{"id":41093,"date":"2008-09-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-09-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/like-a-virgin-2\/"},"modified":"2008-09-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-09-07T00:00:00","slug":"like-a-virgin-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/like-a-virgin-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Like A Virgin"},"content":{"rendered":"

After her infamous \u201cwedding cake\u201d appearance on the first MTV Video Music Awards, anticipation for the release of Madonna\u2019s new album Like A Virgin <\/i>reached a fever pitch. The controversial title did little to prevent the public from going out and buying this instant classic the moment it hit store shelves. The lead-off single, the album\u2019s title track, became the first of many number one hits for the \u201cshiny and new\u201d artist. Madonna must have been at the top of the world during the 1984 Christmas season, when Like A Virgin <\/i>proved to be the gift that keeps on giving — and still is, to this very day.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Showing how shrewd Madonna was even back then, she convinced Freddy DeMann to ditch Michael Jackson and come over to become her manager. Then, she recruited Nile Rodgers of Chic fame to be the producer of this, her second album. She was no longer willing to settle for mediocrity — this time she wanted to be the \u201cbiggest star in the universe.\u201d The video clip for \u201cMaterial Girl\u201d says it all — Madonna was now the new Marilyn Monroe. The only difference was that Madonna was able to find love and longevity. In her own words, Madonna has said that, unlike Marilyn, she is not a victim.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The first time I heard \u201cMaterial Girl,\u201d it was on a cassette Walkman trudging through the unplowed streets after a snowstorm. I had just picked up my own copy of Like A Virgin<\/i> at the now-defunct Wave Records on Main Street<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> in my hometown of Hyannis<\/st1:city>, Massachusetts<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>. I remember thinking at the time that this music sounded like nothing else that was being played on the radio. It almost had a futuristic quality to it. The sharp production really is what makes the album sound so fantastic. It\u2019s no wonder that we continue to compare other Madonna albums to Like A Virgin<\/i>. Only 1989\u2019s Like A Prayer <\/i>is as good.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The two other singles from this album that you may recall are \u201cAngel\u201d and \u201cDress You Up.\u201d I absolutely love them both. Unfortunately, they were released around the same time as two film projects that Madonna was simultaneously promoting, Vision Quest <\/i>and Desperately Seeking Susan<\/i>. Keen to make her transition into becoming a legitimate actress as smooth as possible, Madonna contributed a few songs for both movies, including her first #1 ballad \u201cCrazy For You\u201d and the UK<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> #1 hit \u201cInto The Groove.\u201d The British must have been thrilled when subsequent pressings of Like A Virgin <\/i>featured \u201cInto The Groove\u201d as part of the track listing. If we Americans wanted the song, we had to pick up the 12\u201d dance remix of \u201cAngel,\u201d which, of course, I had no problem doing.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Before \u201cCrazy For You,\u201d Madonna\u2019s previous stab at handling a challenging ballad was a cover of the little-known Rose Royce song \u201cLove Don\u2019t Live Here Anymore.\u201d I actually find Madonna\u2019s attempt to do the song justice an admirable one. It has all the hallmarks of a successful Madonna love song, especially the all-important string section. Also on Like A Virgin <\/i>is the gooey \u201cShoo-Bee-Doo,\u201d which has inconsequential lyrics, though its potent arrangement manages to salvage it from being a total throwaway. On the other hand, the lackluster \u201cPretender\u201d isn\u2019t quite as lucky and with its dominant drum machine, stands out as the most dated.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Critics tried in vain to bring Madonna down, even going so far as calling her a \u201cpop tart\u201d and \u201cMinnie Mouse on helium,\u201d but it\u2019s unlikely those critics are still around today.\u00a0 Madonna has outlasted so many of her peers in the industry that it\u2019s almost scary. Yet she keeps on going, never doubting herself or regretting mistakes she has made in the past. If anything, she learns from those mistakes and the adversity only makes her stronger. She\u2019s lost as many friends to AIDS as she has to the brutal entertainment business, but somehow she has been spared. What is Madonna\u2019s secret? What does she attribute her amazing success to? We know she\u2019s a hard worker and a demanding boss. Some may even call her a bitch, though it has obviously been an effective tactic for her.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

When Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera paid homage to their heroine in a reprise of \u201cLike A Virgin\u201d at the 20th<\/sup> MTV Awards, Madonna didn\u2019t give them both a kiss as her way of passing on the torch to them, she was giving them the kiss-off<\/i>. And there\u2019s nothing either one of them can do to change the fact that Madonna still rules supreme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":28221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5663],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-41093","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-madonna","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41093"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}