The Best Music Album

2009-10-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

Product Description

2 CD edition. Madonna, who has racked up a record 37 top 10 hits as well as seven No. 1 albums (including her last four) on the Billboard Pop Charts, has given her fans yet another opportunity to 'celebrate' her musical achievements. The songs on 'Celebration' have all been remastered and selected by Madonna and her fans. They cover the expanse of the Material Girl's extraordinary career of hits.

CD Tracks

Disc: 1
1. Hung Up Listen
2. Music Listen
3. Vogue Listen
4. 4 Minutes Listen
5. Holiday Listen
6. Everybody Listen
7. Like A Virgin Listen
8. Into The Groove Listen
9. Like A Prayer Listen
10. Ray Of Light Listen
11. Sorry Listen
12. Express Yourself Listen
13. Open Your Heart Listen
14. Borderline Listen
15. Secret Listen
16. Erotica Listen
17. Justify My Love Listen
18. Revolver Listen

Disc: 2
1. Dress You Up Listen
2. Material Girl Listen
3. La Isla Bonita Listen
4. Papa Don't Preach Listen
5. Lucky Star Listen
6. Burning Up Listen
7. Crazy For You Listen
8. Who's That Girl Listen
9. Frozen Listen
10. Miles Away Listen
11. Take A Bow Listen
12. Live To Tell Listen
13. Beautiful Stranger Listen
14. Hollywood Listen
15. Die Another Day Listen
16. Don't Tell Me Listen
17. Cherish Listen
18. Celebration Listen

Customer Reviews
By Antoine D. Reid "80sforever

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'

Celebration [SINGLE REMIXES]

2009-09-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

Product Description

US only Limited double twelve inch vinyl pressing of this single, a new track lifted from her 2009 hits collection Celebration. Features US only-artwork and seven versions of 'Celebration'. Including all of the remixes found on the US Maxi, UK Maxi and the EU single! Tracks; Album Version, Benny Benassi Remix, Paul Oakenfold Remix, Paul Oakenfold Dub Mix, Benny Benassi, Johnny Vicious Club Remix and Benny Benassi Remix Edit. Warner. 2009.

Track Listings

1. Celebration (Oakenfold Remix)
2. Celebration (Benny Benassi Remix)
3. Celebration (Oakenfold Remix Dub)
4. Celebration (Benny Benassi Remix Edit)
5. Celebration (Benny Benassi Dub)
6. Celebration (Johnny Vicious Club Remix)

Customer Reviews
By Braden Pickering

Lyrically, Celebration is a very straight-forward, generic pop song that was probably written, produced, and recorded over the course of a day. That's not necessarily a criticism; I just think that at this point Madonna isn't out to provoke people or prove anything, except that girls over 50 still just want to have fun. After 30 years in the business and paving the way for so many artists (and wannabes) to come, I think Madonna has earned that right.

1. Album Version: The song itself is very Euro-pop with smooth electro beats; not exactly cutting edge but a nice departure from last year's R&B-influenced Hard Candy album, which did not suit Madonna at all.

2. Paul Oakenfold Remix: Contains a lot of the elements of the original (which he also produced), with some extra layering of vocals and techno beats. To me this mix is a little too "busy" because the sounds drown out Madonna's voice at times, especially during the chorus which I thought was odd, as Oakenfold is usually more careful about this type of thing. Not bad, but a little awkward on the ears at first.

3. Benny Benassi Remix: A thumping house mix (and my favorite), this is the version used for the music video. Kinda makes you want to bump `n grind!

4. Oakenfold Dub: I prefer this to track 2, because the instrumentation is actually pretty cool, but sounds better without as many vocals.

5. Benny Benassi Edit: Just a shorter version of track 3.

6. Johnny Vicious Remix: More or less your standard club fare, with a hint of the `80s thrown in. Would fit nicely between the early Madonna hits Holiday and Everybody, and a proper way to close the disc.

Despite some minor fallbacks, I give this single 5 stars because the song itself is well-structured and catchy, and the remixes, while not necessarily improving upon the original, offer variety. Overall a nicely put-together item.

The Beatles Stereo Box Set [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

2009-09-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

By Song Bear "Blue Moo"

This is a commendable effort. Trying to improve on the original GeorgeMartin/Geoff Emerick/NormanSmith mixes of the Beatles albums would be daunting - to say the least. The results are mixed, and whether or not you like the results here is going to be a matter of taste and personal preferences.

The Pro's

The sound on all of the discs is cleaner, crisper, with individual voices and instruments being more distinct. The high end on the cymbals and tambourines is noticeable on everything from" Love Me Do" to "I Dig A Pony." The imaging on some of the songs is better - McCartney's vocals on "Let It Be," and the sound of the Help/Rubber Soul/Revolver era recordings is marvelous. The tape hiss from the 1987 transfers is gone.

The Con's

Someone needs to explain the difference between re-master and remix. These are NOT remasters. They are completely different mixes. Clean as they are, in many of the songs that used reverb and other effects in the original recordings, the vibe and original energy has been completely destroyed. "She Loves You" was never supposed to sound like this. "Penny Lane" sounds too dry and upfront, as if every instrument was recorded in a closet with the microphone being placed no more than two inches away from each instrument. The cellos and other orchestral instruments don't sound right. "Strawberry Fields" is anemic, and "Day in the Life" - crisp as it is - just doesn't have impact anymore. Without the reverb - which any engineer knows can cover up a multitude of out of tune vocals, bad phrasing, and other mistakes - you hear things I don't think the Beatles or George Martin ever intended you to hear. Whoever is responsible for Harrison's vocals on ""Old Brown Shoe" should be beat with a lamp cord.

Should you own this set if you are an avid Beatles fan? Yeah. I think you would probably want it. But be aware of what you are getting here. Remember the "stereo"mixes of the early albums where you had vocals coming out one speaker and the instruments coming out the other? For some reason, with all the digital tools and plug ins available - they didn't correct that. I suppose that would, to many people's way of thinking, been going too far. But to my way of thinking - if you are going to change things, improve the imaging along with the clarity. Tune the some of the vocals. Re-equalize and tweak the bass a little. Put the vocals in the middle of the mix. Do the things that George Martin and the Beatles would have done had they had the technology and tools available today.

When you listen to "Let It Be: Naked" the engineers took a bold stand, stripped away the orchestration without stripping away the vibe, the sense of excitement that the original Beatles recordings generated. I would compare these "remasters" to what we got with the Beatles Anthology CDs. Interesting. Nice addition to the collection. In NO WAY a replacement. Before you invest in the whole set - buy a remastered copy of your favorite album to see if you can tolerate the changes. Then you'll have a better idea whether or not to buy the entire set.