Ray Of Light

Frozen has always been a banger

40 year old white woman tries yoga once and makes it her entire personality. Coincidentally, it also makes her album very good.

I’m a strictly 80s Madonna guy.

1083 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

A surprisingly creative departure for Madonna, marrying her pop sensibilities with a more artistic, electronic dance exploration. It only works intermittently for me, and I prefer the somewhat tighter "Music" that would follow, but I respect the ambition. The restrained vocal performance is also one of her best.

I felt like I was having to listen to somebody who had just had a spiritual awakening and I hadn't had a choice. The music was okay, I liked it better than the Cyndi Lauper album beforehand, but unfortunately I got more bored as it went on and on. Rating 6/10

Ray of Shight

Probably falls at 4 or 5 on my list of favorite Madonna albums. But there’s no denying it was ground breaking when it was released and still holds up as a phenomenal album.

Pre Listen: First Madonna album I've gotten on here. Yeah I know the song 'Ray of Light', if anything because of the music video. Unfamiliar with the rest of the album, or most of Madonna's other work in general. Mid expectations. Notable Tracks: Ray of Light - Yup, that's the song I recall. My sister used to have this as one of her favorites of all time. Music video is a stimulant simulator. It's alright. Post Listen: One of those albums where I can tell I'm not the target demographic. Young women, 12 to 30 or so, seems like the focus group here. Madonna's voice is pretty great through the album, she has great vocal control, good range, good at both soft and full-chested singing, overall a major highlight of the album. That said, the instrumental backings that accompany her vary, which is neat because normally it's the other way around with most albums. The insturmentals are at their most complimentary when they keep that turn-of-the-century synthy, electronic futuristic-esk vibe. The more traditional songs with string instruments fell flat for me. I didn't dislike a single song really, but like I said, I don't think I was the target audience here. Nothing personally resonated, and despite Madonna's vocal talent, most of the album was just somewhat unenjoyable background music to me. 3/5

- I prefer Madonna when she is having fun. Some solid songs here, a couple of which are lesser known (like "Skin"), but I want sexual passion and whimsy from the Queen of Pop. Her more "mature" sounds do not do as much for me. - "Little Star" almost captured what I wanted. - I do not think this is at all offensive, but there is at least a whiff of cultural appropriation.

Madonna lives on and on. She has some danceable bangers on the front half of this album, then it kind of goes to mush. But when has she ever produced a wall-to-wall masterpiece? Still, she knows how to make hits, and that’s enough to make her legendary. Still firing them off with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter. And it’s, like her other records, pretty good, even if she’s riding pure nostalgia at this point. Now that’s immortality.

Great album, I think frozen is where Madonna peaks for me.

It's okay

3.0 I tried to approach this with the context of removing Madonna from this album. Would I like it if it were some other artist? I think I would have been pleasantly surprised by something like this. But most of the aspects I enjoyed the most were in part of the Madonna machine and the resources and collaborators that she would have. Or maybe we should put some respect on the name. Long way to say album was interesting, but not coming into a regular rotation for me. Songs were a touch long and Candy Perfume Girl sucked big time

This was cool, I don't have a great context for her work beyond what's on the radio, so this was enlightening

BEST MADONNA ALBUM!! this album brings me so much joy, i love it so much.

Its pop...

Drowned World - Substitute For Love - 67 Swim - 61 Ray Of Light - 64 Candy Perfume Girl - 51 Skin - 48 Nothing Really Matters - 54 Sky Fits Heaven - 55 Shanti / Ashtangi - 31 Frozen - 50 The Power Of Good-Bye - 47 To Have And Not To Hold - 52 Little Star - 42 Mer Girl - 49 Ray Of Light - 47

не найкращий її альбом

I enjoyed this far more than I expected. It was too long but the production (full on 90s electronic with trip hop elements) took a lot of fairly inconsequential songs and elevated them. Madonna’s voice is richer here than in her earlier work which helps. I’m probably being generous here but I am also giving credit for a bold attempt at a pop star doing something different at the time when it would have been easy to just do the same thing.

