I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the film Dick Tracy is the second soundtrack album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on May 22, 1990, by Sire Records. It was recorded to promote and accompany the film Dick Tracy, released in the summer of 1990.
With songs from or inspired by the film Dick Tracy, the album is an eclectic mix of soundtrack numbers and other songs. The album, musically, consists predominantly of Broadway showtune-flavoured[1] jazz, swing and Big Band numbers inspired by the music of the 1940s;[2][3] despite this, however, there are traces of contemporary pop music within the album, including the final track, "Vogue", which is a dance-pop song with a house beat and discoinfluences.[2] The album contains "Sooner or Later", a jazz song from the film composed by Stephen Sondheim which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 1991 awards.[4] Overall, the album received a mixed to positive reception from music critics; reviewers applauded Stephen Sondheim numbers, as well as the final track "Vogue",[3] and Madonna's vocals were praised;[4] however, some deemed the non-film songs to be of little value.[3] The album was commercially successful; it reached the top ten in both the US[5] as well as in several other countries. RIAA certified it Gold, Platinum and 2x Platinum on July 30, 1990, denoting two million shipments in the United States and has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.[6]
The album spawned two singles. The first, "Vogue", was one of Madonna's most successful and one of the world's best-selling singles, having sold over 6 million copies globally,[7] and reaching number one in over 30 countries. It was also critically acclaimed, featuring in several critic lists,[8][9][10][11] and it has been deemed an influential song,[12] considered to have helped bring house into mainstream American popular music.[13] The video was also successful, helping to bring vogueing into mainstream popularity. The next single, "Hanky Panky", also did well commercially, reaching the top ten in the US and theUK; the song was noted by critics for its double entendres and innuendos.[14]
In support of both I'm Breathless and her previous album, Like a Prayer, Madonna embarked on her Blond Ambition World Tour; the concert tour was critically acclaimed, winning an award at the 1990 Pollstar Concert Industry Awards;[15] despite this, however, it was controversial for its sexual content as well as its usage of Catholic imagery,[16] leading Pope John Paul II to call for a boycott, with one of Madonna's concerts in Italy being cancelled.[17]Madonna has performed songs from the album in numerous occasions; Madonna performed "Sooner or Later" at the 1991 Oscar Awards wearing a dress inspired by American actress Marilyn Monroe,[18] and it was deemed the seventh "most awesome" Academy Award performance by Billboard.[18] Madonna also performed "Vogue" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, wearing 18th century Marie Antoinette-inspired clothes alongside her dancers. Madonna has performed "Vogue" on four of her concert tours.
There are four songs from the film on the album: "Sooner or Later", "More", "What Can You Lose?" and "Now I'm Following You", although the latter song appears here in a version different from the one in the film (the film version was not performed by Madonna, but by the composer, Andy Paley). I'm Breathless can be considered another Madonna album, despite officially being a soundtrack album, or songs "from and inspired by" the film.
The success of the single "Vogue" (originally intended to be the B-side of "Keep It Together"), which was released prior to the album, combined with the publicity of Dick Tracy and Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour, gave I'm Breathless a significant sales boost. I'm Breathless reached number two on the Billboard 200, reaching platinum status in three months. The second hit, "Hanky Panky", kept the album in the charts for several months, although it was eventually overtaken by Madonna's The Immaculate Collection, released at the end of the year. As a consequence of this, two more planned single releases from the album, "Now I'm Following You" which was remixed by Grammy Award-winning remixer Mark Saunders but never released (12" remix can be heard on his website at www.marksaunders.com), and "Sooner or Later", were canceled in favor of "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". Madonna performed "Sooner or Later", "Hanky Panky", "Now I'm Following You", and "Vogue" on her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour; that same year she also performed "Vogue" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, and 3 years later she included "Vogue" and "I'm Going Bananas" on her 1993 Girlie Show Tour. Both "Vogue" and "Hanky Panky" were included on her 2004 Re-Invention Tour. Later she performed "Vogue" on her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour.
"Sooner or Later," one of three songs written for the soundtrack by Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1991, and Madonna performed the song live at the award show. The song "Something to Remember" was included in Madonna'sballads compilation album of the same name. Rolling Stone magazine stated: "No other pop star today could—or probably would - make an album like this." Madonna commented in a 1998 interview that this album is one of her favorites, saying: "I love every song on that album."
I'm Breathless is essentially composed of 1940s popular music, with influences of Broadway showtunes, including Big Band, jazz, swing and traditional pop; despite this, however, some of the songs also incorporate elements of contemporary pop music. The song "Vogue", however, breaks from this type of jazz/pop nature of the album, being a disco-styled dance-pop song with house beats. Influences of other genres can be heard within the I'm Breathless, including jive ("More"),[19] Latin music ("I'm Going Bananas"),[20] power ballad ("He's A Man")[21] torch ("What Can You Lose") anddeep house ("Vogue").[22]
I'm Breathless has received both positive and negative reviews. Critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A grade, claiming that, when it comes tocampiness, Madonna "knows how to do it right".[24] Mark Coleman from Rolling Stone gave the album a three-and-a-half out of five stars and positive review, claiming that Madonna "pulls it off with brass and panache", and that one of the album's tracks and singles, "Vogue", shows that she "can still deliver that indefinable something extra".[26] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine also gave the album a favourable review, as well as four out of five stars, claiming that "I'm Breathless proves that Madonna is a true renaissance woman".[27]
Entertainment Weekly gave the I'm Breathless a D grade as well as a negative review, claiming that it "sounds gruesomely forced", yet, asserting that "Vogue" is an album highlight.[25] Furthermore, Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine also gave the album a relatively mixed to unfavourable review, claiming that the album's songs are just "cutesy novelty numbers", yet, also writing that "Vogue" is a standout track.[23]
I'm Breathless, alongside Madonna's previous album, Like A Prayer, was promoted in Madonna's third concert tour, the Blond Ambition World Tour, which spanned three different continents (Asia, North America and Europe). Consisting of 57 dates, the tour was inspired by had five sections, the first inspired by the 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis, the second by religious themes, the third by the film Dick Tracy and cabaret, the fourth by Art Deco, whilst the fifth was an encore. The show, with sexual themes, also contained Catholic imagery, such as in Madonna's performance of "Like a Prayer", which was based in church-like surroundings with Madonna wearing a crucifix and her backup dancers dressed like priests and nuns. The concert's sexual content and religious imagery proved controversial; in Toronto, Madonna was threatened of being arrested for obscenity,[28] and Pope John Paul II later called for a boycott, with one of the three Italian dates being cancelled. Despite this, the tour was a critical success, winning "Most Creative Stage Production" at the 1990 Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.
Songs from the album have been performed live in notable performances. At the 1991 Academy Awards, Madonna performed the Oscar-winning "Sooner or Later", clad in a Marilyn Monroe-inspired gown and a set resembling classic Hollywood. The performance was ranked as the seventh "most awesome" performance in the history of the award show by Billboard. The song "Vogue" was also famously performed at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, where Madonna and her dancers were clad in 18th century-inspired fashions.[29] The performance of "Vogue" was later ranked by Billboard as the sixth best performance in the history of the award show.[30] Madonna has performed "Vogue" in four of her concert tours, including the Blond Ambition World Tour, The Girlie Show Tour, the Re-Invention Tour and the Sticky & Sweet Tour.