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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 12:06:18 GMT -5
In honor of its upcoming 15th Anniversary, I thought it'd be nice to make a thread for this wonderful album. After all these years, it still sounds fresh and provocative. It remains my personal favorite album of hers. Original Release Date: March 3, 1998 Singles: 1. Frozen 2. Ray Of Light 3. Drowned World/Substitute For Love 4. The Power Of Good-Bye 5. Nothing Really Matters 4 Grammy Awards
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 13:06:51 GMT -5
15th anniversary??? Ugh I'm old. I remember when all the singles came out, I was so in love with Frozen, Ray Of Light, and Power Of Goodbye and still am great album
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God
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Post by God on Feb 15, 2013 13:35:07 GMT -5
This was the first Madonna album I ever had. I ordered it from BMG (I'm old [2]) and only ever listened to the title track.
It probably ranks toward the lower end of my top five albums from her, behind Music and even American Life.
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SPRΞΞ
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Post by SPRΞΞ on Feb 15, 2013 13:39:26 GMT -5
the album artwork....the color scheme....electronica to the mainstream....it all fit in sooooo well with the current rave scene culture. Skin represents the exact sound of techno music in the rave scene at that specific time. It was the perfect album to come out at my age.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Feb 15, 2013 14:35:55 GMT -5
I bought this on cassette at Walmart!
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Feb 15, 2013 18:54:49 GMT -5
How the time flies. As an album, it's a revelation and a healer. The female master of art and commerce struck again.
My top 5 tracks (I think):
1. Ray of Light 2. Drowned World/Substitute For Love 3. Sky Fits Heaven 4. Frozen 5. The Power of Good-Bye
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Chelsea Press 2
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Post by Chelsea Press 2 on Feb 15, 2013 19:44:40 GMT -5
This is my 2nd favorite album of hers (Erotica is my 1st). This was a spectacular album. Great vocals, great lyrics, excellent, cutting edge production, and the videos were so beautifully done, as were most of the remixes. The album still sounds just as fresh as when it first came out.
I remember the first time I heard "Frozen" on the radio. I didn't realize it was Madonna until after the announcer came on to mention it was her new single. I was blown away by how gorgeous the song was. And the production sounded so unlike anything I had heard up until that point. I eventually bought the CD maxi when it was released. I love the Stereo MCs and Victor Calderone mixes. The latter mix builds to a dropout with a slightly faster re-created version of the orchestral opening of the album version. The video was so beautiful.
My favorite album tracks change based on my mood, but the mainstays are always "Sky Fits Heaven", "Mer Girl", "Candy Perfume Girl", "Skin", and "Shanti/Ashtangi" (okay, that's like half the album).
I love the Japan bonus track "Has To Be."
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Juanca
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Post by Juanca on Feb 15, 2013 20:13:45 GMT -5
I remember thinking about Loreena McKennit when I first heard Frozen. I loved it because it was so left-field for mainstream, but beautiful, eerie, with smooth and quite on point vocals from Madonna. I liked that it was sort of a revamped version of Secret's humming. And the imagery of the video was captivating too. Brunette Madonna is always good (Rain, LAP). Then when I heard ROL randomly at a radio station I have to be honest I wasn't that amazed. In a way it sounded like a techno track of the time at first and I was just surprised at how Madonna had decided to go that route. However when I heard the full song for the first time it was awesome. The first seconds are glorious and her shouty note left me in awe. The video was just ok to me. It ended up topping my personal chart for a couple of weeks. I also remember reading Fred Bronson writing this was her most powerful trio of songs, compared to LAP's great first three singles --but complaining about radio not embracing the songs like in the LAP area. I loved TPOG too. The video was ok to me (sorry) but the song, the use of strings, lyrics and production were awesome!!! It was third personal chart topper I love the album. It has a couple of fillers I could live without,but I loved how eclectic but cohesive it was. Only thing I sort of ended up disliking was Orbit's constant use of that sort of wah-wah machine sound in every other song. It was good for many but ended up wanting me to mute that sound forever Several gems that made my personal chart. I'll rank them later, but would like to mention one song I haven't seen yet: "To have and not to hold". Loved it!!! Especially because it was the only song in the album with some type of Latin influence. She usually has 1 song with a nod to Latins in her albums, and this one was quite good :)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2013 16:34:38 GMT -5
Not among my favorite Madonna albums. I really have to be in the mood to listen it.
