Celebration

Madonna | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: September 18, 2009
• Release Date: September 18, 2009
• Label: Warner Bros.
• Copyright: 2009 Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside the U.S.
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 1:18:47
• Genres:
  • Pop
• ASIN: B002PDGTI2
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (161 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,776 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

215 of 226 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Differences in the various versions September 29, 2009

By Daniel E. Matsumoto

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

NOTE: This review looks at only the differences in track versions contained on this retrospective compared with previously issued track versions.

Most tracks on this compilation are album versions, but some are edits which, in and of themselves, have been edited differently. There are also many tracks from The Immaculate Collection, some of which may have been modified slightly for this collection (denoted below).

DISC ONE

01. Hung Up (Album Version)(5:39)
02. Music (Album Version)(3:46)
03. Vogue (From The Immaculate Collection) (5:17)
04. 4 Minutes (Album Edit, no breakdown) (3:10)
05. Holiday (Album Version) (6:08)
06. Everybody (Album Edit) (4:11)
07. Like a Virgin (From The Immaculate Collection) (3:10)
08. Into the Groove (12" Version, first appearance on an official Madonna US full-length CD release) (4:45)
09. Like a Prayer (Album Version) (5:43)
10. Ray of Light (Album Edit) (4:34)
11. Sorry (Album Edit, shorter intro and bridge) (3:59)
12. Express Yourself (Video Version, Edited) (4:00)
-NOTE: This version closely resembles the original music video version, but the short instrumental break that leads into the bridge has been removed at 2:30.
13. Open Your Heart (From The Immaculate Collection)
14. Borderline (From The Immaculate Collection)
15. Secret (Album Edit, fades instead of stopping cold)
16. Erotica (Album Edit, Alternate)
-NOTE: This Album Edit (4:30) differs slightly from Album Edit (4:36) found on the original 1992 Erotica Maxi CD single (Maverick/Sire/Warner Bros CD 0-9362-40585-2-6). The edits in the 4:36 version occur at 0:00 and 3:27.
17. Justify My Love (Q Sound Mix) (4:54)
18. Revolver (Album Version) (3:40)

DISC TWO

01. Dress You Up (Album Version, Edited) (4:02)
-NOTE: Different intro
02. Material Girl (Album Version) (4:00)
03. La Isla Bonita (Album Version) (4:04)
04. Papa Don't Preach (Album Version) (4:30)
05. Lucky Star (From The Immaculate Collection, Modified)
-NOTE: This version closely resembles The Immaculate Collection version, but the intro and outro have been edited differently.
06. Burning Up (Album Version) (3:45)
07. Crazy for You (From The Immaculate Collection) (3:44)
08. Who's That Girl (Album Version) (4:00)
09. Frozen (Album Version) (6:19)
10. Miles Away (Album Edit) (3:45)
11. Take a Bow (Album Version) (5:20)
12. Live to Tell (Album Version) (5:51)
13. Beautiful Stranger (Album Version) (4:22)
14. Hollywood (Original Album Edit) (4:23)
15. Die Another Day (Album Version) (4:37)
16. Don't Tell Me (Album Edit, with cold stop) (4:12)
17. Cherish (Album Edit, Alternate) (3:52)
-NOTE: This edit very closely resembles the version found on The Immaculate Collection, but the guitar snares at 3:16 and 3:20 from the 1989 Like a Prayer album original are present. The guitar snares do not appear on The Immaculate Collection version.
18. Celebration (Album Version) (3:35)

(last revised 4/22/12)

89 of 98 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of "Celebration" (2 CD) Edition September 29, 2009

By Antoine D. Reid VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Warner Bros. has released Madonna's third compilation album featuring some of Madonna's biggest hits (fourth if you count the ballad collection 'Something To Remember'). 'Celebration' is a great collection of some of Madonna's best work but as any true fan will attest, this is far from a true 'greatest hits' album. If you are a casual Madonna fan, 'Celebration' is really a good album to pick-up. The main staples --- 'Material Girl', 'Ray of Light', 'Like a Prayer' --- are all present. There are even two new songs. Yet, something feels unsatisfying with 'Celebration' considering there are so many songs that were left off. Considering this is her last release with Warner Bros, I felt much more effort could have been put into making this a true 'celebration' of her music and career over the past 26 years. Instead, it feels like one last attempt made by Warner to make money off Madonna.

