The debut album: Madonna (1983)
Reviews:
"Madonna's album is state of the art dance-pop loaded with hits from 'Holiday' and 'Lucky Star' to 'Borderline'. Irresistible pop hooks glide across shimmering synth beats to make this a landmark album of the early 80's. -
Bill Lamb | About.com
"Without overstepping the modest ambitions of minimal funk, Madonna issues an irresistible invitation to the dance." -
Don Shewey | Rolling Stone
"Heralding the synth-heavy movement was a debut album [Madonna] that sounds just as fresh today as it did almost two decades ago." -
Sal Cinquemani | Slant Magazine
Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, saying "[Madonna] might have wound up just another post-disco dolly if [the songs on the album] didn't announce her ability to fuse club beats with peerless pop." In July 2008, the magazine ranked the album at number 5 in their list of "Top 100 Best Albums of Past 25 Years." -
Jim Farber | Entertainment Weekly
"Nearly 20 years after the release of Madonna, such tracks as 'Holiday', 'Physical Attraction', 'Borderline' and 'Lucky Star' remains irresistible." -
Michael Paoletta | Billboard
Robert Christgau gave the album an A- and said,
"In case you bought the con, disco never died — just reverted to the crazies who thought it was worth living for. This shamelessly ersatz blonde is one of them, and with the craftily orchestrated help of a fine selection of producers, remixers, and DJs, she's come up with a shamelessly ersatz sound that's tighter than her tummy — essence of electro, the D in DOR." Robert Christgau
Like A Virgin (1984)
Reviews:
"It was Like a Virgin which reflected Madonna as a more versatile and artistic performer and vocals on this album being reflectively sharper in contrast to her early works in the music industry." J.Randy Taraborrelli
Michael Paoletta from Billboard commented that the songs on the album sustain a "fevered dance-rock momentum" Michael Paoletta | Billboard
Stephen Holden from The New York Times said:
"With a tough-cookie voice that's both coy and streetwise, Madonna's singing harks back to the rock-and-roll girl-group tradition that preceded the Beatles. But where girl groups, from the Shirelles to the Ronettes, worshipfully extolled their boyfriends' cars, haircuts and rebel poses, Madonna's point of view is decidedly more self-interested. In matters of love, she is a comparison shopper with a shrewd sense of her own market value. The words 'shiny and new' describe not only the way the love-smitten singer feels in the title song but the sound of the album." Stephen Holden | The New York Times
"Though not as innovative as her debut, Like a Virgin stands as one of the most definitive pop artifacts from the indulgent Reagan Era. The mid-tempo ballad 'Shoo-Bee-Doo' and a soulful cover of Rose Royce's 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' proved Madonna could churn out more than just novelty hits, while the sugary 'Angel' and the irresistible 'Dress You Up' contributed to the singer's record-breaking list of consecutive Top 5 hits (16 in all). The retro-infused 'Stay' and the percussive 'Over and Over' are the album's hidden gems." Sal Cinquemani | Slant Magazine
"Like a Virgin was Madonna's breakthrough, playing off her self-conscious campiness with a series of hot dance tracks, attention-grabbing lyrics and steamy videos."
Hugo Mistry | Chicago Tribune
True Blue (1986)
True Blue received generally positive reviews from music critics. Music critics praise the fact that Madonna's voice sounded stronger than it did on her previous efforts.
Reviews:
[I]Jon Pareles, in a review for The New York Times, said:
"True Blue reprised the themes of fidelity in its songs and complimented her addition of a tinge of real world storytelling in her songs, making her reach the "fringes of the permissible".
Jon Pareles | The New York Times
In a Rolling Stone review, Davitt Sigerson stated that Madonna was "singing better than ever." The album's songs were called "catchy", but Sigerson also commented on the lack of outstanding songs. He ultimately stated that True Blue is a "sturdy, dependable, lovable new album" which "remains faithful to her past while shamelessly rising above it."
Davitt Sigerson | Rolling Stone
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review for Allmusic, declared it as
"one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun." He further explained "
what's brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as "Papa Don't Preach," where she defiantly states she's keeping her baby. It's easy to position anti-abortionism as feminism, but what's tricky is to transcend your status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl-group pop ("True Blue," "Jimmy Jimmy") to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves ("Open Your Heart," "Where's the Party"), touching on Latin rhythms ("La Isla Bonita"), making a plea for world peace ("Love Makes the World Go Round"), and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover ("Live to Tell")."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine | Allmusic
Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine called the album
"the supreme archetype for late '80s and early '90s pop music.[...] Time stamped with '80s-era keyboard and drum synths, True Blue, though chockfull of hits, is the most dated of Madonna's albums." He praised the album's songs for being
more mature than "Material Girl", and said that the album
"includes some of Madonna's greatest, most influential hits (the robust "Open Your Heart" and the timeless "La Isla Bonita"), but it's also home to some of her biggest clunkers."
