MADONNA - RAY OF LIGHT ALBUM REACTION
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
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🌅🧘🏻🙏🏼~TIMESTAMPS~🙏🏼🧘🏻🌅
Drowned World / Substitute for Love - 2:26
Swim - 5:42🌟
Ray of Light - 9:11🌟
Candy Perfume Girl - 12:30
Skin - 15:01
Nothing Really Matters - 17:56🌟
Sky Fits Heaven - 20:37
Shanti / Ashtangi - 23:43
Frozen - 25:20🌟
The Power of Good-Bye - 28:23🌟
To Have and Not to Hold - 31:15
Little Star - 32:31
Mer Girl - 34:28🌟
🌟= my fave!
💘💘💘
This was one or the biggest albums of her career. It was massive.
Love this!
This is THE album that brings Electronica, especially trip-hop, into mainstream pop music. One of the most important albums in the 90s.
recognition!!!! It’s deserved ❤
This album is often regarded as her best and her masterpiece. I'd say go back to the first album and continue chronologically.
love the Tori pfp
@@mirroredheart7292 Love the Kate Bush pfp
Yep! I'm gonna xxx
"The Power of Goodbye" is severely underrated. A lyrical wrecking ball! It's that binch.
The layering of this one is insane.
My fav track along with RAY OF LIGHT and NOTHING REALLY MATTERS
It's cinematic!
Power of Goodbye was definitely not underrated.. it was recognized as one of the best on Ray of Light and was her 37th top 20 hit and her 7th greatest debut! Sorry, big Madonna fan here lol. It’s an amazing song.
Probably one of my favorite songs & videos from this album.
An interesting note about "Swim": During interviews about the making of the Ray of Light album, producer William Orbit revealed that Madonna was one of the first people Donatella Versace called about Gianni being murdered, on the very same day Madonna recorded the vocals for “Swim.”
I think ROL is regarded as her more critically acclaimed. Among the fans it is probably regarded as one of the bests, but not by all. Each of Madonnas albums are distinctly different and cohesive pieces of autobiographical art. I think you almost need to react to the FiIRST self-titled album. To appreciate ROL is to understand where Madonna came from. The album is solid. It’s very R&B dance/disco pop with brazen self-confidence. It’s got a very “street” feel to it. She was hungry and unapologetic. Maybe read a brief bio on her rise to fame. She was the girl who dropped out of University of Michigan and came to NYC with $37 and asked to be dropped off in the “Center of Everything”. She originally wanted to be a dancer and was sort of part of the lower east side art scene and started performing with a few bands. She was THAT girl who would walk around with a demo tape, trying to meet studio executives and get DJs to play her music.
Wow... honestly insane to read all this! What a icon.
THANK YOU!!!!
I'd definitely say you need to check out Confessions on a Dancefloor - it still has a lot of the great female empowerment and political takes that Madonna is known for but with a very fun, disco twist. Many of the songs could be released today and fit in with what is currently a "radio friendly" sound. Confessions and Erotica definitely tie for my favorite 2 Madonna albums!
Ray of Light will always be my favorite Madonna album, but Confessions made me literally say “Madonna is back!” after that quieter lull
I think it was Rick Knowles who said once that Madonna was the utterly underrated as a song writer
It brings me so much joy and happiness to my heart to see a younger generation being flabbergasted by Madonna. It also reminds me of how lucky I am to have experienced her whole journey in real time.
Aww thank you!!
this was and is my favorite album. as a gay teen in 1998 it was everything to me
I've got a limited edition copy of Ray of Light the album with a vinyl blue cover with just the words written in the middle and photo book on the inside...I will treasure it always
Ray of Light (1998) is widely considered Madonna's best album. Inspired by her physical reinvention and spiritual reawakening after giving birth to her daughter, Lourdes, the album became a huge critical and commercial comeback after the backlash of her hypersexual album, Erotica (1992) and the more subdued success of her R&B album, Bedtime Stories (1994). Ray of Light is credited for bringing electronica into the mainstream and features the best vocals of her career thanks to vocal training during Evita (1995). The album sold 16M copies and won Madonna her first four Grammy awards. Ray of Light is an essential highlight in Madonna's extensive discography.
Madonna's discography is insane.
