@@bennshoutsim so keen to the moment that you reach the Celebration Tour after all this journey. Dont know if you saw her live recently with that show, but need to know your thoughts of it
But it was already a song before she got it… William had already recorded a very similar version with another female artist … Madonna’s is still better
Ray of Light has to be one of the best, if not the best album if you think for example how the songs have been arranged. The album starts very slowly with mellow sounds and it gradually evolves into a spacey yoga club inferno. The almost watershed moment for the album is Shanti / Ashtangi which is a prayer or a mantra. I think that song is absolutely where it should be, it is the heart and soul of the whole album. For me that is. From that on the album gradually slows down again, leaving you exhausted, relaxed and sort of mentally awake at the same time. Love that you loved the production and her voice, and the songs too of course.
And yes, William Orbit's contribution and production on this album is a revelation. Check out his rendition of Barber's Adagio for strings, which also came out around the time of the Ray of Light success
Lately im thinking Ray of Light as a subtly oscure album. All the album has an underwater flavor, from sound palette, to themes, lyrics, song titles. She starts this journey (literally) drowned, swims to the shore and "saw a ray of light", from underwater. Could be, most probably, a symbolism for reborn, like a baptism, to go out from the water, there is some enlightment (Nothing Really Matters, Sky Fits Heaven) but ultimately, she ends this journey again drowning in Mer Girl. So she had the chance to see the light, but ultimately she could not reach it. The birth of her daughter was an enlightment moment, but she could not totally open her hearth (the Hearth saga at the finale, Frozen, Power, to Have) and is still haunted by the ghost of her mother. Her darkest fear that aparts her from the light. That is an interpretation from this album. I think, given the material taken from this on her more recent, open self-conceptually works (Tears of a Clown, Celebration) that she has chased and reconciliated with that ghost, after becoming the mother that she, maybe, feared to be at the time of Ray of Light. Nothing Really Matters becoming and reaching hymn status. Ray of Light flashing her trascendence. Power of Goodbye becoming the curtain of her life story Maybe this is just babble, but i think has some sense
Ok so for context: Madonna's star was on the rise from 1982, but her Imperial phase arguably started with her VMA Like a Virgin wedding cake moment in 1984, and ended in 1992 when the Erotica music video and SEX book were released, plunging her into her Dark Ages, which lasted until 1998 when Frozen was released. While stans stayed with her for the ride, mainstream public backlash from Erotica stayed strong right through Bedtime Stories. Something to Remember was released with very little promotion and barely made a dent to change her image. Evita was on at the movies but only Madonna stans or musical theatre lovers saw it. BUT - With Frozen, Madonna was INSTANTLY welcomed back by the mainstream. It was played constantly on the radio. She was suddenly credible, popular, and embraced. She was everywhere in pop culture again, and it was cool to like her again. Billed as "the second coming, the Maternal Girl" it truly changed public opinion in her favour, which would last until 2003's American Life.
This is a bit of an overstatement. The backlash died down quite a bit by 1995. BS and STR were very successful. "I'll Remember," "Secret," "Take a Bow," and "You'll See" all helped revive her career and image. And we know how huge TAB was in the U.S. There was lots of promo for STR. Tons of videos and interviews. ROL was absolutely a rebirth, but I'm guessing you're in Europe because the singles didn't do as well in the U.S. as the ones from 1994/1995.
Australia. And there wasn't tons of promo for STR. It was actually the original "album drop" with no pre-promotion. Madonna herself said she wanted the music to speak for itself. One day I went into the record store, and it was just there. Plus I don't remember much coverage of her in the music magazines throughout that period. Other than the gay clubs she wasn't getting much radio play. She was no longer everywhere dominating news headlines. Even though the songs you mentioned all went top 10 in Australia too, that was because of her stan fans, not casual mainstream ones, just like the singles Erotica, Rain, and Deeper and Deeper went top 10 in US, but not because of casual fans. I forgot Take A Bow did so well in America but I think that was because it was on Friends finale, not because it was her. @FindingMadonna
@@zanyzander Yes, she wanted people to focus on the music, but that didn't mean there wasn't promo. It sold 10M worldwide because Warner marketed the heck out of it. She did a LOT of television and print interviews (I taped them all and collected all of the magazines) and (in Europe) she even did some live performances for STR. Maybe there wasn't much Australian promo, but there were videos for all THREE of the new songs. She didn't even do that for The Immaculate Collection. And stans could not (and still can't) make a song go Top 10 all on their own, in any country. "Take a Bow" aired on Friends months after it went #1. The song was popular because it was great and *she* was still popular. Even before that, "I'll Remember" was #2 for a full month. One of her biggest hits since "Vogue." And "Secret" went Top 5 as well. Bedtime Stories sold 8M worldwide. ROL did even better, but to say she wasn't credible, popular, or embraced in the years leading up to it is just inaccurate.
True art happens when the artist leaps into unknown. This was definitely Madonna’s riskiest leap. I remember playing it for the first time on a hot day in early 1998, I was 17 and could not describe what I was feeling as I listened. I could only keep listening and enjoying the multi layered sounds coming out from my headphones. This was probably one of the last times a major mainstream pop artist delved into experimental sounds that sold millions and became a classic
Hi Ben, I remember your first reaction to this album and immediately started following you. So glad you decided to do a complete retrospective of her music and career - has been a fantastic journey and seeing everything through your ears and eyes :) - I really hope Madonna's appearance and live performances on Oprah are included. IMO one of her most incredible live vocal moments. Oh, and for more context, I believe this is the first album that reflects her involvement in Kabbalah (her evolution of spirituality). You will see her wearing a red string bracelet to ward of evil and misfortune.
You are so adorable I love you. You’re so respectful to us fans and it’s so appreciated. You seem like such a “lover of music” which is evident when there’s tears in your eyes. You know this album means so much to a lot of us fans and for me, I clung to this album for YEARS because I had so little in my life. ROL was my own ray of light - a glimmer of hope to listen to, dream to, a voice to take me home. It was unlike anything I had heard and Madonna singing these stories and journeys transported me to a different place. It saved me.
