#222 Madonna, 'Ray of Light' (1998)
Previously #367
Madonna really is a musical chameleon. On this record, she collaborated with English super producer, William Orbit, known for his work in the electronic music world. You’d be wrong to think that he restricted her to electronic pop, though. This album starts off with the slow, ambient song, ‘Drowned World/Substitute For Love,’ going into the guitar based ‘Swim.’ This song reminded me of Incubus’s ‘Drive’ for some reason (although it preceded it). I think it’s that the guitar is very generic late ‘90s alt-rock. The song builds into title track and massive hit, ‘Ray Of Light.’ An electronic, guitar-based pop song with hints of Groove Armada. None of those descriptors really go together, but this is Madonna. The song was inescapable in 1998. ‘Candy Perfume Girl’ could be a Garbage song, which makes sense, they were wildly popular at the time and were pioneers in fusing rock music with electronic elements. ‘Skin’ has elements of Drum & Bass and trance with Middle Eastern Instruments thrown in the background in amongst the beats. It’s all over the place, but Orbit manages to keep it all together in some wild tapestry of sounds. ‘Nothing Really Matters’ has elements of early ‘90s Madonna. The greatest departure on the record was also the first single, ‘Frozen.’ A pointed anti-love song over synths and beats. Another hit was next single, ‘The Power Of Goodbye,’ the most dramatic song, vocally, on the record.
It should be noted that Madonna’s voice on this record is unlike anything we’d heard from her on any previous albums. It’s more dramatic, more theatrical. Good reason for it – Madonna had just completed her role in ‘Evita,’ a role for which she received extensive theatrical vocal training. The album won 4 out of 6 Grammys and sold a staggering 16 million copies. The record is diverse, it’s groundbreaking and would go on to inspire artists like Adele, who said that this album was "one of the chief inspirations" for her album, ’25.’ When it comes to Madonna, this isn’t my favourite album. It’s a bit of a mouthful both musically and duration-wise. In small helpings, it’s great, though.
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