LIKE A VIRGIN - 1984


1. Material Girl
2. Angel
3. Like A Virgin
4. Over And Over
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore
6. Dress You Up
7. Pretender
8. Shoo-Bee-Doo
9. Stay

Produced by Nile Rogers

Favorite LIKE A VIRGIN single
What is your favorite single from LIKE A VIRGIN?

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Widely regarded by Madonna's fans to be her weakest effort, LIKE A VIRGIN is still an extremely likable bit of dance hall fluff, lfted by the hits and sank by the misses (is there anyone who really likes Shoo-Bee-Doo?) and by the amazing Love Don't Live Here Anymore which sounds bad and out of place in the context of LIKE A VIRGIN, but when it was put on the ballads collection SOMETHING TO REMEMBER it became acknowledged as one of her best ballad works (at least by me. Deal with it).


Material Girl - I don't care how many times Madonna says she hates it, Material Girl always have a place in my heart. It hit #2 and was widely misunderstood as a confession, when it was actually a parody of the gold-digger type that the great video directed by Mary Lambert (Like A Prayer) mocks. A Marilyn-like star (lifted directly from Gentlemen Prefer Blonds) is won over by Keith Carradine not through "diamond rings and 18-karat gold", but a humble bouquet and true affection.

Angel - A nice enough early song, Angel charted at the same time as the classic Crazy For You. Although Angel's b-side, Into The Groove was much more popular, Warner Bros. wanted to promote the LIKE A VIRGIN album so this up-tempo love song was able to reach #5 (for more strange b-side choices see Bad Girl)

Like A Virgin - Madonna's first #1 (6 weeks) single ruled the charts back when it was shocking to hear the word "virgin" on the radio. A song about freshness and renewal, Like A Virgin is not the hardcore song that it was made out to be (except in that whole Blond Ambition/masturbation clip) and came with a video from Mary Lambert (Material Girl) where Madonna writhes on a gondola and makes out with a lion. The song is a classic and still holds up well today (witness The Girlie Show's Like A Wirgin), but Madonna told Kurt Loder in March 1998 that if she had to sing it again she'd "kill" herself. Too bad.
Over and Over - Breakneck dance track that showed off Madonna's drive and ambition. A lot of fun, one of this album's gems. Makes a great theme song a la Ally McBeal.

Love Don't Live Here Anymore - A #2 hit in Japan in 1985, Love Don't Live Here Anymore wasn't released here in the US until 1996 when it was remixed for SOMETHING TO REMEMBER, and it lived on the charts long enough to reach #78 and then it died a quiet death. Ouch! (#31 in Canada aint much better). On LIKE A VIRGIN it sounds out of place and doesn't suit her image at the time, but in the context of SOMETHING TO REMEMBER, Love Don't Live Here Anymore is a powerful song of lost love and is one of Madonna's finest ballads. The stunning video from the director of Justify My Love is one shot slowly moving in on Madonna until the final, brief close-up. An enthralling, enchanting video.

Dress You Up - Early sex anthem, Dress You Up charted at #5 and uses clothes to symbolize sex and succeeds at that marvelously. It hasn't aged well though, but still works as an early example of Madonna's work. A quickie video was taken love from The Virgin Tour.
Shoo-Bee-Doo - I don't care how romantic it is, any song with a chorus "Shoo bee doo bee doo ooh la la" has to go, a waste of some strong early vocals.
Pretender - I wanted him bad, but then he dumped me. He's a pretender. As filler goes, not bad.
Stay - Is there a pop act out there that does not have a song called Stay? An up-tempo ode to stickin' it out and makin' things work, Stay would have been my choice as a single over Angel, although I don't think we should "scoop scoop scoop scoodle dee bee bop." Ever.


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