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Ray of Light

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compositions

   Ray of Light
   Ray of Light cover
   Studio album by Madonna
   Released February 22, 1998 (Japan)
   February 27, 1998 (Switzerland)
   March 2, 1998 (Europe)
   March 3, 1998 (North America)
   Recorded 1997; Los Angeles, California
   Genre Pop
   Dance
   Electronica
   Alternative
   Length 64:85 (Regular album)
   70:81 (Japanese edition)
   Label Maverick Records
   Warner Bros. Records
   Producer(s) Madonna
   William Orbit
   Patrick Leonard
   Marius De Vries
   Professional reviews
     * All Music Guide 4/5 stars link
     * Slant Magazine 4.5/5 stars link
     * E! Entertainment Television (A-), link

   Madonna chronology
   Evita
   (1996) Ray of Light
   (1998) The Next Best Thing
   (2000)

   Ray of Light is the seventh album by American pop– dance singer
   Madonna. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on March 2, 1998,
   across Europe. The album was primarily produced by Madonna and William
   Orbit, and also by Madonna and previous collaborator Patrick Leonard.
   Upon its debut, critical reception was generally positive, with critics
   complimenting the album's blend of pop and electronic music. Ray of
   Light became one of Madonna's most commercially-successful releases,
   and reached number one in the United Kingdom, where it was certified
   six times platinum. In the United States, the album was released on
   March 3, 1998, and reached number two on the Billboard albums chart,
   where it was certified four times platinum.

   The album featured a change in Madonna's music as well as personal
   lyrics about motherhood, fame, and spirituality. In addition, Ray of
   Light presented a vocally stronger Madonna, as she had received vocal
   lessons for her lead role in the film Evita. In 1999, the album
   received three Grammy Awards including " Best Pop Album" and " Best
   Dance Recording".

Making of the record

   Madonna began working on Ray of Light, her seventh studio album with
   Warner Bros. Records, in May 1997 when she met with Kenneth "Babyface"
   Edmonds, whom she had previously worked with on her 1994 album Bedtime
   Stories. The two wrote a couple of songs together before Madonna
   decided the collaborations were not going in the musical direction she
   wanted for the album. According to Edmonds the songs "had a " Take a
   Bow-ish" kind of vibe and Madonna didn't want, or need, to repeat
   herself." After abandoning the songs she had written with Edmonds,
   Madonna turned to musician Rick Nowels, who had previously co-written
   songs with Stevie Nicks for Celine Dion. The collaboration produced
   seven songs in three days, but did not display the album's future
   electronic musical direction.

   Later, Madonna began writing songs with previous collaborator Patrick
   Leonard. The writing sessions in 1997 marked the first time the two had
   worked together since " I'll Remember" in 1994. Unlike on her previous
   albums, Leonard's song writing collaborations were accompanied by very
   little studio input. Madonna believed that Leonard's production "would
   have lent the songs more of a Peter Gabriel vibe", a sound that she did
   not want for the album.

   Instead, Madonna took her collaborations with Nowels and Leonard to
   British electronica musician William Orbit. Madonna had been a fan of
   Orbit's work and loved the "sort of trancy, ambient quality" he gave to
   the songs he worked on. She began working with Orbit after he had sent
   her tapes of musical snippets he was working on, which were usually
   eight or sixteen-bar phrases and stripped down versions of tracks that
   would later be heard on the album. Madonna would listen to the samples
   over and over again until she would be inspired to write lyrics. Once
   she had an idea about the lyrical direction of the song, she would take
   her ideas back to Orbit, who would expand on his musical ideas.

   Ray of Light was recorded over four and a half months in Los Angeles,
   California, in 1997, the longest Madonna had ever worked on an album.
   For most of the recording process only three other people were in the
   studio with Madonna - Orbit, engineer Pat McCarthy, and his assistant
   engineer Matt Silva. The recording process was initially plagued with
   machinery problems, as Orbit preferred to work with samples, synth
   sounds, and Pro Tools, and not with live musicians. The computers would
   break down, and recording would have to be delayed until they could be
   repaired. Orbit recorded the bulk of the album's instrumentation over
   the four month period. Orbit recalls playing the guitar and having his
   fingers bleed during the long hours he spent in the studio. Madonna's
   vocals were much easier and quicker to record, as many of her vocal
   tracks were recorded in one take. When recording came to an end,
   producer Marius De Vries was brought into the recording process to add
   some finishing touches to the already recorded songs.

