And an icon is born . . . all because her shoe flew off. Kicking off the album with a one-two drum punch from drummer Tony Thompson, “Material Girl” is as shrink wrapped as pop ever got. Like A Virgin isn't exactly what I'd expect from a Madonna-fronted Chic album, although that's pretty much what it is. Instead of those glorious sweeping strings and long grooves we associated with Chic, Like A Virgin is all sinuous synthesizers and taut basslines. Tony Thompson absolutely slams those drums like a machine - reportedly his drumming was so forceful it destroyed a couple of microphones. The synth work is also pretty good and sounds fantastic, even the sampled stuff, probably because they used a Synclavier instead of a Fairlight. The Fairlight has a distinctive sound and certainly is a big part of the sound of the '80s (think “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears), but that airy/gauzy and sometimes harsh, distorted sound would throw somethi...
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