LADY GAGA
The Fame Monster
(UMA) A+

There’s something about Lady Gaga. Something so remarkably captivating and enthralling that, in the last few weeks, it’s been hard to escape her spell. If you’ve seen the truly outstanding video clip for new single ‘Bad Romance’, you’ll be aware of how much further Gaga has raised the proverbial pop bar when it comes to music video clips. For years we’ve tolerated a lazier blend of film clips from our pop stars; that’s not to say they’ve ALL been lazy, but they’ve certainly all had their moments. And that’s the whole point. From the begining, Gaga has been nothing short of incredibly interesting to watch. The persona, (or rather, the Gaga Enigma) that she has drummed up over the last 16 to 18 months has been truly fascinating. A piece of art-work in progress for everyone to see.

Even if you aren’t taken by her perfect-pop-hooks or incredibly styled video clips, you can’t deny that the creation that is Lady Gaga has changed the current pop climate. And the long-awaited pseudo-sophomore follow-up to last years The Fame, titled The Fame Monster, wipes the floor clean with every other album perched in the charts right now.

Birthing only 8 tracks, The Fame Monster makes up in quality for its quantity issue. First single, the Eurovision homaging ‘Bad Romance’ continues to get better with each listen; its primal chorus and searing shouts from Gaga provide a hungry backdrop of desperation – particularly in the rather full-on but equally as moving line “I wan’t your love, I don’t wanna be friends…” To top it off, the middle-8 is insanely good, and the final one minute and seventeen seconds are some of the greatest closing moments in ANY song of the last 10 years. It’s gorgeous, tragic, sad, energetic, animalistic, passionate, and very definitely the song of the year.

Gaga pushes the Lady Schlager boundaries even further with more Eurovision-esque stompers in the form of ‘Dance In The Dark’, an industrial-goth disco track that combines a gigantic chorus with one of Gaga’s most uplifting riffs to date, complete with a Madonna Vogue/Express Yourself homaging talky-bit where she coos “Marilyn, Judy, Sylvia… Tell ‘em how you feel girls… Find your freedom in the music, find your Jesus, find your Kubrick”, whilst ‘Alejandro’ brings the 1990’s to the naughties in seamless fashion; a semi-central motif through the record.

Continuing with the unrivaled passion, ‘Monster’ is one of the greatest 1980’s pop songs that never was actually from the 1980’s. “He ate my heart; that boy is a monster” she sings with such tortured conviction – all through a vocoder. The deceptive ‘So Happy I Could Die’, a stand-out highlight, comes along with its marching band leanings, and takes that mid-tempo ballad feel of the 1990’s and gives it a proper, exciting new lease of life. This is divine electropop at its finest. Then, the only conventionally proper ballad on the album, ‘Speechless’, although sounding a little out of place on the record, serves as a classy piano-led affair (much like her often overlooked yet genius ‘Brown Eyes’ from the first album) that, after the first listen, warms on you instantly. ‘Teeth’, which seems to be leaving some feeling a little cold (I’ve no idea why), manages to do in just over three minutes what Christina Aguilera tried to do – and failed in trying – over a 2 bloody disc CD. That’s how you do it Bitch. To top it all off, “Teeth” sounds like a classy re-rub of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” in places, particularly through the chorus.

One of the most interesting moment on The Fame Monster is Gaga’s collaboration with Beyonce, ‘Telephone’. If you’re looking for a proper club-banger on Monster, then this is it. Like the hotter, younger sister to Gaga’s debut ‘Just Dance’, this is the next single and rightly so; it’s an immediate stand-out on here. Beyonce’s rap sits comfortably; it sounds like it BELONGS to her whilst still very much being Gaga’s vehicle. And what a bloody chorus…

Without a doubt, as the lovely Will Wongster said in his ace review, this is 2009’s answer to 1984’s ‘Like A Virgin.’ Gaga’s been compared to Madonna since the beginning. And whilst taking a quick glance at her portfolio of work taken from that debut album, it can actually be a bit puzzling as to where such claims came from. But then again; there always HAS been that something about her. Whether it was humping a blow-up whale in the ‘Just Dance’ video, or using Eric from True Blood in the ‘Paparazzi’ clip, it’s always been evident that there is a swag more determination and drive running through Gaga’s veins than any of the pop stars vying for our attention at the moment. It’s that drive and ambition some would say they used to see in a young(er) Madonna…

