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Ray of Light

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For the Michael Wong album, see Ray of Light (Michael Wong album).
Untitled

Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 2, 1998 by Maverick Records. The RIAA certified it Gold, Platinum & 2x platinum on April 22, 1998 & 4x platinum on March 16, 2000, denoting 4 million shipments in the United States - making it her fifth best-selling recording there. Worldwide, the album has sold over 16 million copies,[1] and is the 93rd best-selling album of all time, according to the United World Chart. In 1999, the album received three Grammy Awards including "Best Pop Vocal Album" and "Best Dance Recording".

Album history

The working title for this album was The Drowned World inspired by the novel by J. G. Ballard. It was primarily produced by Madonna, William Orbit and previous collaborator Patrick Leonard. The album featured a new musical direction for Madonna, as well as personal lyrics about motherhood, fame, and spirituality. The album is considered Madonna's comeback album.

Madonna began writing songs with Leonard in 1997, marking the first time the two had worked together since "I'll Remember", three years earlier. Unlike on her previous albums, Leonard's song writing collaborations were accompanied by very little studio input. Madonna believed that Leonard's production "would have lent the songs more of a Peter Gabriel vibe", a sound that she did not want for the album.[2]

Madonna began working on Ray of Light in May 1997, meeting with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, whom she had previously worked with on her 1994 album Bedtime Stories. The two wrote a couple of songs together before Madonna decided the collaborations were not going in the musical direction she wanted for the album. According to Edmonds the songs "had a 'Take a Bow-ish' kind of vibe and Madonna didn't want, or need, to repeat herself."[2] After abandoning the songs she had written with Edmonds, Madonna turned to musician Rick Nowels, who had previously co-written songs with Stevie Nicks and Celine Dion. The collaboration produced seven songs in three days, but did not display the album's future electronic musical direction.[3] Instead, Madonna took her collaborations with Nowels and Leonard to British electronic Music musician William Orbit. Madonna had been a fan of Orbit's work and loved the "sort of trancy, ambient quality" he gave to the songs he worked on.[4] She began working with Orbit after he had sent her tapes of musical snippets he was working on, which were usually eight or sixteen-bar phrases and stripped down versions of tracks that would later be heard on the album. Madonna would listen to the samples over and over again until she would be inspired to write lyrics. Once she had an idea about the lyrical direction of the song, she would take her ideas back to Orbit, who would expand on his musical ideas.[2]

The album was recorded over four and a half months in Los Angeles, California in 1997, the longest Madonna had ever worked on an album. For most of the recording process, only three other people were in the studio with Madonna: William Orbit, engineer Pat McCarthy, and his assistant engineer Matt Silva.[2] The recording process was initially plagued with machinery problems, as Orbit preferred to work with samples, synth sounds, and Pro Tools, and not with live musicians. The computers would break down, and recording would have to be delayed until they could be repaired. Orbit recorded the bulk of the album's instrumentation over the four month period. Orbit recalls playing the guitar and having his fingers bleed during the long hours he spent in the studio.[2] Madonna's vocals were much easier and quicker to record, as many of her vocal tracks were recorded in one take.[citation needed] After some errors in her pronunciation of Sanskrit shlokas on Ray of Light, the BBC, London, arranged for her to take telephonic lessons to learn the basic correct pronunciation of Sanskrit words from eminent scholar Dr B P T Vagish Shastri. She then made the necessary pronunciation corrections on the album.[5][6][7] When recording came to an end, producer Marius De Vries was brought into the recording process to add some finishing touches to the already recorded songs.[2]

A few years later, Madonna performed "Drowned World", "Ray Of Light", "Candy Perfume Girl", "Sky Fits Heaven", "Frozen" and "Mer Girl" on her 2001 Drowned World Tour.

Critical response and awards

Further information: [[:Madonna's achievements and awards]]
File:Madonnaorbitgrammyawards1999.jpg
William Orbit and Madonna accepting the Grammy Award for "Best Pop Album" in 1999.

