Madonna - Ray of Light

''Ray of Light'' was released on February 22, 1998 in Japan, March 2, 1998, across Europe and the day later across the world. The album was primarily produced by Madonna and William Orbit and also by Madonna and previous collaborator Patrick Leonard. Upon it's 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 reached number two on the Billboard albums chart, where it was certified four times platinum. The album went on to sell over 15 million units world-wide.
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 1996 film ''Evita''. In 1999, the album received three Grammy Awards including "Best Pop Album" and "Best Dance Recording".

Madonna began working on Ray of Light in May 1997 (the working title for this album was ''Drowned World''), meeting 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 and 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" three years earlier. 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.

Madonna and William Orbit during recording sessions

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''. American entertainment television channel ''E!'' praised the album for it's 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." ''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".

Track listing:

1. Drowned World/Substitute for Love
2. Swim
3. Ray of Light
4. Candy Perfume Girl
5. Skin
6. Nothing Really Matters
7. Sky Fits Heaven
8. Shanti/Ashtangi
9. Frozen
10. The Power of Good-bye
11. To Have and Not to Hold
12.Little Star
13. Mer Girl
14. Has to Be (Bonus in Japanese edition)

''Ray of Light'' hit the #1 postion in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK; #2 in France and US and #7 in Japan. ''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''. On April 22 1998, almost two months after its release, the album was certified double platinum. Since it's 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.

Frozen (February 1998)

Ray of Light (April 1998)

Drowned World/Substitute for Love (August 1998 in Canada, Europe, Australia; September 1998 in Japan)

The Power of Good-bye (September 1998 in U.S.; November 1998 the rest of the world)

Nothing Really Matters (March 1999 in Europe, Australia; April 1999 in U.S. and Japan)