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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's The Greatest Remix Album Ever!, August 14, 2002
You Can Dance is without a doubt Madonna's most underrated album. It has sold 5 million copies worldwide, which is a flop in Madonna's usual sales. It was released in 1987 and features 10 remixes of some of Madonna's best loved and most popular 80's hits from her first three albums, Madonna, Like A Virgin and True Blue. It may not seem it, but You Can Dance is a ground-breaking piece of work. Madonna had the confidence to put out a remix album. She was the first artist to ever release one, and it sold 5 million - not bad for a few songs that have been changed a bit. You Can Dance has inspired many artists and bands of today to release remix albums such as Jennifer Lopez.
The album starts with Spotlight (10/10). This rare track is only available on You Can Dance and is a classic Madonna song. You can instantly tell which era of Madonna's career it's from because of the brilliant instruments and clear vocals that only suited Madonna in the 1980's. Spotlight is remixed by Jellybean and produced by Stephen Bray and is a fantastic song to open the album with. This is the type of song you could just imagine being played on holiday in a bar in somewhere like Spain or Greece! A holiday classic! Speaking of holidays...Holiday is Track 2! This has to be one of Madonna's most famous songs ever. This classic was her first single, but the remix doesn't sound very different to the album version. It lasts for 6.32 minutes though, so you get your money's worth! Most of the songs on You Can Dance are continual; when one song is finishing, the next track is starting. You just know when Holiday is starting because of the legendary 7 chimes. And at a clap of her hands, Track 2 is well underway! Madonna's very first single, Everybody (8/10), which was not released as a single, is the next track. This is probably the worst track on You Can Dance. It just doesn't have that edge that other tracks on here have. Yet it's still good listening. Track 4 is Physical Attraction (9/10) from Madonna's debut album. It's only when you listen to this remix that you realise that the original is a superb piece of work. Yet again, it doesn't sound much different from the original. They probably realised they couldn't do a thing to make it any better!
One of the most impressive remixes on You Can Dance is Over And Over (10/10), taken from Madonna's hugely successful second album Like A Virgin. The lyrics are not altered in any way, but it's the instruments that make the big impression - they are so funky and catchy! I don't know how to describe them, but they sound like a lot of clocks ticking away! The remix comes in at more than 7 minutes long and is one of the best songs on the whole album. Into The Groove (10/10) is Track 6 and is undoubtedly the best remix on the whole album. It's so different to the original and the stuttering vocals at the beginning are so catchy! It was remixed by Shep Pettibone, who prodcued most of Madonna's fantastic Erotica album. The remix of Into The Groove is almost 8 and a half minutes long. The most corny bit is the, "Step to the, step to the, step to the beat!!!" You just have to cringe when you hear that! Where's The Party (10/10) is Track 7. Taken from Madonna's third album True Blue, which has sold 21 million copies, it's a fantastic, feel-good, remix that deserves a lot of credit. The remix of Where's The Party is more than 7 minutes long, but not long enough if you ask me!
The final three tracks are all Dub Versions of Holiday, Into The Groove and Where's The Party. They are all fantastic and worthy of 10/10 each, although there isn't much singing in them. There's not much singing on Holiday, but it's good to take the time to appreciate the music, instead of it getting covered up by all the singing.
OVERALL GRADE: 9/10
On the whole, You Can Dance is a splendid album that deserves more attention than it has recieved. You may think you have all these songs on the first three albums or some of them on The Immaculate Collection, but trust me, you cannot afford to miss this remix album. It's too good to miss out on and the remixes are so funky and catchy. This will remain in your collection for years and years...
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must be in your collection, May 12, 2000
If I'm not wrong the interesting thing about these remixes is that they were remixed by the actual producers, so they don't fall far from the great originals. And very imporatantly it's not an anonymous remix album like it was trendy these last years, it's on the contrary a great idea. None of these tracks were ever actually remixed before (as it's customary these days), except a 9-minute long 'Everybody' Dub. So of course it's great. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to get my hands on original 12" mixes of 80s songs, because loving the normal version, the exteded 12" mix is more of it and allows a full presentation of the work .Just think about Donna Summer's 'Love To Love You Baby': 17 minutes edited down to not even 4! In the 80s 7-8 minutes was regular Extended Mix. How can you not like this cd?. The original B-Side of this album (Groove/Over/Party) is very different from the A-side. It's more upbeat and very 80s dance. Can you keep from dancing? After you listen to it you realise how appropriate the title is. The first song presented here, and the only new song, is 'Spotlight'. I think it agrees perfectly with this concept album. You CAN Dance, and you must.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
TRENDSETTING REMIX ALBUM, October 19, 2000
"You Can Dance" is the very first Madonna retrospective album. Instead of releasing a package of all of her singles, Madonna did something groundbreaking, she released a remix album.The title "You Can Dance" is taken from the very first line of the song "Into the Groove" : And you can dance for inspiration. And this album inspired other artists to follow suit, putting out their own remix albums. Unlike other artists like Milli Vanilli and Paula Abdul who quickly put out remix albums which lifted tracks straight out from 12" singles, Madonna took popular album tracks (Over And Over, WHere's the Party) and singles (Everybody, Holiday, Into the Groove) which hasn't been remixed before, as well as slapping on a brand new song (Spotlight) as a bonus. What is even more unique is that the songs are segued into one long continuous grind, with the first half consisting of Spotlight - Holiday - Everybody - Physical Attraction. On the case of Physical Attraction, it is exactly as it appear on her first album, except that it segued with the ending of Everybody. The second half have Over and Over - Into the Groove - Where's the Party. As an incentive to buy various formats, the CD have three dub versions : Holiday, Into the Groove and Where's the Party. The cassette has four dubs, Holiday, Into the Groove, Spotlight, and Over and Over. The vinyl version do not have the dubs at all, just the main tracks. As expected, these remixed versions actually improved upon the songs. Holiday, Where's the Party, Into the Groove as it appear here are the versions that Madonna performs onstage. The extensive liner notes by Brian Chin elaborated upon the natural allure of a Madonna track on the dance floor and the relationship she has with dancing, dancers, and dance music. It is no secret that in a club, whenever a Madonna song is being played, EVERYBODY (pun intended) gets up and do their thing. "You Can Dance" is a great party dance album. So next time you are throwing a wingding, put this on to get the party going.
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is one of Madonna's 
