Reviews (page 7 of 8)
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Didn’t expect that!
Dette er det første albumet vi har hatt her som jeg genuint misliker. Dette er det jeg liker minst med Madonna og det jeg liker minst med 90-tallet i ert og samme album. Det er kjedelig pop. Det er seigt, det har null glede. Nesten villig til å kalle det pretensiøst. Til å være en artist som alltid har fått creds for å henge med på trendene så syns jeg dette var urovekkende utrendy og bare kjedelig. «Frozen» den mest kjente låten her, er en 6-minutter langgørrkjedelig funeral-dirge av en poplåt. Fuck Madonna, fuck dette albumet. Det verste vi har fått så langt.
Så bra! 90-tallet, pop, nydelig. Madonna ass. Favorittlåt: Sky Fits Heaven og Frozen
Lekker album, veel goede nummers en af en toe een matige.
Ethereal, lovely ambience
Poop
Long drawn out pop tracks meet diet techno. No thanks. Title track was OK, but there were some real painful ones in here including 11 straight minutes of the "Candy Perfume Girl" and "Skin" back to back.
The song Ray of Light is my guilty pleasure, it touches something inside of me that evokes more joy than a song should, especially from a genre one doesn't normally listen to. I hadn't heard the rest of the album before and although it doesn't hold up to the title track the electronic, dance, and ambient beats made for an enjoyable listening experience.
A mature record that works on several levels. There's some meaning and soul (no doubt down to her developing spirituality and the perspective of motherhood), but also fun and lively. Title track slaps, absolutely and there are a greater number of additional moments of depth and quality than perhaps her past led one to expect.
Essential Tracks: Ray of Light (Playlist) Mer People Frozen
Vergane glorie, die Madonna! Ze was ooit natuurlijk briljant, maar te veel in haarzelf gaan geloven.
Frozen vind ik nog wel een mooi liedje, maar de rest is echt niet te pruimen
Ik durf het bijna niet te zeggen maar ik vond dit eigenlijk behoorlijk consistent en van een best aardig niveau. Heb me er totaal niet aan geergerd, wat doorgaans bij het wat latere werk van Madonna eigenlijk een zekerheidje is.
Het kan aan m'n bui liggen, maar dit beviel me onverwacht goed!
It's like being stuck at the world's lamest rave.
Madonna has a high floor and this album is proof of that. Good album but I vastly prefer her 80's albums.
I recognized 1-2 songs from the album. I liked the background music / production, and some of the styles included (e.g. some industrial sounds, some Indian, etc). But I didn't really get into the vocals or the songs in general.
The production is the star here. The songs I was already familiar with held up, but some of the other songs were definitely less memorable.
While it sounds very of its time, still largely enjoyable.
Bit different from what I was expecting but definitely not my cup of tea.
4/5. At first listen, I was not a fan of this album but on second listen, I really enjoy the aesthetic and the songs stand out much more than before. There are some heavy hitters and some experimental songs that feel like the songs are written by a professional willing to branch out and explore new sounds, making it a refreshing and well-produced listen. Sure not all songs are perfect but I am glad I gave this one a second chance.
I wrote a review on this last night, but fell asleep before posting because it bored me to death. Just Madonna trying too hard to stay relevant and Frozen is the only song remotely worth listening to. 2/5
Not really into it. But not terrible.
Better production than others
This album was kind of hard to get thru. Only a couple tracks seem like the music and the vocals are meant to be together while the rest of the tracks seem like the two are trying to be dominant over each other. I’ve never thought that Madonna had a great voice, (passable, maybe even good, but definitely not great), but her producers and sound engineers in prior albums were keen on how to lay her voice onto the track which is why she had some iconic albums along with her sex appeal, but this album unfortunately does not do it for me. 2
The hindi song was weird but Madonna got them downtempo BEATS
Balaeric dance mashed up with mega-pop, it's somehow simultaneously uptempo, upbeat, anthemic and chill in a trancey way. Liked it a lot more than I expected from only knowing the song Ray of Light previously but it suffers from CD-era bloat. Nothing on here is as aurally infectious as her 80s classics. Basically a solid 90s techno-pop album with some star power.
Better than expected.
Just not interesting
Surprising pretty good
I was struck by a few things about this album: William Orbit’s production was contemporarily criticised but retrospectively celebrated for helping to bring EDM into the mainstream. Madonna was contemporarily criticised but retrospectively celebrated for her Eastern cultural influences in this album. It’s almost as if critics decide that what they say in the present is outdated when asked to retrospectively view it 2 decades later. The disc is good.
It may be a genre-defining departure for Madonna, or some production masterpiece that shook the musical world into the 2000s, but that does not excuse the fact that this album is so BORING. We're not talking not my cup of tea boring, but that kind of shit that grew out of favor for a reason as the years went on. None of the beats here stick in your mind as none of them are catchy, the slick nature seems like a total relapse of everything pop music had learned earlier in the decade with the rise of grunge, and I just straight up don't care as I'm listening to the point of anger. And at over an hour long despite the slim thirteen track length, why would I bother? That's not to mention the fact that Madonna does nothing here. Her voice is inoffensive but not notable, and I cannot imagine she's the one who made all of these "futuristic" backing tracks, leading me to believe the only praise this album tends to get from music critics is those who already love William Orbit's style and want to praise this boring "choose your car!" sounding shit. Feels like a crime this can be considered trip hop because putting this and acts like Björk and Portishead in the same sentence seems like blasphemy. Bleh.
Don’t get why it’s on all sorts of lists.
This was a decent album and a lot more enjoyable than expected. The 90s club hit beats ent decently with madonnas singing throughout. Ray of Light is a pretty enjoyable song and is a fun hit for 90s retro feels. Overall it’s a good album that is a true to form 90s album. Madonna does a decent job adapting from the 80s. 6.3/10
Good listen, energetic with some great hits but not adventurous enough vocals in my opinion. (70%)
I only knew Madonna through her hits (that's a lot of songs) but had never listened to a full album of hers before. My respect for her has only grown. This album is so well written that I immediately heard this was the album with frozen on it. It's not just a collection of songs, but really an album. If the strength of the start would last for the whole album this would have been a 5 star but it's gonna be a 4 star.
Never a fan of Madonna… but this album is great. Groovy electronica
ganz cool eig, aber sehr lang und dementsprechend nit so memorable
Madonna?
Good!
Best Song: Ray Of Light. Always nice when the titular song is the best song on the album. Worst Song: The Power of Good-Bye. Not only are the lyrics painfully cheesy, she's not even singing them with particular conviction. Overall: Not unpleasant, but it feels too slick and over-produced. Lacking any soul, it ends up just being a boring run through some run-of-the-mill 90s pop. And I don't care if she designed the mill; it's still boring.
Great embrace of 90s dance music combined with Madonna's pop flair, as good as her classics and surprisingly deep with good songs.
Actually not bad. Probably because I remember many of these songs from the radio - Ray of Light, Nothing Really Matters, and Frozen specifically. Much better than the previous Madonna album! Maybe a few tracks too long.
I like the music on this album - Madonna's vocals are also very strong. Ray of Light is a great track.
Brutal stuff. So boring
Surprised this is on here. Madonna has some great albums but this is a self-indulgent borefest.
This was a total surprise. The only things I knew about Madonna were the adoption stuff and her hits, more from the 80s with that big, brash style. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but it was easy to listen to and surprising in it's style. I'd happened to get Massive Attack's Blue Lines the day before, so the slightly laid-back trip-hop nature of this was interesting to compare - it's all fine enough, but lacks the drive and energy and rawness of that album: just a little too bland and over-produced in places perhaps. Not half bad though.
