10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Madonna might not have liked the album, but I sure did., April 3, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Virgin Voices Vol. 1: A Tribute To Madonna (Audio CD)
Interesting album, but definetely not for everyone even if you are a Madonna fan. Cause this sure isn't Madonna.
1. Heaven 17-Holiday: One of the good tunes, this version has a Todd Terry (think MISSING by Everything But the Girl) beat.
2. Loleatta Holloway-Like a Prayer: Probably my 2nd favorite off the album. Loleatta uses her powerful voice to make the song very gospel-y. The beat is kinda like the one on The Immaculate Collection.
3. Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow-Like a Virgin: Proof not to mess with a Madonna tune. The only good thing about this version is that the beat is different and fun. Other than that, Annabella doesn't sing this song with any sexuality and just goes thru it. No emotion. Think of it as one of those cheesy covers that an unknown makes.
4. Dead or Alive-Why Its So Hard: Great track. More upbeat than the reg. version but Dead or Alive makes this tune sound perfect.
5. Berlin-Live to Tell: Probably my favorite track on the whole CD, BERLIN doesn't kill the track and gives it that emotion and voice that it so rightfully deserves.
6. Astralasia-Vogue: Fun and decent version made by these electro-pioneers. The beat is faster and more techno.
7. Frontline Assembly-Justify My Love: What a tune! Just as good as Madonna's. Infact I think someone on alt.fan.madonna said it best when they said "this is the version Madonna would've probably made if she wasn't worried about it getting played," Sure, the first time you listen to it you might think the woman is singing while dying, but keep listening to it and you'll feel it.
8. Amanda Ghost w/Boy George on backing vocals-Bad Girl: Hmm.. well, the first time I listened to this online I was disappointed. But after a few spins I actually enjoy it. The whole rhythm is drum n bass with a flute (or some other flute-sounding instrument) playing in the background. The only thing I really don't enjoy is the way she sings it. So fast and probably missing the whole sadness to the song. Again, no emotion.
9. KMFDM- Material Girl: Another one of the great tracks! The guy singing it is scary in a cool way. Sounding robotish in many parts. The beat is indescribable and very different from M's version. Definitely nothing like the original, industrial band KMFDM makes this track all theirs.
10. Silverbeam-Bedtime Story: One of the tracks that could probably surpass Madonna's version. She actually sounds like Madonna in a slower way. The beat for this one is like the beginning of Fabien's Good God Mix of "The Power Of Good-bye" .
11. Information Society-Express Yourself: What a corny and horrible version this one is. The only part I like is that they added "one woman in many faces" in the background on some parts.
12. Spahn Ranch-Swim: These techno dance terrorists did great work on the track. More synthy than the original but not changing the greatness of it.
13. Gene Loves Jezebel-Frozen (razed in black mix): Love this one. The track itself sounds like a remix of the original except using a male's vocals. More techno than Madonna's version.
14. The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black- Burning Up (interface mix): Horror is the keyword. :)
Overall, not a terrible album. Its fun listening to other artists' interpretation of Madonna's tracks. While some succeed, others fail. The only thing the failure's prove is that no matter what you do to the track, no one can beat the way Madonna does a tune. None can match her emotion or her spark.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I love Industrial, December 29, 1999
This review is from: Virgin Voices Vol. 1: A Tribute To Madonna (Audio CD)
Any CD that has Front Line Assembly or KMFDM in it needs to be a part of my collection.
I like the Immaculate Collection of Madonna's and I couldn't find anything wrong with this cd - but imagine hard core Madonna lovers may find this a bit out of listening range. Since I'm more of an Industrial Phreak, I found this cd to be a great additon to my 500+ cd's ! I like things that are innovative and different, and this definitely is.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite Madonna tribute album, March 15, 2003
This review is from: Virgin Voices Vol. 1: A Tribute To Madonna (Audio CD)
I personally love Cleopatra Records' tribute albums, let alone goth and industrial music. And being a big Madonna fan, I thought the idea of synth-pop, goth, and industrial artists/bands covering Madonna's songs were a wicked idea. Normally I'm not wild on tribute albums, especially nowadays when even Britney Spears and NSYNC have tribute albums out (i.e a bunch of unknown singers covering bad pop music). Personally I prefer the second volume of "Virgin Voices". Still the first album had some first rate cover songs. One of my particular favorites is Loleatta Holloway's cover of "Like a Prayer". She turns the pop song into a house classic. I didn't realize until later on that this tribute album would be my first introduction to one of my favorte pop/rock artists Amanda Ghost. I'm not wild on "Bad Girl" as a song but Amanda's contributions to the song was enjoyable enough for me. I thought KMFDM and Front Line Assembly did an excellent job of giving the listener an earful on their versions of "Material Girl" and "Justify My Love". Their abrasive, industrial beats allowed them to turn Madonna's songs into their own. I can't say that I like "Like a Virgin" as a song nor did I like the version that Bow Wow Wow singer Annabella Lwin did. Being a big Dead or Alive fan, I loved their version of "Why It's So Hard". That isn't really one of my favorite Madonna songs but they way they covered the song made me appreciate the song even more so. The only other miss I found on this album was the "Burning Up" [Interface Mix] by The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. I'm not really familiar with the song itself nor did I enjoy the TVHKB's version. Other than that and "Like a Virgin", I loved what the artists and bands brought to the table with their renditions of classic Madonna songs.
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