The Immaculate Collection | ||||
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Released | November 13, 1990 | |||
Recorded | 1983–90 | |||
Length | 60:00 | |||
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Madonna video chronology | ||||
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The Immaculate Collection is the second music video compilation by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Released by Warner Music Vision, Warner Reprise Video and Sire Records on November 13, 1990, to accompany the audio release, it contained music videos for the singer's singles released between 1983 and 1990. Although it did not contain all of Madonna's music videos at that point, the collection marks the first time the clip for "Oh Father" (1989) was commercially available worldwide, as it was first limited to the United States.
The Immaculate Collection received positive reviews from music critics, who saw it as a consistent collection of Madonna's videography. In the United States, the release reached number one on the Top Music Videos chart, and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 300,000 copies across the country. It also topped the charts in Canada and the United Kingdom. The Immaculate Collection won the prize for "Best Long Form Video" at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.
By the end of the 1980s, Madonna had become the biggest female singles artist in history, with the most number-one and top-ten hit songs by a woman in both the United States and the United Kingdom. [1] [2] J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography , noted that a Madonna's greatest hits album was ready by that point, serving as "a proud landmark" of her career which had progressed upwards since she entered the music scene in 1982. [3] Following the completion of the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, Madonna began rushing the project aimed to be released in time for the year's Christmas season, working on new material for the album with Shep Pettibone and Lenny Kravitz. [4] [5] The Immaculate Collection contains fifteen previously released Madonna singles in chronological order, from "Holiday" (1983) to "Vogue" (1990). All of them were reworked using QSound by Pettibone, alongside Goh Hotoda and Michael Hutchinson. [6] Two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me", were included on the album in order to generate public interest, and were later released as singles from the project. [7] [8]
The video album was released on VHS and LaserDisc on November 13, 1990 on the same day as the audio release, containing thirteen music videos, including the live performance of "Vogue" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. [9] [10] [11] A total of fourteen of Madonna's music videos were absent from the collection, notably the film soundtracks; [11] Rikky Rooksby wrote on The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna that the video was "far from being a complete roll-call of the videos of Madonna's numerous hit singles". He also noted that it marks the first worldwide release of the video to "Oh Father" (1989), which was originally made to support its single release in the United States. [7] A box set titled The Royal Box was issued on December 4, 1990, containing the audio and video versions of the release, a poster, and postcards. [12] The video was released on DVD on June 8, 1999. [13] [14] It was later included in the box sets The Ultimate Collection (2000), which also contained its follow-up The Video Collection 93:99 (1999), [15] [16] and The Madonna Collection (2000), which also included Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour (1985) and The Girlie Show: Live Down Under (1994). [17]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Los Angeles Times | [18] |
Select | [11] |
The Immaculate Collection received positive reviews from music critics. Rooksby stated that "if you don't own any Madonna videos, and you'd like to, this is probably the one to start with." [7] Giving the release a positive review and giving five out of five stars, Russell Brown from Select magazine noted the absence of many of Madonna's videos, and felt that from "Like a Prayer" (1989), "anything subsequent had to be a let-down", but called the video for "Cherish" (1989) a "return to form", and concluded: "So there it is: good sex, bad sex, dominance, submission, money, religion, race, image, reality, sleaze and innocence. Pop culture comes no better and we should be grateful." [11] According to Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune , the video "give[s] a good overview of Madonna's eight-year career." [19]
Writing a review for Music Week , Selina Webb opined that from "Material Girl" (1985) onwards, "a glossy sheen replaces the do-it-yourself styling and Madonna's evolution from alternative pop bimbo to internationally acclaimed artist is brought into sharp focus", also pointing out that her most recent videos in the collection "demonstrate what can be achieved with huge budgets". [20] Giving the release three out of five stars, Los Angeles Times ' Chris Willman felt that "the imagery in almost all of the dozen clips collected here has already entered the realm of popular fantasy", but pointed out that "few of these hold up as great videos", highlighting "Open Your Heart" (1986) as the only "close-to-brilliant" video. [18] The Immaculate Collection won "Best Long Form Video" category at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, in the ceremony held on September 5, 1991. [21] However, Madonna was not a recipient as she was not the video's producer. [22]
