In an excellent move, the folks at Warner Music have decided to re-release Madonna's self-titled debut album in conjunction with the start of her "Drowned World" tour. I had purchased the original release many years ago, but decided to purchase this edition due to the addition of two previously unreleased tracks that were only available on vinyl.

Being that "Burning Up" is one of my favorite Madonna songs of all time, I purchased this album because the 12" remix of the single was available on CD for the first time in over two decades. When I pushed the play button on my compact disc player, I was truly amazed on the quality of the sound. If I only could use to words to describe the sound quality on this album I would choose "crystal clear." Truly, this remastered edition was a great idea and I was so elated to hear all of Madonna's great early hits from "Lucky Star" to "Everybody" again.

In addition to the "Burning Up" 12" remix, this remastered album also features a remix of "Lucky Star" remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez himself. Both remixes are amazing and the album brought back many memories growing up during the decade of decadence. If you are a true Madonna fan, you will want to add this album to your collection.

Madonna debuted with this record in late 1983, initiating the most successful female pop career in history. At the time, disco was dead and dance music was verboten on pop radio. Along with Shannon, Madonna helped bring dance music back into the mainstream. Thus, although "Madonna" sounds like safe pop music now, it was actually pretty cutting edge at the time. "Everybody" was her first single; it became a solid dance hit but didn't cross over to pop radio or the Hot 100. With its unusual shuffling beat, it should have been a hit and still sounds great today.

"Madonna" eventually yielded three pop hits, each one charting higher then the previous - Holiday (#16), Borderline (#10), and Lucky Star (#4). "Borderline" was her first ballad, although relatively up-tempo. Her voice is thinner here than it would be on later ballads, but she still sounds lovely. The video was also a huge hit and introduced people to Madonna's breakthrough style. I became aware of Madonna for the first time through that video and have been a fan ever since. "Lucky Star" sounds a bit dated with too many synthesizers, although it's still a great pop song. Although "Holiday" was the smallest hit, it's perhaps the most enduring of the three: a real party anthem.

Along with these hits, the non-singles are also uniformly solid. "Burning Up" is the closest thing to a rock song that Madonna made during her early years, although the guitars are paired with a terrific dance beat. "Physical Attraction" is another highlight - a dance song that really shows off Madonna's sex appeal and slither. "Think of Me" and "I Know It" are the two least memorable songs on this CD - straight ahead dance tunes without much of Madonna's panache. With just 8 songs, "Madonna" breezes by quickly and sometimes seems a bit insubstantial. However, the CD is an undeniable dance classic that began the Queen of Pop's career. Most highly recommended.

These days, many people compare Madonna's early music to Britney Spears or the Spice Girls, but there really is no comparison. Today's bubble gum pop stars have a host of producers, songwriters, and stylists to create a cookie-cutter image for them that can be marketed to the mainstream. Madonna, however, was a very different story. At the time she recorded this album, Madonna was living in the ghettos of New York City, and hanging out at clubs that were largely populated by minorites. In other words, she was NOT part of the mainstream! In addition, most of the songs on this album began life as demos that Madonna wrote and recorded HERSELF in a tiny apartment without the help of a host of producers or marketing execs. She also had developed her own unique fashion sense. Madonna didn't have to consult a crew of stylists; even when she was penniless in New York, she had her own style down pat! Unlike today's manufactured pop princesses, Madonna was a true musical and visual artist at work, long BEFORE she signed a record contract.

That said, this album invented dance-pop as we know it. Highly synthesized and highly danceable, this was the style of music that took the 1980s by storm, and still exists today in many forms (including the electronica that Madonna currently dabbles in!). The album was revolutionary, because it brought the underground worlds of urban dance music and punk into the mainstream world of pop. The punk elements are heard in the scorching single "Burning Up", which prominently features an electric guitar and a rock-like bassline, but in a clubby, danceable song. Also, Madonna's personality comes through very strong on this album, so you never feel like you are listening to an anonymous "dance diva". Even on pedestrain fare like "I Know It" and "Physical Attraction", Madonna sings with so much conviction that you KNOW she means it!

When the album was first released, people assumed Madonna was African American, and her music was played primarily on R&B stations... she was not immediately accepted by the pop world, and was truly a cutting-edge "fringe" artist who redefined pop. In addition to being a great historical document, this album is worth buying because it's so much FUN! What party is complete without classics like "Holiday", "Everybody", or "Lucky Star"? These songs have stood the test of time, because, unlike Britney and Co., Madonna is an innovator, NOT an imitator, and she has been innovative since day one, as this album proves.

Many years back I woke up in the early hours on a Sunday morning in a park in Barcelona. I was still incredibly drunk. I had a few bucks in my pocket, my passport and a picture disc copy of Madonna's fist lp. Strangely I had no recollection of how I got the lp but it was enclosed in a record shop plastic bag, so i was sure I had not stolen the thing. The lp itself had a rather attractive topless photo of the singer looking somewhat like Marilyn Monroe.
Within my wallet was a basic map of the city and so I felt confident enough of finding my hotel......eventually. I was in no mood to move quickly or think much beyond finding an open cafe or at least walking in vaguely the right direction. During my slow meandering I noticed that the only people on the streets were me and the cops. All good folk were in bed, getting ready to go to church, on their way to church or at church. A cop with a strange metal helmet on eventually stopped me and asked for identification. When satisfied, he checked out my Madonna picture disc. As he smirked checking out the record I could not help but think he looked like a futuristic matador from the year 2050. My blood shot eyes and sex pistols t-shirt convinced me not to attempt telling "officer friendly" I was on my way to mass. He knew I was lost and so I showed him my hotel address. He invited me to follow him and I assumed we were going to my destination. We passed streets I recognized, this time without the pick pockets and prostitutes harassing passers by.
Eventually I walked into a local police station and was escorted to a recreation area towards the back of the station. Several male cops were drinking, smoking, and playing cards and generally relaxing. The Madonna record was placed on the turn table and suddenly every Spaniard knew English, belting out the lyrics. Understandably in the early 80's you couldn't walk 3 blocks without hearing a Madonna song. It certainly seemed like the Spanish cops took too her stuff like "bulls to a red rag." I had a few beers and staggered back to my hotel. I slept for many hours and on waking debated with myself about if I had dreamed about the interaction with the cops. I had these cheesy Madonna songs buzzing around my head.
Sometime later I answered a knock on the door and one of the cops down at the station shook my hand and returned my record. It had confirmed the experience had occurred.

I remember owning this on vinyl and recently purchased on cd. She really opened the door in my world in the 80's. She has done just about everything. Sings, acts, writes books, charity work. Successful.