Highest-selling albums: The Immaculate Collection (31M) & True Blue (25M)
Hit comeback albums: Ray of Light (16M), Confessions on a Dance Floor (10M)
80s classic hits: Madonna (10M), Like a Virgin (21M), Like a Prayer (15M)
Underrated hits: I'm Breathless (7M), Bedtime Stories (8M), Music (11M)
Controversial hits: Erotica (6M), American Life (5M)
Trend chasers: Hard Candy (4M), MDNA (2M)
Late-career swan songs: Rebel Heart (1M), Madame X (500k)
I was 12 when Erotica came out.
Thanks to my older sisters I was familiar with Madonna's beginnings. When I bought the album, I got full body goosebumps.
The beats and bass-line was so different than music on the radio.
omg you're giving us madonna today OKAY
I love her more experimental and weird sounding music like american life with all that autotune, it's the perfect album for when I'm feeling distorted.
American Life is my go-to album when I want to hear Madonna at her most vulnerable.
American Life is my favourite Madonna album
@@madonnamatt73mlvc16 It's an amazing album!
My favourite Madonna album 🤩
Vocoder. Not autotune.
I think you need a lot of backstory to truly feel it all. Especially Mer Girl. It’s about her struggle with losing her mother when she was 5. Especially starting with her new found love (her first child, her daughter Lourdes) and then ending with her journey still continuing. She struggles even till now with the loss of her mother at a young age of 5. She was once asked if she could replace everything fame and money for one thing, she said her mom.
At this time of recording I believe she just had Lourdes and she just had this big shift. And she was soon to turn 40 when recording it (she turned for 40 on august 16, 1998)
Omg... that killed me her replacing it all with her Mum omg :'(((((
‘Music’ (the album that followed Ray of Light) is probably my favourite Madonna album. ♥️
Can’t wait to hear it!
Ashtanga yoga chant is what she is singing. This album is AMAZING!
OMG
Yes, the Madonna experience is something everyone needs
Hope you continue with her other albums , they're amazing
The lenguage is hindi (sanskrit) from India. Shanti/Ashtangi is a prayer of Ashtanga Yoga as Cyberraga (an extra song from Music album)
Thank youuuu
The final song sounds so much like a Björk song, who also worked with many of these producers at this time.
Our Queens really experimented with their sound back then.First was Bjork album Homogenic. Then month later Kylie Minogue released her album in 1997. And year later Madonna released this album
ICONS!!!
I've been a Madonna fan since the beginning. This album was when the music academy started taking Madonna seriously. She won 4 grammy's for this record. I was extremely excited for this album to come out back in the day. Her mother died when he was 5 years old. She became a mom herself 2 years before ROL came out. I knew this album was going to be special. She exceeded my expectations. Little Star was written for her. Of interesting note, Madonna co produces all of her songs. Her contribution is writing the song lyrics. She is an underrated song writer.
I would say -every Madonna album deserves . And every album had the approval. The American opinion is hypocritical, I'm sorry to say it but is true .
As a long time hard-core Madonna fan since 1982. it warms my heart to see new generations discovering her brilliance and artistry.
"Ray of light" comes under the heel of Madonna being in the business after 16 years. her first 10 years was her imperial reign, she was the biggest pop star in the 80s after Michael Jackson.
In 1992, 10 years into her career, she released her magnum opus "Erotica", unfortunately, she received major backlash because of the subject matter. 2 years after that, 1994 she dialed it down for the next album "Bedtime stories" a gem in itself with R&B influence, a new musical direction for her. 2 years later in 1996, her campaign to play "Evita" finally paid off, winning her Golden globe "Best actress".
leading up to 1998 "Ray of light". she had her first child. she wrestled with some big life questions, musically, she's at a cross road, she could have gone soft on her pop musical career and become an adult contemporary artist with the release of a ballad album called "Something to remember", she could have stayed in the R&B genre (Bedtime stories), or go back to her dance roots, instead she channeled her angst, energy, new found purpose in life as a mother ("little star" is a lullabye for her daughter, "Mer girl" post partum depression) and together with her spiritual quest, Yoga (Ashanti is an Indian Mantra turned into an electronic song) and Kaballah (Jewish mysticism). she got back together with one of her best song writing partner Patrick Leonard ("Like a prayer" "True blue" albums) co writing 4/5 songs, and employing a new producer "William Orbit". The result is yet another reinvention, this time she hit the mark in more ways than one. bringing electronica into the mainstream with thoughtful lyrics, and powerful vocals. winning her critical acclaim and multiple Grammys
This album is almost a collaboration as it sounds a lot like the producer, William Orbit. I recommend his Strange Cargo III. They're both at the top of their game on this one.