Lady GaGa really is the second coming; possibly even the next generations answer to a Madonna or a Debbie Harry. Pop’s BIGGEST hope at the moment and the only artist who is bringing something fresh and original to the table. Whilst Madonna goes off and works with tired Urban producers (that said, boy did I love Hard Mandy), Gaga’s managed to do what Madonna USED to do; putting unique pop music at the top of the American charts. “Look at that; a white girl singing pop music on the tele mom!!” All of a sudden, everyone wants to work (and is) with RedOne.

She treats her fans with respect which is a lot more than you can say for Britney or, even so of late, Madonna. She is loyal and cares about her fans, and in return, she has a very, very strong fan base – probably more loyal than any other artist in the charts now. And that’s because she has proper pop smarts; she knows what her ‘Little Monsters’ want from her as an artist and, in return, they offer her undying love and eternal devotion. THAT’S how you work a crowd.

Fuck what she looks like; it’s not about what she looks like any more because she’s proven well enough now that there is more to her than just an odd face. It’s interesting to see a lot of hatred spread about Gaga via the internet regarding her image, her bodyweight; a lot of women in particular seem to be the instigators of said volatile attacks. Just like Madonna through the 80’s and 90’s, Gaga’s biggest critics seem to be women. It’s quite frustrating when a strong woman comes along in the pop world, it’s usually the Women who hate on them. It’s an awful reflection on the way society pins women up against other women in all aspects of life, not just pop music, and the way some Women can, unfortunately, do it to each other.

This is a proper, bonafide pop star who is not going anywhere any time soon. She is also the first person that has made me question Madonna’s current stance in the pop climate. Although technically The Queen of Pop (overall), she’s certainly not the CURRENT Queen of Pop, is she? And Gaga is too fierce in her convictions to be saddled off into a Princess of Pop tag. That’s not the work of a Princess; that’s the work of a Queen; MAYBE in Training, which is where the Princess tag should come in… But it just doesn’t suit her, does it? A Queen in Training who seems to be trailblazing her way through the charts (and hearts) with proper, catchy pop music.

Read my 1.5 year old interview with Gaga >> here …
UPDATE: Read Brad from MuuMuse’s ACE ACE ACE review here…

THE SATURDAYS
Wordshaker
(FASCINATION) B+

The Saturdays’ debut album, Chasing Lights, took a while to grow on me but once it did, I found it quite hard to turn off.  As I said though, it wasn’t always smooth sailing and I actually thought I hated these girls at one point; with that first album, I spent a few weeks unsure of how I felt about it AND the Girls themselves. However, upon initial listen to their sophomore, Wordshaker, it’s easy to pick this is an instant flavour-fix of some of the best pop music money can buy. This is already a huge step-up from the debut album which didn’t feel as instantly catchy as this follow up has.

First single ‘Forever Is Over’ was co-written by James Bourne (formerly of Busted and Son Of Dork), and is an up-front rock-infused pop number that takes the girls out of their public comfort zone; it’s something incredibly different to what we’re used to hearing from them and, say what you will about the actual song, it’s good to see they’re attempting to move forward, in an age when most pop acts are just happy to stay where they are. I know a lot of people aren’t too fussed by this single (nor was I), but it is an absolute grower with one of the best single covers this side of ‘09.

‘Ego’, which is easily the best track on the album (and maybe their best overall?), comes complete with a chorus so glittery it would make Rachel Stevens (or the people behind her ace 2005 album Come & Get It, anyway) proud. It’s by far-and-away the most pop-forward moment on the record, and one that would sit quite comfortably on Australian radio waves. ‘Wordshaker’ follows suit; big chorus with huge electronic glees shimmering over it. The second best moment here.