I guess I never realized that this was Madonna's like late 90s trip hop & downtempo project. I like it enough, but it does kinda feel a bit same-y throughout, I'd kinda expect it to connect with me more than it does. 3.5/5
Some great stuff on there but not all the way through.
This album surprised me. I am not too familiar with Madonna outside of the hits and didn’t realize just how much her music evolved throughout her career. This album took its influences from triphop, downtempo, and other various electronic genres. Unfortunately, there is some very dated late 90s pop production tendencies that stand out like a sore thumb. Though the album was too long, I enjoyed just how much Madonna was open to trying new things.
Immaculately crafted clean, brand-new, gleaming, perfectly packaged pop music - and absolutely bland and boring.
Madonna has always been the Queen of Reinvention and jumpin on trends. This is one of her peak moments. William Orbit brought out the best of Madonna with this blissful collection of techno pop. Unlike the bulk of her albums this one isn't patchy either, it is a solid piece of work no song feels like it needs to be skipped
Nice album, then hip, with Frozen as best song. Not into madonna, this one is fair.
not my jam
It's not for me. It's like trip hop but without any interesting or creative elements
What a cool era for madonna! One of my fave Madonna Erass
The first track was outstanding, I thought I may be in for a treat. Let's just say things went downhill from there.
I've never been a massive fan of Madge, but I recall the impact this album had back in the late 90s. A worthy and memorable reinvention with some classic tracks. Well done. It was all downhill from here (cue worst James Bond theme ever)
Exceptionally boring. Not my kind of music at all
Disappointing
Frozen is an absolute tune. Rest of it is generally very sub par euro pop/dance
Ray of shite 👍🏾
I was expecting more from the so called “Queen of Pop”. This is a very underwhelming album full of forgettable tracks that blend together into a boring mess. It has wonderful production and arrangements, but everything else is just so bland, the lyrics, melodies, writing. Even the vocal performances were unimpressive. Unimpressed. 2/5
2.5
"Ray of Light" is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The album was a stylistic departure from her previous album as she incorporated electronica and techo-pop. She also covers various genres including ambient, trip hop, art pop, pyschedelic music and Middle Eastern music. Lyrics tend to be mystical as Madonna was studying Hinduism, Buddhism and Ashtanga Yoga and just had given birth to her daughter. The album received wide-spread critical acclaim including some calling it her best album and commercially did very well reaching #1 in 17 countries and selling over 16 million copies. Wind blowing opens "Drowned World/Substitute for Love." A downtempo ballad with her singing softly. A nice building guitar. Madonna is holding herself accountable for her life and fame and assessing her career. She goes straight uptempo techno-dance in "Ray of Life." A prominent guitar and modulating synths. A mystical look at the universe and how small we are. One of my favorite Madonna songs. She continues the dance going in "Nothing Really Matters." An ambient sound too. "Frozen" was the first single released. An electronic ballad with strings. About a cold and emotionless man. It does a good job of making you feel emotionally cold too. Her other singles are also ballads. "The Power of Good-Bye" is emotional and more techno. Loss and longing. "Little Star" continues in the electronic area and is about Madonna's dayghter. This album is very much ambient and chill. A spiritual vibe. Madonna's voice is fantastic as she had been taking vocal lessons for her role in "Evita." Overall, this is an excellent album and definitely if not her best near the top.
- Diverse beat selection from lush relaxing trippy to danceable - production sounds pretty nice and oddly experimental at points - madonna soft vocals don’t add too much but work well with the production - drags pretty hard especially halfway through - lyrics are really dull - overall it’s a good pop record but nothing i would replay, 7/10
Showing of her skills again as the queen of pop. Although there are some good tracks here and jumps into a few different générés it just a reasonable album and not on the same level as some of her other work.
2*
Frozen and nothing really matters are nice pop tunes. Ray of light has not aged well.
Me aburrio y no lo escuche
Este estaba en la colección del Geny. Para mí le sobra dance y le falta pop. 2.5.
(Deep inhale, followed by audible sigh) Ok…here we go. Madonna’s “Ray of Light”. Produced by William Orbit (whose album, “Strange Cargo III”, I found to be utterly loathsome), “Ray of Light” finds Madonna embracing the electronica of the mid 90’s and turning it into a easily digestible product for the masses. Thematically, Madonna draws inspiration from religious mysticism, psychedelia and yoga. Honestly, I am surprised that she isn’t writing songs about the probiotic benefits of kefir or multipart suites about vaccine conspiracies she read on a “very reputable” website. I fucking hate this album. It’s awful. What’s next? That Cher album with all the auto-tune?
I was pleasantly surprised when listening to Like A Prayer a few months ago. I never would has considered myself a Madonna fan so that was unexpected, and it leaves me feeling quite optimistic about today’s album. There are a few songs I recognised the names of, so let’s see if the whole album sounds good too! Songs I already knew: Ray Of Light, Frozen Favourites: Ray Of Light, Frozen I’ll be quite blunt with this and say I felt really underwhelmed. The above mentioned tracks stand out as significantly catchier and generally better than all other tracks, which generally feel like filler. In my opinion, every song here except from Ray Of Light and Frozen is completely skippable and forgettable, which is a shame because those two are pop classics.
Makes me sleepy.
A couple great and memorable songs and then mostly okay songs. Catchy but again too long.
Madonna doesn't know who she is at 80 and she really hopes you'll like her music. 🤡 It will break her heart if you don't. 💔 Skin
Trash 🚮
I really enjoyed Beautiful Stranger which came out around the same time as this album so was looking forward to this. But all the blips and bleeps can't hide the fact she hasn't really got anything to say that's worth hearing. Maybe I just expected too much.
Decent pop, i think all the production is William orbit whos good with the ravey ravey, felt like she was on the bandwaggon at the time!
Not really for me but enjoyed it far more than I had expected to
The music was alright and the songs were alright.
I prefer Madonna's earlier work, although Ray Of Light is listenable enough, it feels more filler than killer. 2.5
This album was a pleasure. I had always wanted to get round to listening to it, I was a big fan or her first album but I think some of her material is quite poor when she isn't pushing herself sonically. William Orbit does alot of the heavy lifting on this album. His production work is outstanding. The music is very solid and at points tremendous. Negatives: it's maybe a little baggy in the middle, but just when you think the album I'd slowing down a little, Frozen appears and carries the rest of the album. I will give this album middle FOUR. And I may revisit it in future. Enjoyable
Garbage
I don't think anyone could make something sound more 90s if they tried. This album is so dated and just not good. The songs on here really dragged on.
I would like to gush effusive about this but I just can't. Ray of light - the single - was epic at the time. It was fresh and new and a pretty different way of going at music - and it was Madonna, who at that point was viewed as being a bit tired, a bit embarrassing really. We all knew that she was top of the world in the 80s, had made a bit of a tit of herself with the whole Sex thing, because honestly, it was kind of like your mum talking about how much she loved getting spunk on her face. She was a former star, married to the fella who did the Laaandan gangsta fillums - and out of nowhere she was filling up dancefloors again! Genuinely was a smash, and it put the dried-up Madonna back on the map. The album though... Not quite so good. Yeah, there's some more hits on it, but the single is where it has to be. Genuinely a bit of a struggle to pick between 2 and 3 - 2 because of godawful tracks like 'skin' and 3 because of how completely ray of light - the single - reinvigorated Madonna.
could not get thru bec of her voice....