Your emotional journey in this reaction is awesome to watch 👏👏 The Power of Goodbye definitely evokes tears in me. The video is even more emotional. ROL era totally revitalized her career. Awesome reaction 💯 I love how you said you needed more at the end. Completely agree and of course I’ve felt that way about Madonna since her debut album.
You definitely have to continue your journey. I really enjoyed your reaction to madonna, she has so many good albums, you have to watch her videos, you won't be dissapointed. Next suggestion is bedtime stories..
this, like a prayer, erotica and confessions on a dance floor are definitely the quintessential madonna albums for me! i'd say check those other three out for sure
Erotica and Confessions on a dance floor are her best next to this. They will blow you away and both very different from each other.
I recommend her albums "Bedtime Stories" and "American Life".
American Life!!!
Bedtime Stories!!! So edgy!!! "Bedtime Stories" song was produced by Björk itself!!!
Okay but how are you gonna like Gaga but not Madonna? That’s just weird, especially considering how prevalent Madonna’s influence is on Gaga’s early music and visual work. But anyway, better late than never. Also, Madonna never called Gaga reductive, she called the comparisons between the two reductive. And she was correct.
I answered this at the very start? Lol.
I also stated I know how iconic Madonna is… As a fan of GaGa, I know Madonna influenced her. I was going by what I thought to be true, aka the internet and headlines, which is why I was excited to focus on the music and put aside what I’ve previously thought. Also, many people like either and not the other - that’s not weird, it’s preference.
Loved the reaction! She really saw herself as an alternative artist during 1998-2003. Music (2000) is the next album after this and honestly imo much better. More experimental and less ”commercial”. Would love to see your reaction to it!
THANK YOU!!!
The Electronica Veronica period. My favourite period of her career to date. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The whole album is a unique and mysterious experience. It is the reinvention once again of the Queen
You got it! This is her most artistically acclaimed album, which brought the electronica/techno sound to the mainstream. Madonna takes you on a spiritual journey based on her newly found motherhood and personal growth. The overall cohesiveness of this album along with the textured production of each track is out of this world and raises the bar for any album out there, imv. I think you're gonna enjoy the albums 'Music,' 'Confession,' especially, and 'American Life' -- all of which continue to explore and experiment with this electronica/techno type of music. Enjoyed your reaction!
Thank you so much!!!
A true masterpiece..you should try starting her work from the beginning and working your way through.. you'll see tremendous growth and a really wide spectrum of genres
Yep, I'm gonna x
Universally acclaimed: Ray of Light, Like a Prayer, Confessions on a Dance Floor
Underrated/fan favorites: Erotica (panned at the time, but now regarded as a masterpiece), Music, American Life
Very good: Bedtime Stories
The 80's classics everyone loves: Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue
Hidden gem: I'm Breathless
Good ideas, poor execution: Madame X
Errr...: Hard Candy, Rebel Heart
Pretend it doesn't exist: MDNA
MDNA is a trainwreck, OMG
Madame X is at the level of American Life, but, like American Life or even Erotica, needs 10 o more years to be appreciated. I would put Rebel Heart in poor execution, MDNA in err (saving Love Spent) and agree with all the rest.
Rebel Heart is errr? No f way, no...
@@artemuliashkevych7892 It's a difficult one IMO. I don't think it's awful, it has a few decent songs, but also some of her all-time worst. It doesn't FEEL like a Madonna album. Her albums are usually thoughtfully put together and have a cohesive flow, even if not all the songs are great. Rebel Heart feels like a random playlist of half-baked songs made by a hundred different people under pressure. The tracklist makes no sense, the title track isn't even included in the standard version. Such a wasted opportunity.
Madame X is pretty good. The only thing holding it back is her voice and use of autotune on some songs. If she embraces her older grainy voice it would be great. Another thing is some cringy lyrics on some songs. But it has 6 songs that are pretty great (Medellin, God Control, Crave, Crazy, Come Alive & I don't Search)
Wow!!!! Such a fantastic reaction. 💙
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
My favorite Madonna album hands down. This along with Bedtime Stories, Erotica and Confessions on a Dance Floor are just top tier records. Just amazing bodies of work. Ugh! A living legend. 🌹🥹 Thanks for another great honest and raw reaction.