Upon release, the album received positive responses from international music critics. Slant Magazine described the album as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s...Madonna hasn't been this emotionally candid since Like a Prayer." Roni Sarig, in a review for Amazon.com, stated that Ray of Light "is her richest, most accomplished record yet".[8] He was most impressed by Madonna's vocal range, depth, and clarity which had become stronger since her voice lessons for the film Evita (1996).American entertainment television channel E! praised the album for its lyrical depth saying, "Ray of Light is about as deep as a yoga stretch — which makes this load deeper than usual. If it took trendy spiritualism to get Madonna to make a good pop record, more (higher) power to her". E! was also impressed with producer William Orbit's "artful beeps and squawks...crunching guitars" and "dashes of Middle Eastern droning". In the review, Ray of Light was given an A-, one of the channel's highest honours for an album.[9] Rob Sheffield's review for Rolling Stone was mostly positive, but did point out the weak aspects of the album. Sheffield called the album "brilliant", but was critical of Orbit's production, stating that he "doesn't know enough tricks to fill a whole CD, so he repeats himself something fierce."[10] All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Ray of Light Madonna's "most adventurous record" and her "most mature and restrained album". In his review he gave the album four out of five stars.[11]

In 1999, Ray of Light won three Grammy Awards for "Best Dance Recording", "Best Pop Album" and "Best Recording Package", and was nominated for Record and Album of The Year. In addition the album's title track won a Grammy for "Best Short Form Music Video".[12] In 2002, VH1 viewers in the United Kingdom voted Ray of Light as the tenth greatest album of all time. That year Rolling Stone readers also voted the album as the twenty-ninth best recording ever. Later the magazine ranked Ray of Light at #363 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[13]

Track listing

# Title Composers Production credits Time
1. "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" Madonna, William Orbit, Rod McKuen, Anita Kerr, David Collins
contains a sample of "Why I Follow The Tigers" performed by the San Sebastian Strings		 Madonna and William Orbit 5:09
2. "Swim" Madonna, William Orbit Madonna and William Orbit 5:00
3. "Ray of Light" Madonna, William Orbit, Clive Muldoon, Dave Curtis, Christine Leach Madonna and William Orbit 5:21
4. "Candy Perfume Girl" Madonna, William Orbit, Susannah Melvoin Madonna and William Orbit 4:34
5. "Skin" Madonna, Patrick Leonard Madonna, William Orbit and Marius DeVries 6:22
6. "Nothing Really Matters" Madonna, Patrick Leonard Madonna, William Orbit and Marius DeVries 4:27
7. "Sky Fits Heaven" Madonna, Patrick Leonard Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard 4:48
8. "Shanti/Ashtangi" Madonna, William Orbit
Adapted from text by Shankra Charya, taken from the Yoga Taravali.
Additional text: Traditional, Translation by Vyass Houston and Eddie Stern		 Madonna and William Orbit 4:29
9. "Frozen" Madonna, Patrick Leonard Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard 6:12
10. "The Power of Good-Bye" Madonna, Rick Nowels Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard 4:10
11. "To Have and Not to Hold" Madonna, Rick Nowels Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard 5:23
12. "Little Star" Madonna, Rick Nowels Madonna and Marius DeVries 5:18
13. "Mer Girl" Madonna, William Orbit
contains an interpolation and elements from "Space" performed by Gabor Szabo		 Madonna and William Orbit 5:32
14. "Has to Be" (Japanese Bonus Track) 1 Madonna, William Orbit, Patrick Leonard Madonna and William Orbit 5:15

1 also available as the B-side to the "Ray of Light" single.

