As from Monday you can keep in touch with me and my ramblings via doo/tooyoo as Pinkle. So I'm not d...
As from Monday you can keep in touch with me and my ramblings via doo/tooyoo as Pinkle. So I'm not disappearing!
Member since:23.03.2002
Reviews:83
Members who trust:38
We used to copy Madonna's dance routines when we were in primary school and now at the age of twenty-six I still want to be her.
Ray of Light shows that Madonna is more than a beautiful woman who can take her clothes off and shock people.
This glorious record sees her and lyrist Pat Leonard in a resounding return to form. The lyrics are personal and insightful. This combined with the collaboration of William Orbit results in one of the most energized CD's for a long time. This CD also features the talents of Marius De Vries and Rick Novels. Has Madonna got this musical melting pot set at the right temperature?
The CD is a technicolour rainbow made up of:
1. Drowned World/ Substitute For Love. 8/10
' I traded fame for love/ Without a second thought'
The CD begins with this frank confession. The whole Madonna 'vibe' has centered upon her 'Blonde Ambition'. She now admits that this came at a cost. Musically this is a little melancholy, but superb to listen to if you've just realized the person you're involved with is a bit of a waste of space.
2.Swim 6/10
' So we can begin again/ Wash away all our sins/ Crash to the ocean floor'.
It opens with quite funky guitar, with a bubbly underbelly. The background is an eclectic collection of sounds as Madonna sings of the troubles
of sin and modern society, asking for a sort of Noah's Ark renewal of herself
3.Ray of Light 10/10
' She's got herself a universe'
This track is so effervescing that it floats to the top of this CD like a helium balloon. Enough of the description. If you haven't heard this and found it buzzing round your head like a demented wasp, then you are not of this planet. Brilliant. What has Anna Friel got to do with the whole thing though?
4. Candy Perfume Girl 6/10
'Speak delicious fires/ I'm your candy perfume girl'
The beat is once again quite funky, the lyrics quite sensual, but it somehow lacks a hook that sinks into your head. It is like a pair of tights that are a size too small. This record is in my humble opinion, a stretch too far.
5.Skin 8/10
' Do I know you from somewhere?/Why do you leave me wanting more'
This track has a rather pumping beat. For some reason I think it is one of the horniest and honest songs Madonna has done in a long time. It encapsulates that feeling of when you are just totally besotted with someone new.
6. Nothing Really Matters 9/10
'Now that I am grown / Everything's changed/ I'll never be the same/Because of you.'
Once again this song dwells on the mature realization that the birth of her daughter Lourdes , is a life altering experience. Madonna once again acknowledges her flaws and looks forward to her future. Great dance song , once the beat kicks in.
7. Sky Fits Heaven 7/10
'Sky fits heaven so fly it / That's what the prophet said to me.’
Another dance track. I originally didn't like this song much but the chorus is as contagious as measles. This once again acknowledging the journey Madonna has made and the way she has to go.
8. Shanti/ Ashtagi 8/10
' Thousand headed, white/I bow respectfully.'
Madonna writes this with William Orbit. It based upon Buddhist text of Yoga Taravali and ancient Sanskrit. The music is given a deliberately eastern tinge, and is strangely melodic and soothing. How Madonna gets away with these things I'll never know....
9. Frozen 10/10
'Now there's no point in placing the blame/ And you should know I suffer the same'.
This gloriously orchestrated track is possibly my favourite on the entire CD. Veronica Electronica, what a weirdly macabre and inspiring persona. This track is so vulnerable. Amazing.
' You were my lesson I had to learn/ I was your fortress you had to burn'
Written by Madonna and Rick Novels. This track got a lot of stick when it was released if I remember correctly. This track doesn't have the boundlessness of Ray of Light and maybe you do get to a point in the record when you're thinking, well just say goodbye then, but its very good I'm getting over him/her music.
11. To Have and Not To Hold 7/10
'My heart is in your hand / And yet you never stand/ Close enough for me to have my way/'
Another Novels collaboration. The lyrics aren't my favourite, but it has a somewhat Latin flavour to it than rubs along nicely
12. Little Star 7/10
'God gave a present to me/ Made of flesh and bones'
An ode to little Lourdes. This is a pleasant enough track that, although lacks the same presence as other tracks on this CD, is nevertheless flawlessly produced and touching
13. Mer Girl 6/10.
‘And I smelt her burning flesh/ Her rotting bones/ Her decay’
Madonna and William Orbit collide in this strange track. Madonna narrates a dark tale. This is a somehow claustrophobic experience, A rather weird note on which to end such a optimistic album.
The only downside to this CD is that it took so long to be made. Madonna has shown again that she is an inventful woman and she is here to stay.
This CD sees Madonna at a crucial time in her life. A new mother, a person with a renewed interest in spiritual matters. She takes a gamble with the number of influences she fuses in this offering, but as a whole, this risk pays off in abundance.
What else can I say but if you haven't already done so: BUY THIS CD!
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Now Substitute for Love is my kind of music hehe but Nothing Really Matters is a great jukebox track to put on up town to remind yourself of how great house music used to be in the mid to late 90s - Craig
Ophelia 22.05.2002 09:53
Great review and great album.
MRANDREWSJK 21.05.2002 12:01
Great op Jo, I'm quite a fan of Madonna myself.
John
Never underestimate Madonna's power of persuasion: by nearly all critical accounts, Ray of ... more
Light, Madonna's first album of new material since 1994's Bedtime Stories, and her first since motherhood, is her richest, most accomplished record yet. While Ra...
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May 19th, 2002
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