Madonna month continues with The Ultimate Dance Collection Volume 2 and this one is a whopper! We've got a lot of ground to cover, so let's get right to it.

First off, you may be scratching your head and wondering why "Like A Prayer," "Express Yourself," "Keep It Together," and "Vogue" re-appear in this second volume. Simply put, the versions (except for "Vogue") in Volume 1 were the straight-up 80s dance versions. Before jumping into "Vogue," Madonna allowed Shep Pettibone to remix two of the biggest hits from her "Like A Prayer" album in the burgeoning House Music sound that was coming on strong in the underground dance music scene. While Shep's remixes are prevalent throughout the 80s, he was best known for the specific style that reflects the decade. I don't think he became a household name until his remix of New Order's "Bizzare Love Triangle" was re-released on their "Substance" album. Moving toward the House sound was Shep's way of adapting to the changing landscape. The synergy between Madonna and himself was one of many long-lasting relationships she built with DJs to fuel her music to wider audiences. It would have been blasphemy had I not included his versions of those songs that launched Madonna's movement into greater experimentation in her work.

Not only did the 90s provide fertile ground for Madonna's creativity but opportunities for her to poke the eye of the Christian right. "The Immaculate Collection," a collection of her greatest 80s hits included her 1990 #1 "Vogue" and two new tracks "Justify My Love" (written by Lenny Kravitz) and "Rescue Me." The video for "Justify My Love" was so provocative and controversial at the time that MTV would only air it after midnight. It was also the first video VHS to sell over a million copies. Soon after, Madonna dug her heels into House Music, Trip Hop, and Electronica bringing William Orbit on board — a move that would be pivotal by mid-decade.

She simultaneously released "Erotica" along with an exquisite coffee table book titled "Sex," which went on to sell 1.5 million copies. The book contained soft pornographic imagery and sadomasochistic acts that ruffled a lot of feathers at the time of its release and had a massive social and cultural impact that's lasted to this day. She took a lot of heat from fans and critics alike and frankly didn't give a fuck. She would later address the criticism in "Human Nature" the fourth single released from "Bedtime Stories."

Controversies aside, the 90s (into the early Millennium) represented two phases of Madonna in which this set could have easily been split in half. For creative purposes, the decision was made to let it evolve from one end to the other. The Shep Pettibone era gave way to William Orbit who transcended Junior Vasquez and ultimately gave way to Victor Calderone and Peter Rauhofer (who would later go on to be important staples of Madonna's dancefloor rule).  This was no easy feat for me to tackle, which is one of the main reasons why I took so much time off before releasing these sets.

For the most part, I allowed these songs to flow as they were originally intended with a few exceptions. There's no doubt that Junior Vasquez was a brilliant DJ, producer, and remixer. However, not unlike some of his contemporaries at the time (