The Madonna Unreleased Rate (A winner has been crowned)

Welcome to the Madonna Unreleased Rate!


While her proper discography contains some of the greatest pop music of all time, her unreleased catalogue is remarkable mostly for showing her creative process. So much of the material is unrealized, some of the experiments fail in spectacular fashion, and even when the experiments succeed, you can often see how they were not a good fit for her studio albums. Yet, for all that, there’s so much here that is fascinating. These songs give remarkable insight about the sessions that spawned them and show Madonna in a rougher, less self-conscious, state. It’s like looking through her window when she’s letting her guard down: while it might be uncomfortable at times, it’s hard to look away. There is something immensely satisfying about exploring songs that take on strange subject matter (Queen), experiment with bizarre aesthetics (Take A Day), give us a glimpse of what she was doing before she became capital M Madonna (Get Up, Love On The Run, etc.), show us what an album might have been like had she not taken on the perfect producer (Gone Gone Gone, Like A Flower), or simply remind us just how much you have to do to a song sometimes to get it right (Beat Goes On, Bang Bang Boom, etc).

And while Madonna’s unreleased discography has its fair share of dreck, there are also tons of gems here that show a different side of an artist that we sometimes feel we know inside out. That’s the great thing about Madonna: there’s always something new to see and hear. So, whether you have been itching to quantify your opinion on this material (let’s face it: scoring is fun), whether you want to complain that an unreleased song was paid dust, or whether you’re encountering this material for the first time, I welcome you to come on this journey into the vaults.

Note: Everybody will have their own rating scale and standards, but because this is unreleased material, it might help to give these songs leeway when it comes to technical issues and what not. In my own rating experience, a song had to work well in its current form to garner a good score, but in some ways, I was a little bit more forgiving than I usually am for rates featuring finished songs. But as always, you do you. The law of averages will balance everything out.


Ground Rules:

-Score every song on a scale of 1 to 10. Half marks are allowed.
-You should give one song a score of 11. While an unreleased rate is not exactly going to be overflowing with 11s, I encourage you to give your 11 to the track you think is the best, the one you want to see go all the way.
-You can change your scores if you need to. Just shoot me a PM.
-I get my life to commentary. Send as much as you want.


The music (62 songs in total):

Get Up
High Society
Love On The Run
Take Me (I Want You)
Laugh To Keep From Crying
Crimes of Passion
Don’t You Know
Stay '81
Each Time You Break My Heart
Dear Father
Shame
Goodbye To Innocence (Straight Pass)
You Are The One
You Thrill Me
Queen’s English
Shake Your Head
Love Won’t Wait
Freedom (Bedtime Stories sessions version)
I Can’t Forget
Gone Gone Gone
Like A Flower
Revenge
No Substitute For Love
Arioso
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
Little Girl
Liquid Love
Run
Cool Song
The Game
Set The Right
Miss You
I’m In Love With Love
Boum
If You Go Away
Is This Love (Bon D’ Accord)
I Love New York (Rock demo)
History (Land of the Free)
Keep The Trance
Triggering (Your Senses)
Across the Sky
Infinity
Beat Goes On (Demo)
Latte
Animal
The Beat Is So Crazy (Solo Version)
Bang Bang Boom
Two Steps Behind Me
Queen
Nothing Lasts Forever
Never Let You Go
God is Love
Freedom (Rebel Heart sessions version)
Revolution
Tragic Girl
Heaven
Alone With You
Back That Up (Do It)
Take A Day
Trust No Bitch
Take It Back
Score

The deadline to submit scores will be April 6th. This gives you a month to get through what is admittedly a lot of material. #Prolific Queen

And as a friendly reminder, don’t fuck it up.

 

