August 1, 20168 yr Author Sorry this is continuing now! I need to get it done before I go on holiday next week :drama:
August 1, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/X4Uy7Ti.jpg 10. Bedtime Stories // 13 voters / 85 points Into the top 10 we go and one of my personal favourite covers and one of her most interesting for sure. It matches the dream-like style of the album, neither sensual or alluring but instead quite plain and playful. Heavily covered in make-up and made to appear like a doll, Madonna poses at an odd angle for an album cover, with striking and piercing eyes gazing into the camera. It uses bold, bright colours and her look is inspired by Jean Harlow (and went on to inspire other artists too as Christina's 'Back to Basics' album bares resemblance to it). A lovely, interesting cover and i'm glad it's made the top 10! Getting tough now ~ Lovers: Josh 10, Haus 9 Haters: Joe, SamJudd 3
August 2, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/vM0vkKX.jpg 09. Madonna // 13 voters / 87 points The debut album is up next! The one that started it all off and got the image of Madonna out there, so how do we rate the cover? It's a fairly simple cover but perfectly captures the innocence and whimsical outlook that Madonna had at the time (and look how far she has come since!). It features her with short-cropped platinum hair, wearing a number of black rubber bangles on her hands and a dog chain around her throat. She has a serious pose and it's pretty clear almost immediately that she MEANS BUSINESS. It only received one score above an 8 but no scores below 5! Lovers: Liamk 10, Joe, Vibe 8 Haters: Dandy, Regina 5
August 3, 20168 yr 'Bedtime Stories' is so much more striking than I remember. Should have rated it higher.
August 4, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/CroU9a8.jpg 08. Music // 13 voters / 87.5 points Just half a point ahead is Music~ In the artwork, Madonna fashions a blue shirt, jeans, red boots and a blue cowboy hat. The theme of the cover is country and rural America (made more evident in the gas station and horse / cowboy motifs throughout. It's not my favourite look for Madonna and I don't particularly find it a very effective album cover but it seems to have racked up considerable points here! It's a celebration of Western America and pays slight homage to Judy Garland to help emphasise this. The aesthetic for the album cover carried itself through the era in Madonna's outfit choices and music videos too. No scores above 8.5 so we're not HUGE on it but a decent average nonetheless~ Lovers: Harry 8.5, Vibe, SamJudd, Tyler, Jay 8 Haters: Haus, LiamK 4, dandy* 5
August 4, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/FizWK7t.jpg 07. Something to Remember // 13 voters / 94 points The album in 7th place got the exact same score as the album in 6th place, the same number of 10s and the same number of 9s so this has dropped out first because it had less number 8s :lol: It's the penultimate compilation album to fall and consists of the ballads she had released up until that point. As you can expect, it's not the most joyous of albums and the cover art reflects that with an anguishing Madonna, head and fist against the wall in a sea of white. Initially shot for M's Versace advertisement, it shows her in a state of "romantic loss or absorption." Something I didn't know, in 2013, the artwork was dubbed as one of the "20 Most Fashionable Album Covers Ever" by the Dutch edition of Elle magazine. :o As said earlier it has been separated from the 6th place album because it didn't receive any 8's. V close stuff~ Lovers: Jay 10, Tyler, Regina, River Lea 9 Haters: SamJudd 5, Leww, Josh, Joe, dandy* 6
August 5, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/MBKTExg.jpg 06. Like A Virgin // 13 voters / 94 points (more 8s) And with the same score as the previous but only higher because it received more 8s, it's Like A Virgin. Very different to the previous one too, this is more about decadence and excess. Madonna wanted the artwork to have mixed messages (much like the content of the album too). Without being too obvious with it, it is a highly sexualised image and became a subtle moment with which she started to become an ICON. Madonna herself has questioned whether she is portraying "the virgin Mary or a whore" and the answer is both! A very clever and iconic image with so much symbolism and hidden meaning, it's narrowly missed the big top 5 here! "The photo was a statement of independence, if you wanna be a virgin, you are welcome. But if you wanna be a whore, it's your f***ing right to be so." Lovers: Harry 10, Vibe, Jay, Liamk 9 Haters: dandy* 4, Leww 5
August 5, 20168 yr I love STR I'm sure it's from a Versace campaign LAV Booker is made from the front cover and of course the back cover where she looks like she has just had sex :) I would have liked to have seen both of these slightly higher :)
August 7, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/VgZs4g8.jpg 05. American Life // 13 voters / 97 Starting the top 5 it's one of Madonna's most controversial and divisive albums, American Life. The album uses bold colours, striking poses and a political and revolutionary stance to pass on its message which carries long through the actual music of the album too. Wearing a beret while resurrecting the famous Guerrillero Heroico image of Guevara, it's one of her most serious album covers and shows Madonna as a revolutionary figure. The blood red colours evoke a sense of danger and it's a vivid and bold colourscape that helps to really bring the artistic and potrait style of the image alive. A really striking cover! A revolutionary album cover for a controversial album. Only 4 more to go ~ Lovers: Regina, SamJudd, Liamk 10, dandy* 9 Haters: Harry 4, River Lea 5
August 8, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/17DM1g2.jpg 04. Confessions on a Dancefloor // 13 voters / 108 The first album to make it above 100 points is the dancefloor classic Confessions on a Dancefloor. Merging elements of 70s and 80s electropop and dance music it's a much loved album and reignited her commercial career after a slight blip in the early 00s. As seamless as the album flows from track to track so too does the artwork and visuals for the era. The album cover features a backwards bent over Madonna with neon orange hair, grooving on a dance floor. It's both entrancing and mysterious and perfectly captures a moment of serenity among the madness of a club floor. She's inviting people in to hear all of her confessions. Racking up a couple of 11s and no score below 6! Solid performance ~ Lovers: Harry, Tyler 11, SamJudd, River Lea, Jay 9 Haters: Josh 6
August 8, 20168 yr Author I've got a huge poster above my desk of this album artwork, it looks GLORIOUS. I love the colour palette they use throughout the album artwork/book for this era :wub: Not my favourite cover from her but still a beautiful one.
August 8, 20168 yr The fonts for the Confessions era were spot on. The fonts for the American Life era are the one thing that prevent the cover from being a 10.
August 8, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/YTXBcwl.jpg 03. Ray of Light // 13 voters / 111 Just missing out on the top 3 is the bright, shining album cover for Ray of Light. After being previously impressed by the natural way in which Mario Testino shot her for a Versace campaign, he was brought on again to shoot the album cover and once again worked magic. They worked together to create the glowing image of Madonna in a sea of blue, teal and greens while gazing longingly at the camera. It's a stunning shot of her and the album booklet features many, many more similarly beautiful shots. No top scores but also no scores below 7! Very strong average ~ Lovers: Vibe, Harry, Tyler, Jay, Leww 10 Haters: Josh, Joe, Dandy, Regina 7
August 9, 20168 yr COADF >>>>>>>>> ROL In every way. It's a fantastic album but it's so overrated by fans and the GP. It's still in my top 20 albums of all time, and TPOG is my favorite ballad of all time (along with Everytime), but several of the album tracks are just not that great IMO.
August 9, 20168 yr Author I think Ray of Light pips COAD in terms of artwork and music videos/general aesthetics but I agree that musically COAD >>> RoL. But they're my top 2 Madonna albums so I absolutely ADORE them both. COAD is #1 all time for me RoL maybe top 10 somewhere~
