You made me feel shiny and new
Continuing my trip back through the 1986 album charts
09/02/86 : Like A Virgin - Madonna
Another Madonna album that's passed me by over the years - like our previous visit earlier (later?) this year I'm expecting some very decent singles and variable quality filler.
Hmmm - the singles are decent, but I'm not sure they quite make it to the very decent level. "Material Girl" is my favourite, but it's definitely a track that's improved by its very decent video. Variable quality is certainly a fair enough comment on the rest of them, but it's all feeling surprisingly dated. I was surprised to recognise "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" but couldn't remember where from - amusingly, Wikipedia reminded me it was originally done by Rose Royce but it was the obviously much cooler Jimmy Nail version I remembered! It's not a bad album, but on first listen I'm not convinced it's a good one either.
We're at #9 in the charts this week on her 65th week of a very decent 133 week run, with it peaking at #1 in its 41st and 44th weeks - it spent ten weeks in the top three during this period. The top five this week were Dire Straits, A-ha, Level 42, a Grace Jones best-of and a Barbra Streisand Broadway compilation and the highest new entry was Public Image Limited (#14).
Wikipedia has the expected HUGE amount on the album (449 milliPeppers) which I mostly didn't bother reading - it's her second album and was produced by Nile Rodgers. Amusingly, she asked to produce it herself to get exactly the sound she wanted and Sire, her record label, waited approximately five milliseconds before responding "uh-uh, not gonna happen". The critics were surprisingly nice about it at the time, although some criticised Madonna's vocals and retrospective views have not been so kind, whilst also accepting that this is the album that really made her into a star. Commercially, nobody cared what they thought and bought it by the bucketload, with it getting to #1 in a load of places including the US and selling over 21 million copies worldwide.
"Customers also listened to" Cyndi Lauper, Wham!, Janet Jackson and Debbie Gibson - some fine 80s names there! But there's no bigger 80s name than Madge - it was interesting to listen to this, but it's somewhat surprising it was such a huge hit for her (although I do realise it's never just been about the music for her).
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