Customer Reviews

Britney Spears: The Singles Collection (Deluxe)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The music speaks for itself; Britney Spears is, despite the ups and downs and tabloid moments, a fixture in the music industry. She's perfected the pop realm with such iconic hits like "Baby One More Time", "Stronger", "Oops! I Did It Again", and "Womanizer". What's best about this collection is that it features the songs released as singles from her first album through the 'Circus' album. As a bonus, you're also treated to the catchy #1 song "3" and B-sides/remixes pulled from many of the singles. As a Britney Spears fan, this set is ideal. The music itself is four or five stars since the set features the very best of Spears. What makes this 'deluxe' set flawed is simply the price and concept of a collection containing all of her 'singles' in one box.

The Bad: With the retail price tag of almost $100, and even with the Amazon.com discount, I expected a lot more from the deluxe edition of the 'singles' collection. After all, just a few weeks ago Jive released a single disc edition of the this same 'singles collection' Britney Spears: The Singles Collection. So, what makes this different from the standard edition? A box, an individual sleeve containing the original cover art of each single. A DVD containing 26 Britney Spears music videos. For $100 and a title like 'the singles collection' and a picture showing covers of her singles, I (as a fan and consumer) expected the full, un-abridged SINGLE, meaning the original mix of each song (which is included) and the numerous remixes or B-sides that were originally released with each single. Instead, the original mix of each song is included (just as with the standard edition) and just one B-side or one remix from the original single. What exactly is the point? Just five years ago Jive released Britney's Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (Limited Edition with Bonus CD), Greatest Hits: My Prerogative and Britney Spears - Greatest Hits - My Prerogative, almost the exact same concept (minus the B-sides/remixes from the singles), and with almost the same track listing with the exception of the songs from Blackout and Circus.

To me, this deluxe 'Singles Collection' is a huge rip-off and ploy by Jive, not Britney Spears, to rake in more money during the holiday season. Why not include more original songs? How about including hard-to-find tracks or cuts that didn't make it onto the albums (including "Amnesia" from 'Circus' that was never formerly released in the U.S. or "Kiss You All Over" that was cut from 'Blackout' would have definitely made this release more valuable). Instead, we're treated to a few B-sides that have been available for years now and remixes that are easy to find online, even purchased and downloaded separately on sites like Amazon.com! This is nothing more than an expanded edition of "My Prerogative: Greatest Hits", made to include tracks from 'Blackout' and 'Circus'. The price is outrageously high not because of anything special musically but more so for the packaging. I definitely felt the DVD design and execution was superior on "My Prerogative" as this collection's videos are just slapped onto the disc with none of the special angles, special features and such that came with the "My Prerogative" video collection.

The Good: The B-sides, mainly from Britney's first two albums, are definitely a nice bonus to this set. They are crisp, remastered and musically offer a lot (instead of all of the auto-tune she plays with now, the early B-sides feature a simpler Spears taking a stab at singing about love, heart ache and teenage angst). The remixes included are good, even though some of them are not the true best remixes from the singles. Another good thing I can say about 'The Singles Collection (Deluxe)' is that it's nice to have a DVD that has a lot of the recent videos (though it would have been nice had it included "3").

If this was a true celebration of her decade in the business, a lot more effort could have been put into this set. There's nothing deluxe about it other than the price tag. There are a few extra tracks not included in her last greatest hits album and there are some B-sides and remixes gathered in one place/collection that makes it only slightly better (but far more expensive) than "My Prerogative". But, in the end, this is an overpriced, flawed released. 30 discs - 29 containing 2 songs EACH, many of which even a casual Britney Spears fan will already own. A DVD (the 30th disc) that contains the music videos, but many which don't warrant shelling out $70+ (I mean, are the videos for "Radar", "Break the Ice", "If U Seek Amy" or even "Gimme More" worth the purchase? These aren't Britney Spears at her best). It's a nice gift or purchase for the hardcore fan but personally, I'd recommend waiting another few years for the next 'greatest hits' or special career-spanning release from Jive for Britney Spears before spending money on this.

