Celebration: The Video Collection (DVD)

Celebration is Madonna's fourth major hits collection and has the herculean task of summing up 30 years of chart-topping pop music by one of the true visionary artists of the era. The 34-track double-disc Deluxe Edition has an easier time of it than the single-disc, 18-track release does. While the single disc focuses mainly on the dancefloor-friendly classics, this edition is freed up to add more ballads and midtempo songs. So along with the songs like "Holiday" and "Ray of Light" that make you want to dance, there are also tracks like "Erotica" for more intimate moments and sweet pop songs like "Cherish" that show off Madonna's more romantic side. It also adds another newly recorded song, "Revolver," to the title track collaboration with Paul Oakenfold that appears both here and on the single-disc version. Both versions of Celebration do a fine job of living up to the title; it is indeed a celebration of Madonna's career and some of the most celebratory and thrilling pop music ever created. (A 47-track DVD edition was also released.) ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi