Madonna debuted the phrase “Italians Do It Better” on a T-shirt in the 1986 video for “Papa Don’t Preach,” the song that opens a new compilation of Madonna covers, also called Italians Do It Better, executive-produced and released by synth auteur Johnny Jewel, whose record label, you’ll recall, is called Italians Do It Better. If you’re familiar with Jewel’s boutique musical curation—or his band Chromatics, whose other members unexpectedly announced their split last month—you know what to expect: Italians Do It Better filters some of the most iconic pop songs of all time through seedy, neon-lit lounges where obscure musicians with names like Orion and Desire hover around giant crystal ashtrays.
The Madonna influence is baked into the Italians Do It Better label in more ways than one, and the covers collection is idol worship as label showcase. Many artists here also appear on the Italians Do It Better roster, and on previous comps like 2020’s After Dark 3; Maltese songwriter and sound designer JOON, who sings “Papa Don’t Preach,” and Australian saxophonist turned pop singer Jorja Chalmers, who performs a dark and smoky version of “Justify My Love,” have both issued recent albums through the label. Perhaps you’ve been waiting for someone to put you onto Belarusian post-punk trio Dlina Volny, whose Molchat Doma-esque sense of ennui is the perfect match for the American Life track “Hollywood,” or Los Angeles singer Glüme, a sort of Angelyne for the TikTok era, who covers, of course, “Material Girl” as a waltz.
As a curation project, Italians Do It Better favors familiarity over deep cuts, and with the exception of “I’m Addicted,” from 2012’s MDNA, every one of the original tracks was released as a single. The two MDNA selections, “I’m Addicted” and “Gang Bang,” represent a predictable weakness, and while Vancouver quartet In Mirrors manages to work “I’m Addicted” into a satisfying industrial churn, longtime IDIB associate Farah’s version of “Gang Bang” never gets there. A personal favorite Madonna song was the biggest disappointment: Russian duo Love Object’s dour version of “Frozen” (from 1998’s Ray of Light) trades the original’s weightless trip-hop hum for a flat-affect vocal and blown-speaker growl that lands like a lead balloon.
The subtractive production approach works much better: Sally Shapiro’s angelic “Holiday” retains the original’s synth bass and cowbell, but long instrumental passages and lighter vocals open space for fluting synths and a disco pulse. The most reverent performances become a way to hear old songs for the first time again, and to rediscover a sense of daring that recedes with decades’ worth of familiarity. The percussive finger snaps and JOON’s ASMR-like whisper on “Papa Don’t Preach” evoke its story of teen pregnancy with fresh vulnerability; the only act to receive two slots, Brooklyn-based ex-Latter Day Saints sister duo MOTHERMARY, offer synthy choral takes on “Like a Virgin” and “Like a Prayer,” choices that feel spiritually attuned to Madonna’s own history of religious provocation.
Madonna is famously a generalist, while Italians Do It Better, the label, is specific: faintly narcotized electro-pop, big beats, the streaky nostalgia of VHS tape. Even with 19 contributing artists, Italians Do It Better, the compilation, takes a narrower dynamic and aesthetic range than its inspiration. The effect is dreamier, less full-bodied, more charged by synthesizer arpeggios than sexual innuendo, a mood that carries through to French singer Lou Rebecca’s minimalist, baby-voiced rendition of “Burning Up” (and momentary “Hung Up” mashup) and Bark Bark Disco’s gently exquisite version of “Borderline.” Between the strength of the source material and the singular, streamlined production, Italians Do It Better’s long list of singles approaches the self-contained atmosphere of an album. But at 20 tracks, we might as well have one more, so allow me to suggest: the Italians Do It Better version of “Over and Over.”
Catch up every Saturday with 10 of our best-reviewed albums of the week. Sign up for the 10 to Hear newsletter here.
