I'm thinking about buying Celebration....

[Guest Not4Pussies]

Hahaha great gif response.

[5iVe Elements]

Maybe I'm dumb. I couldn't hear the American Life nor the Music pop-hiss thingy.

[ryan]

No one else finds JML to sound distorted? I do like how it starts quickly right after the end of Erotica though.

[Mattress]

No one else finds JML to sound distorted? I do like how it starts quickly right after the end of Erotica though.

No, it does sound like shit. Too much bass to push the volume up as far up as they did (even the older master of the track was prone to this on the wrong stereo.)

Not really a fan of the crossfading of "Erotica" into "Justify My Love" either. Cute idea if you're a fan playing around with a personalized Madonna mix at home but it didn't belong on a retrospective like this. They also faded JML early which was pointless.

Oh well.

[VogueMusic]

Hmmm, interesting. I really don't notice very many of those issues when I listen to it, but ... Madonna always seems to have so many different edits/versions of one song, that I sometimes just get confused as to what is what anymore.

The only thing I did notice is that Justify My Love is a bit distorted/too loud... In fact, most mixing today is WAY too loud. The "loudness wars" needs to stop. If only studio engineers could mix closer to the warmth of vinyl, with the middle ranges brought in, and the top and bottom aspects toned down.

The edits on Erotica, Dress You Up, Cherish and a few others where kind of noticeable...

I also agree that I would have swapped out a few tracks for ones like "I'll Remember", "This Used To Be My Playground", "Deeper and Deeper", "Bedtime Story", "Human Nature", "Nothing Really Matters", etc.

Though for being a greatest hits, it's kind of like they wanted it to be played like a dance record...so maybe that's why more ballads were left off. But "Deeper" def should have been there.

Also, the order is a bit weird...but I have to admit I'm usually never a fan of the ordering of songs on any Madonna album/comp. It always feels a bit too random...

In the end, I never understand why they do these edits...it seems so unnecessary. There already are good solid edits as in radio edits, 7" mixes (which def should have been used), even some good video edits that deserved to be remastered.

There was just no need to butcher up songs. Only guess is they did it to fit as many as they could on the run time (which is why I'm beginning to hate CDs.)

[nightcutter]

Mattresse's review at the time was spot on and still is. This was a very bad effort on the part of Warners. Worst offenders being Erotica and Express Yourself. I never saw the need for full length versions of Holiday and Live To Tell either. It's atrocious really.

[agclef]

Uh, it's Madonna's double-CD greatest hits collection fully digitally remastered--I bought both a digital copy and a physical CD and eeverything sounds great, especially Into The Groove, which is why you want it!

You should have had this already!!!

The 2 disc version is on Amazon for $12, which is a good deal, but I have a question:

Did they fix all the errors or is it still a glitchy mess?

By the way, the main reason I'm considering getting this is for "Into The Groove." I've been listening to it on repeat lately and would love to have the original version.

I wish "Like A Prayer" and "You Can Dance" were remastered. I would pick those up as well.

[jonski43]

The question is, how do you know which version you're buying? Isn't the only way to tell you're getting the fixed version is that the printing errors on the back are corrected? I thought some text like LENNY KRAVITZ were in capitals and something with La Isla Bonita but they were corrected on the print with revised edits?

But the Erotica edit is the worst - whoever let that one through really shouldn't be in the music industry. It's like they did it on cassette.

[Nonoka]

I bought my Celebration copy in 2010 and the editing errors in Erotica and Cherish are fixed. The other songs still sound exactly the same, though.

I actually don't mind the edit of Express Yourself (and I prefer this version over the album version anyway) nor the one of Dress You Up, but it's true that something went totally wrong with Music. You don't even need decent headphones or speakers, just turn the volume a bit up and listen to the audio at around the 30 seconds mark, that's the spot where it's the most noticeable.

Also, I've always wondered what happened to Revolver. Her voice is totally drowned out, the bass overblown and there are clicks in the background throughout the whole song. I'm sure that couldn't be the intention of the guy who mastered this?

By the way, here's a site which shows the difference between the original edition of Celebration and the corrected one:

http://madonnacollector.sweb.cz/pic/CelCorrect2CD.htm

It says that the corrected edition has other matrix numbers on the CDs as the original edition's ones.

[Fighting Spirit]

I've never heard Celebration on my headphones. But I'm always blasting on my car because can't hear the errors so the whole experience is pure joy.

[Crux]

The main problem I have with this compilation was the embarrassing fuck up of "Music". How on earth those clicks got past the green light is beyond me.

[Fighting Spirit]

Remember when that shitty producer of Revolver said on twitter that he fucked up Revolver and he tried to fix it but Warner were like 'no, it's too late'?