While it works like charm a lot of times, its nonetheless a hit-or-miss. The true star here is the amazing production. The electronic beats are more often than not, nice. As a listen, I only enjoyed it to some extent. It's fascinating at its best, but it doesn't have the charm of '80s Madonna or actual trip-hop like Portishead. This album sits in a valley between those two sounds and moods.
привычные синглы очень нравятся; остальное кажется пустым и плохо спетым. проблема во мне?..
This is mom music and not the good kind. The kind that you had to listen to on the way back from school after a bad day. Pretty boring overall.
good but way too saturated
Its OK, but not great. Couple of good dance tracks, and there you have Madonna's last good album. Its got no place on a list of albums that everyone should hear before they die. 3/5
I never knew Madonna was that experimental with the sound in her albums. This one really surprised me, on how much variety it has. You got Trip-Hop, Trance, some hints of techno and much more. I really enjoyed it.
Sweet and melodic - enjoyed this a lot. 4.5
This album was really interesting. The first track was really dreamy, had me thinking it would be just the standard somber type album. But then the next track has a dance beat to it & is a bit psychedelic, some lean heavy into electro pop, then some of the tracks are downright trippy like “Skin”. Idk I thought this was very fun personally, however it definitely dragged at times. In the 3-4 range, but I’ll settle with a 4.
One of those albums where it was like “I guess it’s cool I know what a Madonna album sounds like now.” Other than that it had some interesting moments in the beats and the singing was definitely its own style but I was waiting for this to end. I can see why people would fw this and see the dance beats as a cool change but wasn’t for me.
Nothing really matters is an absolute heater. The wispy vibe of this album is hit or miss for me Overall, I was into it, wish I wasn’t boozing by a lake so I could be more on its wavelength.
madona es la 1
I was positively suprised about madonna. Didn’t know she had an album like this in her. I really dont like 90s pop so my expectations were low but it was an enjoyable listen
I respect Madonna for her hustle. When you think pop music, there is something in the back of your head that says "Madonna". But... I can't find any pleasure in listening to her songs.. On this album most or even all of the songs are something I would call a "production tricks". There is the voice of Madonna... and everything else is bland and inappetic. Some would say that in most of the pop music production overvalues the artistic aspects, but with Madonna's music I, personally, can very clearly hear that. First 1/5 on the list.
I remember liking Ray of Light when it came out, and I still do. But listening to this album is like panning for gold. The opening track is ok, then the next one is a bore, then Ray of Light comes shining through, sounds like the previous tracks but perfected. Then you sink back into a mediocre groove -- pretty but also yawn. The Frozen emerges, lovely and catchy, followed by The Power of Good-Bye, which also sounds great. Then we close out on 16 unnecessary variations on the same themes. The whole album sounds the same, it's hard to put your finger on why the formula only works a few times, on what Ray of Light gets so right, but that magic only dusts a few tracks.
her best record since Like a prayer
lyrics are kinda tacky
Hyvä pop-levy. Tosin toi shantishanti oli kyllä aika vaivaannuttava. Oon etsinyt tätä jo pidempään vinyylillä mutta on pahuksen kallis 4/5
Juu how do you do fellow kids -energiat tosiaan vahvasti tässä läsnä. Silti muutama hyvä onnistuminen nostaa kolmoseen.
Eh aika tämmönen tyypillisen tylsä nollari-pop-levy. En ihan tajua arvoa. 2/5.
Nice
Tracks 1-2 and 4-8 are quite weak. The final track, track 9 is pretty nice with outstanding vocals by Madonna and great accompanying strings. Track 3 is excellent and worthy of being the title track.
Ahh yes, the Von Dutch trucker hat of Madonna's career. Super fun and enjoyable, filled with fluffy ease and fake beauty. Life is short, ignore that feeling of guilt and enjoy yourself.
I'm gonna have to break with the group on this one. I think "Ray of Light" absolutely deserves to be on the list, and beyond belonging is actually an album I quite enjoy and give much credit to. I previously remarked about how I thought "Like a Prayer" was not the right Madonna album for the list, but not so here. As a whole, this might be the Madonna album I like best (that I've heard). The decision to make a hard shift to electronica was a bold move by a pop star as big as Madonna. I think in 2023 we forget a bit how big she really was. She is the best selling female artist of all time, in part due to longevity. She was an incredibly influential cultural icon. And yet, nearly two decades into her career, she tried something new. Electronica was pretty underground in the 90s, but a lot of music historians point to this album's role in helping push it more into the mainstream. Many critics regard it as Madonna's best album, so of all the embarrassing albums on the 1001, the most critically acclaimed album by the greatest selling female artist of all time doesn't seem to fit in that category? But regardless of its cultural impact, I actually found that I quite like the album. None of the elements in the album are groundbreaking in their own right (though Madonna had worked to improve her otherwise pedestrian vocals), but it was that the pop icon was delving into electronica, trip hop, trance, and psychedelic Eastern music make it special. Madonna should be commended for the choice to break away from traditional pop producers she had worked with like Babyface, and instead trust William Orbit to guide her in this new direction. Madonna was already becoming, aside from her mainstream celebrity, a bit of a club icon in the 90s. But "Ray of Light" cemented her ability to walk in both worlds.
Madge’s last great album. I love the cohesiveness of it. It’s clear that every song is a part of this album, yet each has its own unique perspective and sound. The Eastern & Middle Eastern influences work well for me, giving the music a spiritualized edge. Madonna’s voice is in fine form and the production is unmatched. Complicated and catchy rhythms meld with super-rich bass lines and ethereal atmosphere to provide an elevated club sound unlike any other. Frozen is a highlight, with its lush strings, jangly percussion, and almost medieval chord structure supporting her cutting words to a cold, emotionless subject. Little Star, an electronica lullaby to her then-newly-born daughter Lourdes, is unexpectedly touching, yet retains much of the sugary fun that made Madonna a pop goddess.
All of these songs sound the same and they’re boring.
Embarrassing all around. Music is boring. The vocal phrasings are odd. Madonna should be embarrassed that this exists with her name on it. Robert Dimery should be embarrassed that he put it in the top 100,001 let alone the top 1,001.
Oh I remember this! This is when Madonna got dull.
Ein af mínum allra mest uppáhalds plötum. Frábær frá upphafi til enda. Mikil gleði með að hún sé á listanum 🥰
Vomit emoticon
This type of music has to easily be one of my least favorite genres. I'll be honest, I only skipped through after I saw this was over an hour. I had to tap out. I feel slightly bad giving this one star, but it also does make my skin crawl.
It's OK, sounds like a showcase of 90s dance music styles with a couple of very decent tunes.
Madonna's best album according to the critics. I'm not a great admirer of La Ciccone, but I do like this album a lot, even if William Orbit's production lends the whole thing a fairly predictable vibe in terms of sound.
I actually don't mind Madonna jumping on this bandwagon, I think it's because its largely a bandwagon I like and she has made some effort to extend her vocal range to the genre. If you want to get all "how do you do fellow kids" wind forward a few more albums for the real pandering crap. That said, this is overly long, even the hits feel bloated when listening in context of the album. If it was 20 minutes shorter there may even be a 5 in here.
I REALLY do have a soft spot for 90s electronica. I'm not crazy about the album, but it ain't bad. Very dream-like throughout.
I mean, okay I guess? But hardly significant, and a weird choice in Madonna's catalogue. Obviously also too long.