In the United States, The Immaculate Collection debuted at number four on Billboard 's Top Music Videos for the week dated December 8, 1990, and number 14 on the Top Videos Sales chart. [23] The video compilation later reached number one of the Top Music Videos in January 1991. [24] It also became certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on September 20, 1994, denoting shipments of over 300,000 copies across the United States. [25] After Nielsen Soundscan started tracking sales from March 1991, the video has sold 291,000 copies in the region as of 2010. [26] Elsewhere, it topped the charts in the United Kingdom and Canada, [27] [28] becoming the first longform record to enter at number one on the RPM video chart in the latter country. [29] Across Europe, the video compilation moved 300,000 units as of January 1991. [30] Upon its release on DVD in 1999, The Immaculate Collection reached the top 10 in Denmark and the United Kingdom, [31] [32] while peaking within the top 20 in Greece and Portugal. [33] [34]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Director(s) | Length |
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1. | "Lucky Star" | Madonna | Arthur Pierson | 3:30 |
2. | "Borderline" | Reggie Lucas | Mary Lambert | 3:57 |
3. | "Like a Virgin" | Mary Lambert | 3:50 | |
4. | "Material Girl" |
| Mary Lambert | 4:43 |
5. | "Papa Don't Preach" |
| James Foley | 5:06 |
6. | "Open Your Heart" |
| Jean-Baptiste Mondino | 4:26 |
7. | "La Isla Bonita" |
| Mary Lambert | 4:01 |
8. | "Like a Prayer" |
| Mary Lambert | 5:39 |
9. | "Express Yourself" |
| David Fincher | 5:02 |
10. | "Cherish" |
| Herb Ritts | 4:34 |
11. | "Oh Father" |
| David Fincher | 4:54 |
12. | "Vogue" |
| David Fincher | 4:54 |
13. | "Vogue" (live at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards) |
| 6:25 |
Credits and personnel adapted from the liner notes of The Immaculate Collection. [37]
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Weekly charts
| Monthly charts
Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Argentina (CAPIF) [44] Video album | 2× Platinum | 120,000^ |
Argentina (CAPIF) [44] DVD-5 edition | Platinum | 8,000^ |
Australia (ARIA) [45] | 3× Platinum | 45,000^ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [46] | Gold | 25,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [47] | Gold | 25,000^ |
Italy | — | 16,000 [48] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [49] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [25] | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe | — | 300,000 [30] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"Justify My Love" is a song released as a single by American singer Madonna. It does not appear on any of her studio albums, but is included on her first greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection (1990). The song was written by Lenny Kravitz and Ingrid Chavez, with additional lyrics by Madonna; Kravitz also handled the production alongside André Betts. It was released as the lead single from The Immaculate Collection on November 6, 1990, by Sire and Warner Bros. Records. Chavez was not credited on the song, which led to a lawsuit against Kravitz, eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement. Musically considered as a hip hop, dance, trip hop, and experimental pop track, it features spoken word vocals by Madonna as she releases her inner freak, touching on sexual fantasies and implying the position of a woman as the one sexually in control.
I'm Breathless is an album by American singer and songwriter Madonna, released on May 22, 1990, by Sire Records to accompany the film Dick Tracy. The album contains three songs written by Stephen Sondheim, which were used in the film, in addition to several songs co-written by Madonna that were inspired by but not included in the film. Madonna starred as Breathless Mahoney alongside her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty who played the title role, Dick Tracy. After filming was complete, Madonna began work on the album, with Sondheim, producer Patrick Leonard and engineer Bill Bottrell. She also worked with producer Shep Pettibone on the album's first single, "Vogue". The album was recorded in three weeks, at Johnny Yuma Recording and Ocean Way Studios, in Los Angeles, California.
You Can Dance is the first remix album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on November 17, 1987, by Sire Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her first three studio albums—Madonna (1983), Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986)—and a new track, "Spotlight". In the 1980s, remixing was still a new concept. The mixes on You Can Dance exhibited a number of typical mixing techniques. Instrumental passages were lengthened to increase the time for dancing and vocal phrases were repeated and subjected to multiple echoes. The album cover denoted Madonna's continuous fascination with Hispanic culture.
Erotica is the fifth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on October 20, 1992, by Maverick and Sire Records. The album was released simultaneously with Madonna's first book publication Sex, a coffee table book containing explicit photographs of the singer, and marked her first release under Maverick, her own multimedia entertainment company. For the album, the singer enlisted Shep Pettibone and André Betts, with whom she had collaborated on 1990's "Vogue" and The Immaculate Collection.
The Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer Madonna, released on November 13, 1990, by Sire Records. It contains fifteen of her hit singles recorded throughout the 1980s, as well as two brand new tracks, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". All the previously released material were reworked through the QSound audio technology, becoming the first ever album to use it. Meanwhile, the new material saw Madonna working with Lenny Kravitz and Shep Pettibone. The album's title is a pun on the Immaculate Conception, a Marian dogma of the Catholic Church.
"Causing a Commotion" is a song by American singer Madonna from the soundtrack album to the 1987 film Who's That Girl. It was released as the album's second single on August 25, 1987, by Sire Records. Its Silver Screen Single Mix later appeared on the EP The Holiday Collection (1991). Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the song was inspired by her relationship with then-husband Sean Penn, and his abusive and violent nature. Containing a dance-oriented, up-tempo groove, the song begins with the chorus and is accompanied by a four-note descending bassline and staccato chords in the verses.
"Lucky Star" is a song by American singer Madonna from her self-titled debut studio album (1983). Produced by Reggie Lucas, it was written by Madonna with the intention that her friend Mark Kamins would play it in his sets at Danceteria, where he was the resident DJ. In 1982, Madonna was signed on by Sire Records for the release of two 12" singles; after the success of first single "Everybody", the label approved the recording of an album, and the singer decided to work with Lucas. However, problems between Madonna and the producer arose and he ended up leaving the project; she then called John "Jellybean" Benitez, her boyfriend at the time, to work on the remaining songs.
"Borderline" is a song by American singer Madonna from her debut self-titled studio album (1983), written and produced by Reggie Lucas. In 1982, Madonna was signed on by Sire Records for the release of two 12-inch singles; after the success of first single "Everybody", the label approved the recording of an album, and the singer decided to work with Lucas. "Borderline" is a pop song with post-disco elements whose sounds recall the music of the 1970s, while the lyrics find a woman complaining of her lover's chauvinism.
"Crazy for You" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for the film Vision Quest (1985). It was released in February 1985 by Geffen Records as the lead single from the film's soundtrack album. Film producers Jon Peters and Peter Guber, along with music director Phil Ramone, decided to use Madonna after listening to her previous recordings, employing John Bettis and Jon Lind to write the song. After reading the script of the film, Bettis and Lind wrote the song about the situation in which the lead characters meet at a nightclub. Initial recording sessions did not impress Bettis and Lind, and they felt that "Crazy for You" would be dropped from the soundtrack. However, a new version was recorded to their liking.
"Into the Groove" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna, and featured on the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan. Written and produced by both Madonna and Stephen Bray, the main inspiration behind the song was the dance floor; the singer wrote it while watching a Latin American man to whom she was attracted. Its instrumentation features synthesizers and drum machines, with Madonna's voice being double tracked on the chorus. Sexual innuendos and undertones are present throughout the lyrics, which are written as an invitation to dance with the singer. Originally written for her friend Mark Kamins, Madonna later decided to use it on the film, as one of the scenes needed a dance song. It was later added to the 1985 international re-issue of her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984), and in her compilations You Can Dance (1987), The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009), and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).
"Vogue" is a song by American singer Madonna from her soundtrack album I'm Breathless (1990). Written and produced by herself and Shep Pettibone, it was inspired by voguing, a dance which was part of the underground gay scene in New York City. The song was released as the lead single from the album on March 20, 1990, by Sire Records and Warner Bros. Records. "Vogue" is a house song with influences of disco, which contains escapist lyrics describing the dance floor as "a place where no boundaries exist". Its middle eight features Madonna name-dropping several actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. "Vogue" was later included on three of Madonna's compilation albums: The Immaculate Collection (1990), Celebration (2009), and Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).
"Rescue Me" is a song by American singer Madonna from her first greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection (1990). Written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, the song was released as the second single from The Immaculate Collection on February 26, 1991, in the United States, and as the third single on April 7 in the United Kingdom. A dance-pop and gospel-house track, the song is accompanied by the sound of thunder and rain, with the lyrics talking of romantic love rescuing the singer.
