I still remember the first time I ever heard of Madonna. I was
watching a Chicago-area version of MTV, when a video for
“Borderline” came on. Upon first glance, I thought Madonna was a
British dance music singer who was a sex kitten – wearing a black
bra through a white shirt always did that for me.
I was wrong on two counts: Madonna, obviously, isn’t British,
and as her self-titled debut album proves, she ain’t no dance music
diva.
Some of the early hits are still somewhat entertaining, don’t
get me wrong. “Borderline” is an okay song, which could be one of
Madonna’s better vocal performances on this album. However, there’s
no denying that this song (for that matter, the whole album) hasn’t
aged very well; the backing track is rather weak compared to other
dance music songs of this time period. Still, you don’t knock a
good thing.
Too bad there’s not many moments on
Madonna like this. Problem number one is that Madonna’s
voice just isn’t seasoned enough, and sounds too weak through these
tracks. Another hit from this album, “Lucky Star,” is an example,
where it often sounds like her voice is straining to make some of
the notes. “Burning Up” also features some of this strain, but it
does feature a little more challenging material to perform. This
brings us to the second problem: a lot of the songs on this are
just poor-man’s dance music. Exhibit “A”: “Physical Attraction,” an
incredible waste of time to listen to.
Problem number three: the production work of Reggie Lucas, which
just doesn’t fit Madonna’s style at all. Mark Kamins, who produced
one track, doesn’t do much better. Only John “Jellybean” Benitez,
is able to do any justice to Madonna on “Holiday,” another song
which has her straining to hit some notes (though not nearly as
many as other songs).
Maybe I’m being a little too harsh; this is, after all, just a
debut album. But I think the bigger problem was that Madonna wasn’t
given a chance to express her own individuality in the music. She
would gain this opportunity on her next album, and it would make a
bigger difference.
If you absolutely must own the hit songs off
Madonna, then pick up
The Immaculate Collection. Otherwise,
Madonna is one that’s strictly for the die-hard fans.
