MANILA, Philippines ? Madonna?s latest album, ?Celebration,? isn?t just a hefty and craftily engineered compilation of the Material Girl?s top hits?it also teaches an instructive lesson in career longevity and musical reinvention.

The two-disc set is a must-have collectible for Madonna fanatics who want to experience the fuller and richer sound of her remastered dance classics and ballads, sans the hissing, skipping and uneven fading common in vinyl and cassette tapes, which were the formats of choice when the controversial pop queen started conquering the airwaves in the ?80s with such unforgettable disco hits as ?Burning Up,? ?Lucky Star,? ?Holiday? and ?Like A Virgin.?

The 36-track compilation vividly chronicles how Madonna has evolved through the years without compromising her hit-churning and hip-swaying ability in the dance-pop genre. Notice how her music and sound have undergone distinctive makeovers:

From her cotton candy-coated dance-floor beginnings, she upped the thematic ante by recording the racy ?Erotica,? the playful ?Vogue,? the provocative ?Like A Prayer? and the dance-with-a-message ditty, ?Papa Don?t Preach.?

More intriguing

Madonna?s next artistic phase was even more intriguing: This time, she displayed greater maturity and introspection, and critics started embracing her music when she experimented with eastern, world-music and New Age melodies (?Frozen? and ?Ray of Light?).

Thereafter, she featured technology-assisted embellishments in her unique, new sound as she boldly added electronica (?Hung Up,? ?Music?) and hip-hop (?4 Minutes,? her duet with Justin Timberlake) to her playlist to cater to the young dance aficionados of the new decade. But, she managed to keep her loyal followers by waxing occasional disco-themed songs (?Die Another Day,? ?Beautiful Stranger?) and lovely ballads with infectious melodic hooks and universal appeal (?Live To Tell,? ?Take A Bow?).

There are only two new songs in the album?the title track, ?Celebration,? and ?Revolver,? her collaboration with Lil Wayne?each showcasing the dance diva?s ability as a musical shape-shifter. In the latter, you?ll hardly recognize Madonna?s tech-padded vocals, while she delivers the classic ?80s sound in the former to pay tribute to the catchy grooves that catapulted her to international stardom.

Choice of songs

Young singer Rhap Salazar?s self-titled album is likewise celebratory in tone: ?Rhap Salazar? is not just the international singing champ?s recording debut?it also celebrates the music of Michael Jackson in his child-prodigy heyday, which explains the choice of songs in the repertoire: ?Ben,? ?Music and Me,? ?Got To Be There,? ?Never Can Say Goodbye? and the indelible ballad, ?One Day In Your Life.? (The rest are minus-one versions of all tracks.)

We enjoy Rhap?s live performances on TV, because the young performer is a steel-piped, note-perfect singing machine. Moreover, he is gifted with a formidable range?he always manages to hit all the right notes, however stratospheric they seem, and delivers them effortlessly.

Timeless tunes

In his recording debut, the teenage singer does his best to breathe new life into Jackson?s timeless tunes. But, while Michael?s soaring chest tones are soothing and smooth, Rhap?s renditions, though note-precise, are unnervingly shrill?most notably in ?Never Can Say Goodbye? and ?Got To Be There.? Sometimes, birit just doesn?t cut it, because there?s more to music?texture, interpretation, etc.?than vocal power.

Let?s hope something is done about this the next time Rhap goes back to the recording booth?unless he intends to bring more chills than musical thrills.