Critical Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Robert Christgau | (A) |
| Entertainment Weekly | (D) |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant Magazine | |
I'm Breathless has received generally mixed reviews. Critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A grade, claiming that, when it comes to campiness, Madonna "knows how to do it right". 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". 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". J. Randy Taraborrelli, in his book Madonna: An Intimate Biography, gave the album a favourable review, writing that it was "one of Madonna's greatest musical moments", and praising her vocal performance.
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. 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. Q magazine lamented, in its June 1990 review, "It's something of a disappointment because the lady herself stays so firmly committed to a character who's less original than the persona she evolved during the '80s." Nonetheless, in the same magazine's December 1994 issue, Madonna declared: "I would have to say the favourite record that I've made is the soundtrack to Dick Tracy. I love every one of those songs… My judgement is never based on the world's reaction."
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