Thank YOU!!! 😘😘
@@bennshouts Welcome!!!! 🌹🙂↕️
The sample “You See” is by San Sebastián Strings “Why I Follow The Tigers”
Fresh off of Evita and becoming a mum, This album is a classic. She was finally taken seriously as an artist and songwriter. Huge departure from her previous work and spotlighted William Orbits massive talent
Well this album came as a big surprise to everyone. She done Evita and mid 90's she was releasing a lot of MOR ballads. So everyone had kind of written off her music career, I mean what would she release some MOR age appropriate album? No, she shocked everyone by releasing a psychodelic techno album! 🌡️💯🙌❤️❤️
Love u maronna’s reaction!! Keep goin please 🖤🌻
Thank you!! 💞💞
'the' Queen of Pop Madonna is the blueprint of how to be a Pop Star of all genres... Truth... so Reductiveness is invetible.
One of my favorite albums ever 🤍
One of the best albums of all time
I was 17 when I ran to the records store to buy this. I could not believe my ears, I couldn’t understand what I listening to but at the same time couldn’t stop listening to it, probably cause of the amazing production. So ahead of its time, so nostalgic for me now that I’m about to turn 42
I love this!!
Most Fans consider this one of her best! CONFESSIONS IS ONE OF HER BEST!
Your album reaction was spot on! Truly enjoyed it! New subscriber. More Madonna!!!
Thank you sm!!! 💕💕💕
Yass The Queen!!! This album was her return after a short break to focus on 'Evita' and becoming a mother. She was very much in a self-reflective, spiritual phase. The controversies surrounding her early 90s SEX era had faded, so critics and public praised this release. The previous 2 albums were more of a R&B hiphop production.
Erotica is my #1 all time favorite album
Confessions on a Dancefloor is a total bop. MDNA is my least fave, but it has grown on me over the years.
Can't wait for the rest of the discography. I could talk about Madonna constantly. She's my everything
And yes Little Star is for her daughter, Lourdes.
HAHAH yessss, I love the passion, thank you!!
Can't wait to hear more and experience them with you!!
@@bennshouts we Madonna stans are crazy for our icon. This year Madonna marks for 40th year in the music industry. She is just about to start production on her new bio pic. Apparently it will start in New York in 1979 before she became famous and will end with her 1990 blonde ambition tour (regarded as one of the greatest pop concerts of all time at the hight of Madonna’s career)
I’m a bit late but WOW mate it’s my favourite album and you have made it even better THANKYOU. New subscriber here
Aww thank YOU! Welcome! ❤️
She's Verónica Electrónica 💙
The sounds of this album are addictive, if you listen to the songs more than once you won't be able to stop listening to them anymore.
Drowned World / Substitute for Love is awesome. Still gives me nice shivers up and down my spine :) Please do the rest of her discog in chrono order! oh, and do yourself a favour and watch the video for Nothing Really Matters. It's fab
Yesss, going to go chrono moving forward x
Being who you are, I would go next to 2003's American Life. And don't read review before, it is polarizing !
Ohhhh!
I love to have and not to hold, the most underrated on the album, the humming sounds like it’s coming from an ethereal distance
Her hums are heaven!
you should react to Night Time , My Time by Sky Ferreira !
Madonna is the queen and this album is legendary!
Best ”ray of light” review i’ve seen so far! 👍
Thank you!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺
Great reaction indeed! I also love Eric Mason's and Brad Evans' one, each one is quite different!
It's so cool to be the witness of how your perception of M as an artist has changed this year. Would love to watch your first time reaction to this album from the point where you are now in this M journey. But unfortunately it already would never be the first reaction..
this might be my favorite album of all time
Great great great review of a magnificent piece of music. I was blown away when I was 8 hearing it firts time but didn't expect I will actually review my life lessons enchanted in it now. This album proves that Madonna is saved for the eternity and glorified for ages and maaaan, I need your T-shirt so badly!!!
Thank you!!!
definitely recommend “american life” or “music” if you want to explore more madonna on here!
