Music / The Immaculate Collection

I just want to be your lover
I want to be your baby

The Immaculate Collection is Madonna's first Greatest Hits Album. Released in 1990 through Sire Records and Warner (Bros.) Records, the compilation features 15 previously-released songs as well as two new ones, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". All the tracks were remixed (and in some cases, rearranged) to show off the at-the-time newly-introduced QSound (more popularised by the Sega CD and Capcom's Super Street Fighter II), which is supposed to emulate quadraphonic sound from two stereo speakers; the album was the first product to make use of QSound, well before its more popular "debut" that was Super Street Fighter II. It was accompanied by a video collection of the same name and by a Greatest Hits EP called The Holiday Collection which was only released in the United Kingdom. The "Justify My Love" video, however, was released separately.

Tracklist:

Original Album

1. "Holiday"
2. "Lucky Star"
3. "Borderline"
4. "Like a Virgin"
5. "Material Girl"
6. "Crazy for You"
7. "Into the Groove"
8. "Live to Tell"
9. "Papa Don't Preach"
10. "Open Your Heart"
11. "La Isla Bonita"
12. "Like a Prayer"
13. "Express Yourself"
14. "Cherish"
15. "Vogue"
16. "Justify My Love"
17. "Rescue Me"

The Holiday Collection

1. "Holiday"
2. "True Blue"
3. "Who's That Girl"
4. "Causin' A Commotion"

Video Collection

1. "Lucky Star"
2. "Borderline"
3. "Like A Virgin"
4. "Material Girl"
5. "Papa Don't Preach"
6. "Open Your Heart"
7. "La Isla Bonita"
8. "Like A Prayer"
9. "Express Yourself"
10. "Cherish"
11. "Oh Father"
12. "Vogue"
13. "Vogue" (from the 1990 MTV Awards Show)

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Justify My Tropes...

• All Women Are Lustful: "Justify My Love"
  Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another
• Ambiguous Gender: Some of the men and women in "Justify My Love" are difficult to identify by gender on first sight.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The "Justify My Love" video is shot in black-and-white.
• George Lucas Altered Version: Quite a lot of the singles on this album differ from the album versions. "Express Yourself" in particular is edited from the Shep Pettibone remix used for the video.
• Greatest Hits Album: The best-selling compilation album by a solo artist of all time, even!
• Hotter and Sexier: The "Justify My Love" video was so racy that it was actually banned from being played on MTV.
• Intercourse with You: "Justify My Love", from the first until the last lyric is all about sex.
  I'm open... and ready... for you to justify my love
• Le Film Artistique: The "Justify My Love" video combines black-and-white imagery with erotic imagery and men and women whose gender is often difficult to identify.
• List Song: "Justify My Love", which is also an "I Want" Song.
  Wanting, needing, waiting ... for you to justify my love
  Yearning, burning... for you to justify my love
• Minimalistic Cover Art: The title and an abstract image.
• Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: "Justify My Love":
  Tell me your dreams, am I in them? Tell me your fears,
  Are you scared? Tell me your stories.
  I'm not afraid of who you are.
  We can fly!
• Pun-Based Title: The title is a pun on The Immaculate Conception, the Catholic belief that the Virgin Mary was born completely sinless so that she could conceive Jesus.
• Record Producer: Lenny Kravitz and André Betts ("Justify My Love"); Madonna and Shep Pettibone ("Rescue Me").
• Shout-Out: Madonna's black gown and the fact that she walks around wearing a suitcase in the music video of "Justify My Love" are a reference to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, specifically the scenes at the train station.
• Special Guest: Lenny Kravitz on "Justify My Love".
• Spelling Song: Near the end of "Rescue Me": "R-E-S-C-U-E me, only you can rescue me."
• Spoken Word in Music: Madonna starts off the remix version of "Like A Prayer" with a spoken "God?"
• Stock Sound Effects: A heartbeat and some thunderclaps are used in "Rescue Me".
• Updated Re-release: With the exceptions of "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me," all the songs were remixed in QSound, a 3D stereo technique that was first used here. The album would later be remixed again for a 2023 Apple Music reissue using Dolby Atmos, a form of surround sound that also mimics binaural audio when played through compatible headphones or in home theatre setups with the Apple TV.

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