Information AboutRay Of Light |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT RAY OF LIGHT | |
| 1998 albums | |
| madonna albums | |
| maverick records albums | |
''Ray of Light'' is the 7th studio Album and 13th recording by singer Madonna , released in 1998 (see 1998 In Music ). ALBUM INFORMATION The introspective Concept Album , an aural hybrid of atmospheric Electronica , Drum And Bass , and emotional Trance , is widely considered to be Madonna's greatest artistic achievement thus far. There is a warm, intimate, sometimes spooky feel to much of the album. Drawing influence from a number of Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism , mystical Judaism , and the Kabbalah , the record explores the themes of motherhood, death, and re-birth. The production by William Orbit includes signature Eastern instrumentation such as the Sitar , Rebana , and Tabla . One track, "Shanti/Ashtangi", is sung entirely in Sanskrit . ''Ray of Light'' won four awards at the 1998 Grammy Awards , was voted the tenth greatest album of all time by VH1 viewers in the United Kingdom and the twenty-ninth best recording ever by '' Rolling Stone '' readers in 2002 . In 1997 , a Music of the Millennium poll conducted by HMV , Channel 4 and The Guardian placed the set at number seventeen. The album packaging was created by art director Kevin Reagon, in collaboration with photographer Mario Testino . The lyrics were printed in the accompanying booklet. TRACK LISTING #" Drowned World/Substitute For Love " (Collins, Kerr, Madonna, McKuen, Orbit) - 5:09 #"Swim" (Madonna, Orbit) - 5:00 #" Ray Of Light " (Curtis, Leach, Madonna, Muldoon, Orbit) - 5:21 #"Candy Perfume Girl" (Madonna, Melvoin, Orbit) - 4:34 #"Skin" (Leonard, Madonna) - 6:22 #" Nothing Really Matters " (Leonard, Madonna) - 4:27 #"Sky Fits Heaven" (Leonard, Madonna) - 4:48 #"Shanti/Ashtangi" (Madonna, Orbit) - 4:29 #" Frozen " (Leonard, Madonna) - 6:12 #" The Power Of Good-Bye " (Madonna, Nowels) - 4:10 #"To Have and Not to Hold" (Madonna, Nowels) - 5:23 #" Little Star " (Madonna, Nowels) - 5:18 #"Mer Girl" (Madonna, Orbit) - 5:32 #"Has To Be" (Japanese bonus track) (Madonna, Orbit, Leonard) - 5:16 INSTRUMENTATION ''Ray of Light'' includes elaborate instrumental arrangements – for example, the string arrangement on " Frozen " – and extensive use of modern studio effects including echo, Modulation , and Compression . Many of these effects were devised in collaboration with producer William Orbit, an underground electronic artist who created a string of Instrumental albums in the 1990s. Orbit later revealed how he banged on trash cans to create the effect on "Frozen", unable to achieve a similar sound on a Snare Drum or Rebana . In another innovation, the track "Sky Fits Heaven" Segue s straight into "Shanti/Ashtangi" through the use of a seemingly endless loop made by the runout groove looping back into itself. Juxtaposed with Orbit's synths, stuttering break beats, and trip-hop textures, Madonna's vocals are noticeably stronger, the result of extensive vocal training for her previous project, the film adaption of the musical '' Evita ''. TRACK DESCRIPTIONS The fifth track on the album, "Skin" begins with a melancholic a capella vocal before erupting into a trip into the trance world. Coupled with violins and an electronic bassline, Madonna repeatedly recites the lyric "I'm not like this all the time". The final track on the LP , "Mer Girl", has a diary style. Imagery of the verses was allegedly drawn from events that affected her at the time, notably the birth of her daughter and her mother's death. Alongside impressionistic lyrics and an offbeat song structure, it features minimalistic production, with sounds such as the ringing of a telephone and the crackle of a fire complementing Madonna's spoken vocal. William Orbit later recalled that there was an eerie silence in the studio when Madonna stepped out of the recording booth after laying down her vocals. DRUGS Although Madonna has allegedly never been a habitual drug user (despite claims that she had been smoking Marijuana when appearing on a Notorious Episode of the '' Late Show With David Letterman '' in 1994), the singer controversially told VH1 that she believed "the whole record would sound great on drugs" because of the trippy effects and themes on "light", especially during the tracks "Skin", "Sky Fits Heaven", and "Shanti/Ashtangi". Madonna later told reporters that she was not advocating substance abuse. In 1998 , ''The Good Drugs Guide'' claimed that ''Ray of Light'' contains a number of tracks that glorify the experience of taking Ketamine , a drug nicknamed "psychedelic Heroin " which is very common in the U.K. clubbing culture. CHARTS AND SALES ''Ray of Light'' peaked at number two on Billboard's USA Pop Albums chart and has sold over four million copies to date in the U.S.. Worldwide, the set has sold seventeen million copies, reaching number one in the United Kingdom among other territories. "Frozen" and "Ray of Light" were the big hit singles released from the album, both reaching the top five Singles Charts on both sides of the Atlantic. DEMO VERSIONS AND UNRELEASED TRACKS In 1999 , several demo versions of tracks featured on ''Light'' emerged on several Peer To Peer and File-sharing networks. "Substitute for Love" and " Little Star " contained alternate musical arrangements, while an acoustic cut of "The Power Of Good-Bye" featured an entirely different bridge section, with additional lyrical content. Many fans claimed that it was Orbit himself who leaked the tracks on the Internet . Also leaked were three unheard original compositions; "Revenge", "Gone, Gone, Gone", and "Like a Flower" were recorded during the same sessions but did not feature on the final piece. The production and style of these three echoed that of the remainder of the album. An Italian and a Spanish version of the song "Like a Flower" were released by singer Laura Pausini in 2004 , although she partially kept the English lyrics for the chorus. "Has to Be", a bonus track on the Japan ese album-release, was originally intended for the original record. Madonna's insistence on the album only featuring thirteen tracks, mirroring the Kaballistic significance of the number thirteen, resulted in numerous Western fans never hearing the song; although it was on the b-side to the "Ray of Light" single. TRIVIA
PERSONNEL
PRODUCTION
CHARTS CERTIFICATIONS AWARDS The album won , Best Dance Recording , Best Music Video, Short Form , and Best Pop Vocal Album . |
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