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Post by josh on Feb 16, 2013 17:06:09 GMT -5
Love this one. Probably my 2nd favorite, behind Confessions.
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Agent Yoncé
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Post by Agent Yoncé on Feb 23, 2013 0:02:52 GMT -5
This is definitely her best body of work, but it's not my favorite album of hers.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2013 22:36:36 GMT -5
Happy 15th Ray of Light!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2013 22:38:53 GMT -5
Definitely her best. Excellent album. This was the album that really solidified her legacy.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Mar 4, 2013 10:07:42 GMT -5
idolator.com/7444244/madonna-ray-of-light-anniversary-15-backtracking#.UTSwj36BTJ4.twitterMadonna’s ‘Ray Of Light’ Turns 15: Backtracking “She is a brilliant pop melodist and lyricist,” Nowels continued. “I was knocked out by the quality of the writing. The lyrics to ‘The Power Of Good-Bye’ are stunning. I love Madonna as an artist and a songwriter… I know she grew up on Joni Mitchell and Motown, and to my ears she embodies the best of both worlds. She is a wonderful confessional songwriter, as well as being a superb hit chorus pop writer… She doesn’t get the credit she deserves as a writer.”
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Post by Soldado de Juguete on Mar 7, 2013 14:13:21 GMT -5
Really good album! I remember being so obsessed with Frozen when i first heard it! My second fav Madonna song ever :) The singles that era were so great! But I wanted Shanti/Ashtangi to be a single so bad Anyway, I can see why people say this is her best album :)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2013 20:48:49 GMT -5
Frozen is pretty darn close to being my favorite Madonna song, ever. It's so haunting, and it's brilliant. This album is just so amazing. I've been obsessed with this album for the past two weeks. I even found the Limited Edition from back in '98 and bought it. I feel 17 again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 19:17:31 GMT -5
Bump. On repeat again for me lately. It's just so perfect. I think I need to go to Ray of Light AA. Double post, yes, but my last one was from March.
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jan 18, 2014 9:33:29 GMT -5
Never anything wrong with hailing a work such as this. :)
Hoping that this Art For Freedom thing informs her next album, as her divorce and childhood wounds influenced Like a Prayer and the birth of her daughter inspired Ray of Light.
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Glove Slap
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Post by Glove Slap on Feb 11, 2014 9:15:19 GMT -5
Interestingly and ironically enough, as fresh as this sounded upon its release, it's easily aged the worst from her 90s catalog. All of the production elements that this picks up, which are largely taken from the 90s trip-hop movement, went away very soon after the turn of the millennium.
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halo19
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Post by halo19 on Feb 13, 2014 17:11:38 GMT -5
Sky Fits Heaven <3 ... maybe my favorite non-single of hers.
In Houston, they played "Candy Perfume Girl" on the local CHR/pop station when "The Power of Good-bye" had run its course on there and "Nothing Really Matters" hadn't been released yet.
The era of this album coincided with my heightened interest in radio and pop music. The title track is a retrospective personal chart #1 for me.
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Ling-Ling
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Post by Ling-Ling on Jul 1, 2014 17:47:08 GMT -5
I've always been kind of peeved that out of all her 90's albums, this one got the most acclaim, awards and critical love. Not that it isn't a good album, but it's her weakest 90's album IMO (barring I'm Breathless). Lyrically, there are some dynamic moments here, but there is too much filler and the production hasn't dated well at all on certain tracks.
It's definitely in the bottom half of her discography for me. And the title track has always been one of her most overrated singles IMO. I prefer the other four singles by far.