‘One Shot’ has a demonic urgency seeded through its chorus and proves to be another defining moment on the album, but – sadly – things take a turn for the worst on ‘No One’ and ‘Denial’, both of which are huge steaming piles of shit. ‘2 a.m.’ should go into that pile too, but somehow it actually manages to sound all kinds of great, whilst still actually being Very Terrible. Go figure.

‘Here Standing’ is a gorgeous ballad with an epic build-up and some interesting beat-canons let off sporadically through the song.  On a similar tip, there’s one track on the record which credits all five girls as songwriters called ‘Deeper’ and – shock horror – it’s not rubbish!

It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s a vast improvement on the last record. There’s an obvious step-forward from their first album on here and, thankfully, they seem to really pull it off. The vocals seem to be a little more spread-out between the other members this time too, thankfully.

An excellent second move on the Chessboard of Pop from The Saturdays.

CHERYL COLE
3 Words
(UNIVERSAL) B

So here it is. The first member of Girls Aloud to venture off into the world of the Solo Album. Whilst the five-piece are still that (for now), they’ve taken a year off to focus on solo projects; Nadine’s apparently recording a camp disco-stomper with a song written by Paula Abdul, Sarah Harding’s making movies with Doctor WHO’s David Tennant, Nicola Roberts is being head-hunted by Vivienne Westwood for a new clothing campaign, and Kimberley… well, I’m sure Kimberley’s enjoying her cups of tea on the balcony almost as much as she enjoys watching Chezz on the telle for Sunday nights X-Factor (Hopefully she’s stoned the whole way through because… actually, let’s face it, she probably is, so I might just move on.)

It’s no surprise though that Cheryl Cole would be the first to release a solo album. Although all bets were on Coyle, I’m sure Cole wanted to beat the other four to the punch in order to be remembered as the first to do it, perhaps. X Factor Judge, Tabloid-adored WAG, Girl Aloud, and now; Solo Artist. But can the music on her first long player match her sometimes inflated ego? There seems to be a little bit of proof in this pudding…

3 WORDS (featuring will.i.am)
Cheryl’s previously worked with will.i.am, so it’s no surprise she’s roped him in for her debut. Wise move too; however annoying you might find the Black Eyed Pea, this is proof he’s capable of penning some seriously good pop music. Think BEP’s “I Gotta Feeling”, but if it were actually good. VERY epic breakdowns, this is a heavenly way to open things. Also the next single.

PARACHUTE
Heavy, dramatic marching band happenings with a brilliant middle-8. There’s some hidden brass in there as well, and the final 30 seconds are somewhat magical. The biggest, brightest moment on 3 Words but, quite tellingly, the saddest Cheryl sounds on here.

HEAVEN (featuring will.i.am)
Another will.i.am moment on the record, it’s interesting to note that this is the first song whose verses are structured together more like it was written for a group of, oh, say, five girls? It’s a bit all over the place to be honest and the chorus is fairly aggravating, but underneath there is actually something decent here.

FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE
The first single, and the second best moment on the record. This is a straight-up, urban-pop song that even has a Shannon ‘Let The Music Play’/Debbie Deb ‘When I Hear Music’ 1980’s dancefloor feel to it. Hey X Factor performance of this was off the hook. View.

RAIN ON ME
SOMEONE CALL RONSON! COLE’S FOUND THE HORN SECTION!! But in all seriousness, this is World Class pop right here; there are elements of 1970’s soul and 1990’s urban-pop. The latter actually seems to be a distant motif through 3 Words, actually; there are a LOT of 1990’s elements through the record, just in time for this inevitable nineties comeback we’re due for any day now. “What’s the price of Thunder? Rain on me.” Amazing. It sounds nothing like her though.

MAKE ME CRY
Cheryl turns to disco-funk, and rips into a bit of swearing too along the way! Great track, though some might complain about the repetitiveness of the chorus. It is an initial weakness, but one you do grow to love after a few listens. This felt like album filler for the first few days but is now vying for the title of being my favourite on 3 Words.