Ray Of Light is obviously too long. There, that’s out of the way. Madonna is a musical chameleon proving time and time again that she’s still somehow relevant in the world of pop. Nowhere is that more evident than Ray of Light. Incorporating techno, trio hop and new-age, this album feels decades away from her previous efforts. There are misses, I don’t particularly like the title track for example, but taking risks and adapting also brings forth something brilliant from time to time - the brilliant and beautiful “Frozen” being an example of this. I’m not exactly an avid Madonna fan. And I’m not really a fan of techno either. But on Ray Of Light Madonna proved her longevity once and for all.
A William Orbit album with Madonna guesting. She sounds like she's having fun on the title track. The rest, less so.
J'ai beaucoup, beaucoup écouté ce disque à sa sortie, mais je trouve qu'il a un peu mal vieilli. Il y a l'aspect appropriation culturelle qui n'aide pas, l'ambiance plus trip-hop semble daté. Ça reste quand même un effort original par Madonna et des textes plus profonds que ceux à quoi ses hits radio nous avaient habitués
Oh, this is a good one. As with Music, I had this on CD when it came out, but hadn't listened to the whole album for years. In this very successful reinvention of herself, this is the mystical electronica dance one. It's pretty awesome. The title track may well be my favorite Madonna song. The whole thing sounds great and I'm happy to hear it again.
well, this album could change a person's mind about being a Madonna fan. It was beautiful and amazing!
Wait. Did I just say a few days ago that Music is one of Madonna's most mature albums? I did. But so is this. More like yoga class than a dance party, this one goes down real easy. And Ray of Light is one of my feel goodest songs.
I haven’t listened to this album in some time, so even though listening again today there was complete familiarity I was startled how I had kind of forgotten about a lot of the music on this album. Ray Of Light is a dreamy, beautiful album built on one amazing song after another - not a throwaway track in the bunch. Madonna’s performance is at its peak. She sounds incredible. I sink into this album and get lost in another world… I’ve said for years that Like A Prayer is Madonna’s best, but listening to this today I have to say this one has the edge. Ray Of Light is an absolutely phenomenal album that should be at the top of my regular rotation. So so good!
Didn't particularly enjoy this album. Rather bland and have never rated Madonna as that great a singer. Not for me
I thought this album was very different than her usually. It wasn’t anything to die over I mean yes it’s Madonna but I don’t think it was anything amazing. I liked it though.
Pleasant surprise this morning getting this; I had forgotten about this record and hadn't heard it in ages - when it came out it was the first time in my life that I voluntarily kept going back to a Madonna album. Not about the vocals (which to be fair are rather pedestrian, but that's more than ok here - it fits as just one small part of the entire package) but about the whole trip-hop vibe. It's the kind of album you sorta wish wasn't just given to "Madonna" but credited to a group because this is obviously a massive collab. Regardless, she mentions that she spent longer writing and re-writing songs on this album than at any point in her career - definitely worth it. I love the production, love the heaviness of some of the songs e.g. "Candy Perfume Girl" has a heavy dance/techno vibe that was unlike anything I'd heard from her before. Other faves: "Swim" "Frozen" Overall it's a bit long and by the latter half I'm left with the feeling like...ok i'm done; getting tedious. Keeping it positive though - if this were cut down to ~9 or 10 songs it might have been perfect, but it's still an excellent album crossing a few genres. 7/10 4 stars
overrata sry
As much as I wanted to like this album, it starts out strong, it has it's moments and some of the songs are enjoyable, but eventually it felt too long and ran out of good ideas. I started to sound all too familiar, like a heard it before. I'm not a Madonna fan, at all, and I do my best to avoid reading about her personal life or listen to her music. You can do a lot worse than Ray of Light, probably the only Madonna record I listened to from top to bottom, but personally, this is not essential, at all, even if I was a Madonna fan.
With a slight dipping with Bedtime Stories and American Life, Madonna's run of albums from Like A Virgin through to Confessons on A Dancefloor - near twenty years, is pretty well unmatched putting her up with critical darlings like REM and Prince. Like A Prayer and Ray of Light are the Everest and K2 in this range - I have a personal preference for the latter as I love the William Orbit wooshes and wibbles that provide the distinctive soundworld of this album. As ever the question is take the singles out and what's left. The answer is a lot. I'll even forgive her a bit of karmic nonsense with the om shantis and everything. This album is almost 25 years old which seems crazy as it still sounds contemporary.
why ya gotta make me listen to this right after radiohead
A reinvention at the time, with some terrific radio friendly singles and arresting music videos but its lustre has faded a little and Madonna’s style seems drowned out by the Orbit production.
Este sí que es una master piece de esta artista. Lo escuchado varias veces en la juventud. Lindos recuerdos.
Second Madonna album in a week... and it's all been her crappy late career stuff. What's THE DEAL with that? Wikipedia album entries for pop albums always try to stress how the singer was a songwriting powerhouse, but they can't hide just how many outside writers were involved. There were eleven (11) writers on this album - plus an extra few who wrote what was lifted from other songs and Buddhist texts lol. But am I meant to believe that Madge called in all these outsiders just to tidy up minor loose ends? Oooh and omg her SPIRITUAL JOURNEY! Wow, how fucking deep. Madge gets bored of trying to provoke the Catholics, goes to India and discovers Buddhism- stop the press! Low hanging fruit criticism aside, it's a catchy enough album. Her songwriters knew what they were doing. It goes too long and I think a lot of her contribution must have been "let's make this part longer, it needs to be like a meditation", because some just drones on almost endlessly. But not the worst thing to listen to at 5am, somehow. 3/5.
Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yeah, lovely and blissful Favourite song: Track 3 - Ray of Light
2.5
I like Madonna and her music, and really admire her as person. I say that because the older I get, the more I realize how cruelly she has been -- and still is -- treated publicly. I honestly do not believe she'd get a fraction of the sh*t she gets if she were male. Even this year (2023) when she appeared at the Grammys to present an award, the public comments about her looks -- in her mid-60s -- were embarrassing. We have a long way to go, people. A long way to go. Back to this album. I had not heard it before and I don't recall hearing any of the tracks from it, and I'm glad this project served it up. Her great sense of composing and arranging songs is evident, and I like the style of music she chose to make for this record. She's always had a superb ear and voice for melody, and it shows here too. Good for you for being who you want to be when you want to be, Madonna. If people need to put you down for it, so be it: it says everything about them and nothing about you. Play on!
It's not bad, it's just depressingly mediocre. Nothing that hasn't been better by less popular musicians
Didn't love this. Feels contrived and forced to me. There are some high points, but generally left me cold.
i am not sure if i have ever been more bored in my life
Weird album, corny lyrics and very 90s-esque dramatic beats. Feel like the list has been heavy on 90s pop that's pretty mid
first 2 songs i was giving this thing a 1. then ray of light came on. songs a bop. rest of album is trash but get a 2 bc that song
Better listen than some of her albums
Was surprisingly light hearted
Definitely a bit of a surprise. I was very aware of most of the singles on this album and have heard, and played, them quite a bit in my life. Frozen, Ray Of Light, Power Of Goodbye are one by one incredibly strong songs, written by a very talented songwriter. The album might not be strong throughout - there's certainly some filler on here and the album could lose some minutes - but it also has a few songs that might just be the best Madonna has released in her career, especially the very danceable tracks 'Sky Fits Heaven' and 'Skin' A solid 4*
Can't say I've ever listened to a full Madonna album before, this is really good! Great dance music, lush soundscapes, great voice, great beats, I'm impressed. No wonder people like her so much. It's a little too long though.
Madonna's take on the whole downtempo/trip hop movement that was going on at the time. I get it that it's considered to be one of her better albums and I'll admit that it's extremely well done, but Madonna's emotionless delivery makes it less exciting than the other great albums of the genre. Still good and if you're a Madonna fan well you're already sold.
