What has been added to my collection?
Madonna – The Immaculate Collection (1990) on CD
Why was it added?
I owned this CD many, many years ago back in my university days, and it’s one of a few that somehow found legs and walked off on their own at some point. I’ve always kind of wanted to re-add it to my collection. My Madonna days are behind me (I dropped off after Ray of Light), but I still have a fondness for the late 80’s and 90’s material. When I found it for $1 on Facebook Marketplace, it seemed that the time was right to reconnect with this album. It’s as good as I remembered.
The Music
There are just so many great songs on this album. There’s a run in the second half – “Like a Prayer”, “Express Yourself”, “Cherish”, and “Vogue” – that is just killer. Feet to the fire, I think I’d probably choose “Cherish” as my favourite. A lot of the detractors of this collection of songs don’t like that these aren’t the original versions. I happen to love the versions on it – they feel internally coherent. This isn’t surprising since Shep Pettibone remixed pretty much the whole thing and did his usual killer job of it.
Thoughts
This is one of two CDs I own mastered in QSound (the other being Sting’s The Soul Cages) and honestly think it really adds to the music. It has a presence and a sound stage that’s quite unique and has to be heard to be appreciated. I’m uncertain whether the streaming version or the vinyl have this same mastering, but when I listened to the Spotify version, it honestly sounded like a pale imitation of the CD.
Yeah But What Else
Will I collect more Madonna? I’ve already got a pretty good selection of Maxi-Singles and the albums that I care to own on CD. She’s had some great stuff since then – Hung Up is amazing, building on that great Abba foundation – but I don’t think I’ll be seeking it out. Honestly, this collection is good enough that if I ever find a good pressing for a great price, I might just pick it up on vinyl too.
Yeah But What Else? 