ehuffnsd said:

Cinnie said:

there are very few unreleased tracks where i'm all that impressed. now Kylie's unreleased tracks make me salivate but Madonna's are more like... good going Madge this track shouldn't have seen the light of day.

errant said:

Well, I think the vocals are better than a lot of "Everybody." But it's Madonna, so vocals aren't that important.


I wouldn't call it impressive either, but there's something about it I've always liked.


Well, I would prefer to have both, but there was a long while where I would've preferred "Ain't No Big Deal." I went through a long period of not liking "Holiday" much, but it's wormed its way back in my good graces in the last couple of years.

ehuffnsd said:

More than half the songs on Like a Prayer aren't as good as "Supernatural." "Liquid Love" would've made Music much better.

I also love "Has to Be" and the outtakes from Ray of Light and Confessions.

AlexdeParis said:

i love Has To Be and Revenge and Gone Gone Gone

Liquid Love doesn't do much for me

Supernatural i think is naif

love Superpop and History but the lyrics are bad even by her standards.

AlexdeParis said:

Supernatural totally should have replaced Dear Jessie

of the Orbit tracks, Liquid Love definitely should have replaced with Amazing or Runaway Lover. of the Mirwais tracks, it could have replaced Nobody's Perfect or I Deserve It. although both of those tracks are fine, having both of them on there plus Paradise and Gone kind of tones the whole affair down.

as much as I love Has To Be, I think she probably made the right decision to leave it off, if something had to be left off. it's kind of a wisp of a song and would be blown a way by a strong breeze. musically, it kind of repeats some of that stuff toward the end like Power Of Goodbye and To Have And Not To Hold and themeatically, I think she hit a grand slam by ending the album with Mer Girl and I don't think the album could have handled 2 such spare songs. the other ROL outtakes don't sound... I don't know... finished? GGG and Revenge are drowing in cliches, I mean more than usual and Like A Flower is kind of... I don't know. It's lovely, but again, like Has To Be, she did it better with that stretch from Frozen through Little Star.

Not really a fan of many of the American Life or Confessions outtakes we've heard, aside from Fighting Spirit. I really love that one, but I don't think it would fit the album very well. would definitely need to get the Stuart Price treatment to go with the rest of it. Super Pop sounds nice, but those lyrics... I don't think the album could take the stupidity of I Love New York AND Super Pop.

errant said:

i wanna say that Revenge strikes me as an early version of Frozen at least lyrically.

errant said:

Well, "Nobody's Perfect" is my favorite, so it can't be replaced. The only other song I like more than "Liquid Love" is the title track.


I actually agree with this. Off the top of my head, I could see it being shoehorned in the middle (like an ending to side 1 if it were vinyl), but I haven't tested that out to hear the flow. Between "To Have and Not to Hold" and "Little Star" is another option.


Well, they are demos, aren't they? As you noted, she's never been afraid of a cliché. I enjoy all of the songs, though.


What's so wrong with the lyrics to "Super Pop"? I mean, yeah, they're terrible, but isn't that the point? They're just so deliberately over the top -- I think that's part of its charm (ditto "I Love New York," which I absolutely love). I also enjoy both version of "Keep the Trance," but I especially love the demo one that completely rips off "Into the Groove." Either way, it's much better than "Hey You."

AlexdeParis said:

that applies to almost every Madonna song. it ought to be in an FAQ somewhere

"Q: What Madonna song is worse than 'Hey You'?"
"A: None. Except "One More Chance."

errant said:

Love Makes the World Go Round is the worst Madonna track EVER

ehuffnsd said:

it's Strawberry Fields Forever compared to One More Chance and Hey you.
[Edited 8/13/09 20:53pm]

errant said:

i listen to One More Chance, Love Makes the World Go Round cause me to go into convulsions

ehuffnsd said:

Agreed (although "American Pie" is a close 2nd for me).

errant said:

Now this means war.

Moonbeam said:

I was wondering what you'd say to that. I have "Act of Contrition" rated even lower than "Dear Jessie," but at least it works within the album's theme.

Is it my imagination, or is American Life her most consistent album? It's solid. I am LOVING IT!

heartbeatocean said:

It's your imagination.

Actually, I do think it's pretty consistent (but not as consistent as Madonna, Ray of Light, and Confessions IMO). Unfortunately, I don't hear any real standout tracks. And of course there's also that "rap" in "American Life"...

AlexdeParis said:

I'm one of the few Madonna fans who isn't thrilled with the first album I think it's overrated."I Know It" is the weakest track,so that song should have been replaced by "Don't You Know".Although I like "Think Of Me",I would have no problem with "Ain't No Big Deal" instead.