Great revisit review! I am a big Madonna fan since Like A Virgin, and this album still stands as her best. People hate me saying this but I was hugely disappointed by her Bedtime Stories album because she used many star producers of that era to create such a hit record and I felt she was still trying so hard to be a hit maker with the star producers. Well, I was happy for her that she got one of her biggest hits single with Babyface. But with Ray of Light, she really got to look at herself again and deconstruct/reconstruct herself and her music with an unknown producer of that time. (Well, I already knew his name by then because of the Orbit Mix of Erotica in her remix EP) I still go back to this album often as well as her 80s pop albums.
There are SO MANY demos and songs that didn’t make the album that are worth listening to: Gone Gone Gone, Revenge, Has To Be, Like A Flower, Little Girl… her wisest and greatest era ever. Love ROL so much. ❤️
I'm sure that the ROL demo assembly will be included as part of the Ma-Journey. Ryan who has been curating this journey has done an incredible job of including all the goodies that fans love. ❤❤
YES FINALLY YOU MADE IT TO THE RAY OF LIGHT ERA!!! I have been binge watching your deep dives cause i love the points you bring up and watching how your opinion has shifted to when you started from her first record to being a whole stan! My fave era you reacted to was Bedtime Stories! That is my fave era as well!🩵 Wait till you dive into the music videos and interviews for Ray of Light era! They are all great! You’ll love em! Keep the dive going!💖
@@wcrash9361 Actually it was William Orbit who produced Ray of Ligth. Mirwais was part of "Music". But also colaborated in American Life and Confessions
The start of the Veronica Electronica Years. (Veronica is her Catholic confirmation name and this was a name first thought about for the album also considered was the title "Mantra" Later she talked about possibly releasing "some of the more weird, tripped out shit from the ROL sessions under this name. She revealed this in the cover story interview with Q magazine. The magazine absolutely raved about the pre release listen they had of the album. This was the first official photo session we had seen of M since Evita and the first look at the hippie/new age image.) A little bit of interesting stuff about your fave track Nothing really matters is that at the start the sort of electronic stuttering sound you hear in the first few seconds is actually the sound of the DAT tape sticking and the machine glitching. William Orbit and M decided that they wanted to leave the noise on the track because it sounded weird and interesting. Marius De Vries who was brought in by M to add his touch to some of the tracks a few weeks into the recording sessions thought that they were both mad! She had previously worked with Marius on the BS album. Also now for fans we can't hear NRM without thinking about the incredible opening of the Celebration Tour. ❤❤
Great to see you react to this again. Phenomenal album Have to agree - the 4-8-12 tracks the lesser moments on the album (although CPG has it's a more unique appeal). Sky Fits Heaven and Skin are standouts. Frozen and Power of Goodbye are the best all-rounders. Gotta love Ray of Light as a upbeat powerhouse of a song, especially juxtaposed to other songs at that time (Uninvited, Iris, Karma Police). Fun Fact: the day the album was released, a NY radio station played the whole thing. Was in a car with friends driving out to a party on Long Island and we couldn't believe how much she went with the electronic vibe :)
Check out the Sasha Remix Edit of Sky Fits Heaven, its quite good. Amazing song. Also, look up "Has to Be", it was a cut track from this album that was released in some countries, it's beautiful.
Her voice and the production are stunning on this album, it's godlike. One of the best pop album of all time and one of the best album of all time altogether.
GREAT reaction!👏👏👏 *Frozen* is my all-time favorite song! 🥰 I was hoping you'd listen to the Japanese version, which includes the ethereal *'Has To Be,* ' also included as a B-side to the 'Ray of Light' single. Additionally, the ROL era has some of the _best remixes_ of Madonna's career! They even produced four amazing official remix videos that you have to react to: - Frozen (Stereo MC's Remix) - Frozen (Victor Calderone Remix) [Dan-O-Rama Remix Video] - Nothing Really Matters (Dan-O-Rama Video Mix) - Ray Of Light (Sasha Ultra Violet Remix Edit)
What I love about this album is that it's so like the concept albums from back in the 70's. It's not just a bunch singles thrown together, its a journey.
Sky fits heaven deserved to be a single! Timeless and epic!!! The power of goodbye also deserved more love. WAY more love. My fave single by Madonna with Ghosttown ❤
@@bennshouts Skin was going to be the next single. That upsets me knowing we could have had a single and video and live performances of it. They would have been wild!
Mer girl is the saddest song ever written, it’s perfect. I think once you understand what the songs are it’ll hit you. Has to be is ray of light bonus track you forgot
Yeah I went back and read the meaning from my first react (which I forgot haha), so I think if I went back in with the know it might hit harder, I just think it's SO different to the rest of the album production wise, it's easy to just glaze over it, yknow?
@@bennshoutsI find that when I’m anxious, needing gidiance and healing I listen to this album. It puts everything in perspective. How precious life is. Losing her mum impacted her career so much
You need to listen "Has to be" and "Arioso" the first one was released as a bonus track only in Japan, it's available for everybody though and the latter is a demo, let me tell you, you will feel so many emotions. Btw, Gone, gone gone and Revenge are two demos you wil enjoy as well.
Not sure if you have seen the videos to this album but if you love nothing really matters now you will love it even more after watching the video! Amazing!
You don't remember many things from that album because it's sonically not very different from what we know now, but back then in 1998,..... picture it :D NOTHING had been there that resembled what you would hear on ROL. I listened to many genres and songs, electronic, rock and rap and rnb, but that was a mixture of everything. It was created for the new millennium, and we were on the brink of living with mobile phones, interconnectedness and the internet. It was the perfect timing. I remember listening to that album over and over on my disc-man that would always skip while I took it with me cycling around and wishing and imagining to be somewhere else,... being gay and all.
at the time I thought madonna had heard björk's homogenic and said to her producers "I want something like that" that was obviously a high estimate since I was a björk aficionado
Definitely an album you listen to start to finish. It's number 3 on my ranking even though I hardly ever listen to it, but it's just such a masterpiece that I couldn't place it lower.
I love the contrast between this and her next album MUSIC which has alot of electronic tracks but a handful of them have her voice stripped down with no effects and an acoustic guitar and she sounds angelic.
That person was so rude! Dude, you have an awesome smile and great teeth. I'm not toothless but you have one of those "lights up a room" smiles. Made me happy! I wasn't thinking you needed a makeover. Smh! Okay, this album is so incredible. I understand any misgivings about the songs you picked out. If you listen to the album as many times as I have you will learn the words to Candy Perfume Girl and might love it as a stand alone. I learned the words to Shanti / Ashtangi which is a blend of Sanskrit and English according to a site I just looked at. It grew to like it. I think Mer Girl is about her mother, a recurring theme across albums. It is a very deep song. Her mother's passing affected her greatly even though she was 5 years old. One of if not Madonna's best albums to this day. So many awesome songs, but this one keeps a thread running. It's supposed to be a spiritual and introspective album. Watch Madonna perform Ray of Light on Oprah in 1998 live. It is incredible and I like it better than the album version. Cheers!
One of the greatest albums of ALL TIME!!!!!!! Madonna is still the blueprint - still the ultimate queen of pop. Highest selling female artist & most successful female artist of all time. 4 decades of domination in pop music. Reinvention after reinvention. She is queen. Confessions & Erotica are her other masterpieces in my opinion … but also her album Like A Prayer is considered a classic as well
Thank you for acknowledging that Nothing Really Matters is really the best track on the album. A mix of electronica (as it was called at the time) and house, it is perfection. Hands down, my favourite track, despite disagreement amongst my queer peers.
It's a fantastic album and as a piece of work on the whole I think it's her best, but I do agree about Candy Perfume Girl, Shanti and Mer Girl (I like Little Star), they're filler tracks to me, but still work within the album itself and do add to the album as a whole piece of work. Very intrigued by what you'll make of the much more pop Music album. And confession, I have a feeling that one will be your favourite.
Love your journey… longest journey EVER lol, but still so much fun!! A super interesting fact is that when Madonna was in the studio recording the song Swim, Donatella Versace called her and told her that Gianni had been killed. Donatella, Gianni, Madonna and her brother Christopher were all super close, so after Madonna got the news, she finished recording the song and then flew to Miami to be with Donatella. I feel like that probably influenced how she sang that song, but probably also influenced how she finished the album. Mer girl is so haunting
Substitute For Love, if I'm not mistaken, was written about her fame and how she treated it as a substitute for love. Anyway, this was released in 1998. The year before, Kylie Minogue released Impossible Princess, and Dannii Minogue released Girl. Ray Of Light, to me, felt like a combination of the best bits of both Minogue albums. Oh and did you know that Ray Of Light is techincally a cover? The original is from the 70s by Curtiss Muldoon.
so weird, i loooved nothing really matters and the video to it. but never had the album around that time, so i bought it at a vintage store in my home town in 2006 . substitude for love was a song that used to hear to fall asleep, it really is beautiful. but i also read setphen kings desperation at that time and the album really fits with this book. so actually i was listenig to this album the whole time i was reading taht book and created a microcosm. and mer girl is very interesting. i always imagined ia was laying in the middle of the strert in my home town, and you can only hear the traffic far away, like in the beginning of the song(or story telling) i know it all sounds like weird shit but that is what the album did to me. btw you still a cutie. whoops
We need a supercut of every time you said "stunning." 😆 I mostly agree with your picks for the weakest tracks. "Candy Perfume Girl" stands out, but I would keep it because the production is sick. The album needed something gritty and trip-hoppy. And while "Mer Girl" isn't a song I seek out, it's an essential part of the album and her discography. As for "Little Star," I like the production but the lyrics are a bit cheesy. I understand that having a "baby" song on this album was important, but she kind of addresses that topic on "Drowned World" and "Nothing Really Matters." So that leaves "Shanti." It's always been a skip for me unless I'm listening to the album all the way through. There are fans who find "To Have and Not to Hold" boring, but I think it's lovely. It was actually the song that replaced "Has to Be," which is one of my favorites and ended up on the B-side to ROL. So, that's a long way of saying I would have replaced "Shanti" or LS with HTB. She could have included those as B-sides. HTB would have made a fantastic final song that was a little more hopeful, and then MG could have maybe been a "hidden track," which was popular in the 90s on CDs.
This album is her finest, imv, because it takes you on a spirital and emotional journey and because it's a soundscape of textures and beautiful vocals. Madonna was a changed woman after the birth of her child, so "Little Star" has an important role in the album. The final song is about her dead mother who still haunts Madonna.
A fan here of 40 years this does feel like her peak helped by William Orbit who produced this album. Every time I listen it takes me back to my mid 20s great times
To Have and Not To Hold is the only track I would lose and replace with Has To Be (bonus track on Japanese edition) which works great storywise after Power of Goodbye. (I'm one of the few who like Shanti lol.) In fact now I've said that I'm heading to Spotify to make that playlist.
Wow after listening to it in the place of To Have Not Hold it fits amazingly! She sings about letting go of a bad relationship in Power of Goodbye, then about the hope of there being someone out there for her (Has to Be) in a prayerful way, and then with track Little Star following it, it's like the loved one she was looking for is not a man, but her daughter! ("God gave a present to me, made of flesh and bones, my life, my soul, you make my spirit whole.") @bennshouts
More of a trip hop influence than Bjork specifically who also had trip hop sensibility and influence. You can see some of that influence as far back as Justify My Love. Madonna worked with Nellee Hooper for a reason. He’s a pioneer of that genre.
Ray of light sold 16 million albums worldwide. Won 4 Grammys. Ray of light reached no 5 in the USA and Australia 🇦🇺 Frozen peaked at no. 2 in the USA and no.6 in Australia 🇦🇺 Drowned world peaked at no.16 in Australia Power of goodbye peaked at no.11 in USA 🇺🇸 and no.33 in Australia 🇦🇺 Nothing really matters peaked at 93 in the USA 🇺🇸 and no.15 in Australia 🇦🇺
@@skurinskiDefinitely. This was the start of a period of time when she was much more successful both in record sales and critically in Europe than in the US. ❤❤
Always love your reactions but I don’t quite understand the idea of rating tracks on a concept album as either bangers or not. Just that while I agree that Candy Perfume girl, Ashanti and Little Star and Mer Girl aren’t bangers I also don’t think calling them Duds is quite right (actually I kinda love Candy Perfume Girl, particularly the lyric ‘young velvet porcelain boy’). To me they are bridging tracks, and you can’t get from one section of the album to another without them. iIts kinda like watching a movie and deleting every scene that’s not action. If you do that it might be more exciting but you lose important context and storyline. Anyways just my thoughts, I still luv the reaction.
