 "Madonna ... RAY OF LIGHT (1998)" | 2009-10-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1C9XVSTGEYT6T |
In 1998, Madonna released her eleventh album entitled, RAY OF LIGHT. This amazing albumshows us a new Madonna, a Madonna that we've never seen before: A late '90s spirtual Madonna, with the sound of spiritual dance & techno. Madonna has worked with many great producers in the past, but for this album, she wanted the spiritual sound of the '90s, she recruited William Orbit to produce this album.
DROWNED WORLD / SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE
The album's third single, though, not released in the U.S. This amazing song describes how Madonna has felt about her fame, since the birth of her daughter, Lourdes. What an amazing song.
SWIM
Great song.
RAY OF LIGHT
The album's second single. One of the best and energetic songs in Madonna's career. I can listen to this song all day, if I had to.
CANDY PERFUME GIRL
This song is just absolutely brilliant. I love the fusion of techno and rock on any song.
SKIN
Love it.
NOTHING REALLY MATTERS
The album's fifth & final single. Love this song. The sound and Madonna's vocals are just pure amazement.
SKY FITS HEAVEN
Great song.
SHANTI / ASHTANGI
An amazing song, actually. This song is sun entirely in Sanskrit.
FROZEN
The album's first single. This is one of the best songs on the album, not to mention one of my all-time favorites. The music video is definitely one of Madonna's greatest. Seeing Madonna taking up a Gothic look for the music video put a huge smile on my face.
THE POWER OF GOOD-BYE
The album's fourth single. Another awesome song.
TO HAVE AND NOT TO HOLD
Great song.
LITTLE STAR
This beautiful song is about Madonna's daughter, Lourdes.
MER GIRL
What an amazing song, although, it is rather creepy.
This album is a masterpiece and only Madonna could have done an album, like this. All Madonna fans should already have this album in their collection. I know I have it in my collection. |
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 "One Hour : From the Thunder to the Rain" | 2009-07-30 |
| - Reviewed By boyonthemoon |
"Ray of Light" may not be the greatest album ever recorded, but it is by far the most accomplished album released by Madonna Ciccone. If anything remains her musical legacy, all of it is found on this album - her controversial takes on all modern issues aside, its also rather spiritual - and not really in a hokey way. "Ray of Light" was a landmark moment for music in the 1990s, and for many people this remains a touchstone of all things pristine in that era - listening to it now, it sounds fresh and vibrant, almost transcendent, and you could tell that they were on to something.
Highlights are many - primarily the lead track entitled "Drowned World/Substitute for Love", which begins as a subdued anthem to lost love and instead winds up a lament on fame and the perils and foolishness of fortune. Absolutely stunning. William Orbits' legendary production on this record is perhaps what made it win those Grammys (Orbit employed similar techniques on the underrated "Saints and Sinners" album by All Saints), but this remains his most fully realized work by a long shot. Lead single "Ray of Light" is iconic, but the true gems are those that have received little or no public acclaim.
"Shanti/Ashtangi", for instance, is a quaint Sanskrit track, which works as a prequel of sorts to Madonnas' 2000 track "Cyberraga" (a rare B-side to her "Music" single). While diction isn't the key here, its interesting to see Madonna venture into Bjork territory, using some dark production, at times reminiscent of Trent Reznor and some of the Nine Inch Nails catalog. That said, this is a deep, rich record, overflowing with texture and moods, almost trance-like in its' flow. "Sky Fits Heaven", an epic anthem on traveling down ones own path with an eye on the road in front of you, is an unlikely candidate for best track of the album, but it competes closely with "Frozen", the almost gnostic hymn that was this albums' first single.
Understandably, Madonna both won and alienated many people with this fantastic album - only because all these tracks function on a different plane altogether. It would be demeaning to call this 'pop music', though it is indeed from a popular artist. The mixture of genres and the insistence on not going an easy route is evident, and even on songs such as "Swim", and the seemingly silly "Candy Perfume Girl", the production and songwriting is stellar. Of course, the album art perfectly reflects the music - this is shimmering, tranquil territory where everything seems precious and luscious, and "Ray of Light" is a fine slice of true electronica done right. Even with the gratuitous ode to her daughter on "Little Star", the end of the album (especially the hypnotic final track) ensure that this remains a bonafide cult classic.
Five Stars. |
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| "Madonna's Ray of Light!" | 2009-07-22 |
| - Reviewed By sylviastel |
Madonna has been around for almost three decades which is hard to believe. I remember when she first came on the music scene with Borderline and the rest is musical history. With the recent and sudden passing of Michael Jackson, Madonna even paid homage during one of her concerts to his memory which I thought it was touching.
Madonna's Ray of Light is above average but not excellent but she keeps trying and recording. Her songs here are fine but not groundbreaking anymore. She has broken a lot ground during her career and there is not much left. As a mother and wife, Madonna has matured and so has her musical inclinations. She is a solid performer and can dance as well as sing a tune. The collection of songs here are mixed and no two are really alike. |
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| "Keeping it all together." | 2009-06-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A20YLUOS7JZX66 |
One of her greatest works! I'm only 17 and back in '98 was when I was fully exposed to Madonna. I remember watching MTV (when they actually cared about videos) being so intrigued by this woman dancing inasanely, but so happily! A few weeks ago I purchased the album @ a Borders sale and boy was I happy. Every song including the title track had me shakin in my boots LOL.
