Like a Virgin [Original recording remastered]

Early in the eighties, Madonna came onto the musical scene with the single Everybody. Not long after its release, her 1983 debut LP was released. The LP contained a number of excellent tracks. But, while many of the songs it featured are revered as classics today, at its time of release it didn't do very much to put Madonna in the spotlight. She needed to release another album, and she did so the following year. 1985's Like A Virgin is the album that first brought Madonna the popularity she has had for so very long, and this is arguably her most popular album. Is it deserving of this reputation, or is it just an overrated release? Read on for my review of Like A Virgin.

To put it in the simplest terms possible, this IS an overrated album (and I personally like the lesser-known debut better), but it's an album that deserves to be overrated. There were many female pop singers trying to make it big in the eighties, and Madonna was one of the few whose music was worthwhile. This is the album that put her in the spotlight, and rightfully so. The title track is arguably the biggest hit of her entire career. And, of course, that's not the only hit. We've also got Material Girl and Dress You Up, both of which became extremely popular. But, much like her first LP, some of the best tracks on Madonna's sophomore effort are the tracks that were never very popular at all. Angel and Over And Over had some minor popularity, but sadly, they never became as popular as the really popular tracks featured on the album. That's a shame, because these songs feature the kind of upbeat, bouncy pop music that only the eighties incarnation of Madonna could ever shell out. She even serves up a ballad, Love Don't Live Here Anymore. One of the most interesting songs on the album is Shoo-Be-Doo, because it's the perfect balance between a pop hit and a ballad. This goes to show just how excellent her music is. The closers, Pretender and Stay, tend to go overlooked, even by Madonna fans. That's bites, because they are VERY good songs. The fact that they were featured as single B-Sides doesn't help their reputation any, either. In the end, Madonna's sophomore album is a damn fine piece of eighties pop music.

THIS TEXT REFERS EXCLUSIVELY TO THE WARNER REMASTERS EDITION OF THE ALBUM. Many of Madonna's albums were recently rereleased as part of the Warner Remasters series of album reissues. The liner notes have been expanded, the sound quality has been improved, and bonus tracks have been added! In the case of the Like A Virgin album, you get extended dance remixes of two of the tracks! That's pretty cool. Too bad they didn't put bonus tracks like this on their Van Halen reissues...

Like A Virgin is the album that shot Madonna straight up to instant popularity, and rightly so. She has shelled out a number of excellent albums over the years, and this is among the finest. They don't call her the Queen of Pop for nothing! If you're a fan of Madonna or eighties pop music in general, don't hesitate to add this one to your collection.

No one can deny how huge this album was. It made Madonna a superstar, and it sunk its anchors into both the album and single bestseller charts. The title track was of course a huge hit and represents to me a cultural phenomenon. Material Girl had an even larger impact, and many would argue the song basically defined the decade of the 80s; it certainly helped shape the decade. Dress You Up was just a fun song with a great beat; as things turned out, it was to a certain extent prophetic because Madonna basically did dress up great multitudes of young admirers copying the Madonna look. Angel was another big hit, largely because it was so easy to relate to. Anyone who has ever had a crush on someone knows exactly what Madonna is singing about here. Over and Over also charted, I believe; it lacks the substance of the other songs on the album, but both the words and the energizing music do encourage you to keep going in the face of setbacks. Love Don't Live Here Anymore is the true gem on here, though. I kept expecting it to be released as a single because I really believed it would be a huge hit. Some parts of the album are a little sugary, but this song proved that Madonna did have substance and a talented voice. She packed real emotion and power into her lyrics, and I have always found the song to be well nigh heartbreaking. As for the remaining songs, Shoo-Be-Doo and Pretender are somewhat formulaic and lack pizzazz, but Stay is a song I have always liked quite a bit. It has an emotional quality that I find compelling; I could do without the "scoop scoop" choruses, but overall I find it a song of significant merit.

Not everyone will associate this album with a personal paradigm shift of great personal importance (which is how I view it), but when you get down to brass tacks, the album has more than its fair share of great songs which remain fun and vibrant all these years later. These songs still energize and inspire me, and Love Don't Live Here Anymore still captivates me. For those who discovered Madonna in the 90s or more recently, these songs may sound simplistic or perhaps immature, but I believe that the eternal spirit, magic, and unparalleled success of Madonna can be traced back to its very source in Like A Virgin.