Listen To These: "3", "Born To Make You Happy (Kristian Lundin Bonus Remix)", "Walk On By", "Everybody"

Here is the track listing:

SINGLE: ...Baby One More Time
B SIDE: Autumn Goodbye

SINGLE: Sometimes
B SIDE: I'm So Curious

SINGLE: (You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix)
B SIDE: I'll Never Stop Loving You

SINGLE: Born To Make You Happy
REMIX: Kristian Lundin Bonus Remix

SINGLE: From the Bottom of My Broken Heart
B SIDE: Thinkin' About You

SINGLE: Oops!...I Did It Again
B SIDE: Deep In My Heart

SINGLE: Lucky
B SIDE: Heart

SINGLE: Stronger
B SIDE: Walk On By

SINGLE: Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know
REMIX: Hex Hector Radio Mix

SINGLE: I'm A Slave 4 U
B SIDE: Intimidated

SINGLE: Overprotected
REMIX: Overprotected (The Darkchild Remix)

SINGLE: I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman
B SIDE: I Run Away

SINGLE: I Love Rock 'N' Roll
B SIDE: I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman - Metro Remix

SINGLE: Boys, The Co-Ed Remix featuring Pharrell Williams
B SIDE: Boys (Album Version)

SINGLE: Me Against the Music featuring Madonna
REMIX: Passengerz vs. The Club Remix

SINGLE: Toxic
REMIX: Bloodshy & Avant's Intoxicated Remix

SINGLE: Everytime
REMIX: Above & Beyond Club Mix

SINGLE: Outrageous
REMIX: Junkie XL's Dancehall Mix

SINGLE: My Prerogative
REMIX: Armand Van Helden Remix

SINGLE: Do Somethin'
REMIX: Thick Vocal Mix

SINGLE: Someday (I Will Understand)
B SIDE: Mona Lisa

SINGLE: Gimme More
REMIX: Paul Oakenfold Remix

SINGLE: Piece of Me
REMIX: Bloodshy & Avant's Boz O lo Remix

SINGLE: Break The Ice
B SIDE: Everybody

SINGLE: Womanizer
REMIX: Kaskade Remix

SINGLE: Circus
REMIX: Tom Neville's Ring Leader Mix

SINGLE: If U Seek Amy
REMIX: Crookers Remix

SINGLE: Radar
REMIX: Bloodshy & Avant Remix

SINGLE: 3
REMIX: Groove Police Club Mix

DVD:
1. ...Baby One More Time
2. Somtimes
3. (You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix)
4. Born To Make You Happy
5. From the Bottom of My Broken Heart
6. Oops!...I Did It Again
7. Lucky
8. Stronger
9. Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know
10. I'm A Slave 4U
11. Overprotected (The Darkchild Remix)
12. I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet a Woman
13. I Love Rock 'N' Roll
14. Me Against The Music (feat. Madonna)
15. Toxic
16. Everytime
17. My Prerogative
18. Do Somethin'
19. Someday (I Will Understand)
20. Gimme More
21. Piece Of Me
22. Break the Ice
23. Womanizer
24. Circus
25. If U Seek Amy
26. Radar

Over the course of her career, SO many of britney's club mixes of her singles have been spread across several discs, both domestic and import CD singles as well as vinyl, including DJ promo only vinyl with mixes that never had commercial releases. This expensive box would have been an IDEAL chance to bring all those mixes together. But here, there are barely any full length club mixes, and most of them already appeared on CD. You get:

Me Against The Music (Passengerz vs. The Club mix) (7:34)
Toxic (Bloodshy & Avant's Intoxicated mix) (5:35)
Everytime (above & beyond club mix) (8:46)
My Prerogative (armand van helden remix) (7:48)
Do Somethin (Thick Vocal mix) (7:59)
Gimme More (Paul Oakenfold mix) (6:08)
Piece of Me (Bloodshy & Avant's Boz o Lo remix) (4:53)
Womanizer (Kaskade mix) (5:31)
Circus (Tom Neville ringleader mix) (7:52)
Radar (Bloodshy & Avant remix) (5:43)
3 (Groove Police Club mix) (7:42)

All remaining remixes are short remixes to begin with or EDITS of longer club mixes. A CD has 80 minutes of free space, and on each of these discs we're not getting more than 10 minutes of music in most cases. This entire boxed set worth of music could have probably fit on 3 or 4 CDs and been sold for about 25 dollars less!

