Madonna - Like a Virgin
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Free Music Notes for Like a Virgin
Free Music Review: The world's perfect album
Hit: 5 Stars
I am a fan of 'Like a Virgin' like Jesus Christ was a good man. I live for this album. I will be buried with this album. I have listened to this album at least three times a day for 22 years. The original release date of this album is my Christmas. I live only to listen to this album and worship the young Madonna who made it all possible. If only it was still the early eighties, if only I still had dreams that had a chance of coming true, if only my young Madonna would know who I am. I have broken down these songs with descriptions for you, kind reader. My words fall flat at accurately describing these wonderful songs, but I have done my best...
1. Material Girl - Ah, Madonna personifies the 80's attitude. Notice when the male chorus comes in how they sound like mindless robots. They have been stripped of their souls by the almighty dollar. This is Reaganomics at its best. Madonna knows true love will come one day, but she'll be rich and have fun along the way.
2. Angel - Oh how many times I rewound this song on my tapedeck late at night while I was in bed and the rest of the house was sleeping. Madonna's angelic voice makes this song so wonderful. "Oooooh...You're an Angel." I would play and sing this song all night until Madonna's sweet voice lulled me to sleep. The greatest thing I could imagine was for Madonna to slowly fly through my window and hover above me all in white while she sang this song to me.
3. Like A Virgin - No other title track in the history of music has ever equalled this. Like a Virgin is not only the world's most celebrated pop song, it is the best pop song. I used to dance behind a locked door in my bathroom while wearing my mother's underwear listening to this.
4. Over And Over - Madonna really lets loose on this one. It's a happy song that makes you oh so happy to be young and alive.
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore - Some would disagree, but I find this song to be the jewel of Madonna's entire career. The desperation in her voice has brought tears to my eyes while listening. How could anyone ever do this to our dear Madonna? Oh if only I had been Sean Penn in the 80's. I would have been her knight and she would have been the most beautiful damsel. I cannot write anymore about this song, I'm crying now and I have to finish this review.
6. Dress You Up - Custom suits made in London may be what dreams are made of. Madonna again gives us a pop attack that just will not let up. No matter how bad of a day I've had, or whatever the world throws at me, I fight back. I just hum 'Dress you Up' to myself and all my troubles go away. Its worked everytime for 22 years.
7. Shoo-Bee-Doo - Another beautiful song that makes me cry. I always imagained Madonna singing this to me as I sat in my dark closet. This song prevented me from commiting suicide at least 15 times. I would stare at the 'Like a Virgin' album cover and sing 'Shoo be doo be doo baby' as I kissed her photo.
8. Pretender - If there is one thing Madonna cannot stand or tolerate is posers. I have always lived my life so that Madonna could never accuse me of being a Pretender. I take this song religiously, because I know that one day Madonna will judge me and decide my fate in the hereafter. My only goal in life is to hear her say "You have done well".
9. Stay - A great closer and a wonderful new beginning to an album. After Madonna pleads 'Stay Stay please Stay Darling", how can you help but turn the record back over and listen to it again? If my life worked out the way I wanted to, I could have just spent my entire life locked up in a room listening to this album 'Over and Over again' with no worries, no responsibilities, and no problems.
Dear reader, as you finish this review, imagine me dancing and twirling away on a winding mist of crisp air while Madonna sings enchantedly in my heart and yours.
Free Music Review: Shiny and new
Hit: 5 Stars
Madonna's second release, "Like a Virgin," made her a superstar and moved her from pure dance to a more pop- and R&B-tinged sound. Released in 1984, everything about this CD is superb. Madonna's voice was much improved from her debut (although still a bit thin compared to her later vocals), and the production by Nile Rodgers is first-rate. The first single, "Like a Virgin," was a mega-smash, logging 6 weeks at #1; it would be 7 years before another song had that many weeks at #1 - Bryan Adam's "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You." The song even made the Top 10 on the R&B chart! At the time, the song was a bit scandalous but today it's pretty tame. However, anyway you look at it, "Like a Virgin" is a great pop song. The video was also her first high-budget effort; although her writhing in a Venice gondola and being seduced by a man in a lion's mask are more than a bit silly, it's also a gorgeous video.
Three subsequent singles were released and made the Top 5. "Material Girl" became an anthem of sort. The video may have featured an actress spurning the advances of a wealthy lothario in favor of a poor, truck-driving Keith Carradine, but the message of the song suggested the opposite - Madonna proudly proclaimed her love of fame and power. The song helped make Madonna the Marilyn Monroe of the 80s, and gave her the dreaded nickname she tried vainly to abandon for many years. The third single was a bit of a surprise to me - "Angel." It's a beautiful song, but not as catchy or immediate as a number of other songs on the CD. It peaked at #5. "Dress You Up" was the final release, making it to #5. Shockingly, the song was included in the "Filthy Fifteen" published by Tipper Gore's Parent Music Resource Center, presumably for the rather tame reference to "velvet kisses." It's a terrific pop song that's not the slightest bit profane.
"Love Don't Live Here Anymore" is another highlight - a lush remake of the Rose Royce 70s hit. I loved the song when "Like a Virgin" was initially released and wanted it released as a single. However, Madonna subsequently remixed the song and included it on her 1996 ballad collection (Something to Remember); the song was belatedly made the chart, although it sputtered out at #78. "Shoo-Bee-Doo" is another terrific song - it combines seamlessly a 60s girl group sound with 80s pop. Arguably the most dance-oriented song is "Over and Over," and it's very good. "Stay" has a great drum-loop unusual for a Madonna song. Finally, "Pretender" is arguably the weakest of the bunch, but still a pretty decent song.