The Good: I really like all the effort and attention put into the package design. Warner Bros. definitely stepped up their promotion and art direction on this release -- more so than they have her past few albums. The art designed by Mr. Brainwash is definitely different and more street and while there are no new photos of Madonna, I felt the design really does her justice and features her most iconic looks and styles in a creative manner. I like both of the new songs featured on this edition. 'Celebration' is pure dance and sounds like a cut from "Confessions on a Dance Floor" while 'Revolver' (featuring a small rap by Lil' Wayne) is a mix between pop and urban music, everything "Hard Candy" tried to be but perhaps failed to live up to. To me, the songs are both very good and easily stand out as album worthy tracks. Another great thing about this release is that the tracks have been remastered and as someone who has listened to many of the tracks often, I can tell the difference and it makes listening to some of the older tracks like 'Dress You Up' and 'Like a Prayer' all the more enjoyable.

The Bad: Again, to the casual Madonna fan, 'Celebration' offers a nice spread of songs throughout her career. To the hardcore fan, this release is disappointing. Tracks like 'True Blue', 'Spotlight', 'Bad Girl' and 'Human Nature' are all left off. Some of the songs on here are edits from the first 'greatest hits' package, 'The Immaculate Collection'. Other edits simply don't do the songs justice (Why cut out the dramatic beginning of '4 Minutes' and break the song down to a mere 3 minutes, ten seconds? Doesn't that go against the whole theme of the song?). Also, the release is sparse on the side of some of her older ballads (Where's 'You'll See' and why is 'Miles Away' included when it didn't really make an impact?). I get the impression that this release, like many of Madonna's 'greatest hits' packages, was put out without a lot of thought or effort. If you're a big Madonna fan, there's no reason to own this because you have a lot of the songs (full versions, mind you, not edits) and are left with just 2 new songs that you can probably purchase as mp3s on Amazon separately. This could have been a true 'celebration' and featured new edits or remixes and takes on the classic songs to make everything dance-floor ready but it seems as if all the attention were put into the package art rather than the actual content.

In all, if you are new to Madonna and want a collection of her music from all eras and albums of her career, this will be a nice addition to your collection. You will definitely get a nice sampling of her music that will hopefully inspire you to pick up her albums to enjoy the full tracks and other undiscovered ones. If you are the casual fan or even hardcore, 'Celebration' is more for your collection than a must-purchase. There are only two new tracks; the rest of 'Celebration' is a compilation of radio edits, or mixes from the past greatest hits packages released by Warner Music. If you want the true Madonna experience, I recommend saving your money on this purchase and putting it toward the 2-DVD music video collection that is also newly released. It featured remastered video, remastered music, 47 videos and definitely features more of the hits and lesser known tracks of her career. It's worth the purchase while this on the other hand doesn't really feel like a real 'greatest hits' package and more so a sampling of some of her best.

Listen To These Tracks: 'Revolver' (featuring Lil' Wayne), 'Celebration'

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Cheap cheap production January 10, 2010

By rickshayne

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

Not what I expected, but with knowing the quality of the cd (bad mastering and typos in the booklet and credits) there was a red flag about this all along.
This is a 4-disc set, the jacket is a simple double jacket made out of paper so thin that you usually find it used for die-cut maxi singles. So you can image how soft it is, and they put two records inside each pocket. The vinyls are very thin and they almost bend if you keep one on your finger in the spindle hole.
They barely fit inside the jacket, almost sticking out. But if you stick them in really good so that they don't stick out, the will be so tight towards the spine of the jacket that you will see the round shape of the vinyls on the jacket, not to mention bending the discs over time. It's so cheap. Why bother producing this if it's going to be this bad quality? It is not worth the price.