The Complete Studio Albums (1983–2008)
Box set of Madonna's studio albums from 1983 to 2008.
The Complete Studio Albums (1983–2008) is a box set by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released by Warner Bros. Records on March 26, 2012. The eleven-disc set includes all of her studio albums from 1983 to 2008, housed in a gold box with a collage of album covers. It was issued to coincide with the release of her twelfth studio album, MDNA, and made Madonna the first Western female artist to have two albums in the Japanese top-ten simultaneously.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Madonna
- Released
- 26 March 2012
- Recorded
- 1982–2007
- Genre
- Pop
- Length
- 10:10:37
- Label
- Warner Bros.
- Maverick
- Sire
Facts from the source article.
Track listing
Madonna (1983) / – 2001 remastered version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucky Star | Madonna | 5:38 |
| 2 | Borderline | Lucas | 5:18 |
| 3 | Burning Up | Madonna | 3:44 |
| 4 | I Know It | Madonna | 3:45 |
| 5 | Holiday | Curtis Hudson, Lisa Stevens | 6:08 |
| 6 | Think of Me | Madonna | 4:54 |
| 7 | Physical Attraction | Lucas | 6:37 |
| 8 | Everybody (original version) | Madonna | 6:02 |
| 9 | Burning Up (12" version) | Madonna | 5:59 |
| 10 | Lucky Star ("new" mix) | Madonna | 7:15 |
| Total length | 54:01 | ||
Like a Virgin (1984) / – 2001 remastered version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Material Girl | Peter Brown, Robert Rans | 4:00 |
| 2 | Angel | Madonna, Stephen Bray | 3:56 |
| 3 | Like a Virgin | Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg | 3:38 |
| 4 | Over and Over | Madonna, Bray | 4:12 |
| 5 | Love Don't Live Here Anymore | Miles Gregory | 4:47 |
| 6 | Dress You Up | Andrea LaRusso, Peggy Stanziale | 4:01 |
| 7 | Shoo-Bee-Doo | Madonna | 5:16 |
| 8 | Pretender | Madonna, Bray | 4:30 |
| 9 | Stay | Madonna, Bray | 4:07 |
| 10 | Like a Virgin (Extended Dance Remix) | Kelly, Steinberg | 6:08 |
| 11 | Material Girl (Extended Dance Remix) | Brown, Rans | 6:07 |
| Total length | 43:10 | ||
True Blue (1986) / – 2001 remastered version
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Papa Don't Preach | Brian Elliot, Madonna | 4:29 |
| 2 | Open Your Heart | Madonna, Gardner Cole, Peter Rafelson | 4:13 |
| 3 | White Heat | Madonna, Leonard | 4:40 |
| 4 | Live to Tell | Madonna, Leonard | 5:51 |
| 5 | Where's the Party | Madonna, Bray, Leonard | 4:21 |
| 6 | True Blue | Madonna, Bray | 4:18 |
| 7 | La Isla Bonita | Madonna, Leonard, Bruce Gaitsch | 4:02 |
| 8 | Jimmy Jimmy | Madonna, Bray | 3:55 |
| 9 | Love Makes the World Go Round | Madonna, Leonard | 4:31 |
| 10 | True Blue (The Color Mix) | Madonna, Bray | 6:40 |
| 11 | La Isla Bonita (Extended Remix) | Madonna, Leonard, Gaitsch | 5:27 |
| Total length | 40:25 | ||
Track listing from the source article.
Background
The box set was announced on March 6, 2012, via Madonna's official website, and released by her former record company, Warner Bros. Records, on the same date as her 2012 studio album MDNA in the United States. It includes remastered versions of Madonna, Like a Virgin, and True Blue, along with original versions of Like a Prayer, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dance Floor, and Hard Candy, each in a cardboard sleeve. To complement the release, iTunes sold every Madonna studio album digitally for £3.95 for a limited time in the UK. Warner Bros. also released another box set, Madonna: Original Album Series, containing five discs. The set carries logos for Sire Records and Maverick Records, and is her third greatest hits box set after The Royal Box and CD Single Collection.
Critical reception
Mike Diver of BBC News gave a positive review, calling the set pop history and noting the absence of tracks like "Into the Groove," "Vogue," and "Justify My Love" might disappoint some fans. Robin Murray from Clash felt it needed bonus materials despite tracing the evolution of a pop phenomenon. Andy Kellman of AllMusic was ambivalent, finding the set more suitable for voracious newcomers than longtime followers, and describing the packaging as sharp but not elaborate, with a clamshell box and paper LP-replica sleeves. He suggested a 12th disc for stray hits. The BBC called the packaging a no-frills affair with cardboard sleeves, while Clash described it as fairly lavish.
Commercial performance
The box set entered the UK Albums Chart at number 70, selling 2,055 copies. By April 2012, Madonna’s total 21st-century album sales in the UK had reached 7,279,423. In Poland, the set earned a gold certification from the ZPAV for 10,000 shipped copies. It debuted at number 26 in France with 2,838 units. In Japan, it sold 13,000 copies and landed at number nine, while MDNA debuted at number four, making Madonna the first international female artist to place two albums in the Japanese top ten at once. On South Korea’s international chart, it peaked at number 81 with about 200 copies sold.
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