And consider this. As of this writing, there has been no CD single release for 3, so if you want the club mix of this song on CD, you have to buy this entire boxed set. Other than that, the ONLY track in this boxed set that I didn't have on CD was the remix of Radar! Where are the big club remixes that have never been on CD before of songs like My Prerogative? Outrageous? Toxic? You Drive Me Crazy? Lucky? Breath On Me? Me Against the Music? I'm a Slave 4U? Many of the mixes of these songs were only available on vinyl and DJ promo vinyl. It would not only have been a sign of appreciation to fans to make this an expansive singles collection, it also would have been a testament to Britney's club appeal over the years. As it is now, your not getting much of anything that a hardcore fan wouldn't already have.

A KIDS REVIEW

I remember thinking how cool it was going to be to have this item. The first time it came out, it was only a little over seventy dollars on Amazon, but then it sky rocketed to 89.99, almost twenty more dollars than it used to be! But being a huge Britney fan, I knew I was going to buy it anyway. But now that i have it, it doesn't seem worth the money I spent. This box was actually very cheaply made.

About five years ago, Britney released her first singles album, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. What surprised most fans was that she had only released four studio albums, and now she was releasing Greatest Hits. The thing about Greatest Hits is that it was a lot less expensive, priced at around twenty dollars. And that actually had some new songs/remixes on it. Overprotected (The Darkchild Remix), Boys (The Co-ed Remix), My Prerogative, Do Somethin', and I've Just Begun (Having My Fun) had never been officially released on an album, until Greatest Hits came out. And if you bought the Limited Edition, you got a second disc with 5-7 remixes on it, depending where you bought it from. Most of the remixes on there had never been officially released either. But on The Singles Collection, you only get one new song (about having a threesome!) And if you buy the right import CD's, you probably have all of the b-sides and remixes in this collection (I did). And another thing that made me mad was that the remixes were mostly radio edits, and not in there full form.

Now onto the box itself. You get all of Britney's 29 singles, and each disc has a b-side or remix. Each single comes with its own cardboard sleeve, with its original art work. But the CD's are just plain black and say "The Singles Collection". Why didn't they keep the original CD design too? And each disc only has 2 songs on it. We barely get past 10 minutes on each disc! The box also comes with a DVD of (almost) all her videos. For some reason, they excluded the Boys video, and they didn't put the 3 video on here either. And the DVD is only a single layer disc. That means they are not in high quality. If you buy the Greatest Hits My Prerogative DVD, you will get a dual layer disc, so the videos will be in high quality. It also comes with a booklet with information about all her singles. But the photos are taken directly from the videos. No behind the scenes photos, no unreleased photos, just the video stills. And the box itself is so... small. I expected it to be a lot bigger than this. It can barely hold all 29 singles, the DVD, and the booklet. I'm scared if I push too hard the discs will break. And something is wrong with the Toxic disc. I went to go put it on my iTunes, but when it was found, it was just another copy of Overproteced! I had to spend $1.49 just to buy the Toxic Digital 45 from iTunes so I could have Toxic. But when I play the disc in my CD player it plays Toxic plus the remix. I heard this happened to someone else, but instead they got ...Baby One More Time instead of Toxic. But the one thing that really got me was, when I was syncing some of the discs to my iTunes, I noticed some of the discs were already scratched. Why was this box so cheaply made?

So as you can see, this box set has its pros and cons (more cons that pros). It really made me mad that this was so cheaply made. If I'm going to celebrate ten years of Britney, I need something a lot better than this!