Hehe thank you! And totally get cha, I suppose I’ve still gotta say what I don’t vibe with tho 😂 While its a concept, they’re still songs I deleted haha! I get them and appreciate but they kinda ruin the album play through for me 🫣 Duds probably harsh but hey, I’m harsh at times haha - I did say their prod is still good! Just not my vibe ❤️❤️
Is Skin an ode to her friends and lovers who passed away during the AIDS pandemic of the mid 80s to early 90s? In the vain of Pray for Spanish Eyes, In This Life, Live to Tell etc. any more?
Many of the demo songs were better than some of the albums. Many of the discarded songs were given to Kylie Minogue, Laura Pausini, Sophie Ellis Bexstor and Ricky Martin for their albums
Back in the days I wasn't a Madonna fan. Didn't like her girly whiny voice and her pop glamour image. She then released 'Like a prayer' album and I began to pay attention. And then came 'Ray of Light'. Her voice had become more mature, she never looked so beautiful, the experimental sound, deeply spiritual lyrics and overall production were just superb. The rest is history, the album went no1 in 20 countries, sold 20 millions copies and won numerous awards. It's her masterpiece.
I will say this until I die, to hear the caliber of this woman’s work, and to think a over bloated, white bread singer like Taylor Swift could ever surpass Madonna in Grammy’s is diabolical. My mind just can’t comprehend how she has never won record or album of the year, blows my mind.😮
@@bennshouts -Lol, yeah got a bit heated just thinking,now that I’m re-visiting this album with you, and how brilliant and ahead of her time,she’s always been, that someone like Swift, is being talked up like she in the same league some how.Swift is talented enough for her fan base, but Madonna has just never been truly given the accolades and recognition she’s actually earned. Loved your re-examining this brilliant album with fresh insight. ;)
Kylie Vibes? No Kylie is giving Madonna vibes! This was two years before Fever which was Kylie’s big return in the States at least. Light Years was awesome too but Ray of Light was also before that.
If you’d cut that awful hair and remove that weird mustache you would actually be a little cute
Wow. Way to be a jerk.
if u shut keep that little hole on your face that u call mouth shut you would actually be a little CUTE💓
What a hideous thing to say!
lol, comment sections never fail to entertain. He looks fine.
pinning this comment @bennshouts, you are a true and handsome king!!!
This album was a cultural reset. Iconic.
Music was so sophisticated then. What on earth happened? We had Brit Pop! Alternative rock!
Sky Fits Heaven is a full on spiritual journey
One of the best albums of the 90’s
She opened her Celebration Tour with Nothing Really Matters which was a PERFECT choice for her career retrospective tour.
YESSSSS
@@bennshoutsim so keen to the moment that you reach the Celebration Tour after all this journey. Dont know if you saw her live recently with that show, but need to know your thoughts of it
She hasnt come to Aus yet 😂
I still can listen to this album, without skipping one song. It's a journey, from beginning to end. Experimental and poetic. Frozen is sublime!
Ray Of Light is one of Madonna's magnum opus. She brought electronica to mainstream American pop, with heartfelt and vulnerable lyrics
It’s awesome that she really does have more than one doesn’t she?
But it was already a song before she got it… William had already recorded a very similar version with another female artist … Madonna’s is still better
Mer Girl took me years to appreciate, but it's SUBLIME.
It’s so damn dark and sounds so light at the same time.
Ray of Light has to be one of the best, if not the best album if you think for example how the songs have been arranged. The album starts very slowly with mellow sounds and it gradually evolves into a spacey yoga club inferno. The almost watershed moment for the album is Shanti / Ashtangi which is a prayer or a mantra. I think that song is absolutely where it should be, it is the heart and soul of the whole album. For me that is. From that on the album gradually slows down again, leaving you exhausted, relaxed and sort of mentally awake at the same time. Love that you loved the production and her voice, and the songs too of course.
Love this take on the album!!
And yes, William Orbit's contribution and production on this album is a revelation. Check out his rendition of Barber's Adagio for strings, which also came out around the time of the Ray of Light success
yesssss finally the re-reaction we’ve been waiting for 😭💚
YESSSSSSS
Her GOAT album.
Lately im thinking Ray of Light as a subtly oscure album.
All the album has an underwater flavor, from sound palette, to themes, lyrics, song titles.
She starts this journey (literally) drowned, swims to the shore and "saw a ray of light", from underwater. Could be, most probably, a symbolism for reborn, like a baptism, to go out from the water, there is some enlightment (Nothing Really Matters, Sky Fits Heaven) but ultimately, she ends this journey again drowning in Mer Girl.
So she had the chance to see the light, but ultimately she could not reach it.
The birth of her daughter was an enlightment moment, but she could not totally open her hearth (the Hearth saga at the finale, Frozen, Power, to Have) and is still haunted by the ghost of her mother.
Her darkest fear that aparts her from the light.
That is an interpretation from this album. I think, given the material taken from this on her more recent, open self-conceptually works (Tears of a Clown, Celebration) that she has chased and reconciliated with that ghost, after becoming the mother that she, maybe, feared to be at the time of Ray of Light.
Nothing Really Matters becoming and reaching hymn status. Ray of Light flashing her trascendence. Power of Goodbye becoming the curtain of her life story
Maybe this is just babble, but i think has some sense
Not babble, very nice thoughts, loved reading it all, thank you! ❤️💙💙❤️❤️
Ok so for context: Madonna's star was on the rise from 1982, but her Imperial phase arguably started with her VMA Like a Virgin wedding cake moment in 1984, and ended in 1992 when the Erotica music video and SEX book were released, plunging her into her Dark Ages, which lasted until 1998 when Frozen was released. While stans stayed with her for the ride, mainstream public backlash from Erotica stayed strong right through Bedtime Stories. Something to Remember was released with very little promotion and barely made a dent to change her image. Evita was on at the movies but only Madonna stans or musical theatre lovers saw it. BUT - With Frozen, Madonna was INSTANTLY welcomed back by the mainstream. It was played constantly on the radio. She was suddenly credible, popular, and embraced. She was everywhere in pop culture again, and it was cool to like her again. Billed as "the second coming, the Maternal Girl" it truly changed public opinion in her favour, which would last until 2003's American Life.
Couldn’t have said it better! My exact observations.