Singles

Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end

# Title Date
1. "Frozen" February 1998
2. "Ray of Light" May 1998
3. "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" August 1998 (Canada, Europe, Australia) / September 1998 (Japan)
4. "The Power of Good-Bye"/"Little Star" (UK/Canada) September 1998 (U.S.) / November 1998 (Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia)
5. "Nothing Really Matters" March 1999 (Europe, Australia) / April 1999 (U.S., Japan)

"Frozen", the lead single from the album, became Madonna's eighth number one single on the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100.[14] Co-written by Patrick Leonard, the song featured Madonna's vocals over layers of string arrangements and synthesizers. In 2005, a Belgian court ruled that the opening four-bar theme to the song was plagiarized from the song "Ma vie fout le camp", composed by Salvatore Acquaviva. The ruling forbid the sale of the single and the entire Ray of Light album, as well as other compilations that included the track in Belgium.[15]

The second single "Ray of Light", based on the track "Sepheryn" written by Clive Maldoon & Dave Curtis, featured a combination of high-energy techno sounds and electric guitar riffs. It debuted at No. 2 in the UK.[16] It reached the top 5 in the U.S.,[17] and was certified gold in both countries.[18][19] The song was also a dance hit in the U.S., remaining at number one for four weeks and became the top Hot Dance Club Play single of 1998.[17] The song was nominated for "Record of the Year" at the 1999 Grammy Awards, but lost to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".

"Drowned World/Substitute for Love" became the third release outside of North America and was a top-ten hit in the UK.[16] The music video, directed by Walter Stern, caused controversy due to scenes that featured Madonna being chased by paparazzi on motor-bikes, a scenario similar to Princess Diana's death in 1997.[20] The fourth single, "The Power of Good-Bye", a ballad reflecting on a painful breakup, became a modest chart success, peaking at number six in the UK and number eleven in the U.S.[17] It was released with in the UK with "Little Star", a song about Madonna's daughter, as an AA side.

"Nothing Really Matters", the fifth and final single release, became a top-ten hit in the UK, reaching number seven.[16] In the U.S. however, the song became Madonna's lowest charting single on the Hot 100, although it reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.[17] Its music video, directed by Johan Renck, was inspired by Arthur Golden's book Memoirs of a Geisha and featured Madonna dressed as a geisha.

Chart performance

Ray of Light debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 albums chart, where it sold 371,000 copies in its first week.[21] It was kept from the top spot by the soundtrack to the popular film Titanic (1997). On April 22 1998, almost two months after its release, the album was certified double platinum.[22] Since its release it has been certified four times platinum in the U.S., where after fifty-nine weeks, it descended from the top hundred.[18] In Canada the album debuted at number one, and has since been certified seven times platinum. It became Madonna's first album since Erotica in 1992 to reach the top position in Canada.[23]

In Australia, Ray of Light also debuted at number one, and became Madonna's seventh album to reach the top spot.[24] It has since been certified triple platinum. In Germany, the album reached number one and remained there for seven weeks, where it achieved triple platinum status.[25] It has since become Madonna's highest selling album in Germany. Ray of Light failed to reach the top position in France, managing to reach number two and remaining there for seven weeks. In France the album was also certified triple platinum.[26] In the United Kingdom, Ray of Light debuted at number one on the albums chart, remaining in the top spot for two weeks. In January 2003, the album was certified six times platinum.[19]

Certifications, peaks and sales

Country Peak position Certification (if any) Sales/shipments
Australia 1 3x Platinum[27] 210,000+
Austria 2 2x Platinum[28] 40,000+
Brazil 1 3x Platinum[29] 375,000+
Canada 1 7x Platinum[30] 700,000+
Denmark 2 5x Platinum[31] 200,000+
Finland 1 Platinum[32] 30,604+
France 2 3x Platinum[33] 925,000+[34]
Germany 1 3x Platinum[35] 1,500,000+
Netherlands 1 3x Platinum[36] 210,000+
New Zealand 1 Platinum/Gold*[37] 30,000+
Norway 1 2x Platinum[38] 60,000+
Poland 2x Platinum[39] 200,000+
Sweden 2 3x Platinum[40] 120,000+
Czech Republic 2 57 000+
Switzerland 1 3x Platinum[41] 150,000+
United Kingdom 1 6x Platinum[42] 1,800,000+
United States 2 4x Platinum[43] 3,800,000+[44]

