ray of light

Madonna revitalized her career with the adventurous musical exploration of this warm spiritual embrace of motherhood with smooth and serious layers of electronica.  In the years leading up to 'Ray of Light', she had a streak of albums that were considered disappointments commercially when compared to the massive success of her albums in the 80's and then found critical validation in the role of  Eva Perón for the film 'Evita' for which she won a Golden Globe.  Madonna Louise Ciccone took some time off from recording to give birth to her first child, daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.  This was a period of introspection for her and she became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah
which influenced the music on her new album.  

Madonna began collaborating with Babyface; but felt the songs they came up with were too much like her previous work.  Next, she connected with songwriter Rick Nowels and they wrote seven songs in nine days together.  She also wrote songs with producer Patrick Leonard; but decided that she wanted someone else to produce the album with her.  She connected with British electronic artist William Orbit and invited him to work on the new album with her:   "I was a huge fan of William's earlier records, Strange Cargo 1 and 2 and all that. I also loved all the remixes he did for me and I was interested in fusing a kind of futuristic sound but also using lots of Indian and Moroccan influences and things like that, and I wanted it to sound old and new at the same time."   

The sessions took place over five months in Los Angeles at Larrabee Studios North at Universal City with only producer William Orbit, engineer Pat McCarthy, and his assistant engineer, Matt Silva in the control room with Madonna.  Orbit recalls:  "It took a long time to do the album, months. And it wasn't like we were slacking. We actually did have to work fast, and there were many times when we had to move on. One of Madonna's favorite phrases was: 'Don't gild the lily.' In other words, keep it rough, and don't perfect it too much. It's a natural urge for computer buffs to perfect everything because they can, and we were very wary of that."

Madonna says:    "I feel like everybody I work with, I push them to another level. When I work with people who seem uptight, I open them up. I try to get them to go off the beaten path, to improvise and throw the rules out the window. When I work with somebody who’s very chaotic and disorganized like William, then I have to opposite effect : I toe the line and become more focused. Crack the whip. William’s a genius, but he’s completely disorganized...It was a kind of a culture shock. We had lots of problems. Things went haywire and everyone got frustrated because we were working with samples and synth sounds and Pro Tools and not with Live misicians, and shit would keep breaking down and nobody would know how to fix it. We’d be sitting there relying on one machine, and I’d be thinking, 'This is fucked'. So we had a lots of uphill battles. But we got through it...What I wanted was his sensibility, the textures, the really high-tech sounds. But William also works from a very melancholy place. I’ve been a big fan of his for years and I just knew our collaboration would be something beautiful."

With its stirring mix of ambient, classical, drum and bass, rock, techno, trip hop, and world music, 'Ray of Light' was a universal success, going to seven in Japan; six in Portugal; four in Malaysia; two in Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Sweden, and the US; and number one in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the European top 100, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.   'Ray of Light' secured six Grammy nominations and won four:  Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Recording Package, Best Dance Recording, and Best Short Form Music Video.  The album had been nominated for Album of the Year and the title song for Record of the Year.  It has sold over sixteen million copies worldwide.  

Madonna considers:   "My daughter came to visit me every day in the studio so there were lots of baby interruptions; that’s new. Mostly, though, I look at more musical chances. I let William play Mad professor. He comes from a very experimental, cutting-edge sort of place, he’s not a trained musician -and I’m used to working with classically trained musicians- but I knew that’s where I wanted to go,so I took a lot more risks Oftentimes the creative process was frustrating because I wasn’t used to it; it took a lot longer than usual to make this record. But I realize now that I need that time to get where I was going...It happens differently every time. In William’s case, he would often given me tapes of snippets he was working on, eight-bar phrases, 16-bar phrases, stripped-down versions of what you hear on the record. And I’d listen to them over and over and it would just inspire lyrics. I’d start writing a little bit and then I’d go back to William say, 'Okay, let’s expand on this musical idea.' And as we’d expand on this music, I’d expand on the lyrics. That was true for most everything except for the album’s last track, 'Mer Girl'. I decided I would write a song to the music as given to me, and when William asked me if I wanted to do something with it, I said, 'I want it just like it is, I want you to put the tape up right now and I’m gonna sing to it .' And did it in one take. For 'Frozen', a song wrote with Pat Leonard, I was obsessed with the movie The Sheltering Sky and the whole Moroccan orchestral superromantic man carrying the woman he loves across the desert vibe. So I told Pat that I wanted something with a tribal feel, something really lush and romantic. When he started playing some music, I justed turned the DAT on and started freeassociating and came up with the melody...I studied with a vocal coach for 'Evita' and I realized there was a whole piece of my voice I wasn’t using. Before, I just believe I had a really limited range and was going to make the most of it. Then I started studying with a coach. God bless her. My secret dream is to sing Italian at songs, so at the end of my lesson my teacher would let me sing Italian operetta. Maybe that affected me unconsciously...I don’t think that a lot of soul searching is going on in soul music these days, so in that respect it’s pretty disappointed and uninspiring. There are definitely artists whom I respect and edmire, but for the most part R&B is not what it used to be...I feel a lot more aware of the influence and the impact I have on people. In the beginning of my career I just did whatever I wanted to and if it made me feel good, If it was fun, that was cool. Now I feel like everybody we do -the movies we make, the music, the stuff that’s on television- affects society in a potent way. I feel a sense of responsibility because my consciousness has been raised and I would like it impart the wisdom I have to others without being corny or preachy...It’s just a process, a process of asking questions, making mistakes, and being hurt. My daughter has had a lot to do with it. Having a child and questioning my own mortality and feeling incredibly responsible for someone else’s life and being aware of how my behavior affects her you have to step back and realize that we all affect each other."