HAPPY HOUR
There’s nothing particularly wrong with this – but – song content and pitch of Cole’s voice; is she trying to be Amy Winehouse or something? BUT SINGING ABOUT LOVE AS IF IT WERE THE DRIP. Bit of a bore, this one – not offensive but not really all that good either.

STAND UP
Written for Cole by Taio Cruz, there’s every chance this could be the third single. BONZA chorus that sounds like it could have Cruz on backing vocals. All kinds of brilliant, a highlight, even if it doesn’t sound anything like Cheryl for most of it. I like to sing “Coz I came here to dance, I’m gonna pull up my pants and stand up! Stand up!” during the chorus. Try it; works better.

DON’T TALK ABOUT THIS LOVE
I gave this a bit of a hard time in my print review, but I’ve since changed my mind and actually think it’s quite lovely. Sorry Cheryl; please don’t strike me and call me a Jigaboo.

BOY LIKE YOU (featuring will.i.am)
Sampling Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies”, it all just sounds like a bunch of noise by the end of it, and the rent-a-rapper-feel of will.i.am’s delivery just makes this all the harder to sit through. Phoned in much?

HEARTBREAKER (will.i.am featuring Cheryl Cole)
This has aged surprisingly well, hasn’t it?

THE VERDICT…
3 Words seems to have slightly suffered from a time restriction. There are a lot of really interesting ideas on this record, and a few songs which are perfect from start to finish, but there are a handful of songs that could have been absolute stompers, but appear to sound somewhat half-finished. And it’s those songs that, unfortunately, are the ones which feel like they were the most rushed. The singles are identifiable, absolutely, and there are golden album-only moments on it, but overall, 3 Words could have really been a bit better, and maybe released before Christmas, rather than October. It would have been interesting to see where Cole could have taken the album had she been given an extra two months to work on it, particularly with the obvious 1990’s urban-pop and 1980’s electronica inspired moments sprinkled across the disc. Everything is here for this to be a truly momentus record, but it just comes down to it only being a half-finished album in a few of its tracklisting placements.

That said, I still haven’t stopped listening to selected highlights from it all week, so go figure.

Read Talia’s ace review, and Mr Discopop’s equally as brill one (I love the Parachute summary. Amazing.)

EDIT. The album INSTANTLY went from a B- to a solid B with the following amended tracklisting:

01. Parachute
02. Fight For This Love
03. Rain On Me
04. Stand Up
05. 3 Words
06. Make Me Cry
07. Heaven
08. Happy Hour
09. Boy Like You
10. Crazy Fool (GA solo-Cheryl b-side)
11. Heartbreaker (will.i.am ft. Cheryl)
12. Don’t Talk About This Love
13. Didn’t I (FFTL b-side)

See? Much better!

MADONNA
True Blue
(SIRE/WARNER) B+

This, her third record, was the album Madonna dedicated to her (then) husband, actor Sean Penn, who she called “the coolest guy in the universe” within this LP’s liner notes. It’s also the album some have been known to say is the record which helped cement Madonna as a pop force to be reckoned with. Interestingly, looking back at True Blue now, it’s about 80% hit, 20% miss, with those miss moments aging rather poorly. Thankfully, the 80% hit portion of this long player really made up for what was lacking in that other 20.

Five near-perfect singles would come from this, Madonna’s 1986 follow up to Like A Virgin, True Blue. The first, one of the greatest pop ballads of all time, Live To Tell, came complete with a new look Madonna; fresh faced and recently married, Ciccone traded in her crucifixes and bracelets for a classic, cleaner look, paying homage to the blonde starlets of the 1950’s silverscreen. Singing of deceit and betrayal, Madonna, deeper than ever before, coos the words: “A man can tell a thousand lies, I’ve learned my lesson well, hope I live to tell the secret I knew then…/The truth is never far behind, you kept it hidden well… But perhaps the strongest lyrics in the song belong to The light that you could never see, it shines inside you can’t take that from me.” It would be 18 years before she would indirectly pay homage to that very lyric, in the final few seconds of American Life’s X-Static Process. Live To Tell was the worlds first glimpse into a maturing Madonna – at the age of 27, the Material Girl had turned into a Modern Woman.