Perfect context for the casual fans.
This is a bit of an overstatement. The backlash died down quite a bit by 1995. BS and STR were very successful. "I'll Remember," "Secret," "Take a Bow," and "You'll See" all helped revive her career and image. And we know how huge TAB was in the U.S. There was lots of promo for STR. Tons of videos and interviews. ROL was absolutely a rebirth, but I'm guessing you're in Europe because the singles didn't do as well in the U.S. as the ones from 1994/1995.
Australia. And there wasn't tons of promo for STR. It was actually the original "album drop" with no pre-promotion. Madonna herself said she wanted the music to speak for itself. One day I went into the record store, and it was just there. Plus I don't remember much coverage of her in the music magazines throughout that period. Other than the gay clubs she wasn't getting much radio play. She was no longer everywhere dominating news headlines. Even though the songs you mentioned all went top 10 in Australia too, that was because of her stan fans, not casual mainstream ones, just like the singles Erotica, Rain, and Deeper and Deeper went top 10 in US, but not because of casual fans. I forgot Take A Bow did so well in America but I think that was because it was on Friends finale, not because it was her. @FindingMadonna
@@zanyzander Yes, she wanted people to focus on the music, but that didn't mean there wasn't promo. It sold 10M worldwide because Warner marketed the heck out of it. She did a LOT of television and print interviews (I taped them all and collected all of the magazines) and (in Europe) she even did some live performances for STR. Maybe there wasn't much Australian promo, but there were videos for all THREE of the new songs. She didn't even do that for The Immaculate Collection. And stans could not (and still can't) make a song go Top 10 all on their own, in any country. "Take a Bow" aired on Friends months after it went #1. The song was popular because it was great and *she* was still popular. Even before that, "I'll Remember" was #2 for a full month. One of her biggest hits since "Vogue." And "Secret" went Top 5 as well. Bedtime Stories sold 8M worldwide. ROL did even better, but to say she wasn't credible, popular, or embraced in the years leading up to it is just inaccurate.
One of her BEST albums, from start to finish, every song was just beautifully done
💙💙💙
True art happens when the artist leaps into unknown. This was definitely Madonna’s riskiest leap. I remember playing it for the first time on a hot day in early 1998, I was 17 and could not describe what I was feeling as I listened. I could only keep listening and enjoying the multi layered sounds coming out from my headphones. This was probably one of the last times a major mainstream pop artist delved into experimental sounds that sold millions and became a classic
Hi Ben, I remember your first reaction to this album and immediately started following you. So glad you decided to do a complete retrospective of her music and career - has been a fantastic journey and seeing everything through your ears and eyes :) - I really hope Madonna's appearance and live performances on Oprah are included. IMO one of her most incredible live vocal moments. Oh, and for more context, I believe this is the first album that reflects her involvement in Kabbalah (her evolution of spirituality). You will see her wearing a red string bracelet to ward of evil and misfortune.
Aww thank you for being here for the ride! Cant wait to see what’s to come 😍
16 year old me knew Sky fits heaven was the best pop song ever produced. I havent changed my mind since then. By far, her best album.
You had taste!!!
The Majourney is back! 😊 Great reaction to a wonderful album - thanks ❤
💙💙💙
You are so adorable I love you. You’re so respectful to us fans and it’s so appreciated. You seem like such a “lover of music” which is evident when there’s tears in your eyes. You know this album means so much to a lot of us fans and for me, I clung to this album for YEARS because I had so little in my life. ROL was my own ray of light - a glimmer of hope to listen to, dream to, a voice to take me home. It was unlike anything I had heard and Madonna singing these stories and journeys transported me to a different place. It saved me.
Aww thank you so much! And I’m so glad ROL was there for you, like it was for so many 😭❤️
My all time favorite album of any artist. It doesn’t get any better than this masterpiece of an album.
Sky Fits Heaven also one of my FAVOURITES!!! Should have been a single.
Skin was going to be the next single and that one hurts me that it almost was a single. However Sky Fits Heaven would have been great too.
The remixes are amazing too. Should have been a single
Great revisit review! I am a big Madonna fan since Like A Virgin, and this album still stands as her best. People hate me saying this but I was hugely disappointed by her Bedtime Stories album because she used many star producers of that era to create such a hit record and I felt she was still trying so hard to be a hit maker with the star producers. Well, I was happy for her that she got one of her biggest hits single with Babyface.
But with Ray of Light, she really got to look at herself again and deconstruct/reconstruct herself and her music with an unknown producer of that time. (Well, I already knew his name by then because of the Orbit Mix of Erotica in her remix EP) I still go back to this album often as well as her 80s pop albums.
There are SO MANY demos and songs that didn’t make the album that are worth listening to: Gone Gone Gone, Revenge, Has To Be, Like A Flower, Little Girl… her wisest and greatest era ever. Love ROL so much. ❤️
I'm sure that the ROL demo assembly will be included as part of the Ma-Journey. Ryan who has been curating this journey has done an incredible job of including all the goodies that fans love. ❤❤
@@robertfraser9873 thank you. It's good to hear that I've been doing a good job. I appreciate it. - Ryan
@@themindfulwitch996of course you do!!
YES FINALLY YOU MADE IT TO THE RAY OF LIGHT ERA!!! I have been binge watching your deep dives cause i love the points you bring up and watching how your opinion has shifted to when you started from her first record to being a whole stan!
My fave era you reacted to was Bedtime Stories! That is my fave era as well!🩵
Wait till you dive into the music videos and interviews for Ray of Light era! They are all great! You’ll love em! Keep the dive going!💖
Aww thank you! Love that you’ve been here for so long!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
So keen to see what is to come now!!!
Don't miss her single "Beautiful Stranger" which comes before her album "Music" ;)
And “Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazón)” with Ricky Martin ☝🏾
and Time Stood Still
Madge worked with William Orbit on this one … and so it‘s his influence you‘re hearing/feeling.
Incredible
@@wcrash9361 Actually it was William Orbit who produced Ray of Ligth. Mirwais was part of "Music". But also colaborated in American Life and Confessions
@@wcrash9361 No, this was William Orbit. Mirwais came two years later for Music, back again for American Life, and a good chunk of Madame X
The start of the Veronica Electronica Years.