No emotions, no stars.
Good album to sleep to
The music is well made with very nice details in it, but... this album try so bad to Massive Attack and to fit the 90s downtempo vibe that it became a little annoying along the ride, especially with its 1h length. Candy Perfume Girl and Skin are so bad it hurts, it would have fit very well in a 90s Dove soap advertising on television. It might be an important album in Madonna's career, but it's not for me.
Aged like milk 2 I hate this kind of music Wait... "Skin" is nostalgic af. Reminds me of Spectrobes. That game didn't age well either, but I still love it so much. "Frozen" Ok this is pretty ok. 3 Music like this from the late 90s and early 2000s has such a repulsive and disusgting feel to it that I can't put my finger on. Somehow, just, ew.
Some shiny bits amidst the dull moments. Top song: ray of light
A whole hour long?! I have barely ever listened to Madonna, but this ain’t it. The song are boring, to electrical, too much of the same beat over the whole song and they are too long.
Not my thing
Madonna heeft mooie muziek, maar dit album is in mijn ogen niet het beste album. Het heeft leuke rustige muziek die zeker goed klinkt. Het album heeft wel enkele hits voortgebracht, maar die hits klinken beter dan de album versies. Ik zou het album dan ook niet aanbevelen. **
Very consistent cohesive album. I liked it.
Listened on 2/28/23 3.5/5 Favorite song: ray of light Madonna has a stunning voice and while this album had a lot of different vibes it perfectly encompasses the 90s and was a electronica bop
Eccentric garbage
Wow... Creative, engaging, satisfying, this album caught me off guard and then some
Best: Ray of Light Worst: Little Star
Really enjoyed it. 2 bangers of singles and the filler was alot better than expected
Ray of Light is a very different sound to what Madonna became famous for. The electro/techno pop sound was perfectly timed for the late 90s surge of dance clubs and raves. With most of the album it would be at home in a lot of nightclubs. With her newly found spirituality in the Kabbalah religion, coupled with Buddhist and Hindu traditions, she has managed to encapsulate the feeling of these in this album. And all credit to her, she worked to get the correct pronunciations of Sanskrit words for the track Shanti/Ashtangi. If only she was able to shorten some of the track lengths, averaging about 5 mins per song, it did feel like it dragged on a bit. Best: Skin Worst: Little Star
I found it quite boring to be perfectly honest 2/5
Highlights: Title track, “Skin”, “Sky Fits Heaven”, “Frozen”, “Shanti” Kinda hate that one of my favourite tracks is the Sanskrit one (imagine if “Across the Universe” was in just Sanskrit) Decent chillout album February 11, 2023
Once cutting edge, now past her prime superstar hops on a trend and rides the wave to a minor resurgence in popularity, a resurgence that wouldn't leave much of a lasting impact. Material girl all day over this. 1 seated lotus out of 5. 🧘
I wasn’t a huge fan of this album when it came out, and time has not worked its magic to change that. Next time you listen to it, imagine her singing without the music… And that’s not to say she hasn’t got an amazing voice, she has, just not on this album.
I didn't enjoy this one much. I couldn't get into any songs past Skin. Mer Girl is a real bummer of a track to end on.
This is a really good album. There's a reason Madge has such a devoted fanbase, and this album is a testament to why. The arrangements are really intricate and lovely, some surprisingly so. Madonna is in great voice, with some of the best vocals of her career. The album was a bit too long, but an enjoyable listen. Fave Songs: Frozen, The Power of Good-Bye, Drowned World/Substitute for Love, Nothing Really Matters, Ray of Light
Nit bad
I’m generally quite fond of Madonna, but this album wasn’t for me. Other than the title track, I didn’t enjoy any of the songs.
Les albums de trip-hop ne seront plus commentés.
Madonna nous propose ici un album complètement vide, comme l'entiéreté de sa carrière qui ne tient qu'à ses scandales et ses lèvres botoxées. Bien essayé de ramener Grace de Peaky Blinders sur la cover, cela ne suffit pas à sauver les apparences.
Midonna
Pop bastante sólido. Se adapta bien a su tiempo con algunos ritmos dance y sonidos medio aphextwineanos. En última instancia, el álbum parece un poco eso: Madonna, como un ícono, ganando otra metamorfosis; diluyéndose en el momento, antes de pasar al siguiente. Una especie de significante flotante.
La verdad q este "superpop" zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 4/10
top 3 mejores discos de madonna este disco es increible tiene una produccion tremenda un uso de los sintetizadores inmejorable combinado con unos breaks de bateria que aportan mucho al disco y a la atmosfera del mismo tema favorito:skin
disco maduro de madonna? fuck I'm in
Sounded pretty solid but i got kinda bored like halfway through
Not my thing
Madonna always surprises with her creativity: all her albums are different from each other, both in lyrics and melodies. This all ensures that she remains active and extremely interesting over time. This album is no exception, all songs are great and take you on a mystical journey of that time (she changes too, just like Madonna). I still prefer the Madonna of the 80s, but it is undeniable how great this album is.
Ой вот это звук Теплый, футуристичный Как первый раз в самолете Как тот поезд в германии в октябре 2000 Уже чую индоктринацию но что поделаешь, мадонна Да что ж все песни в одном ладу- лидийский или какойто там, типа доминантсепт как тоника Аа миксолидийский В итоге не понравилось У мадонны слабый завышенный голос, который она зачем-то обрамляет вибрато. Кошмарные тексты, либеральная индоктринация, разрушение западных ценностей, нарциссизм. Явно сама писала. В песне про очередное озарение и перерождение и то как она больше не думкет только о себе каждая строчка начинается со слова Я. Блядь бесит. Вся музыка просто миксолидийская гамма туда обратно. Она потом же это в бьютифул стренджер продолжит. Какая бездарная баба. Песни блядь на хинди и санскрите, курукара гугугага- тебе индусы карьеру сделали, просветленная ты наша? Блядь сука В топку, сжечь.
AMAZING
Boring drivel. Whats with all the 30 second barely audible intros? I Shanti be listening to this album again.
I like Frozen and The Power of Goodbye but the rest of the album wasn't for me.
The title track is a solid pop song. I didn't really hate this album but I was over it pretty quickly. I prefer her earlier material
6/10 solid pop album with interesting beats, but quite long
7/10. I liked all of this, but I wouldn't listen through the whole album again.
Weird techno trip hop Madonna that could’ve been a better album from the 90s (Weezer or Third Eye Blind). 5/10
me emocioné mucho cuando vi que era un album de madonna pero la vdd que no me cambió la vida 7/10
It was ok, definitely a classic, just not for me
This was such a muted, bland version of Madonna. The New Age-y, cultural appropriation-y style not only lent itself to no variety but also made her sound any other New Age 90s singer. And there was no reason this album should have been over an hour. The title track was the only song that had any impact...man, was this a disappointment!
Wow, this was a boring album. If this was all I had heard of Madonna, I would have said she wasn't good at all. Just not good.
I remember Ray of Light coming out on the radio and thinking it was bad. This whole album suffers from a sound of overproduction. Madonna of the 80s was so good and this just isn’t good.
This is pure nostalgia for me and it turns out may also have been the origin album for my new found love of Trip Hop. Ray of Light, Frozen, etc are among my favorite Madonna songs. Post-Evita Madonna with this album and Music is peak Madonna for me. Also, creeper - this isn't a 3, so SMD!