Overall, the songs are much more diverse on "Like a Virgin" than on her first record, "Madonna." Her growth as an artist really started here and would continue over the next two decades. Although "Like a Virgin" is probably not Madonna's best CD, it ranks right up there, particularly if you like the more "pop" side of her music. Most highly recommended.
Free Music Review: The album that defined my adolescence
Hit: 5 Stars
There I was, a shy, geeky spendthrifty 14-year-old. Then along came Madonna and Like a Virgin. Suddenly, I was a total Madonna addict, listening to this album religiously every day, buying every silly teen mag that even mentioned her, and--to the horror of my parents--covering all of my walls with Madonna posters. No other album has ever had such a influence on me. I was still shy and geeky, of course, but I was a changed person. Over the years, my Madonna worship waned but never disappeared. Going back and listening to this CD now, I am amazed at how great it sounds, and I enjoy the memories it stirs inside of me.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.
Free Music Review: Like A Virgin, Like A Classic
Hit: 5 Stars
Madonna has had many great albums, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, True Blue, the list goes on and on yet, none overcome the superb album of Like A Virgin. With 3 #1 hits (Material Girl, Like A Virgin, and Dress You Up) this album shouldn't be underrated because of it's title. With pop ballads such as "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," and "Shoo-Bee-Doo," and rock hard synthesizer beats of, "Pretender," and "Angel," this album holds some of her best work to date. This cd is a mere 50 minutes of great 80's music. Songs on album:
1)Material Girl 9/10 -- A classic song with a very catchy beat, everyone knows it! The song about a girl who doesn't want just jewelery and cars but, actual love. Music video is a classic, and is an all time favorite at her concerts.
2)Angel 9.5/10 -- This song suprised me when i first heard it. Vocals in this song are very vibrant with very cool effects. I especially like the dose of funk that was put in this song.
3)Like A Virgin 10/10 -- What is there to say about this song? One of the songs that would make Madonna a household name. Who new a simple song with simple sounds could go such a long way? This is one of my personal favorites on the album.
4)Over and Over 8/10 -- This song had a very cool sound to it. Reasons why I didnt like the song were because Madonna sounds very tired during the song. And its VERY repetitive (I Get Up Over and Over, I Get Up Over and Over..."
5)Love Don't Live Here Anymore 10/10 -- One of my favorite ballads from Madonna (besides Crazy For You and Bad Girl)It's got a very spicy and mysterious beat. Very orginal and Madonna sounds absolutley amazing and fresh.
6)Dress You Up 11/10 -- An amazingly done song with a great beat. The guitar solo is astounding. This one will make you get up and dance the whole night through. This song is worth the price of the cd.
7)Shoo-Bee-Doo 7/10 -- A very slow song in the beginning which eventually leads into a semi-upbeat song. I don't recommend listening to this song untill you have listened to the whole album first. It's probably the most disappointing song on the cd. But, the saxaphone solo is hot.
8)Pretender 10/10 -- Much like "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar, this song is about a man who didn't really love Madonna. Very catchy chorus (He's A Pretender, You Meet Him Everyday, He's A Pretender, The fish that got away...)
9)Stay 8.5/10 -- A good closing to the cd yet, it isn't superb it still has a very good beat and is good to dance to.
Overall this album is a 9.2/10. Highly recommended to anyone that likes the 80's Pop genre of music.
Free Music Review: This one shot her to superstardom.
Hit: 5 Stars
What do I like so much about this CD? For starters, Madonna unleashed what (very) little apprehension she may have had left in her from her first CD and just let it fly. The "Like A Virgin" CD is a non-stop assault of great music, great singing, and loads of attitude, the latter of which really is Madonna's strength. The title song and "Material Girl" are testimonials to that fact. Madonna let the world know she made no pretense of where she was coming from and gave us some outstanding dance club staples in the process. "Angel" and "Dress You Up" are of the same vein - confident songs of desire dressed up in irresistable rythmns and beats. This is real "loud as you can bear it" music, be it at home or in your car, as long as those around you can stand it. "Shoo-Bee-Doo" give us as much vocal range, as much passion, with a simpler pace and approach and is emblematic of future Madonna songs. But while all the aforementioned songs are outstanding Madonna staples, my favorites on this CD (which is still my favorite CD by Madonna), and probably two of my favorite Madonna songs overall are "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "Over and Over" - two almost diametrically opposing tunes. "Love" is a song of heartbreak and "now what do I do-ism", while "Over" is an inspirational tune that goes right next to, say, Joe Jackson's "Go For It" in that "pick yourself up by your bootstraps" category. There's very little wasted space on this CD. "Like A Virgin" gave us a more well rounded Madonna. It was also a time when Madonna still relied more on an actual band. You remember those - bass, guitar, drums, things her more current music pushes aside for more electonically programmed sounds, not that I'm averse to her more current sounds. But to me this was Madonna at her purest, her most creative, her sexiest - when she was more tantalizing and suggestive than the in your face raunchiness of her "Erotica" days. To be fair though, in her "Virgin" years, she was still considered quite provocative. She would continue to push the envelope in future albums - more with each release, perhaps setting the standard for the pathetic luridness of say the J-LOs and Brittany's of their own time. But, hey, evolution exists in all aspects of life. One other reason I like this particular CD is that it was her first major tour and I was fortunate to see her, along with a very little known opening act named The Beastie Boys, who would conveniently get booed off the stage as well as incite chants from puzzled Madonna look-a-likes such as, "White rappers? You gotta be kidding me!". Get this CD and see how it's done by self determined talent, not assembly lined products.