Madonna 'Ray Of Light' Rankdown (Completed)

[Juanca]

Interestingly my 10-7 ranking appeared in inverse order. CPG and THANTH both reached top 5 in my personal chart. I highly appreciated the modern-rockish sound and vocal attitude of the first one (I even remember hearing it as an extra in a US modern rock top 20 show), and the more laid back, dreamy Spanish balladry vibe of the second one.

NRM was awesome! Simpler and more traditional dance pop than any other RoL track, but still effective and interesting. The ethereal bridge, thw slightly distorted piano after the bridge, the amazing background vocals in the outro. Quite a strong pop song that deserved much better luck. I was extremely puzzled at its huge floppage in the US

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

Apr 27, 2018 0:36:29 GMT -5 Juanca said:

I was extremely puzzled at its huge floppage in the US

It ended up peaking at #93 on the Hot 100. Its low chart peak was attributed to a lack of radio airplay and the unusual delay in releasing the commercial single.

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

Sorry I haven't been doing the reveals as quickly as I should. I have been unusually busy with work and I only had some time to sporadically be on via my phone or my tablet. Let's get back to it.

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

#5
Sky Fits Heaven

Co-written with Patrick Leonard, this Trance styled song explored the idea of spiritual discovery. Though this was not a single, remixes of this by Sasha and Victor Calderone were released promotionally and on some editions of the "Drowned World/Substitute For Love" singles. This was only performed live during the Drowned World Tour in between "Mer Girl" and the reprise of "Mer Girl."

Points: 164
Standard Deviation: 3.76
Average Ranking: 6.074

Rankings:
1 The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷
1 Ky
1 Glove Slap

2 jenglisbe
2 Mirago

3 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME
3 andrewantonio
3 Zeebz

4 .indulgecountry
4 Juan Carlos

5 Sambalada
5 aerodynamite
5 newpower
5 Juanca

6 bat1990
6 die Lotterie

7 mamooshka
7 someguy

8 Unhinged
8 Az Paynter

9 alexcuse
9 Troublemaker

10 Ginger Spice
10 fearlessarrow

13 singingrulebritannia
13 SHOOTER

14 God

[aerodynamite]

P-P-P-Perfect Ranking!™ 

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

#4
Drowned World/Substitute for Love

The album opener was the international 3rd single from the album. It wasn't released in the U.S. It contained a sample from the song "Why I Follow the Tigers" by San Sebastian Strings. The lyrics describe Madonna's spiritual transformation to seek authentic love over superficial alliances. The music video was controversial for some scenes showing Madonna being chased by paparazzi on motor-bikes, a scenario similar to the incidents that led to the death of Princess Diana. There were remixes by BT and Sasha.

Points: 139
Standard Deviation: 2.032
Average Ranking: 5.148

Rankings:
1 Ginger Spice

2 Unhinged
2 The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷

3 singingrulebritannia
3 Sambalada

4 bat1990
4 jenglisbe
4 newpower
4 Ky
4 SHOOTER

5 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME
5 andrewantonio
5 alexcuse
5 Az Paynter
5 Troublemaker

6 mamooshka
6 someguy
6 .indulgecountry
6 Juan Carlos
6 Glove Slap
6 Juanca
6 God

7 Zeebz

8 aerodynamite
8 fearlessarrow

9 die Lotterie
9 Mirago

[aerodynamite]

Frozen probably has this in the bag, but I'd love it if my #1 pulled off the win.

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

#3
The Power of Good-Bye

This was the 3rd U.S. single and 4th international single. It was co-written with Rick Nowels. The music video featured then-unknown actor Goran Višnjić re-creating the famous chess scene from the movie The Thomas Crown Affair. The remixes by Dallas Austin and Luke Slater were of an experimental nature. Many did not like them. Dallas Austin's was similar to the original but stripped down. Junior Vasquez produced a bootleg mix using the album version that came out on a white label. This song has only been performed live a couple of times in Europe.

Points: 132
Standard Deviation: 2.88
Average Ranking: 4.88

Rankings:
1 alexcuse
1 die Lotterie
1 God

2 someguy
2 Ky
2 Troublemaker

3 mamooshka
3 aerodynamite
3 SHOOTER
3 Mirago
3 Juanca

4 andrewantonio
4 Zeebz
4 Glove Slap
4 fearlessarrow

5 Unhinged
5 The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷

7 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME
7 Ginger Spice
7 bat1990
7 newpower

8 .indulgecountry
8 jenglisbe

9 Sambalada
9 Juan Carlos
9 Az Paynter

11 singingrulebritannia

[aerodynamite]

Apr 29, 2018 15:52:22 GMT -5 aerodynamite said:

P-P-P-Perfect Ranking!™ 

(And I'd love to have one more.  ;) )

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

The final two are about to be revealed!

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

#2
Ray Of Light

The title song is the runner up! The song is a reworked cover of the 1971 song "Sepheryn" by Curtiss Maldoon. The arrangement and melody was changed considerably and new lyrics were written for it. The original version was over 10 minutes long and had more guitar solos and other instrumental flourishes not heard in the final album version. It went on to win 2 Grammy awards in 1999. The music video directed by Jonas Åkerlund had a timelapse concept. There were remixes by Richie Santana, Sasha, Victor Calderone, and William Orbit (Richie Santana's came out a couple of years later).

