Celebration - 1 disc edition

[Dita-84 50]

This version was such a waste of time. It could not possibly house all of Madonna's biggest hits. ....that being said, if you were forced to put together the track listing then what would it be?

Here are my two cents. Although, possibly too much to cram onto a single CD release.

Holiday

Like a Virgin

Into the Groove

Crazy For You

Papa Don't Preach

Open Your Heart

La Isla Bonita

Live to Tell

Like A Prayer

Express Yourself

Vogue

Justify My Love

Erotica

Human Nature

Take A Bow

Frozen

Ray of Light

Music

Don't Tell Me

Hung Up

4 Minutes

Celebration

Edited February 27 by Dita-84 (see edit history)

[MattyMads 5,515]

Funny enough i was looking at the single edition last night and thought what a pointless release they should have released 2 disc as standard and 3 disc as deluxe. I would say the best songs were chosen on your list

[Blue Jean 15,254]

Holiday

Lucky star

Like a virgin

Material girl

Crazy for you

Into the groove

Live to Tell

Papa don’t preach

Open your heart

La Isla Bonita

Like a Prayer

Express Yourself

Vogue

Frozen

Ray of Light

Music

Dont tell Me

Hung Up

4 Minutes

[Prayer 14,361]

The "Celebration" Standard 1CD edition was just a cheaper option to offer to casual fans and a quick money maker for Warner, they knew hardcore fans would want every edition.

I always though it flowed better than the Deluxe 2CD full edition, though.

I would have made:

01. Holiday

02. Like A Virgin

03. Material Girl

04. Into The Groove

05. Papa Don't Preach

06. Open Your Heart

07. La Isla Bonita

08. Like A Prayer

09. Express Yourself

10. Vogue

11. Erotica

12. Secret

13. Frozen

14. Ray Of Light

15. Music

16. Hung Up

17. 4 Minutes

18. Celebration

 

[steady75 9,570]

In terms of what the general public would expect:

 

In terms of a banging collection that would keep you bopping along (maybe except Frozen)

[Karma 2,819]

1. «Hung Up»
2. «Music»
3. «Vogue»
4. «4 Minutes»
5. «Holiday»
6. «Like a Virgin»
7. «Into the Groove»
8. «Like a Prayer»
9. «Ray of Light»
10. «La Isla Bonita»
11. «Frozen»
12. «Material Girl»
13. «Papa Don’t Preach»
14. «Lucky Star» Sorry
15. «Express Yourself»
16. «Open Your Heart»
17. «Dress You Up» Don't Tell Me
18. «Celebration»

Everything else is essential, imo. I do wish "True Blue" and "Give It 2 Me" were included in the deluxe edition.

[LongIslandTea 1,591]

1. Like A Virgin
2. Material Girl
3. Into The Groove
4. Papa Don't Preach
5. La Isla Bonita
6. Who's That Girl
7. Like A Prayer
8. Vogue
9. Erotica
10. Secret
11. Take A Bow
12. Frozen
13. American Pie
14. Music
15. Hung Up
16. 4 minutes
17. Celebration

[Bjonkers 1,575]

I believe the success of Prince's very basic 1 disc greatest hits (The Vert Best of Prince) in 2001 informed why they did a 1-disc version for Celebration. His was a great little one-stop-shop for the general public who just liked the big radio hits. In the streaming era, a 1-disc version has no real place, but this was originally released in 2009 when physical sales were all that mattered and GH releases were huge sellers in the 4th quarter. If you could squeeze an extra sale out of Sharon in HR who used to wear lace gloves in 1985 but never bought another album due to having 5 kids in the 90s or from or Bob in Accounts who thought she was hot in the Express Yourself video but would never get through 36 tracks, then a 1-disc was what was needed to be done. I'd probably swap out Dress You Up for Who's That Girl which was a summer #1 in several big markets, but I get why the rest are there and it's a fairly uptempo 1 disc.

Personally, I hate it though and wish they'd remove the multiple versions from online services and just leave us with the original 36 track version.

