Madonna
Something To Remember

THE REVIEW

In 1995, Madonna decided to release a collection of her best ballads, choosing the title "Something to Remember" (SOMETHING TO REMEMBER).

In the album's tracklist, we find ten best ballads and three unreleased tracks: You’ll See, One More Chance, and I Want You (a cover of a Marvin Gaye song) recorded together with Massive Attack.

Obviously, we will not dwell on the old hits as they are already known, but we will focus on the three unreleased tracks. The best is undoubtedly "I Want You" by Massive Attack. The song is about amorous desire, with poignant and obsessive tones. Madonna flirts with electronics, and you can feel it: in a way, the track serves as a prelude to the sounds of ‘Ray of Light’. The song was accompanied by a beautiful black-and-white video, which depicted Madonna getting ready to sleep after a social evening, as she is consumed by her desire for love.

The track was supposed to be the first CD single from the collection, but due to issues between the record companies (Ciccone’s and the one holding the rights to Gaye’s song), nothing came of it: it was barely played on the radio, and the video received practically no airplay. The first single then became "You’ll See". The track is a good ballad, yet it is permeated by quite traditional sounds: what matters are the singing abilities of Miss Ciccone that have significantly improved over time. The track was also recorded in Spanish under the title "Verás" and achieved enormous success in South American countries.

The second single was "One More Chance", which is much more interesting: the piece is supported by acoustic guitars, an unusual choice for Madonna’s standard production at the time. Unfortunately, the track achieved very little success in Europe (the single was not released in the States). The third and final single released was "Love Don’t Live Here Anymore", an old cover that Madonna had released in 1984 on "Like a Virgin" and is presented here in a remix version that neither adds to nor subtracts from the original. Throughout the album, we can witness a more intimate and mature Madonna, which preludes the intimate atmospheres of "Evita" and "Ray of Light".

Interesting is the inscription found inside the booklet, where Madonna states that although her fame has overshadowed her musical production, her music is always there, and this album is a way to prove it: no photos inside the booklet. The video for "Love Don’t Live Here Anymore" also served to illustrate this: a camera first films from a distance, then comes increasingly closer to the singer, who sings humbly in an empty room.

A stripped-down Madonna, we could say.