Lost Madonna Tracks From ‘Erotica’ Leaked Onto Internet

Fans of Madonna’s 1992 album Erotica got a glimpse into some unreleased tracks yesterday, as two outtakes were leaked online. As Entertainment Weekly reports, these are not the first “lost” Erotica demos to pop up over the last 20 years: Madonna devotees call these the Rain Tapes. The past releases were usually small samplings, however, and many were not authentic.

The two tracks uploaded to SoundCloud are complete recordings, and although they have not yet been confirmed as true outtakes from Erotica sessions, Idolator points out they have the stamp of producer Shep Pettibone and writer Anthony Shimkin. Both worked on Erotica.

As for the strength of the new-found recordings, both EW and Idolator have cautious praise. EW says “You Are The One” is emblematic of the singer’s club-pop approach and “Shame” was perhaps too slow for the Erotica record. Idolator calls the songs a way to get fans ready for Madonna’s next release, which the singer teased on Instagram July 24. Madonna posted a video of a choir singing with the caption: “London Community Gospel Choir make my new music sound triller! #livingforlove.”

Judge for yourself by giving the “new” tracks a listen here:

EW says that despite relatively poor sales — it was the first Madonna album to not reach the number one spot on Billboard — Erotica was her best release. Rolling Stone gave Erotica four stars out of five at the time, with a highly intellectual review that praised the album’s messaging:

“The production choices suggest not a celebration of the physical but a critique of commercial representations of sex — whether Paul Verhoeven’s, Bruce Weber’s or Madonna’s — that by definition should not be mistaken for the real thing. It succeeds in a way the innocent post-punk diva of ‘Madonna’ and the thoughtful songwriter of ‘Like a Prayer’ could not have imagined.”

On the 20th anniversary of the album’s release, Idolator had similar high praise:

“Twenty years later, the ‘Erotica’ album (released October 20, 1992)… stands as her most rococo album, layered in strange sounds, dark feelings and a pleasing defiance toward pop radio.”

Madonna’s most recent release was MDNA in 2012, which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. Sales were apparently boosted by the tie-in with Madonna’s world tour; fans had the option of buying the album at the same time as a concert ticket.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, although Madonna is laying low on the performance front, she has found herself in the midst of controversy due to her behavior on a recent flight with her children.

[Image: Madonna/Google]