ABSOLUTELY love the album and ur reaction but omg the shirt is so cool😭
RIght?! It's my Sisters hahaha
I would definitely suggest ‘Erotica for your next Madonna album listen. It’s definitely her best
Madonna's best song is Oh Father, but she's one of the great melodists of all time. She hasn't been given the musical credit she's due because people assume she only writes lyrics, but she has come up with the majority of the hooks and melodies of her discography, and it's consistently gorgeous.
The Power of Good-Bye is the best Madonna song ever change my mind
This will always be one of my favorite albums of all time.
Hey Ben, I would personally go back to the start of her discography so that you can see the progression of her music, sounds, style and lyrical themes. It's only when you do, you realise the magnitude of what she has done and how groundbreaking she has been. Through her music, she has broken down so many societal and cultural barriers and tackled taboo topics way ahead of her time (and paid the price for it). She has made so many styles of music mainstream, she made the visual music video a huge part of being an artist during the MTV generation and she's credited with beginning the theatrical concert tour that we know today as a standard (The Blond Ambition Tour). There's a reason why people compare female artists of today to her and it's because it would be hard pressed to not find something that wasn't done first by Madonna. She's pretty much created and laid the platform over four decades to enable today's female artists to do and be whatever the hell they want. I think if you go back to the start, you're going to be able to see where all female artists of today have either knowingly or unknowingly taken their inspiration. Love your review as well😃.
Well, she was often the first _mainstream_ female artist to do things, but women in punk and goth music often did them years before.
Oh and you got yourself a subscriber 😁
Thank you!! 💝💝
This album is a masterpiece
the BEST madonna album, 90's madonna is where its at!!
Yasssss
Love the queen of pop ❤️❤️ can’t wait for the next albums !!!
Thank you!! Me too 🥰🥰🥰
This album truly is a masterpiece
💖💖💖
Madonna was obsessed with trip-hop, Tricky, and Massive Attack at this time. Nellee Hooper, etc. So, she found William Orbit to produce her album. Really, I Want You was Madonna’s best trip hop effort.
And yes, “Mer Girl” it’s a post partum song. Ray of Light came after she gave birth to her first daughter. If you recheck the lyrics, they are all about motherhood. Drowned World, Nothing Really Matters, Little Star and Mer Girl.
Oh wow, that's beautiful! Glad I was on the money with it
“Freaking acoustic guitar breakdown.” Same.
LOVED your reaction! So genuine and fun!
You obviously appreciated her ballads so you should listen to her Something to Remember album.
This album is very peculiar because although it is a compilation album, due to the amount of songs previouly released only as singles (not available in any of her studio albums) and to the brand new songs, it sounds more like an AMAZING original studio album.
"For producing the new songs for the album, Madonna worked with David Foster, Nellee Hooper and Massive Attack.
Something to Remember was met with critical acclaim.
With the commercial success it achieved, Something to Remember set a trend of releasing ballad albums afterward, such as the 1996 albums Love Songs by Elton John and If We Fall in Love Tonight by Rod Stewart." wikipedia
If you want more, do check out “Has To Be”, a Japanese bonus track. I’d suggest listening to “Confessions On A Dance Floor” next!
Ray of Light and Homogenic by Björk are masterpieces. Listening to both albums when I was 15 was definitely a journey. Ray of Light is definitely her best album IMO. Lyrically, sonically and visually. She was in a roll for this era. Absolutely brilliant.
Best Madonna album ever. Try Kylie's 1997 album Impossible Princess
Yesss, cannot wait to get onto that one!
William Orbit….. production genius. Confessions of a Dance Floor rivals Ray of Light
Love this!!! Her voice was at top level with this album. You should continue with the first OR the last: Madonna or MadameX, before continuing with another fan favourite as Like a Prayer, Erotica, Confessions or American Life. I think you will love Music too.
Love that you open your heart to Madonna; Ray of light, particularly Frozen and The Power of Goodbye were the key🤭. After these two, she needed to calm the album with To have...(very underrated coming after these two) and Little Star to reach one of her best creations, Mer Girl.
Revisiting this album with your reaction, I noticed that Little Star was artistically necessary to make the transition to the end. She ends the sing, as you pointed, whispering, "making her baby sleep" so she can go to the "post part depression"🤣 and deal with her inner demon, the death of her mother when she was a child. This is a recurrent theme through her discography. This last song were written after waking up from a dream, from where the scenes of the narrative belong.