And then, just to show she really meant business, Madonna went and chopped all her hair off…

Papa Don’t Preach, whose video clip was the second time Madonna would completely reinvent her image in the public eye, serves as a particularly memorable moment from not only True Blue, but also Madonna’s career. The track, dealing with the sordid topic of Teenage Pregnancy (it was 1986, let’s not forget that), coupled with its subtle pro-life message took Madonna into new levels of controversy. She was older, wiser, and had more to say than she had before; True Blue didn’t just do a good job of making Madonna look mature, it completely re-evaluated the public opinion of her as a singer; she finally sounded mature. No more Minnie-Mouse-on-helium vocal strains, but a more natural and comfortable sounding Madonna whose voice, at the time, was at its absolute best.

Would you believe that it wasn’t up until recently (literally about 3 weeks ago) that I developed an appreciation for Open Your Heart, a song which I’d always thought was a bit of a bore? But listen to those lyrics… maybe I didn’t understand or could identify with what she was banging on about in 1986, but I certainly do now; “Open your heart to me, baby, I’ll hold the lock and you hold the key/I’ll give you love if you, you turn the key/One is such a lonely number.”

That said, my two favourite moments on the record lie with La Isla Bonita [watch the AMAZING Drowned World Tour performance of it here] (the first time Madonna would implement her obsession with all things Spanish into not just ANY pop song, but one of THE best in history), and the adorable True Blue. The latter, a dance-pop hybrid which paid homage to the influential girl groups of the 1960’s (and was written by Madonna with her hubby Penn in mind), saw the popster sing about there being “No more sadness, I kiss it goodbye, the sun is bursting right out of the sky, I’ve searched the whole world for someone like you… don’t you know, don’t know baby/This time I know it’s true love, you’re the one I’m dreaming of, love fits just like a glove/and I’m gonna be, True Blue, baby I love you.”

Album tracks such as White Heat and Where’s The Party have (surprisingly) aged incredibly well, but the album closers; Jimmy Jimmy and Love Makes The World Go Round, two of my favourites when the album actually came out, sound about as exciting and listenable as a Bullet For My Valentine record. Jimmy Jimmy, although playful, sounds somewhat embarassing, and although the message in Love Makes The World Go Round is something you could applaud, the cracks in production certainly prevent anything of the sort. And to think, that was supposed to be the records first single!

Obviously love played a major part in the creation of True Blue. Named after her hubby, dedicated to him, songs spilling with themes of romance… almost picture perfect. But the music depicted the opposite of what would occur. Penn’s temper would get the best of him, and eventually, the Poison Penn’s (as Madonna and Sean were dubbed by the press), were to call it a day. True Blue? No more.

One failed marriage down the gurgler. What would become of Madonna’s art, particularly now that she had portrayed an older, wiser approach to her songs and lyrics?

At this point, no one had any idea what was to come next, or how forceful Madonna’s next move was going to be…

I’m taking a (very small) break from the website. I’ll be back on Monday, I just need some time away, but I promise it’s not going to be like the month-upon-month break of last time.

I’m going to leave you with my review of the Florence + The Machine album, Lungs. I started the final draft of this review yesterday but, after life reared itself smack-bang in the middle of penning it, I decided to scrap it.

This truly majestic record deserves a lot more than that though. Reality bites; if it weren’t for the trials and tribulations of reality, Lungs would not exist. And I am definitely a better person with its existence. For anyone who is in love, for anyone who has felt love before, or to anyone who knows what it feels like to have your heart broken, this review has been written for you, once again; with my heart on my sleeve.

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Lungs
(ISLAND/UMA) A+

Love, loss, fury, death. Welcome to Lungs, where matters of the heart take the wheel.

This phenomenal debut does more than just meet the hype. It excels from start to finish as a mindblowing love story. Florence Welch is not some Kate Bush carbon copy. Florence and her machine are the very real deal; this woman has been to hell and back and is going to tell the world.

I identify really well with that kind of person.