[A. A. Aardvark 4,842]

5 hours ago, Dita-84 said:

This version was such a waste of time. It could not possibly house all of Madonna's biggest hits. ....that being said, if you were forced to put together the track listing then what would it be?

Here are my two cents. Although, possibly too much to cram onto a single CD release.

Holiday

Like a Virgin

Into the Groove

Crazy For You

Papa Don't Preach

Open Your Heart

La Isla Bonita

Live to Tell

Like A Prayer

Express Yourself

Vogue

Justify My Love

Erotica

Human Nature

Take A Bow

Frozen

Ray of Light

Music

Don't Tell Me

Hung Up

4 Minutes

Celebration

the 7'' Edits were on a bonus 3 x CD/5 x CD/ LP Box Set
the only legal place to buy them
I'am talking about David Bowie's Station To Station album though.

how looong is one CD ?
and how many of her actual radio 7'' versions would fit ??

[steady75 9,570]

I mean I love me some Who's That Girl but Julie from Costco is not staning. She's a Borderline kind of girl as much as I don't care for it much myself. I also really think 4 Minutes has not been canonised the way some of her other singles have but no doubt it was a smasher at the time and her last genuine big hitter ...but It's dominance today really is mostly down to Justin and to some degree Timbalands streaming power. It's the only song on the list with triple artists which disproportionally inflates its streams. Julie would much prefer Sorry or Dress You Up or even Don't Tell Me.  I often think if she listed Take A Bow as a duet with Babyface its streams would go through the roof. The tags matter.

 

[Anapausis 5,913]

1 hour ago, Bjonkers said:

Personally, I hate it though and wish they'd remove the multiple versions from online services and just leave us with the original 38 track version.

Fixed it for you. It's So Cool and the Benassi remix off Celebration OFC deserve a place in this streaming edition.

[Anapausis 5,913]

14 minutes ago, steady75 said:

I mean I love me some Who's That Girl but Julie from Costco is not staning. She's a Borderline kind of girl as much as I don't care for it much myself. I also really think 4 Minutes has not been canonised the way some of her other singles have but no doubt it was a smasher at the time and her last genuine big hitter ...but It's dominance today really is mostly down to Justin and to some degree Timbalands streaming power. It's the only song on the list with triple artists which disproportionally inflates its streams. Julie would much prefer Sorry or Dress You Up or even Don't Tell Me.  I often think if she listed Take A Bow as a duet with Babyface its streams would go through the roof. The tags matter.

 

Have you ever considered the possibility she was just saying ok to Warner to everything they were saying to her (including recording new songs) only to finish a chapter of her life she thought it'd be for ever?

I TRULY believe to Madonna nothing really mattered (no pun intended) regards this GH by then. Tracklist, remastering, mixing, nothing. She was just delievering what Warner expected from her and called it a day.

Little she knew then this frankenstein of a compilation would not only be through the years her most streamed GH ever, but also her most streamed ALBUM OVERALL. To the complete despair of her most veteran fans.

[steady75 9,570]

Yea possibly. Music revenue was shocking and the tour and merch era were about to begin. She doesn't really do legacy stuff but I do believe she would have wanted to wrap up her longest and only record deal with at least some consideration. Hence the four new tracks recorded and specially commissioned artwork. This wasn't a GHV2 situation. 

 

[Prayer 14,361]

Her lack of care?/revenge towards the label?/don't give a F in general? attitude for the "Celebration" project is truly one of her biggest mysteries to me.

Yes, she was on tour and yes, she was going through a painful divorce. It was probably one of her lowest times ever. And she never cared about the past back then. But this was one of the most successful artists in history with a perfectionist reputation and a catalogue of hits for days (well, at least for 3 discs). And of course the artist with the biggest compilation album in history ("The Immaculate Collection").

And we got: "Celebration". Yes, new songs but the rest... totally half-arsed. Even one of the songs wasn't finished properly ("Revolver").

I would love to know what was going on in her mind about this project (probably not much?). Maybe "GHV2" completely messed her mind about compilations and she just went on "no f**ks given" mode automatically when she started working on it.

[Donna 16,443]

1 hour ago, Prayer said:

Her lack of care?/revenge towards the label?/don't give a F in general? attitude for the "Celebration" project is truly one of her biggest mysteries to me.

