Madonna

Something To Remember

Madonna Does The Impossible: She Slows Down

Review Score:

(8/10)
In hindsight, many people question Madonna's reasons for releasing Something To Remember. The album is a greatest-hits retrospective, but it excludes her uptempo dance numbers and focuses exclusively on her ballads. Its release came just prior to the controversial diva taking on her dramatic lead role in the film Evita and many people believe this album was simply her way of "softening" her image for the public. Be that her intention or not, Something To Remember shimmers. The album opens with a new recording, a sizzling cover of Marvin Gaye's hit "I Want You." Madonna's delivery is both heartbreaking and dramatically convincing. With electronica producer Nellee Hooper handling the production and hipsters Massive Attack joining the Material Girl on the track, she pushes the boundaries of pop music yet again. "One More Chance" finds the superstar backed by only an acoustic guitar. It's one of her most daring musical experiments yet, and surprisingly, not a terribly bad one. Even while doing her best Celine Dion impersonation with the David Foster-penned power ballad "You'll See," Madonna isn't the least bit unconvincing. The rest of the album contains material the record-buying public is already familiar with. Radio hits like "Live to Tell," "Crazy for You," "Rain," and "Take A Bow" litter the collection as well as cuts from her old albums that never made it out as singles, but should have ("Love Don't Live Here Anymore," "Forbidden Love"). Also worth noting is the inclusion of her soundtrack hits "This Used to Be My Playground" and "I'll Remember," neither of which had been available on a Madonna album prior to this collection. As much time as the public chooses to spend dissecting Madonna's personal life and career decisions, Something To Remember proves that her artistic delivery can always be trusted.

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