Madonna (1983) - Album Review

(Album artwork shot by Gary Heery)

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Today we're going to talk about Madonna's eponymous debut album, which was released in 1983.

Let's jump into this review!

In 1982, Madonna was signed to Sire Records with the help of her friend and former lover Mark Kamins, who worked as a DJ and was a relevant figure on the New York club scene at the time.

Madonna's debut single, the self-penned Everybody, was produced by Kamins and came out that same year, in October. The song became a success on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and paved the way for the following single, Burning Up, which not only confirmed Madonna's success as a dance act but also became a top 20 hit in Australia.

Sire Records saw the potential of Madonna and allowed her to record an album.

A dance, post-disco and funk record, with Madonna our Diva became the first white popstar to adopt those genres and achieve commercial success with them. Let's not forget that Madonna refused some contracts because people wanted to turn her into a rock/pop-rock act a la Pat Benatar. Her desire of independence and perseverance prevailed and an iconic album came to life.

Madonna collaborated with Reggie Lucas and her then boyfriend, John "Jellybean" Benitez, who remixed some of the songs after Madonna manifested her disappointment towards Lucas' production.

Thanks to the success of three further singles (Holiday, Borderline, Lucky Star) the album became a big and longeve hit between 1983 and 1984 and to date it has sold around 10 million copies worldwide.

In addition, it became the standard for female dance-pop acts and shaped dance-pop music as we know it today.

(Photo by Gary Heery)

Lucky Star: The album starts with this irresistible dance-pop number, written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas and John "Jellybean" Benitez. The track starts with an echo of a synth note and proceeds with electronic drums, bass and guitar. Lyrically, the song compares the male body to the stars in the sky. The "Star light, star bright" hook, taken from an english nursery rhyme, is one of the many choruses of this track. What I love about Lucky Star is, indeed, the amount of choruses it has: the bridge, the verses, the breakdown could all be considered choruses in my opinion. The "multi-chorus" feature, as I like to call it, can be found on many of Madonna's songs.

Lucky Star was released as the album's final single in the US and became Madonna's first top-five hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Released as a double A-Side with Holiday, it also reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, becoming Madonna's first number one on that chart.

Trivia: not many know that Lucky Star was actually Madonna's first single to be released in the UK, in 1983. However it didn't even manage to chart and it was re-released only after the success of Holiday, this time becoming a top-twenty hit.

Borderline: Released as the album's fifth single in Europe and fourth single in the US, Borderline was written by Reggie Lucas and produced by him and John "Jellybean" Benitez. The song is easily Madonna's best vocal performance on the album and lyrically it talks about a not particularly fulfilling relationship: "Borderline, feels like I'm going to lose my mind, you just keep on pushing my love over the borderline". Madonna manages to showcase her crystalline, youthful tone and her ability to convey a different range of emotions (love, pain, anger and even a bit of sexual desire).

Borderline became Madonna's first top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #10. It is one of my absolute favorite classics.

Burning Up: The album keeps on playing and here it comes Madonna's second single, Burning Up. A very original track for the time, it features a funky beat, electric guitar and synthesizers. Written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas, lyrically it deals with sexual desire and passion, as Madonna admits to be totally and almost obsessingly in love with a guy and that she'd do anything for him to finally surrender to her: "Do you wanna see me down on my knees, or bending over backwards now would you be pleased? Unlike the others I'd do anything, I'm not the same, I have no shame, I'm on fire". 

An even more amazing and energetic version of this song is the 12'' version, one of Madonna's best remixes ever in my opinion, which can be found on the remastered version of the album, released in 2001.

I Know It: The fourth track on the record, I Know It was written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas. Lyrically it deals with heartbreak: "I used to think you were my pretty angel comin' down, well now you've just proven me wrong". However, Madonna shows us that she's the boss and won't cry for her ex-lover: "But I'm not gonna cry for you, 'cause that's what you want me to do". A very underrated pop track, it incorporates piano, saxophone and kind of has a swing feel to it.

Holiday: Released as the album's third single, Holiday was written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, who offered the song to Madonna. One of the most famous and timeless dance-pop tunes of all time, the song is about the universal right to take a break from everyday life and have fun, from time to time: "It's time for the good times, forget about the bad times, one day to come together, to release the pressure, we need a holiday". The second longest track on the album, it features an irresistible piano solo towards the end, played by Fred Zaar, on the advice of Madonna.

Holiday was Madonna's first mainstream hit, peaking at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100, after the underground success of Everybody and Burning Up. 

Think of Me: The sixth track on the album, Think of Me was written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas. Madonna wants attention from her lover or else she's going to leave him: "If you don't want to see me walking out the door, you better think of me, I know you want to baby, think of me". 

Musically, it is a dance/funk song and it features an amazing saxophone bridge.

Think of Me is probably my favorite song on the album and it could have been an amazing single. Madonna's voice is also particulary expressive on this track and for the first time we can hear her growl a bit.

Physical Attraction: The album is coming to an end but we're not done dancing. Physical Attraction is a synth-funk masterpiece that could still pack the dance floor today! The song was written by Reggie Lucas and produced by him and John "Jellybean" Benitez. It's a very straightforward track lyrically, as Madonna sings about the attraction between herself and a boy in a club. The longest track on the album, it features a great instrumental dance breakdown after the bridge.

Physical Attraction achieved underground success at the time as the B-side to Burning Up. 

Everybody: The last song on the album is, ironically, Madonna's first ever single. Everybody was written by Madonna and produced by Mark Kamins and it is a dance floor anthem. Madonna wants everyone to stop hiding in a corner, she wants people to stand up and dance (this could be a metaphor for life itself). Musically, Everybody is a groovy r&b track which led many people to believe that Madonna was a black artist, given the fact that its cover artwork did not show her face. 

The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. 

(1985 re-release artwork, shot by George Holy)

In conclusion...

This album was an amazing introduction to Madonna and it still holds up to this day, as the music has aged incredibly well in my opinion. Madonna was able to mix her punk-rock roots with her love for dance music, her vocals sound passionate, her sweet but strong attitude is present throughout the whole album. 

I usually describe this record as a "storytelling of a night at the club". The way I see it, Madonna impersonates a different character in every song, and each character was at that specific club that night : a girl admiring her crush on the dance floor in Lucky Star, another girl unhappy with her relationship in Borderline, a dancing diva who's dying for her crush to notice her in Burning Up, a female DJ in Everybody, a sexually liberated girl who's not afraid to flirt with her lover in Physical Attraction, a simple schoolgirl or worker who just wants to spend a night out and break free from everyday life in Holiday. 

Madonna presented herself as the queen of the dance floor on this album and now, 36 years and 46 #1 dance singles later, she's still sitting on her throne. 

"Let your body move to the music".