'Madonna' Album Review!
Madonna debuted with this record in late 1983, initiating the most successful female pop career in history. At the time, disco was dead and dance music was verboten on pop radio. Along with Shannon, Madonna helped bring dance music back into the mainstream. Thus, although "Madonna" sounds like safe pop music now, it was actually pretty cutting edge at the time. "Everybody" was her first single; it became a solid dance hit but didn't cross over to pop radio or the Hot 100. With its unusual shuffling beat, it should have been a hit and still sounds great today.
"Madonna" eventually yielded three pop hits, each one charting higher then the previous - Holiday (#16), Borderline (#10), and Lucky Star (#4). "Borderline" was her first ballad, although relatively up-tempo. Her voice is thinner here than it would be on later ballads, but she still sounds lovely. The video was also a huge hit and introduced people to Madonna's breakthrough style. I became aware of Madonna for the first time through that video and have been a fan ever since. "Lucky Star" sounds a bit dated with too many synthesizers, although it's still a great pop song. Although "Holiday" was the smallest hit, it's perhaps the most enduring of the three: a real party anthem.
Along with these hits, the non-singles are also uniformly solid. "Burning Up" is the closest thing to a rock song that Madonna made during her early years, although the guitars are paired with a terrific dance beat. "Physical Attraction" is another highlight - a dance song that really shows off Madonna's sex appeal and slither. "Think of Me" and "I Know It" are the two least memorable songs on this CD - straight ahead dance tunes without much of Madonna's panache. With just 8 songs, "Madonna" breezes by quickly and sometimes seems a bit insubstantial. However, the CD is an undeniable dance classic that began the Queen of Pop's career. Most highly recommended.
posted by Rockster Fan @ 12:43 PM
