Madonna's second album "Like A Virgin" was the the one that made her a global international megastar. She had already notched up three hits from her debut album, namely "Holiday", Lucky Star" and "Borderline", but this album included 5 hits singles and the videos for "Like A Virgin" and "Material Girl" helped establish her image. Until then I had sometimes confused Madonna with Cyndi Lauper !
I was late jumping onto the Madonna bandwagon, only purchasing the LP after the fifth single had been released, which was the International re-issue with "Get Into The Groove" added as a bonus track. With five hits that I liked on the album it didn't really matter if the rest was rubbish ! The sticker on the back cover shows I paid £6.29 in W.H Smith, who were probably confused over what side was the front cover....
I subsequently bought a copy of "Holiday"when I saw it going cheap in the shop that sold ex-Jukebox records, but I was surprised to see a copy of "Like A Virgin" with a picture cover nestling amongst my singles collection, which implies I must have bought when it was in the charts !
At the time I liked all the tracks on the album apart from the pointless cover of Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", which I thought was awful and didn't add anything to the original. It thought "Dress You Up" was the best track, closely followed by "Like A Virgin" and "Get Into The Groove".
Looking at the track listing now, I was unable to remember "Angel", despite it being a top 5 hit in the UK, and kept thinking of the Stevie Nicks song of the same name on Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" album. Similarly, "Stay" drew a blank, although I could remember songs by Jackson Browne and Kylie with that title, and even "Stay A While" by Rachel Sweet ! For "Over And Over" I thought of another song from "Tusk", Christine McVie's dreamy ballad.
I was also unable to recall "Pretender" whilst I only knew that "Shoo Bee Doo" was a slow number. I also had it in my head that Madonna had written or co-written most of the hit singles here so it was interesting to be reminded that she only had a hand in "Angel", with the other 4 hits being written for her. In total, Madonna has writing credits on 5 tracks on the album.
The bouncy "Material Girl" opens Side One. I like the funky bass and synth intro, the male backing vocals and the clever lyrics. "'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister Right", & "Only boys that save their pennies make my rainy day". However, listening to it now I think it is spoiled by the shrill vocal which borders on the annoying, but it is still a good song.
"Angel" is enjoyable dance-pop song but the silly laugh in intro is a bit irritating.
"Like A Virgin" also features great bass and synth lines although they are remarkably similar to those on the The Four Tops "I Can't Help Myself". There is also some heavy drumming, a toe-tapping mid-tempo beat and a sing-a-long chorus. I love the vocal outro. "I made it through the wilderness, Somehow I made it through, didn't know how lost I was until I found you".
"Over And Over" is enjoyable 1980s hi-energy electronic pop but the side one closer "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" remains at best dull.
Side Two begins with two great numbers. Unlike in "Angel", the spoken intro "I am waiting" on "Get Into The Groove" is quite cute. The song again has more great bass and synths and there is a great groove to get into. "Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free. At night, I lock the doors, where no one else can see. I'm tired of dancing here all by myself. Tonight, I want to dance with someone else".
The joyous and upbeat "Dress You Up" remains my favourite track. Starting with tinny drums, then an electronic pulse before the synths play the melody. It has a killer guitar solo from Nile Rodgers, who produced the album, and another great vocal outro. "You've got style, that's what all the girls say. Satin sheets and luxuries so fine. All your suits are custom made in London, but I've got something that you'll really like".
The last three tracks don't match the exceptional quality of the two before, but they are decent. Written by just Madonna"Shoo Bee Doo" is a slow five minute ballad with piano to the fore and a soulful saxophone solo in the middle.
"Pretender" is more electro-pop with chiming synths. "He's a pretender, yeah you meet him every day. He's a pretender, like the fish that got away"
The album closes with "Stay", which has a toe-tapping Motown style rhythm. It's another track with some spoken lines in the middle.
In summary, "Like A Virgin" remains a very good album, a high mark that Madonna didn't reach again in terms of overall consistency.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Material Girl
2. Angel
3. Like A Virgin
4. Over And Over
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore
1. Get Into The Groove
2. Dress You Up
3. Shoo-Bee-Doo
4. Pretender
5. Stay
Released 1984
UK Chart Position : 1
Like A Virgin ( No 3 - 1984 )
Material Girl ( No 3 - 1985 )
Angel ( No 5 - 1985 )
Into The Groove ( No 1 - 1985 )
Dress You Up ( No 5 - 1985 )
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