This is a fantastic collection of the former part of Madonna's career. It is interesting to see her styles and influences change as she develops into a more self assured and groundbreaking performer. Songs which have provoked controversy and always demanded attention are in abundance and do not let their subject matters get in the way of innovative and refreshing music.
1:Holiday is very sweet and chirpy. It`s a raw specimen of early days Madonna - a truly striking sound, though I certainly wouldn`t call it her peak.8/10.
2:Lucky star is truly mind blowing. It`s filled with energy and wonder, but with a certain delicateness. This is one of my favourites along with tracks 4,7 and 10.Fantastic,heart-filled stuff. 10/10
3:Borderline is not quite as fast paced and 'goey' as a lot of the other non-ballads, but it has a certain quietly optimistic quality that sets it apart from the other tracks in a very positive way.9/10.
4:Like a virgin has an irresistibly happy melody, especially during the verse, with a fantastic synthesiser baseline running throughout most of the song. This works like magic!10/10.
5:Material Girl is a catchy, shiny pop song. Simple, but memorable. For me, this is not a high point on the collection but I`ve still listened to it loads of times.7/10.
6:Crazy For You:I have quite a low boredom threshold when it comes to pop ballads, but I like this.It`s powerful and memorable with an atmospheric touch, though I still wouldn`t call it a favourite.8/10.
7:Into The Groove has a fascinating, animated baseline. It`s a high energy pop record, but with a dreamy feel to it. 'Live out your fantasy here with me' is a fitting lyric. A wonderful song to get lost in.10/10.
8:Live To Tell took a while to grow on me. It`s low-tempo and laid back but at the same time, a little deep.8/10.
9:Papa Don`t Preach is a proper pop song, but with a bit of a moody feel - particularly during the verse, with some interesting strings going on. This isn`t as breezy and happy as a lot of the other songs, but it certainly has its place in the collection.8/10.
10:Open your heart is ecstatic and energised. It rushes through your brain like electricity, powered by a fantastically jiggly drumbeat!10/10.
11:La Isla Bonita is a mid-tempo track with a bit of a 'far away' feeling, adding a touch of variety to the collection.8/10.
12:Like A Prayer is not what I was expecting it to be .The original version is very powerful with guitars and everything, but the immaculate collection version is more of a straight-forward pop song which I`m no where near as keen on.It`s still an enjoyable track, but certainly not a highlight of this album.7/10.
13:Express Yourself is a cheerful post-feminist anthem - 'don`t go for second best baby,put your love to the test'! Truly inspirational, with some little electronic noises sprinkled on that sound as if they originated from some 1980s computer game - great stuff!9/10.
14:Cherish is a sweet uptempo pop song.Nice enough throughout,but there are a couple of intrumental outbursts that occur about two minutes into the song which are just pure elation!7/10.
15:Vogue is a stylish trademark Madonna moment. I especially love the middle eight[though it seems more like eleven by my reckoning].Enjoyable, dancey stuff.8/10.
16:Justify my love is an atmospheric low-tempo track. A lot of it`s spoken voice and it`s all very intense and a little bit different, though I still prefer the older songs.7/10.
17:Rescue Me is in a slightly similar vein to Justify My Love - a little intense[though not as much],but this time with a dance/pop beat. For me this is one of the albums relatively low points. Not bad ,but most of the other tracks seem so much more colourful.6/10
Overall,this is a must have pop collection.
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Welcome to Ciao! Really good first review, although you do make me feel old by referring to Madonna's early career - I can remember buying this on CD in the early 90's and it only feels like yesterday!
This is the perfect way to hear Madonna: no album filler, just one hit after another. As a ... more
singles artist, she works wonders: quick, danceable tunes that are occasionally "controversial" but never set out to change the world (and don't).The Immaculate ...
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Apr 12th, 2004
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