Some years removed from the initial controversy behind this song -- and Madonna's legendary performance at the first MTV Video Awards, writhing orgasmically on the stage in a traditional wedding gown -- it's hard to figure out what exactly the fuss was about. By far the most lightweight of Madonna's early singles, "Like A Virgin" is pure bubblegum fluff of the style that would become songwriters Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg's trademark throughout the rest of the decade. Indeed, it doesn't feel too much like a conspiracy theorist's stretch to wonder if perhaps Madonna's helium-pitched vocals -- this is the song on which she sounds most like Marilyn Monroe, not the supposed Monroe homage "Material Girl" -- are perhaps meant as a subtle mockery of the song's silliness. Of course, since 1992, it's been impossible to hear this song without thinking of the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs, in which Quentin Tarantino manically deconstructs the song's lyrical impetus.
Madonna
Like a Virgin
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Song Review by Stewart Mason
Appears On
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1983 | Sire | 0:00 | ||||
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1984 | Sire | 3:39 | ||||
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1985 | 7:07 | |||||
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1990 | Sire | 3:11 | ||||
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1990 | Sire / London / Rhino | |||||
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1990 | Sire | 0:00 | ||||
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1998 | Sire | 6:10 | ||||
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1999 | WEA International | 3:38 | ||||
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2001 | WEA International | 3:11 | ||||
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2001 |
Various Artists
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WEA International | 6:08 | |||
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2004 |
Various Artists
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Atracao | ||||
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2005 |
Various Artists
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WEA | ||||
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2009 | Warner Bros. | 3:09 | ||||
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2017 | Eat to the Beat | 6:11 | ||||
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2018 | Golden Rain | 6:10 | ||||
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Phantom Import Distribution / WEA International | ||||||
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3:11 |