http://www.madonna.com/







'Ray of Light' made it to number thirty-two in Switzerland; thirty-one in Austria; twenty-eight in Germany; twenty-five in Belgium; eighteen in France; seventeen in the Netherlands; sixteen in Ireland; fourteen in Sweden; nine on the Eurochart and in New Zealand; six in Australia; five in Japan and the US; three in Canada; two in Finland, Italy, and the UK; and number one in Spain and on the US dance chart.  The song won Grammys for Best Dance Recording and Best Short Form Music Video and was nominated for Record of the Year.  The video was nominated for eight MTV awards and won six.  





Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
Shes got herself a universe gone quickly
For the call of thunder threatens everyone
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
Faster than the speeding light she's flying
Trying to remember where it all began
Shes got herself a little piece of heaven
Waiting for the time when earth shall be as one
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light
Quicker than a ray of light
Quicker than a ray of light
Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
Shes got herself a universe gone quickly
For the call of thunder threatens everyone
And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light
Then gone for
Someone else shall be there
Through the endless years
Shes got herself a universe
Shes got herself a universe
Shes got herself a universe
And I feel
And I feel
And I feel like I just got home
And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
Quicker than a ray of light Im flying







'Frozen' went to number five in Australia and New Zealand; four in Ireland; two in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Eurochart, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US; and number one in Finland, Italy, Spain, and the UK.  




'Drowned World / Substitute For Love'
hit forty-three in the Netherlands, forty-two in France, forty-one in Sweden, thirty-nine in Germany, thirty-four in Austria, thirty-one in Switzerland, twenty-one in New Zealand, eighteen in Canada, sixteen in Australia, ten in Japan and the UK, five in Italy, and number one in Spain. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEItzaWmSwY




'The Power Of Good-Bye' charted at thirty-three in Australia; twenty-five in New Zealand; twenty-three in Ireland; twenty-one in France; twenty in Belgium; eleven in the US; eight in Switzerland; seven in Japan; six in Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK; four in Austria, Finland, and Germany; three in Sweden; and number two on the Eurochart and in Spain.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHydngA5C4E





'Nothing Really Matters' charted at ninety-three on the US hot 100; forty-eight in France; forty-one in Sweden; thirty-nine in Belgium; thirty-eight in Germany; thirty-four in the Netherlands; twenty-nine in Austria; twenty-eight in Ireland; twenty-six in Switzerland; sixteen on the Eurochart; fifteen in Australia; seven in Italy, New Zealand, and the UK; six in Canada and Finland; and number one in Spain and on the US dance chart.   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAVx9RKaLPU

'Ray of Light'
full album:




1. Drowned World / Substitute For Love
(Madonna, William Orbit, Rod McKuen, Anita Kerr, David Collins )
2. Swim 
(Madonna, Orbit)
3. Ray Of Light 
 (Madonna, Orbit, Clive Maldoon, Dave Curtiss, Christine Ann Leach) 
4. Candy Perfume Girl 
  (Madonna, Orbit, Susannah Melvoin) 
5. Skin 
 (Madonna, Patrick Leonard ) 
6. Nothing Really Matters 
  (Madonna, Leonard)  
7. Sky Fits Heaven 
  (Madonna, Leonard)  
8. Shanti / Ashtangi
 (Madonna, Orbit) 
9. Frozen 
  (Madonna, Leonard)  
10. The Power Of Good-Bye 
 (Madonna, Rick Nowels)  
11. To Have And Not To Hold 
 (Madonna, Nowels)  
12. Little Star 
 (Madonna, Nowels)  
13. Mer Girl 
 (Madonna, Orbit) 
14. Has To Be 
 (Madonna, Orbit, Leonard)  









Drowned World tour


1. "Drowned World/Substitute for Love"
2. "Impressive Instant"
3. "Candy Perfume Girl"
4. "Beautiful Stranger"
5. "Ray of Light"
6. "Paradise (Not for Me)"
7. "Frozen"
8. "Open Your Heart"
9. "Nobody's Perfect"
10. Medley: "Mer Girl" / "Sky Fits Heaven" / "Mer Girl"
11. "What It Feels Like for a Girl"
12. "I Deserve It"
13. "Don't Tell Me"
14. "Human Nature"
15. "The Funny Song"
16. "Secret"
17. "Gone"
18. "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
19. "Lo Que Siente la Mujer"
20. "La Isla Bonita"
21. "Holiday"

22. "Music"