It’s a surprisingly bold choice for Madonna to transition so heavily into electronic influenced music based on her career until to that point. It’s better than much of her other output but I’m not sold on Orbit’s production through this album as it all sounds a little hollow (maybe that’s part of the point) with the mids scooped out in favour of the trip hop style drums and Madonna’s vocal leads being much more forward. It also suffers from bloat a little where trimming a few songs off (e.g. little star) wouldn’t have been a bad thing.

Such a mish mash of different things. Are the 90s nostalgic now? They are for me.

have never been a Madonna fan, and this album did not change that. It is well made and clearly ambitious, but it still left me mostly cold. The electronic and dance textures are polished, the production is sleek, and the whole record has a glossy late 90s sheen that critics often praise. I can hear why people call it a mature and adventurous turn for her. The songs move between reflective, almost spiritual moods and more club oriented tracks. Her voice sounds more restrained than on earlier records, and the arrangements give everything a spacious, atmospheric quality. William Orbit’s production is clean and detailed, with layers of electronics that feel carefully built. On a technical level it works. Even so, the emotional side never fully reached me. The big themes and the sense of personal reinvention that many listeners respond to felt distant rather than involving. It is an impressive sounding album, just not one I connect with. Ray of Light is a strong piece of craft. I respect the effort and the consistent critical regard it receives, but it remains outside my taste.

Musically good, just not for me. Never got into Madonna. 3/5

Gosto de algumas canções da Madonna, mas não gosto de ouvir um disco inteiro dela, a não ser uma compilação. A produção daqui é bem pedestre pra sua época, aquelas batidas meio triphop que chegam a ser clichês. Nada ruim, em alguns momentos é até legal, mas por 1 hora ele falha em te capturar. Passo. 2.5/5

Not a fan of her, and despise her "music". I wouldn't even be willing to call this one of her better albums. Just painfully bad on every level. Would give it a zero if I could.

The two hits were ok ... but still not sure why this is on the list!

Too much techno noise, Lacks the classic pop punch hooks, Way too long and dull.

I'm surprised Madonna put out an album that leant so much into the electronic genre, with down-tempo and trip-hop elements. I guess that speaks to her ability to stay relevant and appeal to audiences across multiple decades, and that should be applauded. I did enjoy this, but I can't say I was really massively taken with it. I like the songs in general, appreciate the production and approach, and had a perfectly nice time listening to it overall. It didn't really achieve much more than that for me though. A solid 3/5.

Well, I wasn’t expecting this. Looked at the playlist and went “Ray of light”, like that song. Don’t recognize the rest. A very listenable album and a real tour through the musical styles of the late 90’s I’d always thought of Madonna as more of an attention seeker than a serious musician, but this is a talented artist at pretty much her peak. It could be argued that her earlier stuff was more original, but nothing wrong with being influenced by others. Shockingly for me this is a 5/5

I have to listen to 1 hour of Madonna and I wanna cry. Ok its not that bad but its not too good either. Its INCREDIBLY inconsistent. Its half prety good pop songs half terible dogshit. Sometime theyr bad because theyr boring/forgetable (Little Star, shanti/ashtangi) sound dated( Candy perfume girl and a lot more)or have really weak songwritting (Skin, oh god this one is so bad) Or for all of these reasons. But some of the songs here id say are actually good. Like Drowned world/substiture for love, frozen and the title track. Also the album fearures a lot of electronic instrument/beats wich I dindt expect. It sounds good on some songs and dated on other. Again making this album even more inconsistent. Madonna and aphex twin collab when ????/5

The production quality is top notch! And that is perhaps what holds this album together. Madonna has an incredible voice, of course, but every track is curiously similar in sonic quality, so that the whole album almost sounds like one long song...which maybe is the point? It comes out of the gate seriously impressing you, but by the time you get to the end, you've definitely had enough of the ethereal electronica dance beat. "Swim," "Ray of Light," and "Sky Fits Heaven" are stand out tracks.