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🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲
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Post by 🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲 on Jul 23, 2017 22:29:07 GMT -5
I became a super fan after watching her Behind The Music story. I decided to get Ray of Light for my 11th birthday. This was my fave era. Love the maturity and growth displayed. The album cover is one of my fave Madonna covers. My fave tracks are Swim, Candy Perfume Girl, Little Star, Skin, The Power of Goodbye, and To Have and Not To Hold.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Feb 25, 2018 9:07:54 GMT -5
Happy 20th Anniversary to ROL. March 2nd or 3rd...
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🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲
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Post by 🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲 on Mar 3, 2018 11:13:02 GMT -5
Happy 20th!! -💙💙💙
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kcdawg13
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Post by kcdawg13 on Apr 10, 2018 22:32:54 GMT -5
A classic album and Madonna's best, I really wish Madge would do more stuff like this. This stuff is A++ material and easily beats anything she released after (aside from Confessions).
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Post by thirddegree50123 on May 3, 2018 10:02:05 GMT -5
Listened to this album for the first time last week. First time I'd actually listened to an entire Madonna album. Enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. I like the singles a lot more now than back then. I was only 10 at the time and was much more into rock. Definitely want to listen to more of her albums.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2019 18:49:11 GMT -5
Stunning piece of wonderful work. Definitely one of her best albums overall. I love this album so much and I wish she had done more mature work on her later work. It feels so focus and consistent in quality and theme. My favorites are all the singles and plus "Shanti / Ashtangi", "Drowned World / Substitute For Love" & "Little Star".
There's also a bonus track called "Has To Be", it was on Japan editions of the albums only, it's absolutely beautiful and I wish it was on the album. Here's the audio for it.
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jenglisbe
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Post by jenglisbe on Oct 24, 2019 19:39:14 GMT -5
Yeah, I prefer "Has to Be" to several songs that made the album.
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sephyrpatriq
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Post by sephyrpatriq on Nov 7, 2019 3:14:45 GMT -5
Skin, Nothing Really Matters, Mer Girl, Candy Perfume Girl, To Have and Not to Hold and ROL are some of my favorites. Sound wise the album is so fresh and I love the lyrical themes and content and she sounds golden.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Feb 22, 2023 18:17:03 GMT -5
www.billboard.com/lists/madonna-ray-of-light-album-songs-ranked/frozen-2/?fbclid=IwAR3NQmkg6uMHGWqauOnsHOwA25D0JiumIfqzHrkNqDLQd51QLGKc56ZGZlMMadonna’s ‘Ray of Light’ Turns 25: Songs Ranked From Worst to BestBy Jon O'Brien 02/22/2023 "Frozen," "Drowned World/Substitute for Love," that euphoric title track and more. It seems hard to imagine now, what with all the provocative TikToks, trap remixes and tour announcements in which she asks Amy Schumer how she licks a certain part of her husband’s anatomy. But there was a time back in the mid-1990s when Madonna appeared to be settling into adult contemporary respectability. There was Something To Remember, the 1995 compilation that rounded up her ballads. A year later came Evita, the big-screen adaptation of a Broadway musical that saw her belt out Andrew Lloyd Webber-composed classics like “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” (and nabbed her a Golden Globe). Not to mention her mid-‘90s smash “Take a Bow” — a demure, lush love song co-written by Babyface that topped the Adult Contemporary chart and became her longest-running Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 ever. Of course, they don’t call Madge the Master of Reinvention for nothing. Exquisitely co-produced by then-relatively unknown ambient maestro William Orbit, her seventh studio album, Ray of Light, proved to be her most forward-thinking, a vibrant amalgamation of trip-hop, trance, techno and countless other electronic genres that don’t necessarily begin with the letter ‘T.’ Heavily informed by the birth of her daughter Lourdes and her newfound interest in all things spiritual, Ray of Light undeniably restored Madonna’s reputation as the Queen of Pop. Not only did it notch the highest first-week sales by a female artist in the Nielsen SoundScan Era up until that point, but it spawned four Hot 100 hits, won four Grammy Awards and has sold 3.9 million copies in the U.S., per Luminate. It’s also generated 123.1 million on-demand official U.S. streams to date, according to Luminate. Plus, it’s the only Madonna album to land a Grammy nomination for album of the year. In celebration of its 25th anniversary (Feb. 22), here’s a ranking of the career-defining record that proved that she could still very much dance. 13 "Shanti/Ashtangi" One of the most impressive things about Ray of Light is that there isn’t anything that comes close to a dud among its 13 tracks. But something has to prop up the rear. And “Shanti/Ashtangi” is perhaps the only time the album’s propensity for lengthy running times – more than half its songs go beyond five minutes – leads to self-indulgence. Adapted from a Hindu text and performed by Madonna in Sanskrit (although apparently it didn’t convince everyone), this mystical number still has its hypnotic charms. Had it been released now, however, it may well have faced accusations of cultural appropriation. Listen here. 12 "Candy Perfume Girl" Borrowed from sessions Orbit had recorded for his Strange Cargo project with Prince acolyte and one-time fiancée Susannah Melvoin, “Candy Perfume Girl” feels more like a vibe in search of a song than a finished product. There’s a slightly demo-ish quality thanks to its stream-of-consciousness lyrics (see “Rush me ghost you see/Every center my home/Fever steam girl/Throb the oceans”) and, unusually for Madonna, a lack of discernible melodies. Still, Orbit’s studio wizardry ensures that its very mid-’90s blend of trip-hop beats and grungy guitars sustain listener interest until something more fully formed comes along. Listen here. 11 "Swim" It gets much harder to separate Ray of Light from here on in, such is the remarkable consistency of Madonna and Orbit’s collaborations. “Swim” was reportedly recorded on the very same day the former’s friend Gianni Versace was gunned down outside his Miami Beach mansion, which perhaps explains why its lyrics veer toward the macabre (“Children killing children while the students rape their teachers”). In contrast, the production is a calming mix of hazy guitars, New Age beats and intriguing aquatic effects. In fact, the whole thing aptly sounds like it was recorded underwater — and in a good way, too. Listen here. 10 "Mer Girl" “When she recorded that in the booth, we sat in silence, our hair standing on end,” Orbit once remarked about Ray of Light’s remarkably uncompromising closer. It’s little wonder why Madonna elicited such a reaction. Delivering one of the most emotive vocal performances of her career, the superstar pretty much brings proceedings to a hush as she reflects upon her mother’s death in strikingly evocative style (“And I smelled her burning flesh/Her rotting bones/Her decay”). Orbit understands such powerful imagery doesn’t need many bells and whistles, guiding Madonna’s eulogy to its solemn conclusion with just the occasional washes of synths. Listen here. 9 "Little Star" As well as inhabiting a new Earth Mother persona, Madonna had also become an actual mother in the gap between 1994’s Bedtime Stories and Ray of Light. And just like every pop star who enters parenthood, she was always going to sing about it. Luckily, her tribute to daughter Lourdes isn’t your typical schmaltzfest. Instead, “Little Star” is an understated affair that combines skittering drum and bass beats with dreamy fretless basslines and strings that soar like a songbird. The only track Orbit doesn’t have a hand in – Marius De Vries serves as co-producer, while regular Madonna cohort Rick Nowels co-writes – this enchanting alt-lullaby still fits in seamlessly. Listen here. 8 "Sky Fits Heaven" “Sky Fits Heaven” is a track of contrasts, upping the BPM with a driving drum pattern that recalls a muted Chemical Brothers or The Prodigy but fusing it with layers of warm synths and self-help musings that could have been lifted from a Paulo Coelho bestseller (“Isn’t everyone just traveling down their own road, watching the signs as they go?”). Co-written with another previous collaborator, Patrick Leonard, this propulsive banger was, in fact, largely inspired by a Max Blagg poem that had featured on a recent ad for Gap, a company that would later jump in bed with Madonna. Listen here. 7 "To Have and Not To Hold" Essentially bridging the gap between the ’80s romance of “La Isla Bonita” and the fado leanings of Madame X, “To Have