Madonna - Finally Enough Love (2022)

Versions:
CD
3-CD
2-LP
6-LP Box Set

Best Tracks:
Everything up until (and including) 1992 
Impressive Instant (Peter Rauhofer's Universal Radio Mixshow Mix)
Sorry (PSB Maxi Mix Edit)
Celebration (Benny Benassi Remix Edit)

Currently listening to:
6-LP Box Set

While the release of any Madonna retrospective is cause for celebration in my house, I did go into this one with a little trepidation. The premise for Finally Enough Love is an interesting one, collecting her 50 (!) #1 hits from the Billboard Dance chart. I've often longed for a Madonna singles collection that collected every single one, and this is the closest we've come. Being a (very long) remix album, I wasn't sure if this would be as great as it could, or even should, be. Basing the tracks on the American Billboard chart - a chart that has not been kind to Madonna in the last 20 years - is an interesting choice. And while promotion for the album noted that these were #1 on the Dance chart, the album itself just calls them "50 Number Ones". The result is an album that features almost every single from 1999-2019, but doesn't include 'Crazy For You', 'Live To Tell', 'La Isla Bonita', 'Papa Don't Preach' or 'Lucky Star' (among others).

Firstly, credit where credit is due. This set actually has all 50 tracks on it, spread across 3 CD's, or 6 LP's (if you were lucky enough to get one of the vinyl sets). There is, of course, a truncated 16 track single CD/2-LP release, too. The 16 tracks selected are an odd choice (2 tracks from Madame X, but none from True Blue? Really??) and I'm not sure exactly who this shorter album is aimed at. While the four sides of the 2-LP, 16 track version are cleverly split between 80's/90/s/00's/10's, giving any Madonna compilation a mere one side of 80's songs is never going to do it any justice. While I bought both the CD and vinyl variations of the 16 track version, I'm yet to listen to it (so I guess I can't judge too harshly). The 3-CD/6-LP box set is the real star here.

I tried listening to the 50 track version on Spotify before the vinyl arrived. It just felt like I'd put a Madonna playlist together. And, once we got to about 1995 (or Disc 2 of the CD version), it became a bit of jarring listen. I know most of these remixes rather well. Even the ones I'm not particularly fond of. I was worried how the set would hold up once we got to this point of Madonna's career. The 80's remixes go together pretty well. Possibly because the first actual remixes are the You Can Dance edits from 1987, or because the 80's remixes didn't completely alter the tracks the way that the later remixes do. Which is not a criticism by any means. Merely an observation. If nothing else, Finally Enough Love is a good education in the evolution of the art of the remix in pop music over the last 40 years.

Listening to the vinyl is a different experience all together. It's certainly more digestible split over several sides of vinyl. And the box itself is a thing of beauty. Given that there doesn't always seem to be a lot of care put into Madonna's releases, especially reissues and the like (something like this would have been great for Celebration on vinyl), this box is a welcome surprise. The records are house in poly-lined sleeves (and not stored in the paper inner sleeves!), the booklet is printed on good, thick paper and the alternate black and red vinyl is a nice touch. As far as the packaging on the vinyl set goes, it gets full points from me. The sound is also surprisingly good. A lot of the later remixes have either not been easily available on vinyl, or I don't have them (and if I do, I don't play them often. I was impressed by the detail in 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina', which made me realise that I don't think I've ever played either of the two seperate 12" copies that I own). The earlier tracks, especially 'Express Yourself' and 'Vogue', I'm used to hearing on 30 year old 7" singles that have, frankly, seen better days. Thankfully, everything sounds fantastic here.

I have heard rumblings on the internet that the album uses edits of the remixes instead of the full length versions. While I understand this complaint (the 12" versions of 'Like A Virgin' and 'Material Girl' should have been included, if nothing else), it just wouldn't have been practical to put 50 6-9 minutes songs together on a single album. In some cases, I actually really enjoy the edits. Though, some do suffer - I was looking forward to the edit of the 'Hung Up' remix, which has always been a favourite. But the edit is edited in all the wrong places. I also disagree with some of the choices. Apparently, Madonna selected the tracks herself, which I hope is true. And far be it from me to argue with the good lady. But Stuart Price's superior Thin White Duck remix of 'Hollywood' - one of Madonna's best in my opinion - should have been included. The Beast Within remix of 'Justify My Love' is easily one of Madonna's best remixes, but it would have been out of place here, so I can forgive that one.

For me, the album is an interesting listen. I'm fully aware that I'm not going to be able to subjectively listen to any Madonna compilation, and Finally Enough Love is no different. I can certainly track my younger years through Madonna's singles discography. The remixes from Erotica through to American Life are particularly nostalgic for me. As a kid/teenager, when buying CD's was still a luxury, I played my coveted Madonna CD singles endlessly (and I was buying them all even then). These remixes are still etched into my brain, even if I rarely listen to them these days. I have enjoyed the edited version of most of these remixes - when the original CD singles had the edits, these were the ones that I preferred to listen to. From Hard Candy onwards, I still bought all the singles on multiple formats, but none of the remixes really grabbed me at the time, so they were largely forgotten. There were a few exceptions, of course, like the Offer Nissim remix of 'Girl Gone Wild', sadly not included here. One of the big highlights for me is that we finally get a commercial release of Peter Rauhofer's wonderful 'Impressive Instant' remix.

I had my doubts, even as an obsessive Madonna fan, but Finally Enough Love is - generally - a success. Listening to the album on vinyl, it flows way better than I expected. And the remixes together make for a better listening experience than I expected. It is nice to have them all in the one place, rather than reaching for the 50 individual singles. The elephant in the room here, however, is that the song selection does lean too heavily on Madonna's work in the 21st century. Yes, she's still topping the Billboard dance chart in 2020, which really is impressive. And I do firmly believe that her post-Confessions On A Dancefloor work is highly underrated. However, it does feel odd, after listening to the first 3 vinyl discs, getting such a complete picture of the singles from 2000 onwards. It does feel like we got to the Music singles too quick, when we still have 3 LP's left to listen to. I know the track selection is based on the chart, but the Billboard chart sucks (which is a whole other story. I could never understand how so many of Madonna's post-2000 singles hit #1 on the Sales and Dance charts, but barely troubled the main chart), so I'm not sure it was the best way to select the tracks for this album, even if saying "50 Number Ones" is a good selling point. As much as I've enjoyed the album, it would have been much more satisfying if it was as generous with the 80's and 90's tracks as it was with the 2000's and 2010's tracks. It evens leaves off 'Causing A Commotion', which was also #1 on the Billboard dance chart in 1987. I know "51 Number Ones" doesn't have the same ring to it, but when Madonna's whole 80's output is represented by 9 tracks, yet we have 7 combined from Rebel Heart and Madame X, it doesn't exactly paint an accurate picture of Madonna's career. We have 'I Rise', 'Crave', 'Turn Up The Radio' and 'Nothing Fails', but no 'Human Nature', 'Borderline', 'Hanky Panky', 'La Isla Bonita', 'Dress You Up',  'Lucky Star' or 'Burning Up'. It's still a solid collection, but hardly definitive.

The AllMusic review of the 50 track version of Finally Enough Love accurately describes it as "the photo negative of Celebration, the 2009 album that contains all the pop radio staples: where that largely played for comfort, this is percolating and alive, with even the biggest hits being offered in alternate single or video edits or different mixes". And, in that context, Finally Enough Love is a triumph. But, in 2022, we're still yet to receive a definitive Madonna retrospective, post-The Immaculate Collection.