A MESS.

[nimos]

Does anyone know if they fixed some of the errors on the iTunes version as well? I still have the files from when I bought it in September 2009 but might try re-downloading it. This was such a slapdash compilation and not worthy of Madonna's oeuvre. And it was a missed opportunity to include some of the single versions that are unavailable or rare on CD.

[Guest bluejean]

Can someone please upload the fixed versions of Cherish of Erotica in 320kbps mp3? I want to swap them over on iTunes. They should have fixed Dress You Up at least as well.

The Erotica edit though is beyond terrible. I mean it's like they had 20 seconds to edit the song

[Matys]

How can something be a "fake" edit? It's a new edit, especially done for this compilation. Nothing "fake" about it.

I really hate the editing and glitches on Celebration by the way.

[ryan]

How can something be a "fake" edit? It's a new edit, especially done for this compilation. Nothing "fake" about it.

Yes, I need an explanation for that.

[Mattress]

Yes, I need an explanation for that.

At the time there had been discussion of the official single/DJ versions of her hits and which should be included. It's just my terminology for it. Put simply, a "fake" edit describes a new attempt at recreating an already existing edit version (decades after the fact) instead of sourcing the original. "Erotica" was a failed attempt to recreate the original Radio Edit. The intro of "Express Yourself" was a failed attempt to recreate the video version.

They are new edits, but with the possible exception of "Everybody" they weren't done for artistic reasons and indicate laziness or a lack of resources. I consider the "real" edits those that were issued at the time the songs were originally released as singles which in many cases were handled by the original producers/mixers of each song.

If you know what to look for, there's more subtle, inoffensive stuff like the radio edit version of "Ray Of Light" (a rough edit to begin with) and the fade-out of "Secret". These aren't from the original single masters either. In fact, every edited song on Celebration that was released before 2002 was newly edited for this release. To distinguish them from the originals I refer to them as "Celebration Edit".

[horn]

Personally I think the cover is a little too yellowish.

Instead of #ffff00, they should use #ffff33.

The title of the album was not really in the right place.

It seems like it's 30 deg tilted but it looked 33 deg to me.

I hope there will be a corrected cover artwork version soon.

[christopherm]

Celebration was my gateway to M in the first place, so I'll always say good things about it I still have it in my iPod too even though now I have all of the albums there. And sometimes I make my own Celebration Playlist with the album versions and I add some missing singles like Bedtime Stories, Give It 2 Me, and American Life etc

[ryan]

Personally I think the cover is a little too yellowish.

Instead of #ffff00, they should use #ffff33.

The title of the album was not really in the right place.

It seems like it's 30 deg tilted but it looked 33 deg to me.

I hope there will be a corrected cover artwork version soon.

[ryan]

At the time there had been discussion of the official single/DJ versions of her hits and which should be included. It's just my terminology for it. Put simply, a "fake" edit describes a new attempt at recreating an already existing edit version (decades after the fact) instead of sourcing the original. "Erotica" was a failed attempt to recreate the original Radio Edit. The intro of "Express Yourself" was a failed attempt to recreate the video version.

They are new edits, but with the possible exception of "Everybody" they weren't done for artistic reasons and indicate laziness or a lack of resources. I consider the "real" edits those that were issued at the time the songs were originally released as singles which in many cases were handled by the original producers/mixers of each song.

If you know what to look for, there's more subtle, inoffensive stuff like the radio edit version of "Ray Of Light" (a rough edit to begin with) and the fade-out of "Secret". These aren't from the original single masters either. In fact, every edited song on Celebration that was released before 2002 was newly edited for this release. To distinguish them from the originals I refer to them as "Celebration Edit".

Ah, I see. But other than the 3 major complaints (Music, DYU, Erotica), I don't see what everyone else is saying about how lazy the editing is. For instance. I just listened to Express Yourself, based on you and other peoples assessment, I expected some half assed editing job that would sound very noticeable. I don' hear anything wrong with the editing, at all.

For me, it sounds like Erotica had some kind of glitch in the file saving process, or they just desperately needed to trim a few extra seconds for the CD running time.

EDIT***

After listening to Cherish, I finally see what everyone is talking about. It sounds funny, but they edited it in a subtle way. It's not as atrocious as Erotica though.

I don't know how Warner got away with releasing this. It's a bit embarrassing really, but not something I would hold them against and take to the grave. It makes me wonder if M even had a hand in this "Celebration" project other than recording 3 1/2 new tracks.