Interesting. On the first listen, I was taken with this. I am pretty sure I gave it a 4. Today, the second time through, it wore on me and I was ready for it to end long before it did. Still, it had production value. 3 Boolean: True

3.5

Such a great dance pop album

Great Songs: Nothing Really Matters, Little Star Good Songs: Drowned World / Substitute for Love, Swim, Ray of Light, Candy Perfume Girl, Skin, The Power of Good, Mer Girl Mid Songs: Sky Fits Heaven, Shanti/ Ashganti, Frozen, To Have and Not To Hold, The Power of Good-Bye Bad Songs

I just don't think Madonna has a good voice, or one strong enough to be layered over songs as produced as these. She's the weakest instrument in the room and the instruments aren't great on this in the first place.

Ooof. This record is hard to listen to. I’m not really a Madonna fan (I do like parts of the Like a Virgin record), but I think she’s got her niche. But why this piece of shit record? There’s so very little here that’s worth listening to. 5/10

giiiirl

I play Little Star for my daughter all the time. This didn't feel a huge change in direction musically, but in tone. I remember I couldn't believe when Frozen video premiered, I was still expecting more of a Human Nature "controvertial" kinda thing. As a whole, that change in focus made for such a better source of inspirartion for songwriting from a different perspective, as well as a new partnership that fell right on time to meld Madonna's current vision with William Orbit's production style. I love this album, great from start to finish.

Super fun. It’s only flaw is it’s length. More concise and this would be a pop favourite for me. RYM: Y (#959) Saved a song: N

After the relatively tepid success of her previous two albums, Madonna goes with a European DJ to produce the world-conquering Ray Of Light. It's alright.

and i feel.... like i'm in an episode of sex and the city. four stars. highlights - swim, ray of light, skin, nothing really matters, frozen, little star

easy to listen to but unremarkable to me

Perhaps the last great Madonna album. However, the backend drags at times. Another victim of CD era albums.

Not my vibe

Madonna. Madonna is a guilty pleasure for me. Ever since *Crazy for You* and, of course, *Rain*. Brilliant. Back then, when the album came out, I couldn’t believe my ears. Innovative, different, and yet still Madonna. Not all the tracks are great, but that’s a problem many artists with good albums face.

(6.8)

This is the Queen of Pop's crowning achievement, and sadly last great album. 4 stars for the album, bonus star for the nostalgia.

What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said? It's a perfect album. This was the first Madonna album I listened to, having only known some of her singles prior to this. The production, mixing, songwriting, vocals - everything is incredible. Easily her best album.

Ehhh, I guess it’s ok if you’re into 90’s electric dance pop, but I’m more of a Material Girl kinda guy.

So long and boring...feels like the English version of the Bjork album we JUST had, Vulnica or whatever.

01) Drowned World/Substitute for Love - 10,0 02) Swim - 9,5 03) Ray of Light - 10,0 04) Candy Perfume Girl - 9,0 05) Skin - 10,0 06) Nothing Really Matters - 10,0 07) Sky Fits Heaven - 9,0 08) Shanti/Ashtangi - 9,0 09) Frozen - 10,0 10) The Power of Good-Bye - 10,0 11) To Have and Not to Hold - 9,5 12) Little Star - 9,0 13) Mer Girl - 8,5 TOTAL: 9,50 (95/100) Current ranking: 24/1035

In general, I haven't been much of a fan of Madonna. But starting with this album and going into the next, she had quite the interesting run that turned my head. The majority of the tracks are a lot more electronic in nature; you can definitely hear the William Orbit sound here. I personally enjoy the vibe of this album more than most of her other material. It sounds both musically and lyrically more mature, and is pretty good throughout. Best Madonna album?