...
[Edited 8/14/09 0:05am]

AlexdeParis said:

I'd rank Like a Prayer this way:

1. Oh Father
2. Dear Jessie
3. Cherish
4. Promise to Try
5. Til Death Do Us Part
6. Spanish Eyes
7. Like a Prayer
8. Express Yourself
9. Love Song
10. Act of Contrition
11. Keep It Together

Really, I love the top 10. "Keep It Together" isn't necessarily weak, but I just don't care for it as much as the others. "Dear Jessie" is a top-10 Madonna song for me, for sure.

SoulAlive said:

I hated the album at first. But it's got so many classics, and it's a surprisingly good album.

I've listened to a lot of dance/pop/r'n'b albums by female acts from that period, because people always say she was nothing special etc...
But that's untrue. Her first album is of higher quality than any other album by an unknown disco act from that period.

So, in a way she always has been underrated.

I have an old interview called: Maybe she's talented.

funny how people still doubt her talent.

errant said:

Hmmm I don't get how they chose Supernatural as a b-side, the song is better than half of Like A Prayer. To me is as good as Express Yourself and much better than Cherish. But I love Dear Jessie too so I'd rather have it replace Love Song, Cherish or Oh Father.

Has To Be is another great song. Although definitely not single material, it is as good as anything in Ray Of Light. I think Mer Girl should have been replaced with that one. I don't really care much of the other ROL songs u mention

I like Fighting Spirit but it doesn't fit the album much (I have the version of the album with FS on it) and I don't really like Super Pop. I liked ILNY in the beginning I am way too tired of it now.

Probably her best tracks not to appear in any of her official albums for me are:
1)Gambler
2)Supernatural
3)Time Stood Still
4)Has To Be
5)Let Down Your Guard

I don't count Don't You Know because to me it is another (much better) version of Stay
[Edited 8/14/09 5:02am]

graecophilos said:

Ive said before that you simply cannot last 25 years at the top of your game in the music industry without having some semblence of talent. Its interesting that initially she was resented for her success, because she wasnt an amazing singer, dancer, songwriter, or the most beautiful woman either. People would question everything about her because they couldnt understand her success, but as the years go by - more and more of her peers seem to take their hat off to her in respect, as they know how hard it is to a) get tot he top, and b) stay there.

I suspect that the majority of people who are informed about her as an artist do respect her - its just that most people dont want to be informed about her, and dont want to feel any respect for her because they cant contemplate allowing somone (particularly a female in the music industry) to be rich, successful AND respected. You cant have all three.

CrozzaUK said:

when you're trying hard to be your best,could you be a little less?

jiorjios said:

There are some cool outtakes out there that would definitely have enhanced certain albums.Dont You Know is as good as alot of The First Album, however what i love about that track is the primitive basic electro track underneath it, and had Reggie Lucas got his hands on it - that would have disappeared.

Gambler & Crazy For You should have been on the LAV album, but they were released on Geffen so thats probably why.

Spotlight should have been on True Blue, its better than both the final 2 songs, & White Heat.

Supernatural should have been on Like A Prayer, in between KIT & Spanish Eyes.
Indeed, Just A Dream and Possessive love are two great pop soft rock numbers - i can see why she gave them away - theyre very Belinda Carlisle - but they're good tracks all the same.

Dear Father was going to be on Erotica, as was Goodbye to Innocence, but both were pulled, DF due to its bass line similarity to another track by someone she didnt like. I think DF would have been a perfect addition to side 2 of Erotica which is very downbeat.

Love Wont Wait is a great track IMO, and had it been polished up by someone like Dallas Austin could have been a huge hit for her. Sadly she let a dispute over writing credits get in the way....very typical.

Like A Flower is the best outtake of the ROL era for me. Very similar to much of the album, but im surprised she didnt get WO to rework this one. Maybe she thought it was too sappy.

Liquid Love is definitely better than bot the official B Side, Cyberraga, and also Runaway Lover, Amazing & American Pie.

Only The Game has surfaced from the AL era - and she was right to leave that one off. A half decent acoustic number but nothing more.

Confessions has a plethra of outtakes, and i find all interesting. Triggering & Is This Love are my favourites. Had she looked to include a ballad Is This Love could have been reworked as a fine ballad i think. Suprpop is a little naff lyric wise, but i like it musically - reminds me of Why You Wanna Trip on Me by MJ a little. Fighting Spirit, HIStory & Keep The Trance are all ok - not worthy of being on the album.

SoulAlive said:

Absolument

heartbeatocean said:

It is a very consistent album.It could almost be considered a concept album and the songs flow together very well.

AlexdeParis said:

I LOVE act of contrition!

CHIC0 said:

what is this?

Moonbeam said:

How dare you put "Keep It Together" at the very end! After "Act Of Contrition"?!

errant said:

I'm confused....which version is this (posted above) and when was it recorded? I know there are several versions,the earliest ones dating back to 1981.

I like her vocals on this one