(Veronica is her Catholic confirmation name and this was a name first thought about for the album also considered was the title "Mantra" Later she talked about possibly releasing "some of the more weird, tripped out shit from the ROL sessions under this name. She revealed this in the cover story interview with Q magazine. The magazine absolutely raved about the pre release listen they had of the album. This was the first official photo session we had seen of M since Evita and the first look at the hippie/new age image.)
A little bit of interesting stuff about your fave track Nothing really matters is that at the start the sort of electronic stuttering sound you hear in the first few seconds is actually the sound of the DAT tape sticking and the machine glitching. William Orbit and M decided that they wanted to leave the noise on the track because it sounded weird and interesting. Marius De Vries who was brought in by M to add his touch to some of the tracks a few weeks into the recording sessions thought that they were both mad! She had previously worked with Marius on the BS album.
Also now for fans we can't hear NRM without thinking about the incredible opening of the Celebration Tour. ❤❤
Omg what a comment! Thank you for this 😭😭❤️❤️❤️ Especially the info on NRM! When stuff like that happens… fate!!!!!
Great to see you react to this again. Phenomenal album Have to agree - the 4-8-12 tracks the lesser moments on the album (although CPG has it's a more unique appeal). Sky Fits Heaven and Skin are standouts. Frozen and Power of Goodbye are the best all-rounders. Gotta love Ray of Light as a upbeat powerhouse of a song, especially juxtaposed to other songs at that time (Uninvited, Iris, Karma Police). Fun Fact: the day the album was released, a NY radio station played the whole thing. Was in a car with friends driving out to a party on Long Island and we couldn't believe how much she went with the electronic vibe :)
Right?! So odd but makes sense pattern wise!
And omg what a memory to have with this album 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️
I am going to put this entire album in a jukebox one day!
Check out the Sasha Remix Edit of Sky Fits Heaven, its quite good. Amazing song. Also, look up "Has to Be", it was a cut track from this album that was released in some countries, it's beautiful.
Probably the best album ever, production-wise. Seriously.
Her voice and the production are stunning on this album, it's godlike. One of the best pop album of all time and one of the best album of all time altogether.
Truly!
And she will never get the credit she deserves. Unfortunately!
GREAT reaction!👏👏👏
*Frozen* is my all-time favorite song! 🥰
I was hoping you'd listen to the Japanese version, which includes the ethereal *'Has To Be,* ' also included as a B-side to the 'Ray of Light' single.
Additionally, the ROL era has some of the _best remixes_ of Madonna's career!
They even produced four amazing official remix videos that you have to react to:
- Frozen (Stereo MC's Remix)
- Frozen (Victor Calderone Remix) [Dan-O-Rama Remix Video]
- Nothing Really Matters (Dan-O-Rama Video Mix)
- Ray Of Light (Sasha Ultra Violet Remix Edit)
i clicked on this video to see your reaction to sky fits heaven and i feel so validated, it’s my favorite song from the album!
YESSSSSS
What I love about this album is that it's so like the concept albums from back in the 70's. It's not just a bunch singles thrown together, its a journey.
Yesssss
Sky fits heaven deserved to be a single! Timeless and epic!!! The power of goodbye also deserved more love. WAY more love. My fave single by Madonna with Ghosttown ❤
Cannot believe it wasnt?!?
@@bennshouts Skin was going to be the next single. That upsets me knowing we could have had a single and video and live performances of it. They would have been wild!
Mer girl is the saddest song ever written, it’s perfect. I think once you understand what the songs are it’ll hit you. Has to be is ray of light bonus track you forgot
Yeah I went back and read the meaning from my first react (which I forgot haha), so I think if I went back in with the know it might hit harder, I just think it's SO different to the rest of the album production wise, it's easy to just glaze over it, yknow?
Mer Girl is about her running away from the memory of her Mother's death. ❤❤
@@bennshoutsI find that when I’m anxious, needing gidiance and healing I listen to this album. It puts everything in perspective. How precious life is. Losing her mum impacted her career so much
You need to listen "Has to be" and "Arioso" the first one was released as a bonus track only in Japan, it's available for everybody though and the latter is a demo, let me tell you, you will feel so many emotions. Btw, Gone, gone gone and Revenge are two demos you wil enjoy as well.
Thank you!!
Arioso is from the Music sessions.
@@FindingMadonnaYour right that and Little girl that someone mentioned. ❤❤
27:54 Madonna said that this song was inspired by Bossa Nova vibes from Brazil 🇧🇷
I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this posted today! ❤❤❤
Yaayyyy!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Not sure if you have seen the videos to this album but if you love nothing really matters now you will love it even more after watching the video! Amazing!
Watching them next 😍
Yay. The re-reaction! The next two albums are wild btw. More concepts to explore! Just wait!
So keen!!!
You don't remember many things from that album because it's sonically not very different from what we know now, but back then in 1998,..... picture it :D NOTHING had been there that resembled what you would hear on ROL. I listened to many genres and songs, electronic, rock and rap and rnb, but that was a mixture of everything. It was created for the new millennium, and we were on the brink of living with mobile phones, interconnectedness and the internet. It was the perfect timing. I remember listening to that album over and over on my disc-man that would always skip while I took it with me cycling around and wishing and imagining to be somewhere else,... being gay and all.
HAHA i love this!!!
at the time I thought madonna had heard björk's homogenic and said to her producers "I want something like that" that was obviously a high estimate since I was a björk aficionado
Definitely an album you listen to start to finish. It's number 3 on my ranking even though I hardly ever listen to it, but it's just such a masterpiece that I couldn't place it lower.
YESSSS! Exactly what I was trying to say haha
Great reaction. Please listen to the bonus track “Has to Be”. It’s another stunner and I would have replaced Mer Girl with it
I can't believe that I found someone who appreciated Sky Fits Heaven ❤
It's my most listened Madonna song
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ yessss
I'm so glad you went back to this album after starting from the beginning of Madonna's career, you clearly appreciate the album more. great reactions.
tysm!!
This album is her crowning glory! All about substitute for love and power of goodbye for me, ps how’d you keep getting cuter 😜
🥹🥹 ty hehe!