Release details

All editions released by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records.
Release format Country Cat. No. Release date
Regular album United Kingdom/Germany 9362 26847-2 March 2, 1998
Limited edition album United Kingdom/Germany 9 46884-2 March 1998
Double-vinyl album United Kingdom/Germany 9362 46847-1 March 2, 1998
Cassette album [45] United Kingdom/Germany 9362 46847-4 March 2, 1998
Mini-disc album [46] United Kingdom/Germany 9362 46847-8 March 2, 1998
Regular album [47] North America 9 46847-2 March 3, 1998
Limited edition album [48] North America 9 46884-2 March 1998
Japanese album [49] Japan WPCR-2000 February 22, 1998
Japanese double album1 [50] Japan WPCR-10556/7 February 22, 1998
Japanese vinyl album [51] Japan WPJR-2003/4 February 1998

1 contains the regular album with a bonus disc titled "Words & Music", containing interviews.

Credits and personnel

See also

  • Unreleased Madonna songs — songs written and/or recorded by Madonna during the Ray of Light sessions that remain unreleased.

Notes

  1. ^ Madonna
  2. ^ a b c d e f Walter, Barry. Spin. "Most Daring In Years", April 1998.
  3. ^ Madonna-Online.ch. Discography — Ray of Light. Retrieved May 23, 2006.
  4. ^ Anderson, Gina. Madonna Village Reproducing Juice Magazine "Mystic Eyes", 1998. Retrieved May 23 2006.
  5. ^ Times of India
  6. ^ India
  7. ^ Across the Line's Classic Albums Retrieved May 23, 2006.
  8. ^ Roni Sarig reviews the album on Amazon.com. Retrieved August 1, 2007
  9. ^ E!. Review of Ray of Light". Retrieved April 23 2006.
  10. ^ Sheffield, Rob. MadonnaVillage.com. Quoting from Rolling Stone review of Ray of Light. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  11. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. All Music Guide. Review of Ray of Light. Retrieved April 23 2006.
  12. ^ Grammy Awards. Grammy Award Winners. Retrieved April 23 2006.
  13. ^ Rolling Stone. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Retrieved April 23 2006.
  14. ^ Singles Charts position in USA, UK, Japan, Canada and Australia. Retrieved August 1, 2007
  15. ^ USA Today. Songwriter wins case against Madonna. November 18 2005. Retrieved May 22 2006.
  16. ^ a b c The Official UK Charts Company Madonna — UK charts. Retrieved on August 3, 2007
  17. ^ a b c d Billboard magazine Madonna — charts and awards. Retrieved on August 3, 2007
  18. ^ a b US Certification organism (RIAA) searchable database Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  19. ^ a b Official UK certification organism Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  20. ^ "BBC News Entertainment". Madonna: Mad for Success at 40. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ MLVC.org — Madonna Information Report. Billboard Wrap-Up. May 23 1998. Retrieved May 22 2006.
  22. ^ AbsoluteMadonna.com. Gravelle, Maurice. Madonna Career Diary. 2004. Retrieved May 22 2006.
  23. ^ Canadian Certifications Searchable Database Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  24. ^ Australian Certification Organism (year 1999) Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  25. ^ Garman certification organism Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  26. ^ French certifications for 2001 Retrieved August 1, 2007.
  27. ^ ARIA
  28. ^ IFPI Austria
  29. ^ ABPD
  30. ^ CRIA
  31. ^ IFPI Denmark
  32. ^ IFPI Finland
  33. ^ Disque En France
  34. ^ DrownedMadonna
  35. ^ IFPI Germany
  36. ^ NVPI
  37. ^ RIANZ – April 4, 1999/November 28, 1999
  38. ^ IFPI Norway
  39. ^ ZPAV
  40. ^ IFPI Sweden – 2000 Certifications
  41. ^ IFPI Switzerland
  42. ^ BPI
  43. ^ Billboard – Ask Billboard
  44. ^ Billboard – Ask Billboard
  45. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/721760
  46. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/721476
  47. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/744586
  48. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/170752
  49. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/690466
  50. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/709005
  51. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/173868

References

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