[dollhouse]

Celebration was my gateway to M in the first place, so I'll always say good things about it I still have it in my iPod too even though now I have all of the albums there. And sometimes I make my own Celebration Playlist with the album versions and I add some missing singles like Bedtime Stories, Give It 2 Me, and American Life etc

[dollhouse]

Ah, I see. But other than the 3 major complaints (Music, DYU, Erotica), I don't see what everyone else is saying about how lazy the editing is. For instance. I just listened to Express Yourself, based on you and other peoples assessment, I expected some half assed editing job that would sound very noticeable. I don' hear anything wrong with the editing, at all.

For me, it sounds like Erotica had some kind of glitch in the file saving process, or they just desperately needed to trim a few extra seconds for the CD running time.

EDIT***

After listening to Cherish, I finally see what everyone is talking about. It sounds funny, but they edited it in a subtle way. It's not as atrocious as Erotica though.

I don't know how Warner got away with releasing this. It's a bit embarrassing really, but not something I would hold them against and take to the grave. It makes me wonder if M even had a hand in this "Celebration" project other than recording 3 1/2 new tracks.

Proof: Miles Away is on Celebration.

[ryan]

Proof: Miles Away is on Celebration.

She must need hearing aides then.

[Ivy]

I'm fine with the cd, it serves it's purpose as a party album, nothing more nothing less. You want the original edits/ versions go by the original albums and cd singles.

What I'm most upset about is the justify my love video and those black bars that cover tits. Now that is an edit that nobody should have to see.

[dollhouse]

^ maybe its sarcasm?

[ryan]

I'm fine with the cd, it serves it's purpose as a party album, nothing more nothing less. You want the original edits/ versions go by the original albums and cd singles.

But don't you hear anything wrong in Music or Erotica? You actually like more than half of the opening to DYU cut off?

[Supernatural]

It makes me wonder if M even had a hand in this "Celebration" project other than recording 3 1/2 new tracks.

I think she picked the tracks, order of songs and OKed the artwork, after that I guess no matter how much or little she may care, it's out of her hands and Warner didn't want to put a lot of time or money in.

It's funny all the complaints because I'm pretty sure fans were reacting so poorly to some of the mixes said to be included (like the TIC versions of ITG and LAP) that they actually went back to switch them out.

[promise to try]

so, if I want to buy the (poorly) corrected version, what do I have to see? what is different from the outside?

[Mattress]

People get so weird about fans who "pay attention". There's tons of technical information out there for anything you can think of that I couldn't give a shit about. It's there for those who do. The same thing applies here. I know damn good and well that those who mock this particular issue have the same level of interest in other areas so, if nothing else, relate on that level or shut it.

It's as simple this: I love music, I love Madonna's recorded work and I care about its preservation. I derive a lot of joy from it but I'm not special. Anyone can put a little effort into research and come to the same conclusions on their own (as many have). When I post technical stuff it is for those who, like myself, are interested in knowing such things. I never encouraged people not to buy it. I bought both editions myself.

The heart of the ranting is that Celebration serves as a signpost of how future projects will likely be treated. That's frustrating and scary to someone who cares. It wasn't a budget release for a second-tier one hit wonder. It was a time capsule spanning the nearly 30 year career of a world-famous, boundary-pushing, pussy-popping, record-breaking legend of the industry who helped elevate her label to new heights.

Something I think a lot of people forget or didn't pay attention to:

In early 2001 there was a major restructure of the Warner Music Group; about 600 positions were eliminated across the three labels.

In 2003, amid management disputes, sagging share prices and rising alarm about the impact of digital file sharing, Time Warner decided to unload its music operations.

In March 2004, Time Warner's music assets were acquired by private equity group headed by Thomas H. Lee Partners, Lexa Partners (led by Edgar Bronfman Jr., who put up US$150 million drawn from his family's stake in Vivendi), Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners.

Despite the divestiture, WMG currently enjoys a royalty-free license from Time Warner for the use of Warner Bros. trademarks, although this could be revoked if WMG comes under control of a major motion picture studio.

This transcends your typical year-to-year staff changes. The Warner Bros. logo no longer represents the collective Madonna was a part of during her heyday. That was obliterated long ago and the people who were there, those who worked her records and nurtured her career in all of its various stages, are long gone. It's essentially an entirely different, corner-cutting company handling her pre-MDNA recordings now. (See also: every fuzzy, scanned in, typo'ed LP and CD boxed set reissue released in the past year.)

All of the problematic elements of the Celebration project could have easily been avoided with just the slightest amount of care and effort. Instead, they assembled a quick, grand fuck you of a send-off... the work of an unnamed in-house employee (probably some 16 year old intern) with questionable technical ability and a clear lack of knowledge regarding her recorded work.

Yeah, that irks me.

Madonna herself was never going to be the one to preserve her past works (artists themselves seldom are). There is a lot of important history there that needs to be looked after and deserves to be respected and the right people need to be involved to ensure that it is.