GHV2\nMadonna\nMaverick/Warner Bros.\nMadonna's GHV2 or Greatest Hits Volume 2, speaks for itself. After summing up her '80s career so well with The Immaculate Collection in 1990, a decade later GHV2 sums up the her career in '90s just as accurately. Whereas The Immaculate Collection is a bit of a shallow ride through '80s pop music at its best, GHV2 shows the remarkable growth of Madonna as an artist and a person. \nAfter listening to Revolver, it is very difficult to go back and really enjoy "I Want To Hold Your Hand." The same situation comes up with Madonna. After listening to "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" or "Frozen," can you really go back to "Holiday" for anything more than nostalgia?\nMadonna in the '80s was a particular moment in time, much like early Beatles; their later craft was what defined them as great, timeless artists. We grew with them and no matter how much we would like to get it back, it just can't happen.\nGHV2 comes off a little shaky at first because of its abandonment of a chronological order. Instead, it tries to prevent a feel. Whether or not the mixed order succeeds is really pointless, the disc doesn't seem too shifty at all. Madonna did become a bit of an album artist in the '90s, but often the albums weren't as artistically successful as the singles. \nIt is nice to hear the smart and sensual singles "Deeper and Deeper" and "Erotica" from the ill-conceived Erotica (1992) album without the rest of that disc weighing them down. The guilty pleasure\n"Don't Cry for Me Argentina," makes an appearance without the rest of the Evita album with it, which is good.\nThe second half of the disc is mostly taken up by tracks from Ray of Light and Music, her last two albums, and probably her two best. They complete one of the most satisfying collections of the year. GHV2 is really a tremendous introduction to one of the world's savviest and most intelligent artists, and if you're happy with it, there is more where that came from.\n
