Celebration: The Video Collection is a collection of forty-seven of Madonna's music videos spread over two DVDs with a running time of approximately three and a half hours. This is more expansive than the thirty-six track CD counterpart.
One of my gripes with the CD version is the non-chronological sequencing, which makes hearing her artistic progression impossible without creating a customized playlist. Thankfully these music videos are presented in order from earliest to most recent. The viewer is treated to a fascinating journey through Madonna's career, as her look and sound changes and evolves. While it would have been nice if this release contained all of her music videos, the selection is more than generous.
There's a healthy dose of nostalgia involved in watching these videos for anyone who grew up during the 1980s in particular. More so than the decades that followed, Madonna was one of the three most visually dynamic performers to really break out during that time. It should go without saying that she has maintained a high level of commercial success right up to present day.
But during the '80s it was largely Prince, Michael Jackson, and Madonna that set the dominant tone for the way pop music looked and sounded. The former two easily outshine Madonna when it comes to vocals. Prince's nearly unparalleled musicianship (by pop standards, at least) also trumps Madonna's comparatively novice skill set. But Madonna was arguably tops in reinventing herself visually. Naturally those abilities are best appreciated when watching her, hence the value in this release.
Many of these clips are very well known, having been played to death on MTV and VH-1 back in the days when music videos dominated those channels' programming.
As a casual fan, I found many of the lesser seen clips interesting. Songs like "Rain," "What It Feels Like For A Girl," and "Give It 2 Me" aren't among her biggest hits, in the U.S. at least, and their videos didn't receive a ton of airplay. The songs themselves aren't very good, as the quality of her work slipped more and more as the years went on. One after another uninspired dud drags across the screen, making disc two a bit much for the non-fanatic. As Madonna ages before our very eyes, becoming more sinewy and gaunt, her attempts to maintain her sex appeal appear garish and embarrassing.
Article comments
1 - Josh
What an EVIL review, are you NUTS, Madonna's vocals are better than that freal Jackson and also Prince. She has more talent than both of them I saw all 3 live and no one comes close to Madonna, no one has better singles or albums and her new music is far better than her 1st hits. This review is a joke at best.
2 - The Other Chad
Hey Josh, thanks for checking in, my man! Glad you enjoyed my review.
3 - sid
Thanks for the review. I think you are spot on in your analysis of Madonna vs. Jackson and Prince....and that is hard for me to say given my Madonna addiction. I am very disappointed to hear of the limited video quality and especially the decision to letterbox the wider formatted videos...it actually gives me pause enough to NOT buy them...hmmm.
4 - Felix
I have been a Madonna fan her entire career and in the 80's she was on top, the 90's for her was all about expirementation and being bold and in your face..she has changed alot since she's had kids...of course who wouldn't....she has put out a couple of her best albums the last 10 years....Music and Confessions, her concerts in the last 10 years have been fantastic....the song Celebration could have been so much better...she recycled alot of lyrics in it..and the original version's music was dated..it sounds like something you would have heard on the radio 10 years ago....the video quality on the dvds is really just so so....and I hate the fact that both Justify my love and Erotica are censored...some of the songs on the audio Cds were edited really badly....I still love her, but I was kinda disappointed with the collection..