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As part of Music@15 celebrations, I thought it would be interesting to check out the songs that didn't make it to the final cut.

 

I for one haven't heard them before, so it can give us all a chance to discover new Madonna music, whether they be in the form of scrapped tracks or initial demos.

 

 

First to be drawn to your attention is a cover of ABBA's 'Like An Angel Passing Through My Room'. Madonna's vocal is reminiscent of Frida's angelic voice, however William Orbit's production is noticeably developed. The original melody is less twinkly and the strings come in almost straight away, before the production increases and increases until it's almost overpowering Madonna's voice. Not that it spoils the song; it's still a very good cover, although Frida's voice in the original is so effortlessly strong that it's never taken away from the main focus. It's not too hard to see why this was left off the album as it doesn't really fit in with its sound. In fact, I find it sounds rather like 'Messiah' from Rebel Heart so would probably be more at home on there.

 

 

GOOSEBUMPS! 'Little Girl' is very Ray of Light-esque as Madonna sings her advice to daughter Lourdes based on the lessons she has learned. Her vocals are untouched and the production is minimal, relying on a soft beat and chords, which allows the lyrics to really sink in and for you to hear the devotion in Madonna's voice. I think the Music album could have really benefited from being several tracks longer, keeping the upbeat tracks near the start and have more tracks like this throughout the rest.

I always liked Little Girl.

 

One that I'm not that fussed didn't make the final cut, but 'Liquid Love' is still worth a listen. The Orbit production is much more prominent than in the songs above which makes it a bit more recognisably Music-era.