Gosh, it’s woeful.

Most of Madonna's albums contain 2 to 4 worthy hits, but this is her best, most consistent work. It's banger after banger right from the off. It might be the best pop album of the 90s.

I honestly thought this was going to be a surprise masterpiece, but sadly it went on too long and got too dull, 3.75 stars.

Love the production and her trying to shake things up at that point in her career...but the songs are tepid and don't really go anywhere. Too many mid-tempo songs with pleasant backing and production but not enough variation and grit. The title song is great but a lot of this didn't register much other than the cool India/ Hindu vibe of "Shanti/Ashtangi." There is more honesty and emotion in the lyrics such as on "Little Star" and the closing song, "Mer Girl," is intetesting and fairy tale-like.

I didnt know Madonna made a trip hop world album. I'm here for it. Feels very 90s but not overproduced, her voice sounds great, love the bass on a lot of these songs. Really she has a few great albums in her discography, which i probably never would have discovered without doing this challenge.

Out of all the albums my Madonna that could be on this list, I don't understand why two of them would be from this late in her discography. I couldn't wait to get this one done. Looking forward to Like a Prayer, and dreading Music (2000).

The striking thing about this album is Madonna's vocal delivery - arguably the finest singing performance of her career. She sings quite beautifully on tracks like 'Swim'. As an album, "Ray of Light" successfully integrates underground electronic genres like techno, trip-hop, and ambient into a cohesive commercial release. The techno influenced numbers in particular really help the album's diversity and impact. Sonically, William Orbit’s detailed production gives the record remarkable variety and depth. Lyrically, it benefits from a noticeable shift in perspective, moving away from provocative themes toward introspective, spiritual, and maternal reflection. Stand-out track - Frozen. Four stars. 1 "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" (5/5) 2 "Swim" (4/5) 3 "Ray of Light" (5/5) 4 "Candy Perfume Girl" (3/5) 5 "Skin" (4/5) 6 "Nothing Really Matters" (4/5) 7 "Sky Fits Heaven" (4/5) 8 "Shanti/Ashtangi" (3/5) 9 "Frozen" (5/5) 10 "The Power of Good-Bye" (4/5) 11 "To Have and Not to Hold" (4/5) 12 "Little Star" (4/5) 13 "Mer Girl" (4/5) Total - 53 Average - 4.1 427/1001 225/427 albums reviewed were new to me.

the power of goodbyes is pretty powerful that's about it

A fun little romp during her transitional period.

This didn’t sound like the Madonna I know. Clearly more sophisticated and her vocals seemed more challenging than usual. I still prefer the older stuff though.

Overall Rating - 3.08/5 (6.15/10). Good vocals (like I would expect otherwise from Madonna), but this sounds like the late 90s. It's done well, just not really a style I enjoy.

just a good house album

This was not at all what I was expecting. Interesting to read about how vocal training for Evita had strengthened her voice. I really like her voice on this album. And I like how much space there often is in the music. I’m just really not the target audience for a techno-pop album. I found it enjoyable enough but I don’t feel drawn to listen to it again. Fav song: Frozen Least fav: Shanti / Ashtangi

This really does have the essence of a middle class mum who has gotten really into yoga. Stick to the club bangers hun. Specific rating - 2.5 Fav song - skin Least fav - shanti/ashtangi

Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball, Taylor Swift's "the old Taylor can't come to the phone", even Beyonce's Lemonade all owe some credit to this album. Madonna is the queen of the pop reinvention and this album was the peak of success of her biggest rebranding- from sex icon to respectable mother. As much as I appreciate its legacy and success I think musically I prefer the messier Madonna eras. Favourite song: Ray Of Light Least: Shanti/ Ashtangi

Strong 3, almost 4. The hits are really good, and the rest is good, but not amazing.

ray of light

Hot garbage

I thought I was going to hammer this but, idk man, the songs are well done. I'm just not interested in the genre. 3/5

Madonna obviously has plenty of hits but this album as a whole is largely a miss for me.