This record has the ability to break your heart on one track, then ultimately repair it again by the next. Lungs is not too dissimilar to being in love; there are moments of pure joy, absolute depression, dark sadness and wonderment. And that’s what makes it such a precious record. It is life. It’s passionate, fiery and, above all else, incredibly honest.

The beating of drums play a big part on Lungs; between two lungs, there is a heart, and it beats harder than anything you could imagine. There is a consistent heartbeat flowing through the album which, with every listen, I find my heart beating along to, in unison. Which is perhaps why Drumming Song, the current single, is my absolute favourite on the record.  The song may have been written about incidents involving Welch’s ex-boyfriend, but it’s all up for interpretation. Listen to the lyrics. You can’t tell me that this drumming noise is something other than her heart beating, beating hard and fast. Whether it be a broken love, unrequited love, or a love on hold, the lyrics resonate with me more than any other I’ve heard this year.  She sings There’s a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you’re around, I swear that you could hear it, it makes such an almighty sound/As I move my feet towards your body, I can hear this beat, it fills my head up and gets louder… I guess everyone can associate with that feeling. It fills me up with hope but at the same time rips my heart in two. It’s a fine line between pleasure and pain, and that’s what is so magnificent about this album and its lyrics.

One particular lyric on Blinding, my second favourite on the record, sticks out quite fiercely. No more dreaming of a girl so in love with the wrong world. I’m not exactly sure I need to follow that up with anything, the line speaks for itself.

Between Two Lungs, possibly the most stunning song written about a kiss, is about as gorgeous (without tragedy) as it gets on Lungs, the gregorian chants of Cosmic Love are haunting and somewhat soul paralyzing, and the drama of iTunes bonus track Swimming chills me to the core. Howl is incredible but somehow manages to turn itself into an even better song by the 2-minute-onward mark, and current Aussie single Raise It Up (Rabbit Heart) comes complete with an explosive chorus, where Welch sings of sacrifice; This is a gift, it comes with a price. Who is the lamb and who is the knife?

There are moments of complete anger and violent behaviour on here which, when you think about it, is exactly the kind of thing you want on an honest record about a love coming to an end. Opener Dog Days Are Over, although highlighting what appears to be a serious domestic violence issue, is the kind of song that celebrates freedom; the dog days are over, it’s time to rejoice – hell is no more. Girl With One Eye sees Florence, er, cut out a girls eye for daring to touch her man, whilst Kiss With A Fist is the kind of thing Courtney Love would be keen on (remember He Hit Me, And It Felt Like A Kiss?). Hurricane Drunk details the kind of things that perhaps are going on in my head at the moment; I’m going out, I’m gonna drink myself to death. And in the crowd I see you with someone else. I brace myself, because I know it’s going to hurt. But I like to think at least things can’t get any worse. I hope so Florence. I really hope so.

Florence Welch doesn’t do love in halves. When Welch falls, she falls hard. It’s evident throughout a lot of songs on this incredible record. I guess that’s why I’ve identified with Lungs and Florence as an artist so much. Finally, someone understands my heavy heart.

As someone who wears his heart on his sleeve too easily and continues to experience heartbreak after heartbreak, I guess Lungs works on so many levels for me because Welch is singing what, a lot of the time, I am feeling. Much like Erik Hassle’s debut (read my review of that here), this is a magnificently precious record; tormentingly beautiful, stunningly traumatic. And after all of the heartbreak Florence went through, it’s nice to hear her and the man who inspired most of these songs are actually now back together.

It’s things like that which make me hold on to that tiny glimmer of hope that, maybe, just maybe, someday love will prevail all and find its way into my life too.

MADONNA
Like A Virgin
(SIRE/WARNER) A

In 1984, a young Madonna writhed around the stage at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards, panties and garter-belt in full view, debuting her racey new single Like A Virgin to a shocked audience of her peers. It was the beginning of an often beautiful (and messy) relationship between Madonna and Controversy. Madonna and Controversy; They just seem to fit so well together. Yet, at the time little did anyone know that in years to come, this very woman would release a coffee table collectors book called Sex, or that she would adopt an entire country of orphaned children and have them stay at hers. There was no way to predict any of that. Yet critics were incredibly interested in predicting the pop starlets future based on this record alone.