The trip hop influenced instrumentation here is really cool actually. I'm just not a huge fan of the very poppy vocals and her lyrics. Also this album did NOT need to be over an hour long.
Just dreadful.
I'm a bit conflicted about this one. Not a big fan of Madonna, but there are some good tracks on this album; 'Ray of Light', 'Frozen', 'The Power of good-Bye'. But also some tracks I thought were too weird and I didn't like; 'Skin', 'Shanti / Ashtangi'. Overall the album is too long. 3/5
I've heard a grand total of one Madonna album and I gotta say, this was definitely the best one so far. 3/5 - more enjoyable than I thought it would be, but I'm probably never going to listen to this entire album ever again, unless my life would depend on it, at which point I'd say "What a contrived situation I've gotten myself into!".
what fucking ever lol
3.5 + I was taken in by the hype when this album first came out and appreciated its cohesiveness as an album. But in the last 25 years Madonna’s public persona makes me look back less fondly. To me this sounds like a late attempt to capitalize on European rave culture that had been roiling for well over a decade. She seemingly collaborated with some heavy hitters so the breakbeats and programmed rhythms sound correct for the time. But as an attempt to stay current, it feels exceptionally flat-footed. Bjork did a far better job distilling this zeitgeist on “Post”, for example. Lyrically, this record once again betrays a folksy wisdom that would appeal to any American mom who enjoys morning talk shows and supermarket gossip magazines. With copious Hindi incantations that create a general yogic atmosphere, Madonna was at least somewhat ahead of the curve when it came to culturally appropriating yoga. I’m sure “Ray of Light” is on heavy rotation at any Lululemon, where my aunt is right now purchasing a pair of yoga pants she maybe shouldn’t.
An interesting range of styles and influences, including ambient, trip hop and Middle Eastern, packaged up into an easy and accessible pop dance album by William Orbit. It tails off in the final quarter, but overall a really good record by the American Kylie Minogue. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Ray of Light Date listened: 24/12/22
This album is very much of the time. It's Madonna's attempt at reinventing herself for the time, but it mostly falls flat, with a couple of songs where she hits the mark.
Madonna has always been able to reinvent herself and go after trends before they become such. That said, this leaves me somewhat cold. Most of it is her meandering spiritual stuff, which doesn't interest me. The only song that works for me here is the title track, and it's fantastic. I wish there'd been more like it!
Title track does all the heavy lifting here. I get the relevance, but Madonna and Electronica just not my cups of tea. I didn't hate it, just feel that others were a lot more instrumental in Electronica and Madonna came along and all these pop people were like ooooooh. No sir, I won't have it! But still, 3 stars, title track is pretty awesome.
Super chill 90s classic
Clearly recall this coming out (it’s from earlier than I would have thought) and being heralded as a great reinvention by Madonna. Some catchy stuff but listening to most of these songs for the first time in decades, I’m struck by how middle of the road it is. It might have been a departure for a major pop star, but it’s pretty mundane for its genre.
Madonna tries to make a New Age dance record and it goes about as well as you would expect. Takes the crown for most dated instrumentals I’ve heard yet in the project (including all the 80s LPs, which is saying something).
I'm sure many Madonna fans will disagree, but I'm of the opinion that you could cut her career off at her 1990 single "Vogue" and not miss any of her essential tracks. Taken a step further, 1990's "The Immaculate Collection" is the perfect encapsulation of Madonna at her best, and fulfills all of my Madonna listening needs. There may be a smattering of post-'90 tracks that I enjoy, but I can't think of a single one I'd miss if it suddenly ceased to exist. In short, '80s Madonna is the best Madonna. Given that, it shouldn't be surprising that this gets a low rating from me. The title track is fine, and "Frozen" is fine, too, but not even William Orbit's intriguing house-influenced production gets me into the groove like her earlier stuff does.
Spiritual Madonna with trance tracks. I was never a huge fan of the song Ray of Light but have always enjoyed the album as a whole. Little Star was an ode to her eldest daughter, Lourdes, which always warms me, and Frozen is one of my favorite songs of all-time - I can listen to it on a loop & the video is spectacular. Solid 4.
Listened Before? Y Of all the Madonna albums to pick, I'm not sure why this one is on the list, but I don't mind it. It's super mellow, and thats fine. It's a good vibe album. Minus points for the foreign language song, but otherwise not too bad. I loved Frozen back in the day and it still holds up, although 6+ minutes is a bit long. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Sky Fits Heaven
Good
I know Madonna but haven’t listened to Madonna other than the obvious hits that come on the radio, but as soon as I heard the first couple of songs, I knew that ‘Frozen’ was going to be on this album. Wasn’t terrible but did bore me a fair bit. Would have had it to ‘Beautiful Stranger’ if it was on this one but it wasn’t so that’s that.
An album I’ve never heard yet was very nostalgic. Frozen almost pushed it to 3 stars alone but that wouldn’t be fair. Belter song that thought.
3.5/5
The Madonna thing. The albums (up to about 2010) are always about 2 years ahead of the game, even when the songs are just okay. This is no exception, cutting the queue to be ahead of the sophisticated adult dance music trend. The problem is, that wasn't so interesting when it happened...so it's good enough, but hard to love. Ray of Light's a tune though.
Outstanding side A existing in tension with kind of a dull side B. I dunno, this one really excited me at the start, but I didn’t end it with the same enthusiasm
Shoutout to that bartender at the country bar for this one but this shit sucks. Best song I had to pull up the phone and realize the album was over and was on shuffle playing another band
Anyone who thought Madonna had “matured” with “Ray of Light” clearly hadn’t anticipated the state of her Instagram account by 2022. (If you haven’t seen it, stop what you’re doing and take a look. Solid as it is, this album might hit different.) “Ray of Light” is certainly a more sonically adventurous album than Madonna’s earlier work. It might be a little more refined, a little more cohesive, and a little more mature. But does this mean better, or does it just suck all the fun out that I’ve come to expect from a Madonna record? Much has been made of William Orbit’s production in the hype surrounding this album, and how it helped with the reinvention of Madonna. To an extent, this is true: there are some interesting production choices here which place the album more in the 90s EDM boom than the pop world. Things begin in a really promising fashion, with the enticing “Drowned World/Substitute for Love”. The build up to each chorus, layered with subtly shifting instrumentation and beats, really help to sell it. From there, “Swim” is a perfect follow-up: sensual, a little livelier, an emphasis on the spiritual. I was expecting a much more muted, moody record from these openers, so I was caught completely off guard by the album’s title track. “Ray of Light” is just that on an otherwise dark and stormy album- it comes in like a bolt and- remarkably- Madonna’s careering vocals sound wonderful in it. But for me, it’s also the peak of the album. This isn’t great for track 3 of 10, with plenty of longer, more meandering and less rewarding songs to come across the rest of it. I can’t see the appeal at all with “Frozen”, the lead single and one of Madonna’s most famous songs from this period. It feels stumbling around in search of a strong hook or lyric, lost in the haze of Orbit’s production. A good mood piece, perhaps, but hardly single material. “Skin”, “Little Star”, and many others besides, are just mediocre songs dressed up in cutting edge production that is fortunate enough to not have aged as badly as some of Madonna’s other material. That said, it’s “Shanti/Ashtangi” where things really go off the rails. Nobody asked for Madonna to do a whole song in Sanskrit with a vague Indian accent: it’s naive at best and wholesale cultural appropriation at worst. “The Power of Goodbye” is a little better, redeeming the back half with a solid vocal performance and one of the most outwardly emotional songs on the record. Then we end on “Mer-Girl”, which is dark, surreal, even admirable. It’s not exactly a show-stopper, but presumably she was opting for a more low key finish here. I’m very aware that the more extroverted songs grabbed me the most here, so perhaps this album is a more subtle beast or maybe I wasn’t in the right headspace to get into it. It’s certainly an interesting evolution, and these two stars may as well be split across the first three tracks.