I think other Madonna stuff will fair better, but the titular song was the only notable here for me. The synth work definitely placed this album squarely in the late 90’s though, which was fun.

Never listened. Expectations: Mid - Verdict: Very Good - I had heard that Madonna's later work moved into more trip hop territory but I never expected it to be quite this clear. The opener is great and reminds me a lot of Massive Attack in the Protection era. Swim is also really good and reminds me of Morcheeba. The title track is more upbeat but maintains the electronica vibe. I find the next few tracks good but they don't quite grab me in the same way apart from the end of Skin. Shanti / Ashtangi is a good track and Frozen has a nice progression. The Power Of Goodbye is really good, definitely a highlight of the later part of the album. After a really strong start this album loses some momentum but overall I enjoyed it a lot. The production is excellent throughout, particularly on the slower, softer cuts.

Don't have great Madonna knowledge but still this was surprising. Good, slightly trip-poppy, not super my thing but cool nonetheless

It's alright

Weirdly boring, especially the second half

Madonna does Portishead, kinda. It rules basically. Probably a little too long. But even when I’m not enjoying the vocals, the instrumentals are a total vibe.

I like the downtempo approach.

Liked this quite a bit, even if mostly as background listening music. Some cool electronic music of varying varieties that I am not qualified to categorize. The music emphasizes the backing tracks over Madge's vocals, and all due respect to her, that that was a good decision. I wish it decided to go harder into it's beats with the more dance-focus tracks, and it probably could have used some trimming across the board, but overall, very enjoyable and easily my favorite music I've heard from her.

My girlfriend at the time had this album and loved it. I remember thinking it was surprisingly okay. Revisiting it I think it has aged as badly as Madge has. Weak sauce to quote one of my favourite new sayings. The electronica feels gimmicy just to pull in the kids (but hey I guess thats what pop does).

Ray of Light Another album that has a certain feel to the sound, this time of the late 90s, and while not all of it fully stands up there are some belters on here and a decent number of very good supporting album tracks. Drowned World/Substitute for Love, Frozen, The Power of Goodbye and Ray of Light are superb, particularly the latter, the Cure-esque guitar intro giving way to some still great sounding pre millennial electronic squiggles, as it builds an irresistible momentum. And Drowned World/Substitute for Love’s hazy gurgling and bleeping work brilliantly as it expands into a more conventional bit of widescreen rock/pop. Frozen’s crackling ghostliness is also still superbly evocative nearly 30 years later. Elsewhere Swim is great and I like Candy Perfume Girls Garbage-esque dancey rock oddness, and I kind of came round to Skin’s slightly over egged tribal beats. Nothing Really Matters is another nice burbling track, and I liked the mystical bollocks and Bollywood touches of Shanti/Ashtangi as well as the skittery pseudo lullaby of Little Star It might be one of her best albums vocally. She doesn’t have the most technical of voices, but it's full of personality and character, and on here she affects a lovely delicate tone and delivery, amplifying the etherealness to match William Orbit’s trip hop inflected ambient electronica production. It does however suffer from CD bloat, with a few too many songs hanging around unnecessarily to the 5 minute mark, stretching the whole thing to a slightly unnecessary 66 minutes. Combined with a few songs that aren’t as engaging as others I think puts this in the 4s. 🥶🥶🥶🥶 Playlist submission: Ray of Light

The title track is a barnstorming club/pop crossover. Catchy guitar hook, huge dub bass and William Orbit's dance beats, topped off with one of Madonna's best vocals. It fits in with her mid-career peak of similar bangers - 'Beautiful Stranger', 'Hollywood', 'Music'. Madge has a knack for writing affectingly, sad ballads - 'Live to Tell', 'Rain', 'Take a Bow' and so on, and this album adds to that excellent track record, albeit with more electronica. 'Drowned World/Substitute for Love' is an excellent album opener; and 'The Power of Goodbye' one of her very best songs. 'Frozen' is majestic - a swooping melody building to an orchestrated crescendo (showing that she can utilise eastern melodies after the uninspired 'Shanti / Ashtangi'). A great change of direction for Madonna - a real banger here and several of her most ethereally beautiful tracks. Amongst that is a list of filler that doesn't detract from the album but cannot match the solid core of 4 or 5 tracks. On the strength of that core, it's another 4.

