W2-25157 ( )

Product Details

* Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Warner Bros / Wea
* Catalog Number: 25157
* ASIN: B000002L6P
* Other Editions: Audio Cassette
* Average Customer Review: based on 62 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,936 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #18,571 in Music

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1. Material Girl Listen Listen
2. Angel Listen Listen
3. Like A Virgin Listen Listen
4. Over And Over Listen Listen
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore Listen Listen
6. Dress You Up Listen
7. Shoo-Bee-Doo Listen
8. Pretender Listen
9. Stay Listen

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Madonna's second album was her breakthrough, thanks principally to two gimmicky hits: the sinuous "Like a Virgin," with its taboo-busting metaphor for that fresh, clean new-love feeling, and the cutesy, Betty-Boopsy "Material Girl." Most of the rest of the album, although similarly frothy, is superior to those warhorses, notably the irresistible LP tracks "Over and Over," and "Pretender"--which adds a bit of gossamer delicacy to the mandatory bounciness. "Dress You Up" is a Madonna classic, an insubstantial dance-pop delight bedecked in synthesized bells and replete to the beat with kinky suggestions. And there's a sign of greater depth to come in her cover of Rose Royce's elegiac ballad "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," a heartfelt vocal supported by a subtle, gorgeous arrangement helmed by producer Nile Rodgers and his two key Chic instrumental compatriots, Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson. --Ken Barnes
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
The album that defined my adolescence, August 22, 2002
Reviewer: Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
There I was, a shy, geeky spendthrifty 14-year-old. Then along came Madonna and Like a Virgin. Suddenly, I was a total Madonna addict, listening to this album religiously every day, buying every silly teen mag that even mentioned her, and--to the horror of my parents--covering all of my walls with Madonna posters. No other album has ever had such a influence on me. I was still shy and geeky, of course, but I was a changed person. Over the years, my Madonna worship waned but never disappeared. Going back and listening to this CD now, I am amazed at how great it sounds, and I enjoy the memories it stirs inside of me.

No one can deny how huge this album was. It made Madonna a superstar, and it sunk its anchors into both the album and single bestseller charts. The title track was of course a huge hit and represents to me a cultural phenomenon. Material Girl had an even larger impact, and many would argue the song basically defined the decade of the 80s; it certainly helped shape the decade. Dress You Up was just a fun song with a great beat; as things turned out, it was to a certain extent prophetic because Madonna basically did dress up great multitudes of young admirers copying the Madonna look. Angel was another big hit, largely because it was so easy to relate to. Anyone who has ever had a crush on someone knows exactly what Madonna is singing about here. Over and Over also charted, I believe; it lacks the substance of the other songs on the album, but both the words and the energizing music do encourage you to keep going in the face of setbacks. Love Don't Live Here Anymore is the true gem on here, though. I kept expecting it to be released as a single because I really believed it would be a huge hit. Some parts of the album are a little sugary, but this song proved that Madonna did have substance and a talented voice. She packed real emotion and power into her lyrics, and I have always found the song to be well nigh heartbreaking. As for the remaining songs, Shoo-Be-Doo and Pretender are somewhat formulaic and lack pizzazz, but Stay is a song I have always liked quite a bit. It has an emotional quality that I find compelling; I could do without the "scoop scoop" choruses, but overall I find it a song of significant merit.

Not everyone will associate this album with a personal paradigm shift of great personal importance (which is how I view it), but when you get down to brass tacks, the album has more than its fair share of great songs which remain fun and vibrant all these years later. These songs still energize and inspire me, and Love Don't Live Here Anymore still captivates me. For those who discovered Madonna in the 90s or more recently, these songs may sound simplistic or perhaps immature, but I believe that the eternal spirit, magic, and unparalleled success of Madonna can be traced back to its very source in Like A Virgin.