August 9, 20168 yr Ray Of Light what a masterpiece ! Lyrically Madonna has never been better . The art work and the videos from this era are class.
August 9, 20168 yr Need to do a catch-up of #10 to #3. :ph34r: True Blue for the win, definitely, but Celebration is also a big statement and iconic cover itself.
August 9, 20168 yr Author Yeah sorry I have raced through a lot of it but I need it done before tomorrow :lol: catch up NOW because final results are in a few hours :hitler:
August 9, 20168 yr I adore the Bedtime Stories photoshoots; the colour palette is DIVINE and I love the angle and the image's connotations. The only thing spoiling it really is the text. Madonna should definitely be higher. It's as self-assured as True Blue and Celebration and tells so much about the artist she was and wanted to be. I like the cowboy theme with Music but the actual cover doesn't do that much for me. It doesn't necessarily look bad, but could just have been much better and hold a charm that is present in the majority of Madonna's other artwork. The Something to Remember cover does the trick with its washout pure colours and the conflict of emotions in the posing, but she does have more interesting covers which is why I didn't reward it higher than a 7 out of 10. I think Like a Virgin vamps up Madonna's self-assurance in who she was as an artist. The juxtaposition of a 'virgin' and a 'whore' is such a clever and complex idea, generating both controversy and intrigue. Aesthetically it works perfectly too. I'd probably have given this a 10 but I wanted to show a difference between this and my other 10s which just edge this for me. Fantastic to see American Life in the Top 5! I'll just re-post what I did in the voting stages because I can't put it any better: "This proves to the Erotica album cover that you could show something that specifically captured the nature of its content but could remain permissible to the commercial market. Unlike Music, this required a serious look and boy did she deliver. I love the punky and artsy vibe to it; it's like a stylized poster, influenced by Guerrillero Heroico, that kind of looks like a stencil or a collage. The text is probably the best she's had on an album cover; I love the blood red, again looking like someone one has carelessly spray painted on a stencil and let the paint drip. The colour also makes a striking contrast on the black and white, as does the kiss mark that feels quite sarcastic, sort of kiss-my-ass, and it looks like the top lip is the shape of a gun. Then there's the destroyed impression of an American flag in the background. I just love this cover; it harks back to her debut where she proves a self-portrait can capture so much." Confessions sums up everything Madonna was going for at the time and is presented wonderfully. As said before, the fact other album covers have more complex meanings and interpretations is only what prevents this from getting a better score from me. I can't get over how gorgeous she looks on the Ray of Light album cover. This was the first Madonna look I remember so it will always be one of my favourites. The colours exemplify the calming nature of the album contents so well, not to mention being one of my favourite colours in general.
August 9, 20168 yr Author Yeah the Ray of Light era is the first I experienced of Madonna too (knowingly). Watching the Frozen and Ray of Light videos on TV and being in awe of her magestic nature *.* The album cover and photoshoots all accentuate this further imo :wub:
August 9, 20168 yr I'd be totally happy with either of these winning. They're the top 2 for me for sure.
August 9, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/qiGoRNO.jpg 02. Celebration // 13 voters / 114 In second place we have the latest greatest hits collection from M, Celebration. The cover is quite iconic, and was created by street pop artist Mr. Brainwash. To create the image he combined Jean Baptiste Mordino’s photo for the cover of Bazar Magazine back in 1990, with Madonna’s 1987 'Who’s That Girl' era portrait by Alberto Tolot, topped off with his characteristic colourful hand finishing. The final design is a vibrant, magazine-like portrait of her which perfectly encompasses the years in which the music from the collection actually comes from. The more you stare at it the more weird it gets but it's a totally bonkers, brilliant and bold statement for a greatest hits album. One top score and a heap of 10s shoot this into 2nd place ~ Lovers: Joe 11, SamJudd, Haus, Tyler, Jay, Leww 10 Haters: Dandy*, River Lea 6
August 9, 20168 yr Author http://i.imgur.com/tXjEc8C.jpg 01. True Blue // 13 voters / 122 Which means in first place we have perhaps the most iconic and recognisable image of Madonna. The True Blue album cover is so simple on the surface, but it's layered with meaning, passion, hope, and beauty. Shot by Herb Ritts and washed with a shade of blue, it was selected after a long process of editing and deciding on the most appropriate one. Some editions of the album featured only her face while others had her name and title on it. The image itself was enough to tell the story of the album - it's one of natural beauty, and hope and release and Madonna in her outstretched, backwards pose - like a bird or swan, perfectly depicts these feelings. It has been described as a combination of innocence and idealism which for Madonna at this point in her career was exactly what she stood for. The album talks of peace, release and prosperity and the album cover is an extension of this. It's the perfect marriage of art and music and ideals. As the album celebrates 30 years since release the images it has created for us over the years still remain as powerful and as beautiful as ever. Lovers: Josh., SamJudd, Vibe, Haus, Jay, Liamk 11, dandy*, Regina 10 Haters: Tyler 4
August 9, 20168 yr Author 01 | True Blue 122 02 | Celebration 114 03 | Ray of Light 111 04 | Confessions on a Dancefloor 108 05 | American Life 97 06 | Like A Virgin 94 07 | Something to Remember 94 08 | Music 87.5 09 | Madonna 87 10 | Bedtime Stories 85 11 | Erotica 82.5 12 | Rebel Heart 82 13 | GHV2 77.5 14 | MDNA 77 15 | Evita 73.5 16 | You Can Dance 71 17 | I'm Breathless 69.5 18 | Like A Prayer 63 19 | The Immaculate Collection 62 20 | Who's That Girl 49 21 | Hard Candy 45
August 9, 20168 yr Author My top 2 also! So happy 'True Blue' won. I NEED IT as a huge poster in my room, it's like her most defining and iconic shot *.* also my phone background I love it that much <3
August 10, 20168 yr WAS I f***ING DRUNK AF WHEN I VOTED. 'True Blue' is my favorite Madonna album after COADF. And the cover is stunning. (Plz forgive me)
August 13, 20168 yr Adore both those covers. Celebration is so popart (surely influenced by Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe?) which is very fitting considering Madonna's said to have grown up and started creating music at a time when art and music had synergy. I have a poster that was inside the CD on my wall and it looks so bold and striking. Really effective design. Of course, there could only be one winner though. A true use of the word iconic. An unusual pose that surprisingly provokes a lot of thoughts and ideas as well as looking exceptionally beautiful. I too really want a big sized poster of it - I'm sure HMV used to do one but I've not seen one in a long time now. Tyler clearly had a knock to the head when dishing out the votes. -_- Yeah the Ray of Light era is the first I experienced of Madonna too (knowingly). Watching the Frozen and Ray of Light videos on TV and being in awe of her magestic nature *.* The album cover and photoshoots all accentuate this further imo :wub: I remember seeing the 'Ray of Light' video all the time when I was little (must have been circa 2001 when I first saw it, so it seems odd thinking back that it was on TV so much 3 years on from its original release - suppose that just shows the power of Madonna back then.) and it was probably one of my favourite videos. The scenes where she's dancing in the club near the end really stick in mind, particularly the creepy grin she makes to the camera.