She rarely performs her non singles besides the correspondent álbum tour, but she performed Mer Gir (and many other "bault" songs) in a more rare special show in 2016, "Tears of a Clown". She changed the final word of the song: "I ran and i ran, im still running today", a detail that can give more insight on her world behind all the pop personality masquerade.
Thank YOU for this comment! Loved reading it and hearing more from you
I always find it weird that Madonna fans recommend this album to people, new to Madonna's music, as the intro... It's SUCH a personal album, full of deep dive references. I feel that most of it easily goes over their heads. To really appreciate this album I feel you must know Like a Prayer, Erotica, and Bedtime Stories or at the very leeeaaast have watched Truth or Dare.
Knowing what I know now, I get what you mean x
Oh man, please to a Madonna journey from first album on! Plus I love you know the producers hahaha!
Yep! I'm gonna go back to the start and go through in order!
HAHAHA yesssss!
Please go back Chronologically so that you can understand how she arrived to Ray of Light. It’s a wild ride but i think you’re in danger of loving it 🥰
Subscribed! X
New subscriber here lol. Can’t wait for you to do all of her albums.
Yay! Welcome! 😍
Ive got 4 up and her Music Vidoes eras so far!
Next Madonna reaction should be Confessions on a Dance Floor. It’s completely different than this album but based on the other albums you’ve reacted to and enjoyed, I think you’d dig it.
I waited in a LONG line at midnight, at the now closed Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard the morning Ray of Light was released.
For the better part of 1998/1999, it was my sonic bible. Whenever i hear Frozen, Ray of Light, The Power of Goodbye, and To Have and Not to Hold,
i get chills of nostalgia.
I have been following, appreciating,
and loving Madonna's music since 1984.
If you continue on reacting to her discography,
you may notice there are always three central themes, love, sex, and truth, which evolve sonically with each album she released.
The one thing Madonna does,
is she does not repeat her previous sound.
She likes to paint, with every color she can.
Like A Prayer, Erotica, Ray of Light,
Confessions on A Dance Floor, Rebel Heart,
and Madame X are all turning points in Madonna's artistic and vast creative/musical legacy.
Really great to see you discover and enjoy
Ray of Light, decades after it was released.
Late to the party, but wanted to chime in as someone who was 15 when this came out. Frozen was the first song out and it was immediately apparent how different this was. The dark tone of the song and video didn’t do well in terms of pop radio/MTV, but made a statement. What propelled the album and made it popular was when Ray of Light was released as a single. That song was everywhere! … personally, I would put on this album when I wanted l escape. Skin is the song that really connected. I think because I wanted to feel that euphoria, but was stuck in a small town.
Masterpiece!!! Wonderful album!!!!
Omg yazzss, please react to all of her albums, including I'm Breathless and Evita. And some of her songs included only in her greatest hits albums, like Justify My Love, Rescue Me, Crazy For You, You'll See, Celebration, Revolver. You should react in chronological order to get a little bit of context
So keen to hear them all!
Please react to the album's 5 videos.. they're all really interesting
Yesss, keen to see the visuals!
Yaaaaassssss. This is a MUST!!!
Try a second time with headphones... Its a Unique experience!
Best remix of 90's ua-cam.com/video/HV8zN6cOugs/v-deo.html
I was an early, cursory fan of Madonna primarily through her dance music hits of the first decade of her iconic career (1985-1995). But it isn’t until the 2020 pandemic lockdown that I took a deep dive and retrospective into her vast videography, albums, world concert tours, interviews, analysis by music historians and critics that I truly became an admirer of the immensity and richness of her artistry, advocacy and her influence on post-modern pop music and culture.
Her long musical career is like an epic novel-with different eras in her life that influenced/inspired her artistic journey. It’s easy to miss out on the rich tapestry of her artistic output by jumping in and just focusing on one of her albums.
