When I first heard that Madonna was releasing a collection of her best ballads, I was overjoyed. I remembered falling in puppy love for the first time with "Crazy for You," and falling out of love during the release of "Take a Bow." I thought that this collection was going to be great.

But "Something to Remember," Madonna's eleventh album, does not seem as good an idea as I thought. Until her greatest ballads were compiled, it seemed I never realized that her "love" songs were more of "hate" songs, leaving the listener very, very depressed. After hearing 14 tracks of non-stop sorrow, one not only feels bad about themselves, but also for Madonna.

There are a few (and I mean few) beams of light in this musty, dank cave of a musical venture. "I'll Remember," "Crazy for You," and "Rain" provide a release from the sadness motif. There are also Madonna's new songs.

The first of these is a Marvin Gaye tune called, "I Want You." Madonna covers this Motown legend with backup from the popular British band Massive Attack. The other two new songs were both penned and produced by Madonna and "Bodyguard" soundtrack alumni David Foster. Both songs heavily rely on acoustic guitars.

The absolute best song on the album is "One More Chance." This is the ultimate, Madonna unplugged. Backed only with acoustic guitars, Madonna sings twisted clich"s like, "I like to play the Queen of Hearts/I'd never thought I'd lose,/I took my chance and rolled the dice/but never showed my hand,/I planned it out so perfectly, so you'd never leave a girl like me,/I was a fool/But now I understand."

"Something ..." is, in fact, missing something. It is only worth buying the album if you like her ballads or recently had a bad relationship. Beyond that, there is nothing that the general public needs to hear, again