Freeze-Frame Radio

This past Tuesday Madonna released her third greatest hits compilation along with a DVD retrospective of the accompanying music videos. Since there’s only two new songs on the double disc greatest hits set there’s not a lot to review there, but the video is a different story.

For starters this is the best collection of music videos she’s ever released. there are 47 in all, including “True Blue” which along with several others have never appeared on DVD. “True Blue” comes from the album of the same title, which Madonna has admitted in the past was strongly influenced by her love for Sean Penn. The rumor I’ve always heard is that the video for the title cut was never included on a video compilation nor was the song performed in concert since their breakup. A quick google search did not confirm that for me, but none the less it’s nice to finally have the song on DVD.

When viewing the DVD’s it’s nice to have the songs in chronological order (something a lot of compilation CD’s and DVD’s for some reason seem to avoid). The result is that you can watch Madonna’s artistic voyage over the course of her first 25+ years in the public eye.

Watching these videos reminded me of how much I loved and miss the eighties. A time when music was light hearted and fun. Everything on the radio was something you could sing-along to and Madonna was at the center of that. Video’s were fun too. Still in their infancy they weren’t overly sleek. Sometimes the simplest concept like the one used for “Borderline” is the most enjoyable. As the videos became sleeker and more serious over the years they became decidedly less interesting.

I was also reminded of just how often Madonna pushed the envelope in her career. Teenage Pregnancy (“Papa Don’t Preach”) hardly seems like a touchy subject in today’s environment, but in the late 80’s the video and song created quite a stir. On the other hand the video for “Like A Prayer” still makes me as uncomfortable today as it did when it was originally released. The images of Madonna experiencing Stigmata crossed the line in the minds of many, myself included.

The eighties was a decade that saw the movie soundtrack became a major vehicle for record sales and again, Madonna was right in the thick of that trend as well. Of course, many of those soundtracks were to movies she herself was in. I’m still scratching my head wondering why that trend has faded as much as it has. Soundtracks like “Footloose” and “Top Gun” would spawn as many as seven top forty hits from various artists, instantly becoming essential albums for your collection. Today, not so much.

The final observation I have on this DVD is just how often Madonna has reinvented herself and started off in a completely different musical direction, or returned to an old one.

At times in her career I’ve loved Madonna, at other times I’ve hated her. All of those periods are included here and in hindsight they’re all enjoyable to one degree or another.

For $20.00 this is a no-brainer purchase if you’re anything more than a casual fan of her work.