Yes, she was on tour and yes, she was going through a painful divorce. It was probably one of her lowest times ever. And she never cared about the past back then. But this was one of the most successful artists in history with a perfectionist reputation and a catalogue of hits for days (well, at least for 3 discs). And of course the artist with the biggest compilation album in history ("The Immaculate Collection").

And we got: "Celebration". Yes, new songs but the rest... totally half-arsed. Even one of the songs wasn't finished properly ("Revolver").

I would love to know what was going on in her mind about this project (probably not much?). Maybe "GHV2" completely messed her mind about compilations and she just went on "no f**ks given" mode automatically when she started working on it.

It's a GH's compilation.  She was just coming off a huge and successful tour.  The buzz was all there.  The record company seemed to be really pushing the hell out of this. There was a lot of promo behind with Warner for sure.  I just never felt she was very interested in GH's sets.  Still, she offered a couple new songs. That's typical from most artists.  Sure there is a push from the record company to add something new.  So she did it!  She even previewed a bit of Celebration on the second year of the tour.

If anything, I would have thought Warners would have used the opportunity of the Celebration Tour, to really whore this GH set out again. Maybe re-released the whole deal on all formats and tie it more into the tour.  Made sure it was available at the venues. It's a really good comprehensive album of her career. 

[luluthecat 1,114]

While Dress You Up is my favourite LAV track, I’ve no idea how it ended up on this 1 disc edition 

[MaDöner Kebab 6,878]

Quite honestly impossible but I'll give it a try:

1. Holiday
2. Borderline
3. Like A Virgin
4. Material Girl
5. Crazy For You
6. Live To Tell
7. Papa Don't Preach
8. La Isla Bonita
9. Like A Prayer
10. Express Yourself
11. Vogue
12. Justify My Love
13. Take A Bow
14. Frozen
15. Ray Of Light
16. Music
17. Hung Up
18. 4 Minutes
19. Celebration

I would have opted for this instead:

CELEBRATION: 3-Disc Edition

Disc 1: DANCE

1. Everybody - 7" Edit
2. Holiday - 7" Edit
3. Lucky Star - 7" Edit
4. Into The Groove - Video Edit
5. Dress You Up - Remix/Edit
6. Who's That Girl
7. Causing A Commotion - Silver Screen Single Edit
8. Vogue - Album Edit
9. Deeper And Deeper - Edit
10. Don't Cry For Me Argentina - Miami Mix Edit
11. Ray Of Light - Edit
12. Nothing Really Matters - Edit
13. Beautiful Stranger - William Orbit Edit
14. Music
15. Hollywood - Album Edit
16. Hung Up - Radio Version
17. Get Together - Radio Edit
18. Give It 2 Me - Edit
19. Celebration

Disc 2: FIGHT

1. Burning Up - Remix Edit
2. Material Girl
3. Papa Don't Preach - Edit/Fade
4. Open Your Heart
5. Like A Prayer - 7" Version/Fade
6. Express Yourself - Video Version
7. Justify My Love - Q-Sound Edit
8. Erotica - Radio Edit
9. Bedtime Story - Edit
10. Human Nature - Video Version
11. American Pie
12. Don't Tell Me - Radio Edit
13. Die Another Day - Radio Edit
14. American Life - Radio Edit
15. Sorry - Radio Edit
16. Jump - Radio Edit
17. 4 Minutes - Radio Edit
18. Revolver
19. It’s So Cool

