Release and Reception
At the time the compilation was released, Madonna was riding a wave of publicity as a result of the film Evita and her pregnancy with daughter Lourdes. Bray decided to cash-in the publicity for the release, although he knew that Madonna would never approve of the album. He said in an interview with Extra that Madonna would receive royalties for the release, and added "There's nothing in these tapes that would be embarrassing, and just hoping that she would like it as much as we do." In the European countries, the album was re-titled as In the Beginning, featuring a different artwork, and a re-arranged tracklist.
Pre-Madonna received mixed reviews from critics. Mark Egan from Rocky Mountain News writes that "although the songs have soul in them, its the delivery that lacks in Madonna's voice; you just feel that something is really missing." Mark Zug from Chicago Tribune comments that "the demos on Pre-Madonna are a delight to listen to. To all the Madonna fans, this is one album worth collecting and replaying." Jasmine Temple from Lexington Herald-Leader calls the album, "a gloriously voyeuristic—and unauthorized—glimpse at Madonna's past, the woman she was then. You can actually sense the development of the icon she is today from the songs." Robin DeRosa from USA Today was disappointed with the release, saying that "it feels forced. This release is as unneeded as the hoopla surrounding Madonna's new born. Every artist has demo recordings in their early phases of career and they are generally not good. This one is not different." After Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, Tony Sclafani from MSNBC noted that none of Madonna's songs were in the rock music genre, "but all use rock as a jumping off point. Audible evidence of Madonna’s rock roots can be found on the collection of early demos Pre-Madonna."
Read more about this topic: Pre-Madonna
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