Madonna

Madonna - One of the most eighties albums there ever was, but by Madonna, so much better than anybody else did it. In her debut, Madonna catapults us onto the dancefloor. It feels fresh, fun, and maybe not as meaningful as any of his later produce, but somebody who puts her all into the music. Unlike many artists - or sitcoms - who take a little while to settle in, Madonna instantly had the star power. Maybe not with lead single ‘Everybody’, which epitomises the album without doing anything to stand out from any other Pan’s People 1980s tosh. Back then, the sound would have been completely alien, prompting many pale imitators. Now, these songs act as a soundscape to a simpler time. Where the album shines is in the tracks we know so well, and is that because we have heard them so many times on Greatest Hits Radio? Maybe, or they might just be stone cold bangers. ‘Borderline’ is a beautiful tribute to seventies disco, paying homage, lyrically and sonically, to Donna Summer and Evelyn “Champagne” King. ‘Holiday’ is a reminder of a time where we could set our smartphones aside and relish in the disco ball. Such fun, with shadows of the legend that Madonna eventually became. 

Like a Virgin - The Queen of pop is born, as all the religious iconography and innuendo-led narratives that we know Madonna so well for finally begin to seep in. The title track is a brash, infectious and daring stride for an artist that could have easily gone down the Cyndi Lauper route of being pure girlish glitz and glamour. ‘Material Girl 'and ‘Dress You Up 'are more synonymous with that MO, and the rare tracks that one can put on when feeling down and they can cheer you up no matter your mood. A lot of the other tracks are nothing special, but relish the ecstasy of a moment, a feat so few artists nowadays, in the 21st century gloom and hyperpop of today’s scene, could attain. What you cannot knock is Nile Rodgers’ production. Madonna has always had an ear for the big producers, and always fits in with the sounds of the time, for better or worse. Tracks like Angel, an introduction to Madonna’s controversial relationship with Christian imagery, having a perfect 80s Pointer Sisters slash Sister Sledge slash other sisters sort of sound of the times. Her cover of Rose Royce’s Love Don’t Live Here Anymore is less remarkable. 

True Blue - Should we start by thinking about the amount of artists that probably would never existed if not for this album? There are bits in here that make you think of where Chappell Roan is now, or Sabrina Carpenter, or The Last Dinner Party. This is very much an album of a woman in love, with Sean Penn of all people, and feeding that into oozing, catching pop tracks. You really feel her growth here, particularly vocally, as those rich tones that came out briefly in ‘Angel’ in the previous album surface in full. ‘Papa Don’t Preach’ and ‘La Isla Bonita’ are indisputably incredible tracks, with the former making the best of the cheesy eighties pop factor that lesser contributions on the set like ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ and ‘Where’s the Party’ fall flat on. The cheese in those songs puts her on par with early Kylie, fun but not remarkable. ‘La Isla Bonita’ brings in latin and world pop, exemplifying Madonna’s versatility and broad horizons. ‘Open Your Heart’ is like something from the Labyrinth soundtrack. Meanwhile, ‘White Heat’ is a proper eighties stonker you can imagine everybody jollily dancing along to on Top of the Pops. 

Like a Prayer - Remember when all the kids knew this song and acted like it was the coolest thing ever, because of Deadpool and Wolverine. Well, probably because it is. Alongside Vogue, the title track of Madonna’s fourth release is iconic for very good reason. It stands up there with the best crafted pop singles of all time, alongside Girls Aloud’s Biology and David Bowie’s Heroes. You can agree to disagree, but you are wrong. Like a Prayer is literally angelic. It will always lift you up when you are down. This album was acclaimed because of that, and while it does stand up as being fun, it has dated as much as any of the previous ones, but brings some more cheesy eighties-ness for the last time. Most of the songs are overly long and quite forgettable, but when you listen closer, they bring some of her most personal and brash lyrics. Still, everybody loves it, and rightly so. It changed the face of pop. It changed Madonna from a legend, to a titan. So many came along and wanted to be her, but never had ‘it’, the pop factor. Is anything here as revelatory as the opening track? No, but you could never view it as anything except the top of its poppish, girlish game. 

Erotica - Listened to the PA version of this. Not sure if that made any impact, especially since the songs are so long. Nowadays, we are used to the big charting hits being two to three minutes long, which lots of people complain about, but all the best motown hits were also incredibly short (and Hit The Road Jack is 1:55). Short is sweet, and most of the songs on Erotica really do outstay their welcome. Saying that, it stands as Madonna’s most provocative and exciting album up to that point. The album came out in 1992, and you can tell she has benefited from stepping away a bit, and this is a great bridge between her 80s dance material and the more maverick nineties stuff. Although Madonna was always an icon for the queer community, this is the first album that truly embraces those themes, covering the HIV epidemic and homophobia. The title track is a truly exciting, daring, seductive set-up, to the point of almost being threatening: put your hands all over my body. It talks about taking people from behind, which is definitely the most explicit Madonna has been. But she was always great at riling the critics up. She owes a lot to the sounds of Neneh Cherry and Massive Attack here. On Deeper and Deeper, another song that gives it all away from the title, she even samples herself, with an extract from the lyrics of Vogue. Which only Sean Paul really does nowadays. No, I'm not comparing Madonna to Sean-de-Paul. As I write this, I'm relistening to Thief of Hearts, which gives you an impression of what you're in for if you haven't listened to Erotica before: “how many licks does it take?”, “you'll screw it, you'll fake it”, “which leg do you want me to break”...and the chorus is basically her crying out “bitch!”. Nobody else with such a phenomenal reputation would dare to create art like this. 

Bedtime Stories - Now, Erotica was not popular at all among Madonna fans, so she returned to a kind of status quo with her sixth record, and while less explicit and more subtle than its predecessor, it returns to a slightly less daring, risque landscape. The pop songs are admittedly much more pop-y, and the collaborations are unforeseen. For the title track, Madonna worked with Bjork, and you can tell. A really strong, properly quintessentially Madonna track, but sounds like something from ‘Debut’ too. It has a dreamy, nineties quality to it. It all both feels too safe and a criticism of things that play it too safe, acting as a response to all the criticism of Erotica and the projects that surround it. One track you cannot knock is Human Nature, which is an impeccable R&B track that proves quite how versatile Madonna is at moving with the times, as well as shaping them. Only Madonna could make a whole album and press tour about how much the critics hated what she did with her music, and get away with it. 

Ray of Light - Madonna’s best work. The title track is a culmination of everything Madonna is acclaimed for: catchy, dancefloor material, but also with a softness and unpredictability to it all. The album comes at an important time in Madonna’s life, approaching her forties, after the birth of her first child, and you can see that maturity, in the songs and the lyrics. Ray of Light is just gorgeous, especially when it sweeps from a disco number to a ballad midway through. So delicate and timeless, and if you are feeling down, put it on. It’s one of those that is impossible to feel sad when you listen to it. Substitute for Love is a slow-build opener but is a sublime demonstration of her journey, and certainly one of the best tracks on any of these albums. Frozen was the song that she came back with, and surprised everybody, because whereas Madonna usually tries to be brash and lude, this is so subtle and she really puts all her heart into every bit of this record. A sweeping, swirling masterpiece.