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Madonna is Madonna's self-titled debut studio album that was released on July 27, 1983 by Sire and Warner Bros. Records.

Tracklisting

  1. Lucky Star 5:30
  2. Borderline 5:18
  3. Burning Up 3:41
  4. I Know It 3:45
  5. Holiday 6:08
  6. Think Of Me 4:53
  7. Physical Attraction 6:35
  8. Everybody 4:57

Album Background

In 1982, 24-year-old Madonna was living in New York, trying to set up her music career. She was joined by her then-Detroit boyfriend Steve Bray who became the drummer of her band, the Breakfast Club, which played generally hard-rock music.

Soon they abandoned playing songs in the hard-rock genre, and got signed by a music management company called Gotham Records, planning to move in a new musical direction.

They decided to pursue the funk genre, but the record company was not happy with their musical talents and they were dropped from the label; Madonna and Bray left the band also.

Meanwhile, Madonna had written and developed some songs on her own. She carried rough tapes of three of the songs: "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal" and "Burning Up".

At that time, she was frequenting the Danceteria nightclub in New York. It was here that Madonna convinced the DJ Mark Kamins to play "Everybody". The song was received positively by the crowd, and Kamins decided that he should get Madonna a record deal, on the understanding that he would get to produce the single.

Kamins took Madonna to his boss Chris Blackwell, who owned Island Records, but Blackwell refused to sign her, so they approached Sire Records. Michael Rosenblatt (who worked in the artists and repertoire department of Sire, offered Madonna $5,000 in advance, plus $1,000 in royalties, for each song she wrote.

Madonna was ultimately signed for two 12" singles by the President of Sire, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing after listening to "Everybody" at a hospital in Lenox Hill where he was admitted.

The 12-inch version of "Everybody" was produced by Mark Kamins at Blank Tapes Studios in New York, who took over the production work from Steve Bray. The new recording of the song ran 5:56 on one side and 9:23 for the dub version on the reverse side. Madonna and Kamins had to record the single at their own cost.

Arthur Baker (a friend of Mark Kamins) guided him through the role of a music producer and provided him with studio musician Fred Zarr who played keyboards on the track.

Zarr became one of the common musical threads on the album by eventually performing on every track. Due to restrained budget the recording was done hurriedly. Madonna and Kamins had difficulty in understanding each other's inputs for the sessions.

Rosenblatt wanted to release "Everybody" with "Ain't No Big Deal" on the other side, but later changed his mind and put "Everybody" on both sides of the vinyl record after hearing the recorded version of "Ain't No Big Deal".

The single was commercially released in October 1982 and became a dance hit in the United States. This led to Sire signing Madonna for an LP and two more singles.

Development

"Madonna" was primarily recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in New York City.

Madonna opted not to work with either Kamins or Bray, but chose Reggie Lucas, a Warner Bros. producer. Bray decided to push her in the musical direction of pop music and recorded the song "Burning Up" with her.

However, Madonna still did not have enough material to generate a full album. The songs available were "Lucky Star", a new version of "Ain't No Big Deal", "Think of Me" and "I Know It". Lucas brought another two songs to the project, "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline".

As he recorded the tracks he deviated considerably from the original versions of the demos; one such altered song was "Lucky Star". The song was written by Madonna for Kamins, who previously promised to play the track at Danceteria.

However, the track was instead used by Madonna for the album, which she planned to call "Lucky Star." She believed that "Lucky Star" (along with "Borderline") were the perfect foundation for her album.

Problems arose between her and Lucas during the recording of the songs. Madonna was unhappy with the way the final versions turned out.

According to Madonna, Lucas used too many instruments and did not consider Madonna's ideas for the songs; this led to a dispute between the two and, after finishing the album, Lucas left the project without tailoring the songs to Madonna's specifications; hence, she called John "Jellybean" Benitez, a DJ at Funhouse disco, to remix the available tracks.

In the meantime, due to a conflict of interest, Bray had sold the song "Ain't No Big Deal" to an act on another label, rendering it unavailable for Madonna's project.

It was Benitez who discovered a new song, written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of the pop group Pure Energy. The song (titled "Holiday") had been turned down by Phyllis Hyman and Mary Wilson, formerly of The Supremes.

Benitez and Madonna sent the demo to their friend, Fred Zarr so he could embellish the arrangement and program the synthesizer lines. After the vocals were recorded by Madonna, Benitez spent four days trying to enhance the commercial appeal of the track before the April 1983 deadline.

Just before it was completed, Madonna and Benitez met Fred Zarr at Sigma Sound in Manhattan, where Zarr added the now familiar piano solo towards the end of the track.

