"Warner Remasters" of MADONNA

And Van Halen.

 

This was from a time when we automatically assumed that remasters were a good thing! The only way the Madonna ones were an improvement was in the improved artwork and the 2 bonus tracks that were attached to each release.

 

It's time Madonna first 4 albums were reissued properly with loads of remixes and a DVD of all the videos/live clips and promo pieces. I mean, how many copies did all these albums sell anyway? They have to be amongst the biggest sellers of the 80s. Possibly Michael Jackson is the only one who outsold them?

 

Nope...I wanted to compare them to the original cd's.

 

Okay... I thought they were more or less universally panned around here.

 

I like all that stuff... and never bought any Madonna after the first two either. Go figure.

 

Hey! We should talk music then. Not that many boogie lovers around here, but I think it's some of the best music ever made, particularly in it's genre--great aesthetics too!
I bought "true blue" & "like a prayer" but only liked a couple of songs on each, and those albums never really became my favorites. Her albums after that I never bought...I only recently found a copy of "ray of light", and hearing it completely after only hearing 2 songs, I cannot see what all the fuss was back when it came out. Sure, it was a new direction for Madonna, but it just doesn't do much for me. (and that is coming from a synth/electronic guy!)

 

It was on a Japan EP CD too.

 

I actually thought Madonna was black when I first heard Holiday back in 1983, it was played along with Shannon Let The Music Play so I assumed she was black. I was s surprised to see a white blond woman in the Borderline video LOL. I played True Blue to death I loved the album but Like A Prayer was always her opus to me. I still don't own her first album, I have the LAV remasters and a copy the original True Blue CD. She really needs a proper 12" compilation remastered.

 

The best story about her was she was real low priority at Sire Records and she visited Seymour Stein in hospital and she'd just dyed here hair blonde. Seymour was so impressed with her hair that she became a high priority artist overnight. (her first single didn't even have her picture on the cover)

 

The first album is excellent. A bit 'raw', but no filler. The best LAV I've heard is the original UK one that contains a bonus track of Into The Groove, which was #1 at the time. Sounds a lot nicer than the remaster. Another great later album is Bedtime Stories. I'm always trying to raise that album's profile!

 

I still listen to the original version of her first album a fair amount. Not sure any remaster would improve on it much. Sounds fine as it is.

 

The remaster didn't improve on it sound wise, though did include a couple of extended mixes as bonus tracks. The remasters of Like A Virgin and True Blue both sounded horrible.

 

Sorry I hated Bedtimes Stories, I still do, one of my least fav Madonna albums, I never play it. I don't think I have a copy anymore, I only had it on cassette in the day, I got rid of all my cassettes when I moved.

 

I found a Japanese cd of "Like a Virgin" for a dollar. You'll be proud to know I put it back.

 

Really? That's my favourite Madonna album of the 90s. Even over Ray Of Light.

 

The Madonna, Dire Straits, and Van Halen CDs released under the "Warner Remasters" banner are all lousy. Loud and bright. Stick with the original CDs, which are easy to find.

 

I think Madonna's first album has aged the best out of all her '80s albums. Eight perfect tracks and the production is top-notch. "Physical Attraction" is underrated in my opinion. I always thought her first album got overshadowed by the monster success of "Like a Virgin".

True Blue is probably my favourite because of nostalgia and it has so many great singles but it has some filler (ie. "Jimmy Jimmy" which is cute but I'm sure Madonna finds it ghastly nowadays). "Like a Virgin" was never one of my favourite M albums. I cannot explain why - the singles were great but the rest never clicked with me. "Like a Prayer" is an excellent album but, to this day, I still cannot enjoy "Love Song" (with Prince). To me, it ruins the momentum set by the title track and "Express Yourself".

BTW, I always thought it odd that "Like a Prayer" was not included in the remasters.

 

I agree about Love Song with Prince. It's utterly dreadful. Not even good enough for a B-side. If anything ruins Like A Prayer, it's that.

 

I've never been a fan of Take A Bow, not a babyface fan, I didn't like the musical direction of the album. Only song I've ever really like from it was Secret.

 

I like the fact it's quite downbeat and romantic. I thought Take A Bow was one of her best singles of the 90s! We're all different, eh?! Babyface produced a new version of I Honestly Love You for Olivia in 1998. It's a very similar style to Take A Bow, now I think about it. Babyface had a 'sound' didn't he?!

 

I absolutely hate Babyface's version of I Honestly Love you yuck! I don't like the way he slows down songs like that, Olivia's original is so much better

 

I don't mind IHLY 1998. It's a big cheesy and 'Vegas'. You can't beat the original, though I like her more mature vocal on the 1998 one.

 

And back to the topic. These remasters were a missed opportunity to finally have some of the 7" edits / remixes on CD for the very first time. Instead we got 2 remixes on each of them which had previously been available on CD. I don't get it.

 

Well, it's explained in the insert that the rest of her output is "already perfect sounding" – which was of course just another way of saying "We really can't be bothered about the rest". In retrospect that's a good thing since these remasters sound horribly fatigueing.