MADONNA has more guises than Barbie. Most recently we've had the Countryside edition, complete with tweed two-piece and plum in mouth - sling optional. Then there was Kabbalah Madonna, with prayer book and sacred water and Movie Star Madge, which ended up in the bargain bin.

I have to say I didn't really have a desire to add any of those Madonnas to my collection. But now, it seems all my Christmases have come at once with the release of a special edition Pop Star Madonna. Sure, it may be a re-issue of an earlier 1980s model, but this one comes with mirrorball and moveable limbs and promises to be a sell-out.

This, Madonna's eighth album, is a pop revelation. Hearing Hung Up for the first time was one of those life affirming moments and with its sample of Abba's Gimme Gimme Gimme confirms what all know (but are often too embarrassed to admit)- that those Swedes could pen a damn good hook. Although this track has a strong seventies feel, the rest of the album does not follow suit, flowing sleekly from the 80s to the noughties.

Jump is pop perfection, while Like it or Not is as glam as anything by Goldfrapp.

Many of the lyrics rely on childish rhymes, but that's the whole joy of this album - it reminds you of a day when all that mattered was wearing the sparkliest shoes in the discotheque. Never one to miss an opportunity to plug the aforementioned Kabbalah faith, Madge slips in Isaac, in praise of one of the religion's figureheads and is the closest there is to a ballad on the album.

Despite this minor slip-up, this is a great album and an overdue reminder of why we love Madonna.

EB