Daily Listen by Brian Brock

Amazingly consistent production from track to track on this album.  Reggie Lucas found a sound he liked, and that’s not easy.  “Everybody”, the one track produced by Mark Kamins sounds drastically different.  It being the track which earned her a record deal, the difference is particularly striking.  The record label must have felt they dodged a bullet when she came back with songs like “Borderline” and “Physical Attraction”.

In this day, it seems pop albums specifically pursue sonic diversity.  It’s common to see five or six featured artists on a hip-hop album, or even on a pop album, to the extent there’s a difference any more.  At least two or three producers have generally worked on a given collection, often on each song so that you might have twelve different spoons in the sonic pot.  Mixing is always handled by yet more people.

I’ve always loved the guitar playing on this music, beyond the obviously awesome bass and drums.  I see Lucas is credited as guitarist as well as producer.  I will have to look further into his work.

Madonna’s ascent and the men she was involved with on the way up makes an interesting history.  Look at this picture. She completely owns the situation - she may as well be standing in front of the picture.

Look at the lucky kid who just won a meet-Madonna contest.  But in fact, it’s John Benitez, aka “Jellybean”, who mixed and co-produced her breakthrough album, and not-so-incidentally was her boyfriend.

I hope she at least sends him a Christmas card every year.