Great mix of dance pop, bass-heavy club jams, world music and atmospheric electronica. The production is phenomenal and the music isn’t formulaic and cookie-cutter like a lot of pop music today. There’s some really cool choices and instrumentation. The songwriting is very strong too! Man, “Ray of Light” is an incredible song. One of those dance tracks that can turn your living room into a club. Impossible to resist. Highlights for me after the first listen or two: “Swim,” “Ray of Light,” “Candy Perfume Girl,” “Ashanti/Ashtangi”
I'm specifically giving this a really good deep listen because I've never listened to a Madonna album start to finish. Track 1 starts a little slow but I like the build up around the 4 minute mark. Definitely has some vibe in it and isn't just straightforward vanilla pop which is nice and unexpected. Production is really tight as I figured, and does some cool stuff that again I wasn't considering a Madonna record would have- like how some songs are very "grey" sounding and not so black or white. The second track, "Swim" is a good example of this as it's just vibey and lacks typical pop tension/release elements. "Candy Perfume Girl" had some interesting beeps and boops that I liked, along with some cool static sounds layered with the drumset that really made some sounds stand out. I didn't love the song itself though. Switching to "Candy Perfume Boy" at around the 3/4 mark just seemed weird to me. "Ray of Light" i've heard about a million times on the radio in the late 90's when it came out. Surprisingly I knew all of the lyrics without having heard the song in 15+ years. "Skin" was a low point in the album for me. Corny and awkward lyrics, and a cheesy instrumental behind her voice. Lots of songs sort of glide into eachother without big distinctions in them, which I'm conflicted on if I like or not. 3/5 right down the middle for me. Madonna is an American icon and deserves a spot on this list- I will be interested to see if she has another album pop up.
Meh
Yeah, couple of good singles, lots of moody beats driven crap otherwise
Thought I'd be into this more than I was, seeing as I've heard it about 1000 times in my mum's car.
zzzz un peu
petit bonus car album hivernal très bien tombé
I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, but honestly this album was better than I thought it would be. For a pop album, it's very moody and introspective. The electronic music is not groundbreaking for the period, but it's also revolutionary compared to where pop was at when this album was released. The songs are consistently good, and I never felt like this album was pandering. The production is excellent and each song seems to flow into the next in a way that makes it really easy to put on and just listen to 4/5
That Shanti song can fuck right off to cultural appropriation hell but the rest of the album is solid. Not music I love but it all has a perfectly nice groove, perfect for focusing on work. Don't pay too much attention to some of the silly pop lyrics though.
No me gustó ninguna canción
Hey, her voice definitely got better in the 10-year gap between this and "Like A Prayer" so that's nice. I didn't hate this. In fact, I... I think I kind of liked it. I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you! The vibe here is solid. An hour is too much, though. It definitely wore me out by the end but it's still super solid overall.
I didn’t know this phase of Madonna existed, so definitely an interesting listens. The lyrics feel like a bit of a step backwards away from the witty and sometimes incisive exploitations of cultural mores of her 80s hits (like a virgin, material girl) Even her more basic The vibe is interesting, and the album is definitely well produced, I’m just not certain that I jive with the 90s dance music production. It’s very Moby to me with the drum beats, it’s just missing the fun samples. Maybe this was ahead of its timed, but it feels a bit dated now I don’t really like madonna’s vocal performance, it feels a bit strained at times despite being technically fine.
i generally really like it when pop artists go in a totally different direction, so i was quite disappointed that this fell so flat for me. madonna’s vocals are just uninteresting, and this feels like an album which was either ruined or salvaged in the edit. either way, it’s just not very good.
Better than a lot of pop artists today. Ok for background listening. A little to electro for me
Madonna a souvent été précurseure. Ici, c’est plutôt beige comme album. J’entend qu’on tente d’incorporer des élément de trip-hop à du dance. Ce n’est pas particulièrement réussi.
Madonna is the Queen of Pop, even if this is the overproduced 90s electronica version of the genre. It's good, but not great, and I much prefer her earlier albums, e.g. True Blue and Like A Prayer (and Evita, but that's another story entirely). The best tracks here are Drowned World / Substitute for Love, Frozen and The Power of Good-Bye. 3/5
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Ray of light, Frozen, Nothing really matters
70/100: Defining Pop as a genre is always something that has eluded me. To me, the genre has always felt like the default with other genres (like country, rock, grunge, soul, rap) branching off from it. I picture it like a road system—Pop being the main road and those other genres being offshoots from it. This perspective might lead one to believe that I hold Pop on a pedestal; however, don’t get it twisted, let me explain further. It’s easy to get on the highway, set your cruise control to five over the speed limit and zone out; in fact, that’ll get you really far, arguably farther than taking a side road. But it takes courage, curiosity, and imagination to ditch the monotony of the highway to explore what else is out there. In terms of effort put in per mile, it’s the less attractive choice—but it yields the most lucrative rewards. Picturesque scenery, unexplored lands, and adventure await those bold enough to get off the highway. I say all of that to shine a light on my attitude towards Pop as a genre. I see it as an easy way to make a song that sounds pretty good, a song that’ll make you a lot of money and be played a lot on the radio—one that will get you really far. But sounds like rock and roll, grunge, soul, and rap were all new at one point. They were all kicked off by an artist getting off the highway, adventurously exploring their own sound. Madonna is the epitome of the pop artist. For millions of people, when they think of pop, Madonna is the first person to come to mind. Now I don’t claim Madonna to be an uninspired artist. What I do think is that she found the autobahn. She’s clearly in a sports car going around 100 mph in the fast lane, but on cruise control nonetheless. “Ray of Light” is a beautiful album, just like most sports cars are beautiful cars. There’s a lot that’s pretty creative and unexpected about this album, like it’s heavy use of electronic sound. But just because you’re using innovative modern technology like sport mode on the highway doesn’t change the fact that you’re still mindlessly cruising on the highway; in fact, it makes it feel even more a shame that that technology isn’t being put to use flying through corners on a F1 track or zipping down country roads. My first time listening to this album, I loved it. I’d love the chance to fly down the autobahn at 100 mph. But by the second and third time, I began to see it for what it was. The relative speed became normalized. You’re still on the highway. You’re still coasting. It’s still just pop.
In theory I should like this since it's trip-hop electronica, a genre I enjoy... but yet it's Madonna's version of it... and it's not great. Compared with other bands like Goldfrapp, Portishead or Moloko, this just isn't that great. It's passable but the ground has been trodden by better artists. 2.5/5
Annoyingly, I only listened to Ray of Light a few weeks ago. Too much Madge! This album perfectly encapsulates the late-90s tech-spiritual zeitgeist, something Moby would build on. Some tracks are great (Ray of Light, Nothing Really Matters, Sky Fits Heaven), others seem to have been recorded by a 12-year-old girl with access to a studio.
I never heard of this album. It's decent, as far as Madonna albums go. I like the beats she added although she was over a decade late to the party.
What a brilliant idea to bring in William Orbit as a producer. It’s a match made in heaven with Orbit laying down the catchy but innocuous rhythm tracks and Madonna composing songs over top of them. The album would have sounded super-fresh and club-ready upon release. The first 2 tracks are subtle, not immediately catching your attention and then the title track slaps you in the face. “Skin”, “Sky Fits Heaven” & “Froze” are also classics. Even the mellower ballads are made interesting, listenable and Everything-But-the-Girl-ish by the production.