Ray of Light (ROL) released in February 1998 is the 7th of the 14 studio albums she has produced so far. It was widely acclaimed and considered one of her best albums, selling over 16mil copies and the songs reflected turning points in her life and career. It’s a sort of redemption for Madonna coming from the controversies of the 1993 Erotica album and the coffee table sex book. The birth of her daughter, Lourdes Leon, in 1996 gave her the motherhood she longed for that’ll inspire Drowned World/Substitute for Love, and Little Star. Her spiritual journey and embrace of Eastern mysticism like Kabbalah, Hinduism, Buddhism and the daily practice of the discipline of Ashtanga Yoga had influence on Nothing Really Matters, Shanti/Ashtangi (opening chants/verses in ancient Vedic Sanskrit of the yoga); also on Sky Fits Heaven, Frozen and ROL. Her ending her relationship with Carlos Leon in 1997 probably influenced the Power of Goodbye. And Mer Girl was about the traumatic and premature death of her beloved mother from untreated breast cancer that deeply haunted Madonna. She would embellish and share a fuller meaning and fresh interpretation of these ROL songs through her music videos and subsequent live concert performances.
one of her best thing!
yes
We need the reaction to “Serpentina” by Banks 🐍✨
You’ve made me so very happy. I discovered your channel when you reacted to Kylie’s light years.
I love that you are Aussie and that you are so articulate with your comments and also pretty open minded. Also loved your Slut Pop reaction.
Madonna was 40 years old when this album was released. She has given birth to her first child about a year before.
So this album is a reflective introspective spiritual album from the perspective of a new mother looking at her place in the world and where she fits in.
What you will learn about Madonna is that every album sounds completely different to any other album. She never keeps her sound the same. She cowrites and coproduces all of her albums from 1986 onwards.
This album won 5 Grammys including best pop album. The music video for Ray of Light was the MTV Awards video of the year.
At this point Madonna’s career had been going for 16 years and this album was a huge critical and commercial success.
The albums I recommend you listen to in this order are
1. Confessions on a Dancefloor - 2005 you will love the production and more pop
2. Erotica - 1992 - a very LGBTQ album in the AIDS era. Makes Slut Pop look tame.
3. Like a Prayer 1989 - very much like Ray of Light where every song is different but the album is cohesive. Considered one of her best.
Going on the Madonna journey wil give you some of your highest views bur I think you will really enjoy the journey as she will always surprise you.
Thanks again and loved this reaction so much.
Thank you for all of this info! I need to get to more Kylie too! Learning about the gay icons before my time!
My pleasure. I have a degree in Madonna lol.
Love how open you are about discovering new music.
The Madonna journey will take you across many genres and visuals but still stay pop.
Madonna didn't call Gaga reductive. She called "Born This Way" reductive because it borrowed the sound of Madonna's "Express Yourself" without giving it an official credit. I think she just found it amusing. It was when the media started calling them rivals that she started playing up the rivalry as a joke. On one of her tours she performed an "Express Yourself/Born This Way" medley and followed that up with her song "She's Not Me" . That's just her sense of humor lol.
Did you see the Madonna vs Gaga skit on MadTV?
"... Patrick Leonard... Whoever he is.." lmao
same
This was my first Madonna album and honestly I’m biased because of that, but this is the best album. I got it in 7th grade and it stayed in my discman for months!
This is not only one of Madonna's best selling albums but also probably her most loved album by fans and critics. It was released after a long period of time when Madonna's imagine in the public was extremely controvertial, with probably her most controvertial move ever which was releasing her "sex" book (it was called "sex") in 1992, along with her album called "Erotica", which got a lot of people at the time to say "she had gone too far" and that her career was over. Ray Of Light was the album that she pretty much bounced back with, also along with her role in the movie Evita in 1996. She also became a mom just a year before she made this album (the song Little Star is about her daughter).
WOAH! Insane that this was after all that! ICONIC!!!
Madonna is the queen, this is my favorite album by her
Ray of Light is tied in 2nd place with True Blue (La Isla Bonita... how can you not?!) for my fav album of her catalogue.
Erotica is easily #1 which a lot of Madonna fans disagree with. It came out in 1992 along with Sade's "Love Deluxe"... both of these albums are fucking legendary and totally set the tone for the 90s in multiple genres. This particular album is her most cohesive, IMO. It's chill, sensual, and ends as good as it starts... which is something most Madonna records fall short on.
Best tracks worth mentioning on Erotica:
-Erotica (title track)
-Thief of Hearts
-Secret Garden (closer)
-Rain
-Waiting
-Words
-Where Life Begins