Track Listing

1. Deeper and Deeper
2. Erotica
3. Human Nature
4. Secret
5. Don�t Cry For Me Argentina
6. Bedtime Story
7. The Power of Goodbye
8. Beautiful Stranger
9. Frozen
10. Take A Bow
11. Ray of Light
12. Don�t Tell Me
13. What It Feels Like For A Girl
14. Drowned World (Substitute for Love)
15. Music

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8541 in Music
• Released on: 2001-11-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Perhaps the most interesting decade in her career, GHV2 is a selection of the best songs from 1992's Erotica to Music in 2000. Throughout the 1990s, Madonna was well publicised for trying her hand at anything musical together with setting new styles and standards in pop fashion. GHV2 highlights her diversity as it shifts from the "In Bed with Madonna" period with tunes such as "Erotica" and "Deeper & Deeper" to the William Orbit and Mirwais phases of her last two albums by way of the Lloyd Webber musical, Evita. Fans of Music or Ray of Light who were not Madonna fans from back in the day may find the latter half of the album less easy going as it does not possess the quirkiness of her later material nor the cheesy but highly accessible quality of older tunes as featured on the first Greatest Hits, The Immaculate Collection. Nevertheless, there is far more to Madonna than cowboys and ultra-trendy producers; each of the 15 tracks featured here are definitely the pick of her five albums from this golden period. --David Trueman

CD Description
After the success of 'The Immaculate Collection', Madonna releases her second 'Best Of'. 'GHV2' spans her career from 1991 to 2001 and features the singles 'Ray Of Light', 'Music'and 'Frozen' to name but a few.

Customer Reviews

Another decade of music redefined by Madonna
As a teenager in the 1980s, I absolutely loved Madonna; I refused to go a single day without listening to at least one Madonna song. By the time the 1990s rolled around, the obsession had faded and, while I still liked Madonna, I really didn't keep up with her music (or pop music in general, the poor quality of which finally pushed me over to the oldies stations on my radio). For me, GHV2 is a perfect match. My previous exposure to most of these songs ranged from a little to none whatsoever, so I basically rediscovered Madonna when I bought this collection. Madonna has never gotten the respect she deserves for her music; all I heard about her for many years were criticisms of her movies, jokes, etc. Most of the critics seem to dismiss her music altogether, yet she unleashed some huge hits (not to mention impressive albums) during the 1990s, most of the best of which are included in this retrospective collection. Now I know that Madonna is larger than life and that her music is really only a part of her persona. Many people have disapproved of some of her antics over the years, including myself on occasion, but I have always loved and admired her strength, resolve, and undying commitment to be a complete individual and do whatever she wants to do. It's easy to get lost in all the ephemeral nonsense that surrounds the woman, but her very foundation is her music, and this collection shows what an amazing performer she really is.

Madonna has been around quite a long time now, as hard as that is for me to believe. The reason she is still turning out hits while many other artists from the early 80s are gone and forgotten comes down to her unmatched ability to completely recreate herself. Not only does she adapt to changes in the musical scene, she leads the charge for change herself. Over her career, this has allowed her to excel across a wide spectrum of song types. I'm no dance music expert, but Madonna lays down the most infectious dance beats I know of in songs such as Deeper and Deeper (featuring a brilliant bridge into a part of her earlier song Vogue) and the totally funked up Music. Beautiful Stranger is another great dance song (but I'll never be able to hear this song without conjuring up images from the music video featuring Austin Powers). Of course, Madonna has her naughty side, as revealed in the edited versions of Erotica and – depending on your state of mind - Bedtime Stories. Madonna never looks back or has regrets, a trait I greatly admire, and she makes this fact pretty clear in the sexually mischievous song Human Nature. What It Feels Like For a Girl makes the point even more convincingly as it points out the ways in which men and women are judged by different standards.

Madonna is also the voice behind some of the best love songs of the 1990s. Classics such as The Power of Goodbye, Frozen, and Take a Bow are just beautiful, featuring some of the most moving choruses I've ever heard in pop music. The lyrics, for those who stop to listen to them, are really quite poignant and touching – you won't find any bubble gum pop on GHV2. Then there are the great songs I find hard to classify: Ray of Light is almost cosmic in its appeal and manic in its musical expression. Drowned World/Substitute For Love carries a life-affirming beat in support of its unusually touching message. Then there is Don't Tell Me, a song I like more and more each time I hear it. I remember hearing it for the first time on the radio, as the deejay assured the audience that the "skips" we were about to hear in the early moments of the track were actually supposed to be there. In the 1990s, Madonna was still taking chances, still taking music in new directions, and still turning out some of the best music in the business. GHV2 is a great joy for Madonna fans and ample proof to all the disbelievers out there who deny this remarkable woman's musical talent.

A truly great hits collection
GHV2 opens with the brilliant dance track "Deeper & Deeper", which ends with the familiar lyrics "You've got to / Let your body move to the music..." from her classic "Vogue". From this, you know what to expect. Polished, mature and likeable pop music from the undisputed queen of pop. Madonna's Erotica phase continues with title track "Erotica", a seductive and slightly scary exploration of human sexuality, which is another classic track in the bag. In fact, so many of these tracks are simply amazing, from the dance-pop of "Human Nature" to the brilliantly produced "Music", that it's hard to describe simply how good this album is. The only dip in quality is during "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and despite this being a pretty good song, it really doesn't fit here. GHV2 does the unthinkable and manages to rival The Immaculate Collection, which is something that few albums by Madonna have ever done. Good on her!

The only problem is the lack of new stuff. Unfortunately, there are no brilliant new tracks like there were on The Immaculate Collection ("Justify My Love", "Rescue Me"), although this is the first of her albums that "Beautiful Stranger", the bouncy, summery Austin Powers theme, has appeared on.

GHV2 is a must for anyone who missed Madonna's 90s albums, and it gives you just what you want - all killer, no album filler...

Amazing collection of pop music classics
Madonna's second greatest hits compilation is just as good as 1990's The Immaculate Collection. GHV2 presents the best of Madonna's strangest era from the "Sex" days to her spiritual Ray Of Light era.

This album is a true hits collection. It features such international #1 hits as "Erotica", "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "Take A Bow", "Beautiful Stranger" and "Frozen". You can see how Madonna has grown as a songwriter and a singer during the 90s. "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and 1998's smash hit "Ray Of Light" are best examples of her beautiful and powerful vocal talent. You can hear how her voice has changed since the days of "Deeper And Deeper" (1992).

This is a collection that leaves no-one cold. There's upbeat dance tunes (Beautiful Stranger, Deeper And Deeper, Music), lush ballads (Take A Bow, The Power of Goodbye, What It Feels Like For A Girl) and mid-tempo grooves (Secret, Don't Tell Me, Drowned World/Subsitute For Love). It's simply a perfect collection of pop music from the most significant female artist ever.

Even though the 90s were a turbulent decade for the Queen of Pop she managed to record some unforgettable classics. In the end it's the music that matters.