Madonna [Remaster] - Madonna (CD 2001)

Madonna was virtually unknown when she released her self-titled debut album in 1983. An early single, "Burning Up," didn't make much of an impact except in the dance clubs. Yet that song contains the line that summarizes her life, real or perceived. "Unlike the others I'll do anything/I'm not the same, I have no shame."

It is that dogged determination, that willingness to do whatever it takes, that showed there was more to Madonna than the pretty-faced blonde that graced the black and white cover. She wrote five of the eight tracks on the album. That her debut featured a pretty good collection of synthesizer-driven dance songs didn't hurt, either, although it could be argued that the true stars of the album are the producers and mixers who made the mechanical beats so infectious,John "Jellybean" Benitez, Mark Kamins, and Reggie Lucas.

MTV helped Madonna out a great deal, of course, recognizing that the choreographed, gyrating moves in her videos would appeal to male viewers. Still, it took some time for the record to sell. It wasn't until the summer of 1984 that her hits "Holiday" (Top 20), "Borderline" (Top 10), and "Lucky Star" (Top 5) began receiving consistent airplay on radio and television.

Of those three hits, I always found the nursery-rhymed simplicity of "Lucky Star," to be the slightest. However, I can't deny that this love-on-the-dance-floor number has some charm and gets straight to the point. "Shine your heavenly body tonight" ain't just "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for grown-ups.

On the surface, "Holiday" looks like a simple suggestion for taking some time off and celebrating life, with its Latin disco beat and funky piano vamp. But to me the song sounds more like an international plea for community. "One day to come together/To release the pressure/We need a holiday," Madonna stresses. At a time when the Cold War was still very much alive and nuclear holocaust threatened us all, "Holiday" can be seen as a political dance number, akin to Prince's "1999."

"Borderline" is the best of the three hit singles. As the slowest song on Madonna (and at that it's still taken at mid-tempo), it placed the singer in a tricky role. On most of the album, Madonna could sing with a detached sense of emotion since the subject matter was of a lighter nature and her somewhat high-pitched, "girly" voice blended in well with the dance beats. However on "Borderline" she had to give her best vocal performance in a song about a strenuous relationship. She pulls it off, though it helped to have had a catchy melody layered with keyboards.

Of the other songs on the album, "I Know It" and "Think of Me" are dance hall filler, with the latter song carrying a one-note synth riff that will burrow its way into your brain. "Physical Attraction" is a self-explanatory one-night stand dance number. "Everybody" closes the album with Madonna repeating the phrase "dance and sing/get up and do your thing."

Madonna certainly did her thing on her debut. Upon its release, who could imagine the chain reaction it would cause?