the growing AIDS crisis", as noted by the Portland Mercury's Jeni Wren Strottup. It has been described as a concept album about Mistress Dita, her alter-ego in the album and in Sex, as a reminder, and mostly about looking for romance in a post-AIDS era.

Music and lyrics

The opening track, "Erotica," is a pop hip-hop dance song with "scratchy, trip-hop loops" and Middle Eastern influences. Described by Pettibone as an "ode to S&M", the song continued Madonna's exploration of potent spoken-word vocals, which she had previously introduced in "Justify My Love", and samples Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" (1973), and "El Yom 'Ulliqa 'Ala Khashaba" by Lebanese singer Fairuz. It begins with a "put-a-record-on scratchiness" sound that mimics a record player. Madonna invites her lover to be submissive while she has sex with him, and suggests that he explore boundaries between pain and pleasure, demanding: Give it up, do what I say/ Give it up and let me have my way. Madonna's cover of "Fever" follows "Erotica"; it is an "apathetic house thumper" with "[her] airy deadpan [vocals] floating listlessly over the pulsing beats". It removes the chord movement from the original and has additional lyrics about Pocahontas, marimbas, and finger snaps at certain parts. The third track, "Bye Bye Baby," is a techno pop song that samples LL Cool J's "Jingling Baby" (1990), and opens with Madonna stating, This is not a love song. Her voice is filtered to sound like it is being projected "through an old-fashioned Victrola", while the lyrics talk about taking control rather than exacting revenge on a domineering, mind-game-playing partner. The track ends with an explosion and the singer saying you fucked it up, which is bleeped out.

Described as the album's "pure disco" moment, "Deeper and Deeper" has a "thicker arrangement" than the rest of the songs. The opening phrase When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything references "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music (1959). Its lyrics talk about sexual desire, but Dan Cadan argued in his text in the liner notes of Madonna's 2001 compilation GHV2, that they are actually about a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. The song also features "a juxtaposition of swirling disco synths", a flamenco guitar, and castanets on its bridge. Toward the end, it includes a line from "Vogue": Let your body move to the music. Set to a "jazzy, juicy" groove, with lyrics about the "finger-licking good" pleasures of cunnilingus, "Where Life Begins" includes long sustained strings, and wah-wah guitars in its instrumentation. Madonna sings that it is something every girl should experience. Considered Erotica's "most overtly sexual track", it is the only one to reference safe sex: I’m glad you brought your raincoat/I think it's beginning to rain. The lyrics to sixth track "Bad Girl" talk, in the singer's own words, about a woman in a toxic relationship, trying to "distract herself from reality" through behaviors such as drinking and chain smoking. This is reflected in the refrain: Bad girl, drunk by six/Kissing someone else's lips/Smoked too many cigarettes today/I’m not happy when I act this way. Instrumentation is provided by swing piano and wind chimes, with Madonna singing some parts in a falsetto. "Waiting" begins with the sound of a scratchy old vinyl before a sliding bass note. It is a "brooding ballad noir" with spoken word elements, in which a scorned and defiant Madonna faces up to the lover who has broken her heart, and samples her own "Justify My Love"; lyrics include Don’t go breaking my heart like you said you would, and I wish I could believe you or at least have the courage to leave you. It ends with the singer uttering the phrase The next time you want pussy, just look in the mirror, baby.

Artwork and release

The artwork for Erotica was created by Steven Meisel, under the artistic direction of Baron & Baron Inc., consisting of Fabien Baron and photographer Siung Fat Tjia, who also oversaw the packaging and design of Sex. The cover follows the "same monochromatic blue-ink cover shot" that had been used on the book, and shows Madonna's "faded" face on a pale background. Photographs used for Sex were also included on the album's booklet; one shows Madonna in S&M garb, wielding a riding crop and licking her arm; another one features her bound and gagged. The back cover shows the singer engaging in "foot worship – blissfully sucking on someone's big toe", as noted by J. Randy Taraborrelli. According to the author, "listeners did not need to hear the music to understand Madonna's intention with Erotica. If the title itself was not a tip-off, the CD's cover artwork certainly made the point clear". Mark Bego, in his book Madonna: Blonde Ambition, was not fond of the "off-putting" picture, and felt it was "a bit too much, even for her fans". Billboard's Melinda Newman saw similarities between Erotica's artwork and that of the Darling Buds' album of the same name, which was released two weeks before Madonna's. Mark Elliott of This is Dig! said it is one of Madonna's "most provocative" album covers.

Erotica was released on October 19, 1992, in the United Kingdom and on October 20, 1992, in the US through Madonna's Maverick label. It was the singer's first release to bear the Parental Advisory label because of explicit content in tracks such as "Did You Do It?", and was therefore banned in several Asian countries, such as China and Singapore. Two versions of Erotica were released: a clean 13-track version that omits "Did You Do It?", and the complete 14-track version that bears the Parental Advisory label.