Critical response and awards

   Upon release, the album received positive responses from international
   music critics. Slant Magazine described the album as "one of the great
   pop masterpieces of the '90s... Madonna hasn't been this emotionally
   candid since Like a Prayer." Roni Sarig, in a review for Amazon.com,
   stated that Ray of Light "is her richest, most accomplished record
   yet". He was most impressed by Madonna's vocal range, depth, and
   clarity which had become stronger since her voice lessons for the film
   Evita (1996). American entertainment television channel E! praised the
   album for its lyrical depth saying, "Ray of Light is about as deep as a
   yoga stretch — which makes this load deeper than usual. If it took
   trendy spiritualism to get Madonna to make a good pop record, more
   (higher) power to her". E! was also impressed with producer William
   Orbit's "artful beeps and squawks... crunching guitars" and "dashes of
   Middle Eastern droning". In the review, Ray of Light was given an A-,
   one of the channels highest honours for an album.

   Rob Sheffield's review for Rolling Stone was mostly positive, but did
   point out the weak aspects of the album. Sheffield called the album
   "brilliant", but was critical of Orbit's production, stating that he
   "doesn't know enough tricks to fill a whole CD, so he repeats himself
   something fierce." All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Ray
   of Light Madonna's "most adventurous record" and her "most mature and
   restrained album". In his review he gave the album four out of five
   stars.

   In 1999, Ray of Light won three Grammy Awards for "Best Dance
   Recording", "Best Pop Album" and "Best Recording Package", and was
   nominated for Record and Album of The Year. In addition the album's
   title track won a Grammy for " Best Short Form Music Video". In 2002,
   VH1 viewers in the United Kingdom voted Ray of Light as the tenth
   greatest album of all time. That year Rolling Stone readers also voted
   the album as the twenty-ninth best recording ever. Later the magazine
   ranked Ray of Light at #363 on its list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of
   All Time".

   The album was also often sold on the CD racks of New Age stores - a
   venue that many would not have expected Madonna to ever find herself
   in.

Track listing

    1. " Drowned World/Substitute for Love" (Collins, Kerr, Madonna,
       McKuen, Orbit) – 5:09
    2. "Swim" (Madonna, Orbit) – 5:00
    3. " Ray of Light" (Curtis, Leach, Madonna, Maldoon, Orbit) – 5:21
    4. "Candy Perfume Girl" (Madonna, Melvoin, Orbit) – 4:34
    5. "Skin" (Leonard, Madonna) – 6:22
    6. " Nothing Really Matters" (Leonard, Madonna) – 4:27
    7. "Sky Fits Heaven" (Leonard, Madonna) – 4:48
    8. "Shanti/Ashtangi" (Madonna, Orbit) – 4:29
    9. " Frozen" (Leonard, Madonna) – 6:12
   10. " The Power of Good-Bye" (Madonna, Nowels) – 4:10
   11. "To Have and Not to Hold" (Madonna, Nowels) – 5:23
   12. " Little Star" (Madonna, Nowels) – 5:18
   13. "Mer Girl" (Madonna, Orbit) – 5:32
   14. " Has to Be"* (Leonard, Madonna, Orbit) – 5:16

   * bonus track on the Japanese release

Singles

 #                 Title                                  Date
 1. " Frozen"                            February 1998
 2. " Ray of Light"                      April 1998
 3. " Drowned World/Substitute for Love" August 1998 (Europe) /
                                         September 1998 (Japan)
 4. " The Power of Good-Bye"             September 1998 (U.S.) / November 1998
                                         (Europe, Japan)
 5. " Little Star"                       November 1998 (UK, promo)
 6. " Nothing Really Matters"            March 1999 (Europe) / April 1999 (U.S.,
                                         Japan)

   " Frozen", the lead single from the album, became Madonna's eighth
   number one single on the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the
   US Billboard Hot 100. Co-written by Patrick Leonard, the song featured
   Madonna's vocals over layers of string arrangements and synthesizers.
   In 2005, a Belgian court ruled that the opening four-bar theme to the
   song was plagiarized from the song "Ma vie fout le camp", composed by
   Salvatore Acquaviva. The ruling forbid the sale of the single and the
   entire Ray of Light album, as well as other compilations that included
   the track in Belgium.

   The second single " Ray of Light", based on the track "Sepheryn" by
   Curtiss Maldoon (Clive Maldoon & Dave Curtiss), featured a combination
   of high-energy techno sounds and electric guitar riffs. It became a
   top-ten hit in the UK and U.S., where it was certified gold. The song
   was also a dance hit in the U.S., remaining at number one for four
   weeks and became the top Hot Dance/Club Play single of 1998. Ray of
   Light was nominated for Record Of The Year at the Grammys but lost to
   Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On.

   " Drowned World/Substitute for Love" became the third release outside
   of North America and was a top-ten hit in the UK. The music video,
   directed by Walter Stern, caused controversy due to scenes that
   featured Madonna being chased by paparazzi on motor-bikes, a scenario
   similar to Princess Diana's death in 1997. The fourth single, " The
   Power of Good-Bye", a ballad reflecting on a painful breakup, became a
   modest chart success, peaking at number six in the UK and number eleven
   in the U.S. In the UK, " Little Star", a song about Madonna's daughter,
   was released as a promotional only-single.