Pros:

- All the songs have been beautifully remastered. I've never heard Britney more clearly that now.
- The cardboard slip cases are really nice, especially since they feature the original cover art.
- Having the videos for the Blackout and Circus era is nice.

Cons:

- Box is too small, it should have been a lot bigger.
- DVD disc is only single layer, should have been dual.
- They really should've fixed the Toxic disc, I heard this happened to someone else too.
- Should have been more than just two songs on each disc. We barely get past ten minutes on each disc.
- Because I have to push so hard to get everything in, the cardboard covers and the booklet are all dented.
- DVD should have had all the videos, plus the 3 video

Just received my singles collection box the other day.

THE GOOD: Box design and CD sleeve and artwork design good. The remastered audio in the CD singles have good soundstage. The remastered video is sharp with good colour balance and contrast on almost every clip.

THE BAD: Box is a bit tight to house all 29 CD singles and 1 DVD in their respective sleeves, removing and inserting the discs took some effort. The spine of some CD sleeves were slightly wrinkled due the squeezing inside the box.

Each CD single only have 2 tracks, almost all singles have one remix and one album track. Should include more remixes, non-album and rare version tracks on each single.

Music soundtrack on the DVD is standard stereo but sounded interior to the 2004 DVD release "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative". Soundtrack not properly remastered to take advantage of the high fidelity DVD stereo.

Video for new single "3" not included.

CONCLUSION: Box and CD sleeves good for display in your AV or Britney's collection with just a standard offering of the contents for Britney's fans.

I'm a fan of Britney since 1999. I watched 2 of her Circus tour, one in Sydney (20th November 2009) and one in Melbourne (27th November 2009). I bought this Ultimate Single Collection on the 24th November 2009 and it arrived on 20th December 2009. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!!! Well, mainly because I'm a Britney fan :D The price it self is CHEAPER than if you have to buy it in Australia (between AUD$130 - AUD$190) ^^. The only downside is the waiting time to get the product on your hand :( but I'm willing to wait if I can get the product for $30-$90 less!!!

nice box set for anyone who missed out on previous singles that were released..
the only 2 downsides i found are..i think the singles should have had exactly the same amount of tracks that were originally released on the singles instead of just having 2 racks each and on the last single "3" there seems to be either a mis-print or a missing song..casue on the cover it states it has 3 songs yet on the cd it self and when u play it it only has 2 songs.

but regardles of all that...if your a Brintey Spears fan id recommend buying it for your collection.

I'm from the Netherlands and I pre-ordered The Singles Collection Boxset on Amazon.com with Priority Shipping, and I am so happy with it! I received it 2 days after the release (which is amazing) and of course, not only the shipment was amazing... but the boxset itself really is a musthave! It looks really great, includes a beautiful booklet, 29 singles and a beautiful dvd with (almost) all of her music videos which I can't stop watching over and over again! If you are a Britney fan, I really recommend this boxset. And to those living in Europe and having doubts on purchasing this item on Amazon.com, I'd like to say: Just do it! The service is amazing, and so is the product!

This is a great collection for any Britney fan. It features so many extras - lots of great unreleased tracks, remixes on the "B" sides, a book of beautiful photographs (many never before seen) and a DVD with her always wonderful music videos.

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the music lover or ultimate Britney fan? Look no further. This is it!

This is a great box set that contains mini versions of all of her singles as well as a great DVD of all of her videos. Each sleeve is a single pocket of sturdy cardboard. Each disc mirrors the cover art of the box--black with the britney logo and heart. Hard to believe that its been 10 years but after listening to each disc and all the b-sides it is amazing how consistent her music has been. And its great to have all of her videos in one place. Great fun and a celebration of Britney's pop perfection. Note: I bought this when it was first released, list price has gone up since then.

I think this collection is really cool and a must have for every Britney fan!!! My only issue with it is, I would've liked for there to have been a disc of unreleased material from throughout her career...but oh well LOL!