Promotion

On October 22, 1992, MTV aired a special called The Day in Madonna, hosted by Kurt Loder, which profiled the release of both Sex and Erotica. New York City's HMV music store held a Madonna look-alike contest, and set up a booth where people could view Sex for one dollar a minute. All the proceeds went to Lifebeat, the music industry organization founded to help fund AIDS research.

Media appearances and tour

On January 16, 1993, Madonna appeared on late-night live television show Saturday Night Live and sang "Bad Girl" and "Fever". The singer also appeared on the 1,000th episode of The Arsenio Hall Show, and sang "Fever" in its original version. She also performed "The Lady Is a Tramp" (1937) alongside Anthony Kiedis; they wore matching skirts, stockings, leather vests, cat-ear caps and lipstick. On September 2, 1993, Madonna opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a burlesque-themed performance of "Bye Bye Baby". The "risqué" number saw the singer in a tailcoat and top hat, with three scantily clad women, and included "stroked inner-thighs, spanks, [and] frottage".

Erotica was further promoted on the Girlie Show, Madonna's fourth concert tour. Seen as an attempt to "revive" her musical career after the critical and commercial failure of Body of Evidence, an erotic thriller in which she starred, it began in London on September 25, 1993, and ended in Tokyo on December 19. It was initially planned not to visit the United States, instead focusing on regions the singer had never toured before, such as Turkey, Israel, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South America and Australia. However, because of demand, some shows were booked in certain US cities. Madonna opened the show dressed as a dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers, while lighter moments included her descending from the ceiling on a giant disco ball wearing an Afro wig for "Express Yourself" (1989), as well as singing "Like a Virgin" (1984) in the guise of actress Marlene Dietrich. The tour received generally positive reviews from critics and was commercially successful, with a gross of $70 million from 39 concerts. Several organizations in different countries protested to force the cancellation of the concerts because of their explicit sexual nature. In Puerto Rico, Madonna passed the island's flag between her legs on stage, resulting in outrage among Puerto Rican society; Orthodox Jews staged protests to force the cancellation of the concerts in Tel Aviv to no avail.

Singles

In Australia and most European countries, the title track "Erotica" was released as the album's lead single on September 29, 1992;

in the United States, it was released on October 13. It was met with generally positive reviews from critics, with some deeming it one of Madonna's darkest and most experimental songs. It performed well commercially, debuting at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100—becoming one of the highest debuts in the chart's history at the time—and peaking at number three. It also saw success on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, where it reached number one. Its accompanying music video was directed by Fabien Baron, and features scenes of Madonna dressed as a masked dominatrix interspersed with footage of the making of Sex; it was highly controversial, being aired by MTV only three times, all after the 10pm watershed, before being completely banned.

"Deeper and Deeper" was issued in Australia and Europe as second single on November 17, whereas in the US, the release date was December 8. Critics lauded it for being more dance-oriented than "Erotica", with some comparing it to the work of Donna Summer. It fared well commercially, reaching the seventh spot of the Billboard Hot 100. The music video was directed by Bobby Woods, and was seen as a homage to American artist Andy Warhol and Italian director Luchino Visconti; Madonna plays a character based on Edie Sedgwick, who goes out to a nightclub to meet her friends and boyfriend.

Erotica's third single was "Bad Girl"; like its predecessors, it was first published in Australia and Europe on February 2, 1993. In the United States, it was released one month later with "Fever" as B-side. Critics reacted positively to the track, with some noting a departure from Madonna's highly sexual image of the time. The song had a lukewarm reception on the charts: it became Madonna's first single to not reach the top 30 or top 20 of the Hot 100, breaking a streak of 27 consecutive top 20 singles that began with "Holiday" (1983) and ended with "Deeper and Deeper". "Bad Girl"'s music video was directed by David Fincher; in it, Madonna plays Louise Oriole, a successful but promiscuous Manhattan businesswoman who engages in one-night stands with multiple men, until one of them murders her. Christopher Walken plays her beleaguered guardian angel. The clip was acclaimed by critics, who deemed it one of Madonna's best.

"Fever" was released as the album's fourth single outside North America on March 28, 1993. Despite not being published as an official single in the US, "Fever" reached the top spot of Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. In the United Kingdom, it reached the chart's sixth position. The song received generally positive to mixed reviews from critics; Madonna's vocal performance was compared both positively and negatively to that of Lee's. The music video was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, and was Madonna's first to use chroma key. In Australia and most European countries "Rain" was released as Erotica's fifth single on July 17, 1993. In the US, it was the fourth and final single, released on August 5. Critics referred to "Rain" as one of the best songs in Erotica, and one of Madonna's best ballads. In the visual, directed by Mark Romanek, Madonna is seen during a film shoot, with Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto playing the director alongside a Japanese film crew. "Rain" peaked at number 14 on US Hot 100, and at 7 on the UK. The sixth and final single was "Bye Bye Baby", released only in Australia on November 15, 1993, to coincide with Madonna's visit to the country with the Girlie Show. It reached number 15 on the chart.