Composition

According to AllMusic, "Madonna" is a dance-pop and post-disco album.

The overall sound of the album is dissonant, and is in the form of upbeat synthetic disco, utilizing some of the new technology of the time, like the usage of Linn drum machine, Moog bass and the OB-X synthesizer; this equipment has dated since, consequently the sound of the album comes off as somewhat harsh.

Madonna commented on her debut album: "The songs were pretty weak and I went to England during the recordings so I wasn't around... I wasn't in control. [...] I didn't realize how crucial it was for me to break out of the disco mold before I'd already finished the [first] album. I wish I could have got a little more variety there."

The album starts with the song "Lucky Star", a medium-paced dance track, beginning with a sparkle of synth note and is followed by heavy beats of electronic drum and handclaps. A guitar is played in high riff and a bubbling bass synth is produced to accompany the guitar sound.

The song revolves around the "Starlight, starbright" hook for more than a minute, before going to the chorus.

According to author Rikky Rooksby, the lyrics are repetitive and inane, revolving around the transparent ambiguity of the stars, and juxtaposition of the male character with being a heavenly body in the sky.

"Borderline" is a sentimental track, talking about a love that is never quite fulfilled. According to author Santiago Fouz-Hernández and his book Madonna's drowned worlds, the lyrics of the song like: "Something in the way you love me won't let me be/I don't want to be your prisoner so baby won't you set me free" depicted a rebellion against male chauvinism.

Madonna used a refined and expressive voice to sing the song, backed by Lucas's instrumentation. The song opens with a keyboard rich intro and a catchy synth melody provided by Fred Zarr. Bass player Anthony Jackson doubled Dean Gant's synth bass to provide a solid and more complex texture.

The chords in the song were inspired by Seventies disco sound in Philadelphia as well as Elton John's musical style during the mid-seventies.

The chord sequences cite from Bachman–Turner Overdrive's song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" while the synth phases display her typical musical style.

The third track "Burning Up" has a starker arrangement, brought about by bass, single guitar and Linn drum machine. The drum beats used in the song were reminiscent to the records of singer Phil Collins.

It also incorporated electric guitars and the most state-of-the-art synthesizers of that time. The chorus is a repetition of the same three lines, while the bridge consists of a series of double entendres; the lyrics describing what Madonna is prepared to do for her lover, and that she is individualistic and shameless.

The next track "I Know It" has a gentler swing to it and features music from piano, a saxophone, synth phrases while having an offbeat chord change.

"Holiday" consists of a four-bar sequence, featuring instrumentation from guitars, electronic drums and handclaps from the Oberheim DMX, cowbell played by Madonna and a synthesized string arrangement. A side-by-side repetitive progression is achieved by making use of the chorus.

Towards the end of the song, a change in the arrangement happens where a piano break is heard. Lyrically, the song expresses the universal sentiment that everybody needs a holiday.

In "Think of Me", Madonna warns her erring lover that he should pay her attention or else she would leave.

The song consists of beats from the Linn drum machine and a saxophone interlude. "Physical Attraction" is a medium paced track, with synth bass, a guitar line, sounds of a brass and Madonna singing in a shrill voice, about the attraction between herself and a boy.

The last song on the album is "Everybody", which starts with a heavily synthesized and spoken introduction, with Madonna taking a loud intake of breath. Madonna displayed her bubblegum-pop like voice in the song, which was also doubletracked.

Album Artwork

"Madonna" was first released in the United States on July 27, 1983 by Sire Records.

The album was originally slated to be titled "Lucky Star" after the track of the same name, but it was eventually titled simply "Madonna" perhaps that this singular name could have star power.

The album's artwork was shot by photographer Gary Heery and directed by Carin Goldberg.

The front cover shows Madonna with short-cropped platinum hair, wearing a number of black rubber bangles on her hands and a dog chain around her throat. Her navel is also prominent on the inner sleeve of the album.

Madonna commented: "The picture inside the dust of sleeve of my first album has me, like, in this Betty Boop pose with my belly button showing. Then when people reviews the album, they kept talking about my cute belly button. [...] I think there are other unobvious places on the body that are sexy and the stomach is kind of innocent."

Regarding the album photoshoot, Gary Heery recalled: "[Madonna] arrived at my Broadway studio in New York with a small bag of clothes and jewelry, and no entourage. Then, in front of the camera she was explosive, like a great model, but with her own unique style. She came over the next day to see some prints and the proofs, and there was shot after shot to choose from. We agreed on every choice and whittled it down to the album cover images. I had no idea what I had just been a party to."

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