Sal Cinquemani | Slant Magazine
Michael Paoletta from Billboard commented in 2001 that nearly 20 years after its debut, the album is still irresistible.
Micahel Paoletta | Billboard
Entertainment Weekly reviewer Jim Farber said
"Though Madonna's third project finds her adding to her palette with Spanish pop ("La Isla Bonita") and messing with our heads with its seeming anti-abortion song ("Papa Don't Preach"). Also notable for 'Live to Tell,' her best ballad to date".
Jim Farber | Entertainment Weekly
Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times stated that
"True Blue isn't revolutionary music, but it is imaginative, highly energized pop that recognizes the limitations and pleasures of Top 40 fare."
Robert Hilburn | Los Angeles Times
Like A Prayer (1989)
Like a Prayer received generally positive reviews from music critics. Madonna was commended for her autobiographical songwriting, as well as her improved vocals.
Reviews:
J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone hailed it as
"...as close to art as pop music gets ... proof not only that Madonna should be taken seriously as an artist but that hers is one of the most compelling voices of the Eighties." Considine also said the tracks "are stunning in their breadth and achievement.
J. D. Considine | Rolling Stone
Lloyd Bradley of Q said,
"musically it's varied, unexpected and far from instantly accessible; lyrically, it's moving, intelligent and candid."
Lloyd Bradley | Q
Robert Christgau awarded the album a B+. He felt that
"the declaration of filial independence and the recommendation of romantic independence [are] challenging, thrilling--and they'll get more thrilling."
Allmusic noted that Like a Prayer is Madonna's
"most explicit attempt at a major artistic statement [...] Madonna displays a commanding sense of songcraft, making this her best and most consistent album."
BBC, in an article about the ups and downs of Madonna's career, said the album's release
"marks the moment when critics first begin to describe Madonna as an artist, rather than a mere pop singer."
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the album as
"a collection of pop confections layered with live instrumentation, sophisticated arrangements, deeply felt lyrics, and a stronger, more assured vocal." The review concluded by declaring
Like a Prayer "one of the quintessential pop albums of all time.
Erotica (1992)
Despite the controversy surrounding the Erotica era, music critics were mostly positive about the album
Reviews:
Allmusic states,
"While it didn't set the charts on fire like her previous albums, the ambitious Erotica contains some of Madonna's best and most accomplished music."
Arion Berger of Rolling Stone gave the album four stars (out of five), writing,
"Erotica is everything Madonna has been denounced for being — meticulous, calculated, domineering and artificial. It accepts those charges and answers with a brilliant record to prove them."
J. D. Considine stated that
"what seems most surprising about the songs [...] is that they find Madonna lusting for love, not panting after sex."
In its 15th anniversary review of the album,
Slant Magazine called Erotica
"Madonna at her most important, at her most relevant."
In 2010, an
MTV News blog wrote,
"Because the content is so obsessed with sex, the music on Erotica often gets short shrift, but it's one of the strongest albums of Madonna's career."
Bedtime Stories (1994)
Bedtime Stories, ever since its release, has received generally positive reviews from critics
Reviews:
Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars and a positive review, claiming that it
"is a warm album" and that it "offers her most humane and open music".
Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a positive review as well, giving it a B+ grade, and writing that
"the new tracks work less as individual songs than as a sustained mood" and that Madonna "still has something to reveal".
Barbara O'Dair of Rolling Stone also gave the album a favourable review and three-and-a-half stars out of five, writing that
"Madonna has come up with awfully compelling sounds".
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave Bedtime Stories a positive review and four out of five stars, writing that it is
"a fluffy-pillowed concept album that unfolds like a musical fairy tale".
Ray Of Light (1998)
On release, the album received positive reception from international music critics.
Reviews:
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine described the album as
"one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s" and stated that: "Its lyrics are uncomplicated but its statement is grand" and "Madonna hadn't been this emotionally candid since Like a Prayer".
Roni Sarig, in an editorial review for
Amazon.com, stated that Ray of Light
"is her richest, most accomplished record yet." He was most impressed by Madonna's vocal range, depth, and clarity which had become stronger since her voice lessons for the film Evita (1996).
Spin magazine declared Madonna's new album to be her
"most radical, mask-free work."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic called Ray of Light Madonna's
"most adventurous record" and her "most mature and restrained album." In his review he gave the album four out of five stars.
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A-, noting
"For all her grapplings with self-enlightenment, Madonna seems more relaxed and less contrived than she's been in years, from her new Italian earth-mother makeover to, especially, her music. Ray of Light is truly like a prayer, and you know she'll take you there."
Writing for Melody Maker in February 1998, Mark Roland drew comparisons with the music of St Etienne and Björk's Homogenic album, highlighting Ray of Light's lack of cynicism as its most positive aspect;
"It's not an album turned on the lathe of cynical pop manipulation, rather it's been squished out of a lump of clay on a foot-powered wheel. Lovingly teased into life, "Ray Of Light" is like the ugly mug that doesn't match but is all the more special because of it."
