Customer Reviews

Virgin Voices Vol. 1: A Tribute To Madonna

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I normally do not like tribute albums, but I am a huge Madonna fan, and I love most artists under the Cleopatra label, so this was like a dream come true. Especially Front Line Assembly's remake of Justify My Love. The vocals and beat combine together to make a very sexy rhythm that Madonna must approve of herself! This is worth every dime and then some.

I originaly bought the album because I heard the Gene Loves Jezebel mix, wich is absolutely fab and the only reason this album got 2 stars. I thought the rest would be just as good. Was I wrong! The renditions are very unimaginative and offensive to the ear. Which is a major dissapointment because I love most of the artists. I would suggest not buying this album.

I originaly bought the album because I heard the Gene Loves Jezebel mix, wich is absolutely fab and the only reason this album got 2 stars. I thought the rest would be just as good. Was I wrong! The renditions are very unimaginative and offensive to the ear. Which is a major dissapointment because I love most of the artists. I would suggest not buying this album.

The concept of this collection thrilled me when I first encountered it. Dead or Alive, Information Society, Front Line Assembly, etc... the CD was this GenX-er's dream line-up. That said, as the first half-dozen tracks play you start to wonder if this was such a good idea afterall. Many of the tracks strike you as simply bad covers...You might as well have Madonna as sung by the Beat Street Band or Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. In other words, something just isn't right. People trying too hard...bands after band afraid to deviate from the original yet failing to carry off a reasonable clone. You can cover a lot of artists...but you just shouldn't cover Madonna. BUT THEN...something strange happens...the further you get into the collection, it becomes less and less an atrocity. So by the time you've gone through it 3 or 4 times, this collection...you realize...is pretty much as cool as you thought it looked when you examined the track listing. When you stop hearing Madonna's voice singing along in your head to every track...that's when it really starts to stand on its own.

What keeps it from 5 stars then? Two fumbled contributions...and it pains me to knock either one: The biggest audio horror on the CD: KMFDM's Material Girl. I love KMFDM, I really do, but this track was obviously added more for the KMFDM name on the back than for the actual worth of the song - which is crap.

Less of a horror, but distracting none the less: Information Society. Again, I love InfoSoc, but here they (he?) pointlessly reverse gender references on Express Yourself. This is either immensely homophobic or it's an attempt at some kind of ironic statement...but whichever - it fails and generally ruins an otherwise noteworthy effort from a "band" we haven't seen enough of in recent years.

Kudos should go to Cleopatra records at this point for recently recharging greats bands like Dead or Alive, InfoSoc, etc. with some generally on the mark new albums.

As for Virgin Voices vol.1: Ultimately, single-minded Madonna fans may very well hate this CD. Personally, I'm eagerly awaiting the promised Volume 2.

As a devoted fan of any entertainer you begin to wonder if maybe you don't just like the work the do because you're so devoted, not because it's any good. Well, this album restored my faith in my Madonna obsession and made me realize why I fell in love with her music in the first place. Every single song chosen to be on this cd really is a brilliant piece of work. I was listening to it with my eyes shut tight praying that these artists didn't butcher it but I was impressed with every track. Its good to see some not so well known names taking part in this tribute. There's also a real techo beat to this album listening to it as a whole. Overall, I was very impressed and think Madonna should be very flattered and also very proud! Kudos to all the artists who participated!!!

KMFDM's Material Girl is worth the price of the CD. My only complaint is what's missing: Pig. Raymond Watts always does these Industrial tribute albums. I would have loved to hear him do an evil-lounge-singer cover, as he did with NIN's Head Like a Hole and KMFDM's Disobedience (didn't he do the vocals on the original version, too?). Buy this album and you get to hear En Esch singing about panties. Very cool.

I was biased about this album because I do the official website for Dead Or Alive. I heard their contribution, "Why's It So Hard", in advance, and felt that their take on the Madonna B-side did the Material Girl justice. No, as some listeners claim, it ISN'T Madonna. It's a tribute in which her past tracks are covered by artists whose styles are worlds away from hers. I thought KMFDM's coverage of 'Material Girl' was innovative and brave- I always considered them more the "Express Yourself" types. Loleatta Holloway and Terri Nunn sounded great. All told, a great collection whose contributers should not be held to Madonna's original formula. After all, a change is as good as a 'Holiday'.