Still no official tracklisting, but Madonna’s upcoming greatest hits collection has received a release date (and a title). Celebration will be out on September 29 here in the U.S. (international folks get it the day before). It’s being billed as the “ultimate compilation of Madonna songs,” which means we’re not picking up where her previous hits set, 2001’s GHV2, left off.
Here’s what we know so far. Celebration will be issued in a two-CD set and a single CD version. All of the songs have been remastered, and “Everybody,” “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,” and “4 Minutes” are definitely among them. On the basis of those four, plus the title track, it seems this one’s gonna lean on Madonna’s Queen of the Dance Floor legacy. And to keep the party going, there’s also a companion Celebration DVD, which will include several videos previously unavailable in that format.
“Celebration,” her collaboration with Paul Oakenfold, is the first single and will impact radio on August 3 (if it doesn’t leak prior to that date, of course). Club mixes were sent out this past weekend, and I’m happy to report that these will see a CD and vinyl release. Here’s a first listen, albeit recorded at a like Oakenfold gig last Friday. Low-quality aside, this is what fans like myself have been waiting for Madonna to deliver—a new dance floor anthem:
And how about that cover art, shown above? Created by street pop artist Mr. Brainwash, the portrait is clearly inspired by Warhol’s Marilyn series. Madonna, as she so often does, comes out on top, but another pop icon (her recently deceased contemporary) was subjected to a similar MBW mash-up and didn’t fare so well.