Madonna - Celebration

Desperately seeking a better deal

It’s ironic that the latest greatest hits compilation package from Madonna is titled Celebration. While the premise of this collection is promising enough, it actually serves up a strong dose of disappointment.

Forty-seven videos crammed onto two discs were never going to cut the mustard in terms of quality for the videophiles among us. While it’s wonderful to see the first official release of some of Madonna’s videos (I Want You, True Blue, Everybody), poor encoding and noise reduction has resulted in pixilation and sub-par quality throughout.

This might have been forgiven in light of the excitement afforded by Warner’s promise that there would be “unedited and never before seen footage of Justify My Love”. In reality, though, it’s just a black “censored” bar over Amanda Cazalet’s nipple.

You’re better off sticking with the 2-CD Celebration, a bona fide jaunt through Madonna’s greatest hits from the last three decades, remastered nicely and marred only by a clumsy edit during Erotica and the inclusion of two new lacklustre tracks. Overall, a missed opportunity to truly celebrate the glory years of one of history’s most iconic and transgressive performers. We can only hope the good stuff is being saved for a box set.

Warner Bros | 7599-39984-4 (2-DVD)

Reviewed by Dan Robbin
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