You HAVE to watch the Confessions Tour version of Ray of Light
Ok couldn’t do it anymore I subscribed to your Patreon for full album reviews! Yay can’t wait to binge them! ❤️
Aww you’re the best 😭 Thank you!!!!
still loves ya Bennyboi xx
The hair is cool af, and the moustache is super cute (mine is even bigger! #mobrosunite #fistbump) #perth4lyfe
HEHE thank you!!! 🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️❤️
I love the contrast between this and her next album MUSIC which has alot of electronic tracks but a handful of them have her voice stripped down with no effects and an acoustic guitar and she sounds angelic.
Keeeeen!!!
Hi Ben, if you see the live version of Candy Parfume Girl (Drowned World Tour 2001) probably you will change your mind about the song 😜
Hahaha we shall see 😛
That person was so rude! Dude, you have an awesome smile and great teeth. I'm not toothless but you have one of those "lights up a room" smiles. Made me happy! I wasn't thinking you needed a makeover. Smh!
Okay, this album is so incredible. I understand any misgivings about the songs you picked out. If you listen to the album as many times as I have you will learn the words to Candy Perfume Girl and might love it as a stand alone. I learned the words to Shanti / Ashtangi which is a blend of Sanskrit and English according to a site I just looked at. It grew to like it. I think Mer Girl is about her mother, a recurring theme across albums. It is a very deep song. Her mother's passing affected her greatly even though she was 5 years old. One of if not Madonna's best albums to this day. So many awesome songs, but this one keeps a thread running. It's supposed to be a spiritual and introspective album. Watch Madonna perform Ray of Light on Oprah in 1998 live. It is incredible and I like it better than the album version. Cheers!
Omg thank you, you're so sweet
I remember going to the Nation in DC back around the time this came out and Ray of Light just being a moment.
One of the greatest albums of ALL TIME!!!!!!! Madonna is still the blueprint - still the ultimate queen of pop. Highest selling female artist & most successful female artist of all time. 4 decades of domination in pop music. Reinvention after reinvention. She is queen. Confessions & Erotica are her other masterpieces in my opinion … but also her album Like A Prayer is considered a classic as well
YES YES YES!!!!!!!
Thank you for acknowledging that Nothing Really Matters is really the best track on the album. A mix of electronica (as it was called at the time) and house, it is perfection. Hands down, my favourite track, despite disagreement amongst my queer peers.
💙💙💙
It's a fantastic album and as a piece of work on the whole I think it's her best, but I do agree about Candy Perfume Girl, Shanti and Mer Girl (I like Little Star), they're filler tracks to me, but still work within the album itself and do add to the album as a whole piece of work.
Very intrigued by what you'll make of the much more pop Music album. And confession, I have a feeling that one will be your favourite.
Totally! Good songs just not the vibe for me! Omg same, so keeeeeen!!
Love your journey… longest journey EVER lol, but still so much fun!! A super interesting fact is that when Madonna was in the studio recording the song Swim, Donatella Versace called her and told her that Gianni had been killed. Donatella, Gianni, Madonna and her brother Christopher were all super close, so after Madonna got the news, she finished recording the song and then flew to Miami to be with Donatella. I feel like that probably influenced how she sang that song, but probably also influenced how she finished the album. Mer girl is so haunting
Such a spiritualistic and enlightening record and ends with the most eerie, disturbingly haunting song.
Yessss
Substitute For Love, if I'm not mistaken, was written about her fame and how she treated it as a substitute for love. Anyway, this was released in 1998. The year before, Kylie Minogue released Impossible Princess, and Dannii Minogue released Girl. Ray Of Light, to me, felt like a combination of the best bits of both Minogue albums. Oh and did you know that Ray Of Light is techincally a cover? The original is from the 70s by Curtiss Muldoon.
so weird, i loooved nothing really matters and the video to it. but never had the album around that time, so i bought it at a vintage store in my home town in 2006 . substitude for love was a song that used to hear to fall asleep, it really is beautiful. but i also read setphen kings desperation at that time and the album really fits with this book. so actually i was listenig to this album the whole time i was reading taht book and created a microcosm. and mer girl is very interesting. i always imagined ia was laying in the middle of the strert in my home town, and you can only hear the traffic far away, like in the beginning of the song(or story telling) i know it all sounds like weird shit but that is what the album did to me.
btw you still a cutie. whoops
Not weird! Love hearing how it affected you and what was going on in your life at the time! 💙💙💙
We need a supercut of every time you said "stunning." 😆 I mostly agree with your picks for the weakest tracks. "Candy Perfume Girl" stands out, but I would keep it because the production is sick. The album needed something gritty and trip-hoppy. And while "Mer Girl" isn't a song I seek out, it's an essential part of the album and her discography. As for "Little Star," I like the production but the lyrics are a bit cheesy. I understand that having a "baby" song on this album was important, but she kind of addresses that topic on "Drowned World" and "Nothing Really Matters." So that leaves "Shanti." It's always been a skip for me unless I'm listening to the album all the way through. There are fans who find "To Have and Not to Hold" boring, but I think it's lovely. It was actually the song that replaced "Has to Be," which is one of my favorites and ended up on the B-side to ROL. So, that's a long way of saying I would have replaced "Shanti" or LS with HTB. She could have included those as B-sides. HTB would have made a fantastic final song that was a little more hopeful, and then MG could have maybe been a "hidden track," which was popular in the 90s on CDs.
HAHA, I repeat myself a loooot 🫣
Also loved reading all of this - thank you!!
Totally agree too! Keen to hear the other songs too!!
yesss my fav madonna album! frozen reminds me so much of my childhood. my mom was obsessed with that song lol
Omg so cute, love your mumma!
Mer Girl is about the dreams she continually had after her mother’s death… and she’s still running away….
Hopefully by the time you come to her latest offering she gave us so far, she'll come with a new material, so we'll have 1 more added to the list
Haha god I hope I’m up to date before she releases another album 😂
@@bennshouts you won't be. But depending on how impatient you get we can discuss a timeline jump if and when it comes up.
Amazing reaction video as usual. Ray of light really is a masterpiece of an album ❤
❤️❤️❤️
Frozen so strong it wipes Evita so engraved in our mind.
One of the best albums of all time and the best of Madonna!
This album is her finest, imv, because it takes you on a spirital and emotional journey and because it's a soundscape of textures and beautiful vocals. Madonna was a changed woman after the birth of her child, so "Little Star" has an important role in the album. The final song is about her dead mother who still haunts Madonna.