Music critic
Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times wrote,
"One reason why her new 'Ray of Light' is the most satisfying album of her career is that it reflects the soul-searching of a woman who is at a point in her life where she can look at herself with surprising and prespective."
Music (2000)
The critical response to Music was very positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 80.
Reviews:
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic praised the album's layered music, giving it four out of five stars, and described
Madonna's collaboration with Mirwais as the reason why the album "comes alive with spark and style".
Robert Christgau gave the album an A rating,
describing the tracks as "good, all chintzy".
Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a A rating, writing that
"Who else could release their catchiest album nearly 20 years into a career? The title song recaptures the simple perfection of "Holiday," and brings her career full circle."
Dimitri Ehrlich from Vibe described the album as
"a masterpiece of brilliantly arranged keyboards, futuristic drums, and electronica dressings. With folky acoustic guitars and a vaguely spiritual bent to her lyrics (like those on Ray of Light), it's a weird and fresh-sounding album."
American Life (2003)
Reviews:
E! Online gave the album a generally positive review claiming the album featured
"warmer sounds and earthy touches" responding well to the track "Nothing Fails" commenting on the "acoustic guitars and a choir that comes from nowhere" featured in the track.
Uncut also responded well calling it a
"21st century version" of the Love album Forever Changes saying " it does a similarly eerie ambivalence with its fusion of mind-altering sonics and mellow acoustics".
Billboard's Ken Tucker noted the lyrical differences from past albums such as Ray of Light positively saying
"American Life relies less on spiritual introspection and more on woman-in-the-mirror confrontation."
Alex Petridis of The Guardian responded well to parts of the record saying
"American Life's best tracks make a mockery of virtually all other current pop music"
Confessions On A Dance Floor (2005)
Confessions on a Dance Floor garnered universal acclaim from music critics, holding a score of 80/100 on Metacritic based on 28 professional reviews.
Reviews:
Alexis Petridis from The Guardian said that the album "
may be a return to core values, but there's still a bravery about Confessions on a Dancefloor. It revels in the delights of wilfully plastic dance pop in an era when lesser dance-pop artists – from Rachel Stevens to Price's protege Juliet – are having a desperately thin time of it."
Peter Robinson from Observer Music Monthly declared that
the album ranks alongside Madonna's other albums like True Blue (1986) and Like a Prayer (1989). He credited producer Stuart Price for the album, noting that "Confessions clearly wouldn't exist without Madonna, but it's Price who steals the show."
Stephen M. Deusner from Pitchfork Media noted that with the album
"Madonna again reinvents herself, and it appears she's nearly lapped herself." According to Deusner, the music also makes her appear young. However he felt that the first half of the album till "I Love New York" was strong, while the second half "loses its delicate balance between pop frivolity and spiritual gravity."
Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times called the album
"exuberant."
Josh Tyrangiel from Time magazine commented that "
In dance music, words exist to be repeated, twisted, obscured and resurrected. How they sound in the moment is far more important than what they mean, and Madonna knows that better than anyone. Confessions on a Dance Floor is 56 minutes of energetic moments. It will leave you feeling silly for all the right reasons."
Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine was impressed with the album and said that "
Madonna, with the help of Price, [...] has succeeded at creating a dance-pop odyssey with an emotional, if not necessarily narrative, arc — and one big continuously-mixed ****-you to the art-dismantling iPod Shuffle in the process."
Hard Candy (2008)
Hard Candy received a score of 65/100 on Metacritic, which indicates "generally favorable reviews.
Reviews:
Tom Young from Blender gave a positive review saying "
On Hard Candy, she's like an aging master thief sneaking into the temple of pop goodies for one last big score. Album 11 is good-naturedly smutty, not confrontationally nasty, but it's a veritable filth bath compared to the C-SPAN sermons and confessional strumming of 2003's dreadful American Life or the woozily self-actualized club trance of 2005's Confessions on a Dance Floor."
Mike Collett-White from Reuters reported: "
As parting gifts go, Madonna's 11th studio album—and her last before she exits long-term record label Warner Bros.—is unusually generous, if early reviews are to be believed. [...] Hard Candy scored solidly among rock critics."
Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone said that Hard Candy is the work of "
a songwriting team of American chart royalty" that helps Madonna "revisit her roots as an urban-disco queen. [...] For Hard Candy, she lets top-shelf producers make her their plaything."
Ben Thompson from The Guardian commented on the music by saying that "
Hard Candy is a tough, nuggety confection offering plenty for listeners to get their teeth into. [...] Whenever [it] threatens to get boring, something always happens to recapture your interest."
MDNA (2012)
Special thanks to our contributing editor: Nicole