   " Nothing Really Matters", the final single release, became a top-ten
   hit in the UK, reaching number seven. In the U.S. however, the song
   became Madonna's lowest charting single on the Hot 100, although it
   reached #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Its music video, directed
   by Johan Renck, was inspired by Arthur Golden's book Memoirs of a
   Geisha and featured Madonna dressed as a geisha.

Chart performance

   Ray of Light debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 albums
   chart, where it sold 371,000 copies in its first week. It was kept from
   the top spot by the soundtrack to the popular film Titanic (1997). On
   April 22 1998, almost two months after its release, the album was
   certified double platinum. Since its release it has been certified four
   times platinum in the U.S., where after fifty-nine weeks, it descended
   from the top hundred. In Canada the album debuted at number one, and
   has since been certified seven times platinum. It became Madonna's
   first album since Erotica in 1992 to reach the top position in Canada.

   In Australia, Ray of Light also debuted at number one, and became
   Madonna's seventh album to reach the top spot. It has since been
   certified triple platinum. In Germany, the album reached number one and
   remained there for seven weeks, where it achieved triple platinum
   status. It has since become Madonna's highest selling album in Germany.
   Ray of Light failed to reach the top position in France, managing to
   reach number two and remaining there for seven weeks. In France the
   album was also certified triple platinum. In the United Kingdom, Ray of
   Light debuted at number one on the albums chart, remaining in the top
   spot for two weeks. In January 2003, the album was certified six times
   platinum. Internationally, it has achieved estimated sales of eighteen
   million copies worldwide.

Charts

   Chart (1998)                        Peak
                                       position
   Australian albums chart                1
   Brazilian albums chart                 1
   Canadian albums chart                  1
   Finnish albums chart                   1
   German albums chart                    1
   Hungarian albums chart                 1
   Irish albums chart                     1
   Mexican albums chart                   1
   Swiss albums chart                     1
   UK albums chart                        1
   Austrian albums chart                  2
   French albums chart                    2
   U.S. Billboard Top 200 albums chart    2

Certifications and sales

   Note: Certifications are based on the number of shipped copies and not
   the number of copies sold.
   Country            Certification Estimated sales
   Canada (CRIA)       7x Platinum      700,000
   Europe (IFPI)       7x Platinum     7 million
   UK (BPI)            6x Platinum    1.8 million
   U.S. (RIAA)         4x Platinum    3.8 million
   Ireland (IRMA)      4x Platinum      310,000
   Australia (ARIA)    3x Platinum      210,000
   France (SNEP)       3x Platinum      950,000
   Germany (IFPI)      5x Platinum     1,000,000
   Mexico (AMPROFON)    Platinum        250,000
   Netherlands (NVPI)  3x Platinum      300,000
   Switzerland (IFPI)  3x Platinum      150,000
   Norway (IFPI)       2x Platinum      80,000
   Poland (ZPAV)       2x Platinum      80,000

Release details

          All editions released by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records.

   Release format                 Country           Cat. No.     Release date
   Regular album           United Kingdom/Germany 9362 26847-2   March 2, 1998
   Limited edition album   United Kingdom/Germany 9 46884-2       March 1998
   Double-vinyl album      United Kingdom/Germany 9362 46847-1   March 2, 1998
   Cassette album          United Kingdom/Germany 9362 46847-4   March 2, 1998
   Mini-disc album         United Kingdom/Germany 9362 46847-8   March 2, 1998
   Regular album               North America      9 46847-2      March 3, 1998
   Limited edition album       North America      9 46884-2       March 1998
   Japanese album                  Japan          WPCR-2000    February 22, 1998
   Japanese double album^1         Japan          WPCR-10556/7 February 22, 1998
   Japanese vinyl album            Japan          WPJR-2003/4    February 1998

   ^1 contains the regular album with a bonus disc titled "Words & Music",
   containing interviews.

Credits and personnel

     * Lead and backing vocals — Madonna
     * Backing vocals — Donna DeLory, Niki Haris
     * Guitar — Marc Moreau
     * Keyboards — Marius De Vries
     * Drums — Fergus Gerrand
     * Drum programming — Steve Sidelnyk
     * Percussion — Fergus Gerrand
     * Flute — Pablo Cook
     * Sound effects — William Orbit
     * String arrangements — Craig Armstrong, Patrick Leonard

     * Conductor — Suzie Katayama
     * Programming — Mike Bradford, Marius De Vries
     * Engineer — Mark Endert, Jon Ingoldsby, Patrick McCarthy, Dave
       Reitzas, Matt Silva
     * Mastered by Ted Jensen
     * Photography by Mario Testino
     * Art direction by Kevin Reagan
     * Art design by Kerosene Halo, Kevin Reagan

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_of_Light"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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