Couldn’t get thru this. I much prefer her early material
I can see why this made the list. Interesting Middle-Eastern trip hop concept.
A normal pop album by Madonna but without her usual huge hit, which is not terribile, but it also means that this record is far from being memorable.
Very surprised how good this was. Sound very trippy
production is great on this. which is not necessarily great for my ears - i tend to prefer raw kind of songs. regardless, this has some good moments. it almosth as an electronic feel to it, which i wouldn't have expected. easily something to put on and dance to in a club. highlights (aka decent songs) : Shanti, ray of light
absolutely beautiful, but not incredibly consistent, the great songs are amazing but there are quite a few skips imo
Some interesting sounds on here like the atmospheric dance stuff, but I just wasn’t into it for the most part.
A different side of Madonna that I had not known until now. Pulling inspiration from the rise of downtempo and trip hop sounds over in the UK, Ray of Light is a definite departure from her usual dance-pop that got her famous in the first place. This is a bold and rewarding move for her, in my opinion, as she utilizes her voice in a way that compliments the new electronic production. Producer William Orbit is equally deserving of praise, as his work in Downtempo on Strange Cargo 2 and 3 helped paved the way for the sound on Ray of Light. For how well-executed this album is, it still feels marred by tracks that could have been cut. "Shanti / Ashtangi" showcases Madonna's passing interest in Hinduism at the time, pulling from Indian pop in a way that feels more like co-opting than honoring. "Candy Perfume Girl" feels like it could have been a cut from an earlier Madonna song that was touched up for the downtempo sound. It leads to things getting overly long. The overall product is stunning regardless. I am fascinated by this move from Madonna, and have a lot of respect for her as a result. Absolutely worth being on the list.
I was fully prepared to hate this record, and even considered just passing on it. Out of curiosity I started listening. The production is top notch, of course. I didn’t like everything, but I did enjoy more than a few songs. The title track was recognizable and quite fun. Ashanti was the big surprise. I could listen to that many more times. Not really a fan of Little Star, but I get where she’s coming from. Overall, a more than decent collection from Madonna.
solid album
POV: You installed Windows XP on your Compaq Presario
Gets a bit Gwyneth Paltrow tbh. I don't mind it, but I don't love it.
I thought I'd done this already. It seems not. Anyway. This was brill in '99. Less so now. (The Veronica project underlines that this style was not as timeless as might have been thought once upon a time.)
Its far too long and laden with terrible poetry
Meh 2.5/5
started strong didnt finish
I think a lot better artists get looked at more critical than someone like Madonna. She’s a singles star, her albums range from boring and too long to meh, could have been better. I could certainly have died before I heard this.
fucking terrible. Made it 5 songs
She was veering dangerously close to a Fat Elvis period, only to successfully pull off something of a miracle. It was ahead of its time and blazed a new path for pop music. Further proof that Midge could always pivot and often times be vital.
If I wanted to hear 90’s dance music, I’d just listen to BT.
a la madonna
Probably her best album. Her first album is massively underrated but sounds a bit dated. Having not listen to this one in ages, it's definitely got that late 90s sound in parts . 24 years old and yet feels like yesterday... Not listened to it in a bit so had forgotten some of the songs. A few listens in and it all comes flooding back She still doesn't get her dues as a songwriter.
More personal than I remembered.
The singles from this album are absolute FIRE! I really enjoy this era of Madonna. The overall flow and point of view here is so cohesive and focused. She's still putting a very trite spin on all of the Eastern ideologies she's exploring, but it is an impressive feat of adaptation and growth for Madonna's music and artistry when you consider where she started. Even though I fucking hate electronica with the fiery burning of a 1000 suns, somehow I like it when it's been heavily distilled through Madonna.
A solidly 90's record. Enjoyable throughout.
Madonna. 👽. Didn't give it a proper listen. Didn't get engaged by a song and a half.
Solid. 3.5/5
Not really my thing
Meh.
I have mixed feelings. Some song are really good, others are just so tedious and long. I do feel it's an album that showcases Madonna's voice quite well.
A melancholy version of Madonna. Couple of great tracks.
It's a good album. My preferred Madonna era. But it's not actually great, it's formulaic.
Pleasant to listen to.
i was dreading this album, and it's over an hour long. not familiar at all with madonna's actual work, but by reputation i expected a bland pop album instead, i'm hearing.. a poppier portishead or massive attack? cleaned up a bit, scrubbed of most of the grunge, but still recognizable. wonder if madonna got really into trip hop and this album popped out?
Has some good bits but songs are too long and ultimately pretty boring.
nei
I wasn’t really a fan of this. I was hoping there would be more songs like “Ray of Light” but that song is an outlier. I didn’t hate it but I wouldn’t want to listen again.
"how do you do fellow kids?"
why the fuck is this so avant? 💀 last Madonna album I heard was Like A Prayer, why is this so different? this sounds like if Bjork focused on making mid dance music idk, it’s not bad, but for my tastes it’s kinda boring - 6/10
Biased to this because im not a madonna fan but the 90s electro beat is really nice so it made me rate it higher
Este cambio de aires de Madonna hacia la electrónica le dio nueva vida aunque no es mi música al menos "Ray of light" y "Shanti/Ashtangi" no están mal y el resto se deja oír.
Ray of light has a special place in my heart but this album is garbage
My god, out of all of madonna’s albums why would they give us this one
3 pretty good songs, but the rest just felt like forgettable background music to a CSI: Miami lab montage. Not unpleasant, but just not memorable at all.
I actually like the religiosity of this album, combined with the electronica sounds, which makes it kind of like a meditative trance of an album.
It's Madonna. She can do no wrong... 3/5 This is an album by her that I really don't know very well, but it is really good.
The album was alright. A couple of well known songs. Some of the songs were pretty eccentric and the music on certain tracks was not great. I still don't think I will listen to this album again.
Never been a huge fan of Madonna, and this clattering production hasn’t aged that well. Some if this is quite pleasant, but it’s no Hamburger Lady.
The songs didn't really work for me. I did like William Orbit's production though. I'd probably enjoy an instrumental version of this album as background music. Ray of Life is the exception which is a great pop song. I've given it an extra star for this track alone.
p829. 1998. 5 stars. Madge on top form. Not a weak track on this. Excellent production. Still sounds great 20 years on.
Whenever there is a phase in Madonna's career, no matter how brief and noteworthy, it all serves a use for a section of the fanbase to hang their hats on. Ray of Light is the culmination of a return to the public's good graces that began with Bedtime Stories and peaked with her starring role in Evita. Crafting compositions about enlightenment and motherhood, this is Madonna's most mature outing; a record that positions her as a sage for all things groundbreaking and revelatory (not that she wasn't beforehand). Sooner or later, she'll slide back down into dangerous waters of irrelevancy but, for a while, Madonna became someone to love again. This album is proof.
Classic Madge!! Absolutely lovely, great beats, perfect for dancing, interesting sounds, great melodies and lyrics. Sky fits Heaven is absolutely banging and of course Ray of Light what a banger.
I was in the mood for poppy bangers which is why I chose this one, but it was more sort of atmospheric than I was expecting, still very Madonna but wasn't really vibing with it when I listened tbh. Still like her though.
Erm I'm not sure I actually emjoyed this one that much - should I have done? Just wasn't my thing and found some of them super irritating. Maybe this wasn't the right thing for a dull work day