As a huge Madonna fanboy, I felt it was time I went through every song of hers and rate them. Now Madonna has been around just shy of 40 years, and she’s released a lot of music so I thought the best way to get through it would be to review each album song by song, then do the random one offs. I may even get to some unreleased songs too.
This is an undertaking, but my love for this woman cannot be understated. I’ve been a fan since I was about 6 years old, my sister was also a fan so I grew up with her music – her music lightens my mood when I’m feeling down, chills me out when I’m feeling stressed, gets me dancing when I’ve drank too much gin and makes me feel warm when I want pop music with substance.
So here it goes, starting with her self titled debut album Madonna.
- Lucky Star
Lucky Star starts out with a child like twinkling and quickly evolves into an 80’s disco beat, you can feel the adulation in Madonna’s vocals as she serenade’s her lover. The bridge of “shine your heavenly body tonight” punches to give this long dance track a bit of variety while the simple lyrics of “star light, star bright, first star I see tonight” are simple, yet infectious. 8/10
2. Borderline
Another song dedicated to a lover of some kind, Borderline is an absolute classic. Borderline is great because it can easily transcend it’s disco roots, Madonna herself has refreshed the song live with rock and jazz versions. Madonna sells the song, you feel it when she tells her lover “to stop driving me away” and again the catchy chorus “Borderline, feels like I’m going to lose my mind. You just keep on pushing my love over the Borderline”, they don’t write songs this simple or catchy anymore. 9/10
3. Burning Up
Burning Up has intensity. The hand clap, electric guitar riffs give the song the appearance of an anthem. The lyric repeat of “I’m burning up, burning up for your love” is a touch repetitive, but the outro to the song it comes together nicely with the backing singers, guitar and hand claps working in harmony. 7/10
4. I Know it
A bit of a filler track, it’s a bit one note. I enjoy the fake sax that’s piped in and it’s a toe tapper, but it’s one of Madonna’s weaker moments in the 80’s. Simplistic lyrics and uninspiring production don’t help, but the bride section of “I don’t wanna cry for you” is nice. 6/10
5. Holiday
An infectious pop beat with a wonderfully joyous lyrical delievery of what is pretty naff lyrics, but it works so well. It invites everyone to have a good time and dance, and you want to – the dance floor beckons the moment she starts hollering “Holiday, celebrate”. 8/10
6. Think Of Me
Often forgotten about due to its album track status, this song is quintessential 80’s dance, the mid-tempo verses make way for a an upbeat and intense chorus of Madonna stretching her voice to punch the words “think of me” into your skull. Again Madonna addresses a lover of the past, the lyrics are simple but the sax solo at the end really makes this stand out. 8/10
7. Physical Attraction
Physical Attraction and Think Of Me feel like sister tracks, they both have a similar production, but I think this is the lesser of the two. I enjoy the backing singers, but the song feels a bit one note and on the same level. The production is still good and it’s still a catchy track, I particularly like the “maybe we were meant to be together” section. 7/10
8. Everybody
I appreciate Everybody, it was Madonna’s first officially released track and it’s a got that classic 80’s disco vibe, it’s cool, calm and collected. The track is mostly just too long and repetitive for me to truly love it, but it’s got a funk and even here you can tell that Madonna can sell a song, you can hear intensity where a another artist might have reeled it in. 6/10
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