sadonna

Definitely my favorite Madonna album. Loved it since it came out. I’m not a huge Madonna fan though I appreciate what she does, but this album is fantastic.

Fine

I do kinda respect this album. It's pretty experimental for pop at the time. The arrangements are pretty cool. But it's absolutely not for me. The lyrics are lame. It goes on too long.

i LOVE madonna, but there's something a little royalty-free about this record. she's a very prolific artist and it makes sense that they're not all gonna be mind-blowing but this one is just a bit dull. i think it's interesting that this sound came out of this artist--on it's own though? it's pleasant, but not moving or memorable in the slightest, and frankly overstays its welcome. hell, the average song length is like 5 minutes, which is fine for a dance track but these aren't *really* dance tracks? or maybe i just don't like them enough so it feels like they drag. each of these songs are either blah or sound like the one vocal track on the menu of a beloved PS1 jetski racing game. my favorite song was Nothing Really Matters. very strong 2

Rating: 8/10 I was writing a whole ass review on this album when a keystroke changed pages on me and lost the whole thing god dammit. I should really write this shit on a word page and then just copy and paste cause the site is frustrating sometimes. Not regathering all those thoughts again but this is a great 90's pop album with one much weaker track, Shanti/Ashtangi, and some incredible highlights like with the title track, Nothing Really Matters, and Frozen.

Not her best

I want to be nice..I remember when this came out and my friend Scott was like ohhhhhh what an album but I didn't think so - it sounds to me like a sell out /cash in on the latest trend, almost like she's channeling Enya - no thanks. The Madonna that we knew and loved is the 1st 3 albums - not this. There are a couple of cool tracks but I can only get with 1983/4 Madonna.

This is like the twilight drug you get during some medical procedures. You are floating, every muscle fully relaxed, and not one worry on your mind. Everything feels light, easy, and carefree, yet still energetic.

This album roars out of the gate (the first 4 tracks are as good as pop/dance music gets)and then settles into a nice groove. An overall entrancing listen even if the back half is understated. Perhaps that's by design. As with David Bowie - Madonna has always been reliant/elevated by her collaborators and here Billy O brings out new colors and coming off Evita Madge's voice has never been better. As with pretty much EVERY album from the 90s the standing note of dropping a couple tracks applies. Even with that I'm onboard for this trip.

Very 90s in a good way with some super varied production. Title track bangs! RIP William Orbit

Wasn't expecting this from Madonna. Loved the combination of music styles.

Jedinica iz principa. // Bila bi jedva dvica jer produkcija grmi a ostalo je katastrofa, niti muzikalno niti zanimljivo niti išta drugo pozitivno.

I'm not a big Madonna fan nor of this type of music but it wasn't bad and it was kind of refreshing to hear something from her that I haven't heard a million times already.

Undeniably the blueprint for a whole era of pop, but also probably still the clear best of the pack. It’s easy to just thank William Orbit for the incredible quality here, but I think you still have to give chops to Madonna’s willingness to reinvent and ability to find an ideal medium for that in the underground of the moment. The production all over the album is fantastic, weird and engaging but clean and hooked, but it also suits her so neatly or she’s able to push her voice to fit well, either way. Honestly, the best testament to it is that, despite the track lengths and the idiosyncrasy, it works very well as pop (and that’s why you still hear those lead singles) and, despite the newly spiritual popstar on the front, it works very well as downtempo electronic music. This one’s gonna be staying in rotation for sure.