Review of Madonna: The Immaculate Collection

Introduction

A retrospective of Madonna`s early career in videos, the Immaculate Collection is an essential purchase for fans. I am kind of a nostalgia freak, so this has the added bonus of containing some great eighties kitsch. The videos themselves vary from the cheap and cheerful to the extravagant. Madonna is famous for re-inventing herself, and you see her growth as an artist through these videos. She`s also a great dancer and that comes through as well, with the choreography in these promos a major attraction.

Chronologically, from aspiring artist to global icon, the songs are; Lucky Star, Borderline, Like a Virgin, Material Girl, Papa Don`t Preach, Open Your Heart, La Isla Bonita, Like a Prayer, Express Yourself, Cherish, Oh Father, Vogue and the 1990 MTV performance of Vogue.

Video

As for the tech stuff, the video is presented in a 4:3 format, and is more than adequate. The quality of the videos themselves vary accordingly with the budget, Lucky Star is very rough and ready (don`t go adjusting your sets) but the expensive videos from the Like a Prayer album onwards are done justice.

Audio

The sound is PCM stereo, which is acceptable given the source. (Wasn`t the Immaculate Collection CD recorded in revolutionary Q-sound as demonstrated on Tomorrow`s World?) Subtitles are provided for you karaoke freaks. Rest assured that I spared the neighbours of my mangled cat of a voice.

Features

The menu is nice, but there are no other extras.

Conclusion

The simplicity of Lucky Star leads to the mega budget of Express Yourself. My favourites from this selection are Papa Don`t Preach, Express Yourself and Cherish, but this doesn`t detract from the rest of the content. But I have to admit the biggest selling point was the inclusion of Open Your Heart, in my opinion, the greatest music video ever made and worth the money itself. O.K, so I like Madonna.

This doesn`t mean that the disc is perfect. Not surprisingly I could have done with a few more videos, namely, Dear Jessie, Into the Groove, Where`s the Party and Causing a Commotion.

Like all music releases, this disc is going to appeal to fans most of all. But there are some great memories on this disc as well as some brilliantly crafted pop songs. I can heartily recommend this, especially as this disc always seems to be on a bargain shelf in one shop or another. I picked it up for £12 in a megastore, about the price of the CD which is pretty good value.