Category Archives: deep dive

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Song of the Day #4,785: ‘Like a Virgin’ – Madonna

Madonna’s sophomore album sat on the shelf for a few months because her debut was still selling so well. A month after its predecessor reached the top ten, selling more than two million copies in the process, Like a Virgin was released in November of 1984.

And just like that, she went from emerging star to superstar. Within a few months, Like a Virgin reached #1, where it spent a few weeks. By July of 1985, it had sold more than five million copies, making her the first woman to achieve that feat. It would eventually become her top-selling album in the U.S., achieving Diamond status with domestic sales of more than 10 million units.

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Song of the Day #4,784: ‘Lucky Star’ – Madonna

Earlier this year, I started doing full-career retrospectives on artists I didn’t know as well as their reputations warranted. I kicked things off with Joni Mitchell and followed with Jackson Browne.

After deep dives into those artists, who made their biggest mark from the late 60s through the late 70s, I’ve decided to turn my attention to one of the most celebrated icons of the 80s: Madonna.

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Song of the Day #4,697: ‘I’ll Do Anything’ – Jackson Browne

Well, that went fast. Three weeks to explore the nearly 50-year career of Jackson Browne, a great 70s singer-songwriter who managed to stay relevant and interesting well into the new millennium.

Unlike my last deep dive subject, Browne’s friend and collaborator Joni Mitchell, his music did not fall off a cliff in the 80s. While I struggled with a couple of Browne’s albums due to their didactic political lyrics, the music was almost always spot on. He expertly evolved his sound without losing the earnest romanticism that made his work special out of the gate.

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Song of the Day #4,696: ‘The Long Way Around’ – Jackson Browne

Continuing his pattern of waiting six years between albums, Jackson Browne released his most recent full-length effort, Standing in the Breach, in 2014. At 72, it’s unclear if this will be his last album, though he did release a song for Earth Day last year and has a couple of other small projects under his belt in the past few years.

If Standing in the Breach does prove to be his swan song, it’s a good and fitting one. The album finds Browne in a contemplative, nostalgic mood, and the easy, laid back sound is fitting for a record on which the best songs are about peaceful acceptance.

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Song of the Day #4,695: ‘Time the Conqueror’ – Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne waited six years to release his next album, 2008’s Time the Conqueror. Perhaps that wasn’t long enough.

I’m sorry to report that this record is the first in Browne’s catalog that did nothing for me from start to finish. The songs are too long and they lack memorable hooks. Every album I’ve heard so far has served up at least one track I consider a keeper, but not this one.

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