and Not to Hold” is a wonderfully subtle example of Madonna’s affinity with all things Latin. The second of three songs rescued from early abandoned sessions with Nowels, its understated bossa nova beats and hazy woodwind should feel out of place amid the surrounding electronica. But once again, Orbit (alongside co-producer Leonard) works his studio magic to make all of Madonna’s sensual talk sound naturally cohesive. Listen here. 6 "Nothing Really Matters" It’s a testament to Ray of Light’s strength in depth that something as irresistible as “Nothing Really Matters” would only be chosen as its fifth single. A throwback to the diva house-pop days of “Vogue” and “Deeper and Deeper,” this underrated gem (it peaked at a lowly No. 93 in 1999) may be considered more tried-and-tested when compared with all the sonic adventurism elsewhere. But who cares when it produces such joys as Madonna’s closing call and response with Niki Haris and Donna De Lory, sadly also something of a studio swan song for the regular backing vocalists. Listen here. 5 "Skin" Full-throttle techno beats, swirling psychedelic guitars, hypnotic snake-charming sound effects, even a field recording of De Vries’ son at a Marrakesh marketplace. Orbit and Madonna appear to throw in everything but the kitchen sink for Ray of Light’s most maximalist offering. Somehow, everything coalesces to form one almighty banger, and like all the best, one that sounds tailor-made to be played in a sweaty, dark nightclub in the ungodly hours. Although Madge would later commit fully to the dancefloor on her 2005 comeback, she’s never hit it harder than on “Skin.” Listen here. 4 "Frozen" We’re in the pure 10-out-of-10 moments now. “Frozen” felt like a curveball when it premiered in early 1998; as with much of Ray of Light, its choice of lead single was certainly audacious. It takes nearly a full minute for its programmed beats – the kind that often feel as if they’re collapsing in on one another – to kick in. The chorus is half-composed of wordless chanting. And its lush, cinematic strings recall Björk’s Homogenic, a critical favorite but hardly a commercial blockbuster. This element of surprise was deservedly well-received from audiences glad to have the boundary-pushing Madonna back once more: It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Listen here. 3 "Ray of Light" If “Frozen” reeled all the wayward Madonna fans back in, then “Ray of Light” — another huge hit, peaking at No. 5 on the Hot 100 — ensured they stayed. A kaleidoscopic blend of arpeggiated guitars, pulsing trance beats and Orbit’s signature bleeps and bloops, the album’s title track consistently teeters on the edge of euphoria before giddily jumping off with that incredible shrieking outro. Bizarrely based on a 1960s folk song (Curtiss Maldoon’s “Sepheryn”) previously lost to time, “Ray of Light” put the Queen of Pop in a strong position to take on the 21st century. She’s never been required to show more range, either — no doubt utilizing the vocal training she’d received for Evita across five minutes of dizzying, dazzling dance-pop. Listen here. 2 "The Power of Good-Bye" A beautifully melancholic ode to the art of letting go, “The Power of Good-Bye” is the closest that Ray of Light comes to the Madonna ballads of old. The subaquatic production is still unmistakably Orbit, but here, all the squelches and swooshes are accompanied by a relatively simple, if utterly heartbreaking, melody. It’s delivered with just the right amount of despair and desolation – and the kind of sweeping strings, courtesy of BAFTA-winning composer Craig Armstrong, that could bring a tear to your eye (at the very least, they helped bring it to No. 11 on the Hot 100). On albums of similar ilk, this would be the runaway pièce de résistance. Listen here. 1 "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" The moment its opening words (“You see,” sampled from “Why I Follow the Tigers” by San Sebastian Strings) are uttered in a discombobulated fashion, it’s clear Ray of Light is a different beast than its predecessors. Partly titled after J.G. Ballard’s dystopian sci-fi novel The Drowned World, the meditation on fame continues to subvert all expectations. The Madonna here is no longer the showgirl, her vocal largely subdued and her words contemplative. Orbit, meanwhile, opts for the slow build rather than the instant gratification. Even when “Substitute for Love” switches gears, as on the stunning middle-eight, the tone is cathartic, not celebratory. It’s a brave but perfect scene-setter that remains both the crowning glory of its parent album and arguably Madonna’s ’90s career.
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