Critical reception

Erotica received mixed reviews. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it was an "ambitious" album, that contains "some of Madonna's best and most accomplished music". From The Daily Telegraph, James Hall opined Erotica is a "venturous epic that was eclipsed by the audacity of the idea that spawned it", even if it's not Madonna's best album. Mark Elliott from website This is Dig! called Erotica a "more noble" concept album than I'm Breathless (1990). Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, deemed it Madonna's best, and J. Randy Taraborrelli her "most promiscuous". To the staff of Billboard, "La M's first studio outing since 1989's Like a Prayer [...] is her most varied and creatively challenging collection to date". Less positively, Charlotte Robinson from PopMatters referred to Erotica as the "first disappointment of [Madonna's] seemingly enchanted career".

One element focused on by critics such as J. D. Considine, from The Baltimore Sun, was the sexual and romantic themes. Some critics acclaimed the presentation of them as raw and harshly realistic elements that justified the singer's unpolished and amateur vocals, and unexpectedly found the songs to be more about the pains of romance than sex. Other critics argued the sexual display was excessive, for some critics at the expense of musical depth. Mark Bego expressed a mixed view, deeming it "artistic yet suggestive, some of it is genuinely sexy, and some of it is lewd and musically unappealing". Barbara Walker of the Sun-Sentinel complained that the overtly sexual tone made the album uninteresting because of its frequency in Madonna's public image at the time. Additionally, she said it was "loaded with just enough rootless shock value to rile her critics". Richard Harrington from the Washington Post likened the record to a number from Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979), in which "dancers-as-nearly-naked stewards and stewardesses say, as they explore all manner of sexual coupling before a small, shocked audience of potential investors, 'Our motto is we take you everywhere but get you nowhere'".

The music and sound were also a source of division. According to Daryl Easley, in his book Madonna: Blond Ambition, Erotica showcases the continuation of Madonna's "musical maturity". Conversely, reviewers such as Stephen Holden considered the lack of an upbeat, joyous vibe to be a downside for the dance style. Tom Ford, from the Toledo Blade, was the only critic to dismiss the musical styles as "recycled" from Madonna's previous albums. Priya Elan from NME expressed that, "ditching Patrick Leonard for Shep Pettiborn [sic] was a bold move that didn't wholly pay off. The hard house beats of Erotica may have reflected the sexually explicit lyrical content brilliantly on tracks like 'Deeper And Deeper' and 'Thief Of Hearts', but over a whole album it seemed a bit much". Both Entertainment Weekly's David Browne and Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani reacted negatively to Madonna's vocals: the former deemed them "soulless", and the latter "nasal and remote".

Commercial performance

In the United States, Erotica debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 on November 7, 1992, with first week sales of 167,000 copies. The Chase by Garth Brooks kept it from the top spot; Erotica was Madonna's first studio album since her 1983 debut to not top the chart. The following week, the album dropped to number four on the chart. In January 1993, it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of two million units. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Erotica has sold 1.91 million copies in the United States as of December 2016, along with 79,000 sold through BMG Music Clubs. In Canada, Erotica debuted at number seven on the RPM Albums Chart on November 7, 1992; it peaked at number four on November 21, spent 38 weeks on the chart and was certified double platinum by Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 200,000 copies. In Argentina, the album received four-times platinum from the Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videograma (CAPIF) for shipments of 240,000 copies. Similarly in Mexico, Erotica achieved sales of 250,000 units according to Billboard. The album received a gold certification from Pro-Música Brasil, denoting shipments of 100,000 units. Sales in Brazil stand at 180,000 copies, as of October 1993.

Across Europe, Erotica sold 1.5 million copies in its first week, and reached the top of the European Top 100 Albums chart. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart on October 24, 1992. It remained at that position for three weeks, held off the top by Simple Minds' greatest hits collection Glittering Prize 81/92, and spent a total of 38 weeks on the chart. The album was certified double platinum on June 1, 1993, by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 600,000 copies. In France, the album debuted at number one on the French Albums Chart on October 28, 1992, stayed there for two weeks before descending the chart and selling a total of 250,000 copies by May 1993. In Germany, the album reached the top five on the Media Control Charts and was certified gold for shipments of 250,000 copies. In Italy, Erotica sold 250,000 copies in its presales. In Sweden, the album debuted and peaked at number six and spent seven weeks on the chart. Similarly in Switzerland, Erotica peaked at number five and was certified gold by IFPI Switzerland. It also received a platinum certification in Spain and sold 150,000 units there as of 1993. 350 copies were sold in Iceland during November 1992.