My 3 fav songs:
Swim-Excellent song, IMO a true 90's classic.
Nothing Really Matters-So beautiful! The lyrics really speak to the heart.
Sky Fits Heaven-Superb! Any open minded person connected to their fsmily & surroundings will love this song! |
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 "Love this CD, BUT... BUYER BEWARE:" | 2009-04-09 |
| - Reviewed By grevelle2002 |
If you rip CD this to your computer, parts of two of the songs are missing, especially in "The Power of Good-bye" at 2:25-2:38 and "Nothing Really Matters" at 1:18-1:28 (These play in their enirety when the CD is played). The CD is just now going to SIT in my computer's CD tray.
This Encryption technology is defeating the music industry's effort to expand buyers trust especially when Apple's ITunes has done away with DRM and the RIAA is able to TRACK file-swappers. IF I BUY CDS, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO RIP THEM AT 320 KBPS, which is why I BUY CDs instead of downloading albums, AND NOT HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE CD WHEN I WANT TO HEAR IT AT THE 320 KBPS QUALITY.
I would give this music by Madonna 5 Stars, but the Encryption technology only allows me to give it 1 Star = Ray of Light gets 3 Stars. |
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| "A breathtaking album for ANYONE!" | 2009-02-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1MKRWV5G2ZSU5 |
I never really was a Madonna fan when I was a kid, only hearing her songs "Music" and "Die Another Day" play on the radio non-stop, BUT when I heard Madonna's song "Ray of Light" I got into her music! This album has some of the most amazing songs I have ever honestly heard! It's just very soothing and the songs are so different that it's just amazing how original they are! Here are my reviews for each song!:
1) Drowned World/Substitute for Love- 9/10
This song is a very soft and relaxed song, where Madonna really uses her vocals. I really love the meaning of the song, but the song itself is pretty good, but not her best from the album.
2.) Swim- 10/10
What an amazing song! The fact that the song is a mix of an alternate rock beat with a dash of pop, the song gets really catchy. Also, I love the meaning of the song, like she wants to "swim to the ocean floor" to "wash away all the sins." This song out of her whole album has a really deep and true meaning. It's an unforgettable song!
3.) Ray of Light- 10/10
Best song off the album, best song of Madonna's! It's just so beautiful, amazing, and just reminds you of life. I love how she says "quicker than the ray of light," how she sings..... just everything about this song is awesome! The best part is that it's a song that anyone can love- whether or not you are a Madonna fan or not.
4.) Candy Perfume Girl- 10/10
This is the one of the songs from the album where Madonna is being very sexy, which I like. It seems as if she's talking to a guy calling herself the candy perfume girl, and him the candy perfume boy. I just love the guitar playing in the background (especially by the end) and here unique language (speak delicious fires, magic poison, rock the ocean, etc.)
5.) Skin- 9.5/10
I really enjoy this song! It has this really chilly feeling to it, but at the same time I love how she is saying touch me in a very mature, yet seductive way. The beat of the song is really different from her usual pop/upbeat songs, but I think it was genius!
6.) Nothing Really Matters- 8.5/10
Good song, but it's not really one that sticks out. I personally enjoy the remix (club 69 remix) of this song, because it is a lot more upbeat... overall, it's another different song from Madonna's usual.
7.) Sky Fits Heaven- 10/10
When I first heard this recently, I could not believe I missed this song! It is one of the best songs from her album, and not only are the vocals and beats amazing, but the lyrics are pretty interesting and it's one of the songs you just want to sing and dance to!
8.) Shanti/Ashtangi- 9.5/10
I'm not going to lie- this song is NOT for everyone. To me, it is completely different from all of Madonna's songs (and riskiest) but for some reason I love it. The meaning is very nice and also it's a song I love to sleep or just relax/meditate to.
9.) Frozen- 9.5/10
This song is one of the few songs I feel that have an appropriate music video that matches this song. I love how the song has a "frozen" feeling to it, from her look in the song to the way she sings it. It is another outstanding song from Madonna!
10.) The Power of Good-Bye- 8/10
I just like the song. This song has an awesome music video, background music, and she has an amazing voice, but for some reason this song isn't as catchy as the rest of her songs. I think the song is good, but the fact that she has other amazing songs on this album, I feel it really isn't a "stick out."
11.) To Have and Not to Hold- 7.5/10
Not a bad song... but eh I can't really give much credit to this song. I think it fits into her theme of the album, but for some reason doesn't really sound as great as the others.
12.) Little Star- 7.0/10
The meaning is really beautiful, but it is not a song I would listen to a lot. I think this song was not as great as the rest of the album.
13.) Mer Girl- 7.5/10
Another meaningful song, but I feel like it's more of a story she's telling than a song... Not much beat/rhythm in the song, which I personally love a lot.
----------Overall i think this is the best album of Madonna's and I recommend it to anyone who loves Madonna, or just loves good music!------
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