"Erotica" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album of the same name (1992). It was written and produced by both Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's lead single on September 29, 1992; in the United States, it was set to be released the following day, but after being leaked and played on several radio stations, the release date was held back until October 13. The song continued Madonna's exploration of spoken word vocals, which she had introduced in "Justify My Love" (1990). A pop hip-hop and dance song with Middle Eastern influences, its lyrics talk about sadomasochism, with the singer using the alter ego Dita and inviting her lover to be submissive while she makes love to him.
"Bye Bye Baby" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Madonna, for her fifth studio album Erotica (1992). It was released on November 15, 1993, as the sixth and final single from the album only outside the US. "Bye Bye Baby" was written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone, and Anthony Shimkin and was produced by Madonna and Pettibone. The song is inspired by Madonna's emotions of that time and her S&M thoughts. Musically, it is a hip hop song, sampling a hook from LL Cool J's track "Jingling Baby", released in 1990. Madonna's vocals were filtered to make them appear as sound coming out from an answering machine. "Bye Bye Baby" features instrumentation from keyboard and lyrically finds Madonna asking questions to a lover she is about to abandon.
"Deeper and Deeper" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). It was written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's second single on November 17, 1992; in the United States, a release was issued on December 8. It was included on Madonna's second greatest hits compilation, GHV2 (2001). A dance-pop and deep house song, it has disco and Philadelphia soul influences; the bridge features instrumentation from flamenco guitars and castanets and features background vocals from the singer's collaborators Donna De Lory and Niki Haris. Lyrically, the song talks about sexual desire, though it has been argued that it is actually about a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality. It includes a reference to Madonna's single "Vogue" (1990).
"Bad Girl" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992). It was written and produced by both Madonna and Shep Pettibone, with additional writing from Anthony Shimkin, and released by Maverick, Sire and Warner. In Australia and most European countries, the song was released as the album's third single on February 2, 1993; in the United States, a release was issued on March 11. "Bad Girl" is a pop and R&B ballad with lyrics that describe a woman trying to escape her reality through self-destructive behaviors, such as drinking and chain smoking.
"Rain" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992), released by Maverick, Sire and Warner. Written and produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone, the song was released as the album's fifth single on July 17, 1993 in Europe and Australia and as the fourth single in the United States. A pop ballad that mixes elements of R&B, trip-hop, and new-age music, its lyrics liken water and rainfall to the power of love.
American singer Madonna has released 80 music videos, eleven concert tour videos, two documentary videos, four music video compilations, two music video box sets, four promotional videos, and four video singles. Nicknamed as the "Queen of Videos" or "Queen of MTV", her music videos were often considered by critics as works of art, depicting various social issues. Her early videos also received a significant academic attention. Madonna has won 20 MTV Video Music Awards, including the 1986 Video Vanguard Award for which she became the first female honoree. In 2003, MTV named her "The Greatest Music Video Star Ever", saying "Madonna's innovation, creativity and contribution to the music video art form is what won her the award." In 2020, Billboard ranked her at the top of their list "100 Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time".
"This Used to Be My Playground" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna. It is the theme for the film A League of Their Own, which starred Madonna, and portrayed a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Madonna was asked to record a song for the film's soundtrack. At that time she was busy recording her fifth studio album, Erotica, with producer Shep Pettibone. They worked on some ideas and came up with "This Used to Be My Playground" in two days. Once presented to director Penny Marshall's team, the song was released as a standalone single on June 16, 1992, by Warner Bros. Records. However, it was not available on the film's soundtrack due to contractual obligations and was later added to the Olympics-inspired Barcelona Gold compilation album, released that summer. The song was included on Madonna's 1995 ballads compilation Something to Remember.
The Video Collection 93:99 is the third music video compilation by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Released by Warner Music Vision, Warner Reprise Video and Warner Bros. Records on November 9, 1999, it contained music videos for singles released between 1993 and 1999. Originally, the collection was titled The Video Collection 92–99, and had included the 1992 video "Erotica", but it was omitted due to its sexually explicit content; instead the 1998 song "The Power of Good-Bye" was added. The videos in the collection were selected personally by Madonna, who felt the 14 videos to be her best work.
E bisogna tener conto anche del buon risultato dell'monimo video, che sembra incontrare i gusti dei fans italiani: finora se ne sono venduti 16 mila, mentre le precedenti collezioni di clip o riprese live non superano, in genere, quote novemila.