Disc 3: LOVE

1. Borderline - Remix
2. Like A Virgin
3. Crazy For You - Edit/Fade
4. Live To Tell - Edit
5. True Blue - Remix/Edit
6. La Isla Bonita - Remix
7. Cherish - 7" Version
8. This Used To Be My Playground - Short Version
9. Rain - Radio Remix Edit
10. I'll Remember - Orbit Remix
11. Secret - Edit
12. Take A Bow - Edit
13. You'll See - Edit
14. You Must Love Me - Single Version
15. Frozen - Radio Edit
16. The Power Of Good-Bye
17. What It Feels Like For A Girl - Radio Edit
18. Love Profusion
19. Miles Away - Radio Edit

iTunes/Digital Exclusive: OUTTAKES

1. Physical Attraction - Edit
2. Angel - Dance Mix Edit
3. Gambler
4. The Look Of Love
5. Spotlight - Single Edit
6. Oh Father - Edit
7. Dear Jessie - Fade
8. Keep It Together - Single Remix
9. Hanky Panky  - Bare Bones Single Mix
10. Rescue Me - Single Mix
11. Bad Girl - Edit
12. Fever - Edit One
13. Bye Bye Baby
14. One More Chance - Fade
15. Love Don't Live Here Anymore - Soulpower Radio Remix Edit
16. Another Suitcase In Another Hall
17. Drowned World/Substitute For  Love - Radio Edit
18. Nothing Fails - Radio Edit
19. Broken

AND FOR THE CASUAL FANS AND LOCALS…

CELEBRATION: 2-Disc Condensed Version

Disc 1:

1. Burning Up - Remix Edit
2. Holiday - 7" Edit
3. Lucky Star - 7" Edit
4. Borderline - Remix
5. Like A Virgin
6. Material Girl
7. Crazy For You - Edit/Fade
8. Into The Groove
9. Dress You Up - Remix
10. Live To Tell - Edit
11. Papa Don't Preach - Edit/Fade
12. True Blue - Remix/Edit
13. Open Your Heart - Remix
14. La Isla Bonita - Remix
15. Who's That Girl
16. Like A Prayer - 7" Version/Fade
17. Express Yourself - Video Version
18. Cherish - 7" Version
19. Vogue - Album Edit

Disc 2:

1. Justify My Love - Q-Sound Edit
2. Erotica - Radio Edit
3. Deeper And Deeper - Edit
4. I'll Remember [US]
5. Secret - Edit
6. Take A Bow - Edit
7. Frozen - Radio Edit
8. Ray Of Light - Edit
9. The Power Of Good-Bye [EU]
10. Beautiful Stranger - William Orbit Edit
11. Music
12. Don't Tell Me - Radio Edit
13. Die Another Day - Radio Edit
14. American Life - Radio Edit
15. Hung Up - Radio Version
16. Sorry - Radio Edit
17. 4 Minutes - Radio Edit
18. Give It 2 Me - Edit
19. Revolver
20. Celebration

[steady75 9,570]

22 hours ago, Prayer said:

Her lack of care?/revenge towards the label?/don't give a F in general? attitude for the "Celebration" project is truly one of her biggest mysteries to me.

Yes, she was on tour and yes, she was going through a painful divorce. It was probably one of her lowest times ever. And she never cared about the past back then. But this was one of the most successful artists in history with a perfectionist reputation and a catalogue of hits for days (well, at least for 3 discs). And of course the artist with the biggest compilation album in history ("The Immaculate Collection").

And we got: "Celebration". Yes, new songs but the rest... totally half-arsed. Even one of the songs wasn't finished properly ("Revolver").

I would love to know what was going on in her mind about this project (probably not much?). Maybe "GHV2" completely messed her mind about compilations and she just went on "no f**ks given" mode automatically when she started working on it.

I suppose we really also have to remember she was still in a commercial peak..possibly just starting to wane and she was the oldest active big pop girl alive. She'd already been tick taking and talking about not stopping and running out of time. Sometimes a Greatest Hits feels like a Gold watch to performers. Thanks you very much and out to pasture. It's certainly true that that is exactly what happened to some degree so maybe she didn't want to put too much focus on it, instead focusing on huge new Touring deal because that's where it seemed the money was going.

Artists are fragile and sensitive and a woman going through a lot of endings (marriage / commercial peak / menopause / 25 year record deal where she felt she had less sway than she ever had before), probably felt she was moving into a new phase of life. A humanitarian and a film maker. She certainly was at a cross roads for sure. 

[Demian 13]

Too hard to do. Actually impossible. Her career at that point deserved, as some here have said, a standard 2-cd version and a deluxe 3-cd one AT LEAST.