Points: 85
Standard Deviation: 2.088
Average Ranking: 3.14

Rankings:
1 mamooshka
1 singingrulebritannia
1 someguy
1 jenglisbe
1 aerodynamite
1 SHOOTER
1 Juan Carlos
1 Juanca

2 andrewantonio
2 bat1990
2 .indulgecountry
2 newpower
2 fearlessarrow

3 Glove Slap
3 Az Paynter
3 Troublemaker

4 alexcuse
4 Unhinged
4 The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷
4 Sambalada
4 God

5 Ginger Spice

6 Zeebz
6 Ky
6 Mirago

7 die Lotterie

8 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

#1
Frozen

This had been #1 since the beginning and for a time did drop to #2 but it finished at #1. The lead single from the album was a cinematic midtempo unlike anything she had released previously. Due to her new Evita vocal training, Madonna's voice was noticeably different for this song. It went on to peak at #2 in the U.S. on the Hot 100 behind K-Ci & JoJo's "All My Life". The music video was directed by Chris Cunningham. The single had remixes by Stereo MCs, Victor Calderone, and William Orbit. This marked the first time Madonna would choose Victor to do remixes and she went on to have him remix for her many, many times.

Points: 63
Standard Deviation: 1.35
Average Ranking: 2.33

Rankings:
1 JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME
1 andrewantonio
1 Unhinged
1 Zeebz
1 Sambalada
1 .indulgecountry
1 Mirago
1 fearlessarrow
1 Troublemaker

2 mamooshka
2 Ginger Spice
2 singingrulebritannia
2 SHOOTER
2 Glove Slap
2 Juanca
2 Az Paynter

3 alexcuse
3 someguy
3 The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷
3 jenglisbe
3 newpower
3 Ky
3 Juan Carlos
3 God

5 bat1990
5 die Lotterie

6 aerodynamite

[aerodynamite]

Wow, not even close. And the top 2 finished way ahead of #3.

[die Lotterie]

Power of Goodbye is her best. "To Have and Not to Hold" and "Skin" her robbed as well.

[.indulgecountry]

Perfect rankings for my Top 2. Yay! "Frozen" is just magical.

Thanks for hosting JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. I hope there will be more of these to come for Madge albums. <3

[The Brazilian Guy 🇧🇷]

Pretty obvious Top 2, but they are both great songs... can't complain!

I knew my #01 pick wouldn't win, but I'm excited it made the Top 5!

[SHOOTER]

Perfect top-4 and I would've been pleased had any of them been the winner!!

Thanks for hosting JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME can't wait for the next one!

[newpower]

Thanks for hosting Disco. Nice Top 5.
I wouldn’t mind a rankdown of Erotica, my favorite album from M.

[Troublemaker]

Thanks for hosting JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. 
Perfect winner, the video for frozen gives it an edge over the others 

[bat1990]

More chart tidbits:
Madonna kept getting blocked at #1 on the Eurochart Hot 100.

"My Heart Will Go On" blocked "Frozen"
"Believe" blocked "The Power of Good-bye"

Madonna had the last say at European radio though, with the above two singles and "Ray of Light" all hitting number 1. DW/SFL and NRM also made top 10 at radio.

[Ginger Spice]

This was fun. The entire top 4 was flawless so I can't argue with it.

Thanks for hosting JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME!

[Juanca]

Great top 5!
Sky was RoL’s 7th top 10 and 6th top 5 in my personal chart I loved her voice, the best, and the ethereal vibe of it.

Drowned World was also a very good ballad from her. I was not fully convinced about it when I first heard it, but I appreciated it much better when I bought the album and listened to it as an album opener. The angst feeling at the half point was particularly strong.

The Power of Goodbye was her third personal chart-topper from RoL. Love it! The strings break, the tenderness of her voice, the overall music. Just magic. Was shocked/annoyed that it didn’t make it to the top 10 in billboard Hot 100. I remember reading Fred Bronson or someone else at Billboard saying that this was M’s strongest trilogy since LaP. Couldn’t agree more.

Ray of Light... I remember hearing this for the first time in a radio station that was playing lots of techno and other dance-pop music, and I didn’t know/realize it was Madonna. On a third listen I heard the DJ saying that and I wasn’t that impressed, primarily because I was just hearing the electronic beat. Later I had the chance to listen to the song from start to finish and it took me for an unexpected ride. I caught the nuances, and loved the rocker and folksy vibe underneath the electronic layers. And I appreciated how she SANG it. I still see this as one of M’s top vocal performances ever. So it became one of my favorite songs that year, sort of tied with Frozen, but my love for it has grown with time and now it’s amongst my favorite Madonna songs ever.

Frozen: this song was such a surprise! So unlike a Madonna’s first single that it was M’s best reinvention. When I first heard it, it seemed like a combo of M’s Secret humming with Loreena McKennitt’s Mummer Dance vibe, that just worked. Her voice had never sounded this angelical and clean. Her music had never sounded this heavenly. I still have a couple of minor cons... at some point in the musical bridge it’s always sounded like there’s an extra millisecond that disrupts the flow, and at some point the song seems a few seconds too long and thus a bit dragging, as opposed to RoL, which sounds more perfect. Still, Frozen is a classic! I was once again annoyed that such a great song was added to the list of unlucky #2-peaking songs of M’s catalogue... actually, the fact that such a strong album only managed to have a #2, a #5, a #11 and a 90+ was almost insulting

Anyway. Great RD, Eros! Thanks for hosting

[SHOOTER]

Is Hard Candy next since it just had its 10-year anniversary? JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

[JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME]

Apr 30, 2018 11:17:09 GMT -5 SHOOTER said:

Is Hard Candy next since it just had its 10-year anniversary? JOJO SIWA DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

yes this would be a great time to do it. I'll announce it soon.