A fan here of 40 years this does feel like her peak helped by William Orbit who produced this album. Every time I listen it takes me back to my mid 20s great times
All 5 singles from this album reached the top10 in the UK
A big thank you to you, Ben!!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank YOU!!!
To Have and Not To Hold is the only track I would lose and replace with Has To Be (bonus track on Japanese edition) which works great storywise after Power of Goodbye. (I'm one of the few who like Shanti lol.) In fact now I've said that I'm heading to Spotify to make that playlist.
I’m sure I’ll end up hearing Has To Be throughout the era! Keen!
Wow after listening to it in the place of To Have Not Hold it fits amazingly! She sings about letting go of a bad relationship in Power of Goodbye, then about the hope of there being someone out there for her (Has to Be) in a prayerful way, and then with track Little Star following it, it's like the loved one she was looking for is not a man, but her daughter! ("God gave a present to me, made of flesh and bones, my life, my soul, you make my spirit whole.")
@bennshouts
😭😭😭
@@bennshouts it's the very first thing you listen to (Has to Be) next in the next era I sent you. Are you surprised by that? ;-)
HAHA never surprised!!!
Please react to confessions on a damce floor its such an amazing album 😭
I will be x
he'll get there by 2026 :-) all in good time. I like that he takes his time to delve into it all. Fun to watch
Shanti Ashanti is perfect to me - Just makes me want to read tarot cards and burn nag champa.
Btw, you should definitely react to the Drowned World Tour ✌️
The drums / percussions on Skype Fits Heaven... !! ❤❤
There is definitely a Björk influence on this album.
More of a trip hop influence than Bjork specifically who also had trip hop sensibility and influence. You can see some of that influence as far back as Justify My Love. Madonna worked with Nellee Hooper for a reason. He’s a pioneer of that genre.
You really said CHOP to her daughter & mother, lol.
Omg hahahahahaha 💀💀
Just occurred to me that Candy Perfume Girl and Shanti are like interludes, change of pace, punctuation for the album
Ooohhhh!!
Complete the Ray of Light album
with it's b-side "Has To Be".
It's definitely worth a listen.
Is it the first time on your channel that you react to the same album twice? Watching your reactions since the first time and love them
Yep! First time ever, make sense that it’s M hehe
Ray of light sold 16 million albums worldwide. Won 4 Grammys.
Ray of light reached no 5 in the USA and Australia 🇦🇺
Frozen peaked at no. 2 in the USA and no.6 in Australia 🇦🇺
Drowned world peaked at no.16 in Australia
Power of goodbye peaked at no.11 in USA 🇺🇸 and no.33 in Australia 🇦🇺
Nothing really matters peaked at 93 in the USA 🇺🇸 and no.15 in Australia 🇦🇺
BEYOND EPIC!!! 😭😭😭
Did much better in the UK
@@skurinskiDefinitely. This was the start of a period of time when she was much more successful both in record sales and critically in Europe than in the US. ❤❤
Madonna had a huge comeback from 1998 to 2001. Her follow up album Music also sold well selling 11 million albums worldwide
❤ 4 grammys , LOVE album
I would LOVE for you to react to the Sickick remix of Frozen. There are 3-4 different versions and they're all awesome.
Shanti is a meditation mantra
she recorded Swim the day Versace was killed..
😭😭
Always love your reactions but I don’t quite understand the idea of rating tracks on a concept album as either bangers or not. Just that while I agree that Candy Perfume girl, Ashanti and Little Star and Mer Girl aren’t bangers I also don’t think calling them Duds is quite right (actually I kinda love Candy Perfume Girl, particularly the lyric ‘young velvet porcelain boy’). To me they are bridging tracks, and you can’t get from one section of the album to another without them. iIts kinda like watching a movie and deleting every scene that’s not action. If you do that it might be more exciting but you lose important context and storyline. Anyways just my thoughts, I still luv the reaction.
Hehe thank you! And totally get cha, I suppose I’ve still gotta say what I don’t vibe with tho 😂 While its a concept, they’re still songs I deleted haha! I get them and appreciate but they kinda ruin the album play through for me 🫣 Duds probably harsh but hey, I’m harsh at times haha - I did say their prod is still good! Just not my vibe ❤️❤️
OMG! BEST ALBUM EVER!!!
Yessss
I was like wait I swear he did this album already lol ❤
Haha deja vu!
Sky fits heaven!!!
😭😭😭
Is Skin an ode to her friends and lovers who passed away during the AIDS pandemic of the mid 80s to early 90s? In the vain of Pray for Spanish Eyes, In This Life, Live to Tell etc. any more?
Oh wow!
sky fits heaven live is a stunner.
“Maybe I’m just dead inside”…..same sis 😂😂
Hahahahaha
Many of the demo songs were better than some of the albums. Many of the discarded songs were given to Kylie Minogue, Laura Pausini, Sophie Ellis Bexstor and Ricky Martin for their albums
Oh wow!!
Back in the days I wasn't a Madonna fan. Didn't like her girly whiny voice and her pop glamour image. She then released 'Like a prayer' album and I began to pay attention. And then came 'Ray of Light'. Her voice had become more mature, she never looked so beautiful, the experimental sound, deeply spiritual lyrics and overall production were just superb. The rest is history, the album went no1 in 20 countries, sold 20 millions copies and won numerous awards. It's her masterpiece.
I will say this until I die, to hear the caliber of this woman’s work, and to think a over bloated, white bread singer like Taylor Swift could ever surpass Madonna in Grammy’s is diabolical. My mind just can’t comprehend how she has never won record or album of the year, blows my mind.😮
🫣🫣🫣 hahahaha Kristian went off!
@@bennshouts -Lol, yeah got a bit heated just thinking,now that I’m re-visiting this album with you, and how brilliant and ahead of her time,she’s always been, that someone like Swift, is being talked up like she in the same league some how.Swift is talented enough for her fan base, but Madonna has just never been truly given the accolades and recognition she’s actually earned. Loved your re-examining this brilliant album with fresh insight. ;)
Very fair! And so glad I came back to it!!
Kylie Vibes? No Kylie is giving Madonna vibes! This was two years before Fever which was Kylie’s big return in the States at least. Light Years was awesome too but Ray of Light was also before that.
Of course, not discrediting Madonna haha