Interestingly, at the time of release, critics were harsh about Madonna’s sophomore album and reluctant to give her too much praise. Comparing her to Cyndi Lauper, Madonna was slated for her image and her voice, with one critic likening her pipes to “Minnie Mouse on helium,” with several others labeling her a “one hit wonder.” But 25 years later, Madonna’s predicted “one hit” has turned into over 80 of them, and there are now a couple of music writers who will go down in the history books as the journalists who, in plain black and white, are on record as stating she would never make it.

Like A Virgin was a strong and important reinvention for the career of Madonna. The record still held onto the future Queens obsession with dance music and club culture, heavily embedding those roots into modern day pop songs, all with the production help of disco-survivor, Chic’s Nile Rogers. And although it may not sound as fresh or relevant to todays club circuit as the debut does, Like A Virgin still packs a mighty influential punch, even if, at times, it heavily reflects a quintessential 80’s feel.

The lead single (and title track) catapulted Madonna into a league of her own. Listening to Madonna coo “oooh, feels so good inside” for the first time towards the end of the track remains a poignant moment in my life that I would only ever understand in years to come. She sounded so… vulnerable still at this point. Hungry, determined, but still a little vulnerable, which is perhaps why critics were so harsh.

The follow up single, the cheeky and often-referenced Material Girl, saw Madonna pay homage to Marilyn Monroe’s performance of Diamond’s Are A Girls Best Friend in its video clip, whilst the glittering Dress You Up saw her using fashion and couture as a metaphor for love. The frantic jolts of the spiky Over & Over could still, some 25 years later, destroy a dance floor with fiery feet, whilst both Angel (a rip-snorter pop moment) and the stunning Shoo-Bee-Doo (a picturesque ballad) stand the test of time, with the formers middle-8 providing some of the records best love lyrics (I believe that dreams come true, coz you came when I wished for you, this just can’t be coincidence, the only way that this makes sense is that; oooh, you’re an angel), whilst the latter’s deal with a love on hold; When I look in your eyes, baby here’s what I see. I see so much confusion, and it’s killing me/I can see you’ve been hurt before, but don’t compare them to me. Coz I can give you so much more, you know you’re all I see.

But perhaps the absolute best moment on Like A Virgin is its double-shot finale; Pretender and Stay. I’ll make him dance with me, I’ll make him tell me why he’s a pretender she sings, before a euphoric middle-8 erupts in which Madonna demands: Don’t say that I am blind; I know all about your kind. Well, Quite.

Stay, which I distinctly remember as being my absolute favourite from the album as a child, may sound about as dated as it actually is, but there’s really something undeniably exciting about it. In particular, that incredible talky-bit during the middle-8. In fact, all these years on, there’s still something undeniably exciting about this whole record.

With Madonna circa the 1980’s, nothing was predictable. You couldn’t say what she was going to do next because, frankly, who saw any of it coming? The element of surprise has definitely been a move Madonna’s often worked well with, and Like A Virgin is a true testament to that. Judging by the debut record, Madonna could have gone complete club-roots for record number two, and instead she reinvented herself as a dance-floor friendly, pop music princess. It was the first (but definitely not the last) time we’d really seen this chameleon change its colour right before our very eyes.

During the first album, Madonna told journalists she wanted to “rule the world.” At this point in her career, she was one record away from doing just that. Upon Like A Virgin’s arrival, the Queen of Pop had also well and truly arrived.

> This is the second installment of the Madonna retrospective. Read my review of Mo’s debut album here.

MADONNA
Madonna
(SIRE/WARNER) A+

As far as debut albums go, there are none quite as majestic or truly magical as Madonna’s 1983, self-titled debut. Before Madonna blitzed the world in a pink leotard on Confessions On A Dance Floor, she inaugurated her star into the pop realm with this dance-floor-heavy coming-out. A truly self-assured star was well and truly born, and it was a sight to behold.