In Australia, the album entered the ARIA chart at number 159, before climbing to number one in its second week, and was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 210,000 copies. It also reached the top five on the New Zealand Albums Chart. Erotica reached a peak of number five on the Japan Oricon Albums Chart, and received a double platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipping 400,000 copies. At the 7th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, Madonna was awarded the RIAJ's Artist of the Year with sales totaling ¥844 million throughout the year, an equivalent of $6.5 million ($14.49 million in 2025 dollars) Erotica was honored as 1992's Top Selling English Album by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Initial shipments of the album in Singapore totaled 20,000 units, but quickly sold 37,000 copies, becoming Warner Music's best-selling album of 1992 in Singapore.

Legacy

Erotica has been referred to as one of Madonna's best and most important albums. In 2017, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame considered it one of the most revolutionary albums of all time, writing that, "few women artists, before or since Erotica, have been so outspoken about their fantasies and desires. [Madonna] made it clear that shame and sexuality are mutually exclusive [...] [Erotica] remains one of the boldest expressions of female sexuality". Kurt Loder added that, although she wasn't the first female artist to "exploit sexiness", with Erotica and Sex, Madonna "set a template for what women could get away with". Influence of Erotica can be seen in the work of contemporary female artists such as Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Cardi B, and Kim Petras. With the album, Joe Lynch from Billboard held that Madonna "set the blueprint for singers to get raw", while for Chuck Arnold it "forever sexed-up pop music". USA Today's Edward Segarra felt it "helped expand female expression, usher in 'confessional' style". Similarly, Reece Shrewsbury deemed it "a huge step for women's sexual liberation".

According to Taraborrelli, at the time of Erotica's release, "much of society seemed to be reexamining its sexuality. Gay rights issues were at the forefront of social discussions globally, as was an ever-increasing awareness of AIDS". In this vein, Eric Henderson from Slant Magazine referred to it as a record that "[r]evealed a full understanding of the bipolarity of the gay experience circa AIDS". Attitude's Joseph Ryan-Hicks concluded that, "although Erotica was provocative, at its core were messages of safe sex and liberation at a time when people needed to hear them the most". Through the album, Madonna was able to advocate for AIDS awareness and help bring the epidemic into the public discourse, according to Stereogum's Mary Von Aue. From the Evening Standard, El Hunt wrote: "Both Erotica and Sex came out at a time when certain kinds of sex –specifically queer sex– were steeped in debilitating amounts of shame and fear [...] By putting forward a vision of sexual exploration that often feels cold, detached, and uneasy, Madonna flawlessly captured the emotional disconnect of searching out an intimacy that has suddenly become deadly". Sal Cinquemani elaborated:

By 1992, Madonna was an icon —untouchable, literally and figuratively— and Erotica was the first time the artist's music took on a decidedly combative, even threatening tone, and most people didn't want to hear it. [Erotica's] irrefutable unsexiness probably says more about the sex=death mentality of the early '90s than any other musical document of its time. This is not Madonna at her creative zenith. This is Madonna at her most important, at her most relevant. No one else in the mainstream at that time dared to talk about sex, love, and death with such frankness and fearlessness.

Track listing

Notes

"Erotica" samples "Jungle Boogie" (1973), recorded by Kool and the Gang, and written by Robert Earl Bell, Ronald Nathan Bell, Donald Boyce, George Melvin Brown, Robert Spike Mickens, Claydes Charles Smith, Clifford Adams and Dennis Thomas. It also samples "El Yom 'Ulliqa 'Ala Khashaba", performed by Fairuz.

"Fever" contains lyrics written and rearranged by singer Peggy Lee, who remains uncredited for her contribution.

Anthony Shimkin has been officially added by ASCAP as a co-writer to "Erotica", "Bye Bye Baby", "Bad Girl", "Thief of Hearts", "Words", and "Why's It So Hard". Inlay notes to the album do not include this. Shimkin was only allowed to add his credit to one composition on the album; he originally chose "Deeper and Deeper".

Clean version of the album does not include "Did You Do It?".

Mark Goodman and Dave Murphy are credited for "special guest appearances" on "Did You Do It?".

CD, vinyl, cassette, and Digital Compact Cassette – explicit version, comes with a Parental Advisory label. The vinyl was reissued in 2012 and 2016 by Warner Bros. Records with a different catalog number.

Limited Australian tour edition – explicit version. Australian digipak edition released in November 1993 to commemorate Madonna's first visit to the country as part of the Girlie Show tour.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Recording

Recorded at Master Mix Studios, Clinton Recording Studios, and Soundworks (New York City).

Mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City).