A Pop Music Feature
The Queen of Pop’s Ultimate Hits package gets a long-awaited reissue on vinyl collecting Madonna’s most memorable tracks and aptly celebrating a career in charting a course that rewrote the rules of pop music!
As the first decade of the new millennium came to a close, stirrings were high on the rumor mill that Madonna was working on new music. The Queen of Pop was coming off her hugely popular “Sticky & Sweet” World Tour which was so in demand that a second leg was added (in the summer of 2009), raising Madonna’s visibility across the globe as she hit destinations and venues she hadn’t visited before, while bringing the tour to its final series of shows in the fall of 2009. The tour’s wrap aptly coincided, it would seem, with an announcement of seismic proportions.
In a play to fulfill her recording obligations to her longtime record label Warner Bros. Records, Celebration The Ultimate Hits Collection was heralded to the world. The third “greatest hits” collection the assembled setlist promised to feature “34 Songs that Changed the World”. The release featured music from the entirety of Madonna’s career up to then, and 4 all-new tracks were recorded to coincide with its release. Fans were encouraged to suggest which tracks from Madonna’s practically quarter-century career (1982 - 2009) should be included.
Released on September 18, 2009, Celebration was an instant success and received universally great reviews from critics around the world.
Madonna curated the track list herself and approved the final versions of all the tracks which were digitally remastered from their original tapes and offered up to consumers in several bits, including an expansive 2-disc CD set (with 34 tracks and 2 new songs), a single CD (with 18 top selections). Among the new songs, Madonna collaborated with dance remix producer Paul Oakenfold to deliver the package’s title track “Celebration” and “Broken”, which was not included in the package but released as an exclusive to fans on her website.
The ultimate hits setlist also featured the track “Revolver” with Lil’ Wayne and the Digital Download included the obscure “It’s So Cool” an offering Madonna co-wrote with Mirwais and Monte Pittman with a dense dance bass feel that was produced by Paul Oakenfold. The album was also recently repressed in a 4LP vinyl set that was reissued at the indulgence of fans’ expectations, especially given that Madonna is currently on her “Celebration” World Tour (which ends its now historic run at the end of April in Mexico City).
Spin Me Round
With the popularity of vinyl, its nostalgic factor is much intact, for collectors of the medium, there was much dissatisfaction with the initial release of the Celebration 4LP set (which was a limited run). Fans complained that the slipcase was particularly fragile and the vinyl records themselves were haphazardly fitted inside. With this release, it would seem that the card stock for the beautifully ornate slipcase featuring the original cover artwork created by pop artist Mr. Brainwash, along with the album setlist and credits printed on all sides.
One might have expected that the manufacturer would have preferred to box this 4LP set similarly to the recently unleashed Finally Enough Love 50 Number Ones remix album which included a much-valued and appreciated liner booklet with full production credits and notes from the notes. Still, this offering is a great gift for any diehard collector, especially as the Ultimate Hits package marks a momentous occasion in the career of the Queen of Pop and also pays tribute to her recent staged tour journey which looks back on four decades.
Although not exactly the most all-encompassing “greatest hits” package, many noted that the 34 tracks included were well selected, but there were some obvious omissions that would have deserved their due, Celebration is regarded as one of the most defining collections of tracks by an artist that was intent on bucking the rules of pop music relevance.
Madonna has often suggested that one day she might reflect on her career and release the defining Complete Madonna collection, but until then, we have Celebration and there’s still Finally Enough Love to go around!
Here is your #FanzEyeView of Madonna’s video for “Celebration” from the Ultimate Hits collection Celebration:
CELEBRATION The Ultimate Greatest Hits | by Madonna | is available now reissued in a 4LP vinyl set for a limited time.
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