Off the back of two spikey singles, Everybody and Burning Up, the album Madonna (the only time in history it has been okay to self-title an album because, let’s face it, this album could ONLY have ever displayed text that simply read that name) proved to be a timeless collection of my favourite type of music. To quote Popjustice, it’s a record which is Dance Music that sounds like Pop Music/Pop Music that sounds like Dance Music. The first single, Everybody, is an actual true testament to the ‘timeless’ tag so many liberally throw around these days. As recently as four weeks ago, I heard Everybody being played in a nightclub full of ‘hip young things’ (hem hem), and it sounded as fresh and vibrant as it did back during its inception. What made me even happier was, looking to the dance floor, packed, with kids aged 18 – 23 dancing their arses off; to Madonna’s debut single. It’s a moment so special to me that I had to document it in this review. Amazingly, I now hear the song out almost weekly and, naturally, this makes it one of her most inspired singles.

The same goes for Physical Attraction, though (criminally) never a single, is possibly in her Top 10 greatest as well. The longest running track on the album; clocking in at 6:40 (interestingly, most of the songs on the record are quite lengthy compared to todays standard), Physical Attraction is a pure disco dance floor romper that catapults you into musical bliss. Brilliantly, the lyrics are that of romance, the burning desire to be in love. It’s that chemical reaction, she squeaks. It had all the elements of a proper disco song; it made you want to dance and the singer was a woman in love. What’s so genius about that (and Madonna) is that this was a time when Disco was the last thing on peoples minds. And yet, Madonna, a middle class girl from Detroit, Michigan, reinvented the way people would listen to music in the future by giving them just that. Whatever you say about her music now, that is something no critic can take away from her.

Burning Up remains a big favourite amongst fans, and rightfully so. The single is one of her danciest moments (still), and sits comfortably with a crowd whether you’re at an 80’s themed party, or a dark, sweaty nightclub. Seeing Madonna in the singles video clip, on a road as she sings Do you wanna see me down on my knees? Bending over backwards now, would you be pleased? I’m not the others I’d do anything; I’m not the same, I have no shame – I’m on fire! was a sure-fire iconic moment. Never has she looked sexier and, more to the point, been so forthright. The lyrics may have been about a violently burning desire to engulf someone, but they also told the world that Madonna herself was not like the others. Because she would do anything. And that is why she is the icon she is today. A pinnacle pop moment; things only get bigger however.

Arguably Madonna’s biggest song, Holiday (Into The Groove would probably be its only competition when it comes to a general public consensus I would imagine), is not one of my favourites at all. It’s one of my least favourite Madonna songs actually, though that’s not to say I hate it. She’s just had better days than Holiday (like, hey, Burning Up!) and it annoys me that people think THAT’S an iconic image of her. I mean, for Gods sake – it didn’t even have a proper video clip!!!

But Borderline, another big single from the record, is one that I love deeply, and is very possibly also in her Top 10 of all time; lyrics about love going/feeling wrong (Something in your eyes is making such a fool of me/Stop driving me away/Just try to understand, I’m giving all I can, but you got the best of me; Borderline. Feels like I’m going to lose my mind, you just keep on pushing my love, over the Borderline), and an incredibly massive finish (the da-da-dada, da-da-dada, daaaa-daaaa-daaaaauuuhh bit STILL sends shivers up, down, and through my body every time I hear it), with one of her best video clips ever featuring her greatest fashion accessory; that bloody hat, I want one. Lucky Star, although not my favourite of Madonna songs, is a delightful pop thumper with an iconic chorus. I Know It and Think Of Me, however filler they may be, still sound incredibly fresh. Fresh filler is better than dated filler, isn’t it Bedtime Stories?

It’s understandable that, at the time, people thought Madonna would be just another flash-in-the-pan pop star with one album and a couple of hits under her belt. At this time she still had a (minor) vulnerability to her (was it the chubbiness perhaps?) so it was easy to underestimate her as an artist.

It’s also understandable that, a few years down the track, those very people would be eating their words and crying into their morning paper.

There is no one like Madonna. And there is no debut like Madonna’s. And that’s just one (of 16) reasons why she is the ultimate, pop music icon.

God Save The Queen.