Leaderboard

1. Across The Sky-8.633333333
2. Revenge-8.6
3. Animal-8.466666667
4. Gone Gone Gone-8.166666667
5. Never Let You Go-8.133333333
6. Two Steps Behind Me-8.1
7. Set The Right-8.033333333
9. Queen-8
9. History (Land of the Free)-8
10. You Are The One-7.7
11. Liquid Love-7.633333333
12. Crimes of Passion-7.566666667
13. Latte-7.4
14. Each Time You Break My Heart-7.366666667
15. Shame-7.3
16. Nothing Lasts Forever-7.266666667
17. Stay '81-7.2
18. You Thrill Me-7.166666667
19. Arioso-7.1
20. Like A Flower-7.033333333
21. Keep The Trance-7
23. Run-6.93333333
23. Don't You Know-6.93333333
24. Cool Song-6.9
25. Heaven-6.866666667
26. If You Go Away-6.8
27. Triggering (Your Senses)-6.76666667
29. Little Girl-6.733333333
29. Get Up-6.733333333
30. Tragic Girl-6.7
31. Goodbye To Innocence (Straight Pass)-6.633333333
32. Freedom (Rebel Heart Sessions Version)-6.6
33. Back That Up (Do It)-6.566666667
35. Dear Father-6.533333333
35. Beat Goes On (Demo)-6.533333333
36. I'm In Love With Love-6.433333333
37. No Substitute For Love-6.4
38. Alone With You-6.333333333
39. I Can't Forget-6.3
40. Love Won't Wait-6.266666667
42. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room-6.2
42. Take It Back-6.2
43. Miss You-6.166666667
44. Revolution-6.133333333
45. Queen's English-6.1
46. The Beat Is So Crazy-6.066666667
47. Love On The Run-6
48. The Game-5.93333333
49. God is Love-5.8
50. Take Me (I Want You)-5.766666667
51. Shake Your Head-5.733333333
52. Is This Love? (Bon D'Accord)-5.7
54. Laugh To Keep From Crying-5.63333333
54. Trust No Bitch-5.63333333
56. High Society-5.333333333
56. Take A Day-5.333333333
57. I Love New York (Rock Demo)-5.266666667
58. Infinity-5.066666667
59. Bang Bang Boom-4.833333333
60. Score-4.633333333
61. Freedom (Bedtime Stories Sessions Version)-4.6
62. Boum-4.533333333

 

PM Friendly List You Should Use To Submit Scores:

Get Up
High Society
Love On The Run
Take Me (I Want You)
Laugh To Keep From Crying
Crimes of Passion
Don’t You Know
Stay '81
Each Time You Break My Heart
Dear Father
Shame
Goodbye To Innocence (Straight Pass)
You Are The One
You Thrill Me
Queen’s English
Shake Your Head
Love Won’t Wait
Freedom (Bedtime Stories sessions version)
I Can’t Forget
Gone Gone Gone
Like A Flower
Revenge
No Substitute For Love
Arioso
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
Little Girl
Liquid Love
Run
Cool Song
The Game
Set The Right
Miss You
I’m In Love With Love
Boum
If You Go Away
Is This Love (Bon D’ Accord)
I Love New York (Rock demo)
History (Land of the Free)
Keep The Trance
Triggering (Your Senses)
Across the Sky
Infinity
Beat Goes On (Demo)
Latte
Animal
The Beat Is So Crazy (Solo Version)
Bang Bang Boom
Two Steps Behind Me
Queen
Nothing Lasts Forever
Never Let You Go
God is Love
Freedom (Rebel Heart sessions version)
Revolution
Tragic Girl
Heaven
Alone With You
Back That Up (Do It)
Take A Day
Trust No Bitch
Take It Back
Score

 

Reserved

 

WHERE IS "LOVE FOR TENDER"?!

 

H-E-R-E BITCH I AM HERE!!1!!1!!1!!1!!

I have been waiting for this to finally start. Not sure of my 11 yet honestly.

 

IN!!!

 

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO READY

 

Looking forward to discovering some serious gems here.

 

You Thrill Me for the win


EDIT: nevermind, that demo is not even close to the Confessions Tour version. I don't think there's any clear winner here.

 

Each Time You Break My Heart for the win!

 

That's that song she gave away to an 80's hearthrob isn't it?

 

It is indeed, from the True Blue sessions!

The Madonna version of this in HQ is my holy grail of unreleased Madge.

 

80's tastic, so naturally I love!

 

I thought that was an Emmy song. Just so the list wouldn't get out of control, I only included solo material.

 

Shame Possessive Love and Just A Dream can't be included! Both 10/10.

 

I'm so here for Madge's cover of Like An Angel Passing Through My Room. Queen of staying true to the original.

 

Yeah. I wish versions with Madonna's vocals had leaked.

Watch there be a massive leak now that this has started.

 

I bet by taking part in this rate, it will just make me mad that her albums haven't yet been re issued and remastered with proper new bonus track already!

 

It really is odd as it seems to be so normal to do for big acts and I do think money can be earned with it as a lot fans would be ready for this.