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Ray Of Light 15th Anniversary Thread


cosmic_system

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Thanks Cosmic, it's so nice to see these again.....all of my ICON mags are in storage, but I used to LIVE for her letters

Same here! I was going through my ROL-era issues of Icon last night. Here's a nice little summary of events as they unfolded per her official fan club (click to enlarge) :

iconraychronology1_zps1540b996.png?t=1362435207

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Fascinating that Walter Stern was originally going to do Nothing Really Matters instead of Drowned World. Do you suppose it would have had the same concept as DW? And I wonder why it was changed.

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Fascinating that Walter Stern was originally going to do Nothing Really Matters instead of Drowned World. Do you suppose it would have had the same concept as DW? And I wonder why it was changed.

I know... It's hard to imagine what that would look like.

At least delaying NRM gave her time to fall in love with Hatsumomo/Memoirs Of A Geisha. th_geisha.gif

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Guest groovyguy

http://idolator.com/7444244/madonna-ray-of-light-anniversary-15-backtracking

Madonna's 'Ray Of Light'; Turns 15: Backtracking

Stephen Sears

March 4th, 2013

Backtracking is our recurring look back at the pop music that shaped our lives. Friends may come and go, but we'll be spinning our favorite albums forever.

When Madonna arrived at a Los Angeles studio in summer 1997, ready to record what would become Ray Of Light, her seventh album of original material, she'd already spent months writing demos with her longtime collaborator Patrick "Live To Tell" Leonard and songwriter Rick Nowels. Fueled by a love of then-current electronic music coming out of the UK and Europe - think Daft Punk and DJ Dimitri - she chose Brit whiz William Orbit as her collaborator for what she termed his "certain brand of madman-type genius."

Orbit had previously remixed a few of M's singles. In 1997, he encountered a freshly energized (and spiritualized) Madonna. Now a student of Kabbalah and a new parent, she told MTV's Kurt Loder at the time, "I have much more of a joy of living than I can ever remember having before... I realized how blessed I was. I started to focus on living in the moment and enjoying each moment." The mood was reflected in her appearance too, with long strawberry blond hair and an earth mother vibe.

If I Could Melt Your Heart

Madonna had a history of launching albums with killer singles. Ray Of Light arrived on March 3, 1998, and, prior to that, most hardcore fans of the singer can remember where they were when they first heard the oceanic strings and burping synths that lead "Frozen."

"You only see what your eyes want to see," Madonna sings in a vulnerable, almost whispering voice before the song's Eastern influences come in. Not since "Live To Tell" had a Madonna ballad carried such emotional weight - and this time it was done with a new level of sonic grandeur.

"Drowned World /Substitute For Love," the album's first track, started as a simple demo about her search for something deeper than material wealth and fame. In the studio with Orbit, he and M layered the record with blips, stardust effects and a sample from the obscure "Why I Follow the Tigers" by The San Sebastian Strings. The first voice you hear on the album is male, saying "You see," before Madonna's own vocals appear, sounding deeper and wiser.

Like the first chapter of a great novel, "Drowned World" sets the tone for an album light years ahead of its predecessors in scope and musicality.

She's Got Herself A Universe

Madonna's vocals throughout Ray Of Light were a game-changer. In the 15 years since her debut, no one had heard this voice before. On the astonishing title track, she shatters her previous range as she scales up and down the peaks of the exhilarating chorus. Working on Evita a few years before "really strengthened my voice," she said at the time. "I learned how to sing in a way that I never did before."

Indeed, no choir is needed to lift "Ray Of Light" into disco heaven. Madonna supplies the highs herself in some perfect moments: the extended, spiraling way she wails "yea-ea-ears" at 3:27 or how her vocal spins out of control at 4:14, matched by Orbit's frenzied guitar work.

Much of Ray Of Light's energy comes from the pulsating dance music she paired with lyrics that reflected her new outlook. Nicknaming the album Veronica Electronica as she recorded it, Madonna told MTV she was making "drug music without drugs"...it's possible [to create] if you have really free people."

In particular, "Sky Fits Heaven" and "Skin" sound earth-shaking on a large sound system. Enlightened by the influence of both Kabbalah and world music, Madonna even included the beat heavy "Shanti/Ashtangi," sung entirely in Sanskrit.

Lourdes, Madonna's baby, also heavily influenced Ray Of Light's softer spirit. "Having her has set me on a new way of thinking," she told MTV. The gossamer "Little Star" is literally a sweet lullaby, made contemporary by Orbit's shimmering production. "A lot of bubbly bits" is how Madonna described his contribution. The track is in stark contrast to the darker, "Mer Girl," an eerie, almost free-form mediation on the death of her own mother.

Everything I Give You All Comes Back To Me

By the time the album's fifth single, "Nothing Really Matters," was released in 1999, Madonna had shaken off the earthy styling for a more severe, Asian-influenced look, with blunt-cut, jet black hair and pale makeup. For the Johan Renck-directed video, Madonna set what was perhaps Ray Of Light's most classically Madonna-esque pop song against ultra-modern geisha visuals. Check her wicked "finger dancing" and jerking dance moves while creepy extras bob up and down in the background like they'd floated in from a Japanese horror flick.

"The Power Of Good-Bye" acts as a sort of sonic sister to "Frozen," both in the theme of a heart closed to love and Scottish film scorer Craig Armstrong’s distinctive string arrangements (listen for his sweeping orchestral bridge at 2:49).

The song's co-writer, Rick Nowels, spoke to Idolator last week, recalling, "Madonna and I wrote nine songs together over a two week period in late April 1997. Madonna would show up at 3 p.m. and we would start from scratch. She would leave at 7:00 and we would have a finished song and demo with all her lead and background vocals recorded."

"She is a brilliant pop melodist and lyricist," Nowels continued. "I was knocked out by the quality of the writing. The lyrics to "The Power Of Good-Bye" are stunning. I love Madonna as an artist and a songwriter... I know she grew up on Joni Mitchell and Motown, and to my ears she embodies the best of both worlds. She is a wonderful confessional songwriter, as well as being a superb hit chorus pop writer... She doesn't get the credit she deserves as a writer."

Though Ray Of Light peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart - it was blocked from #1 by the unstoppable Titanic soundtrack - the LP won four Grammys, including Best Pop Vocal Album. The album remains an artistic watershed for Madonna; not only was it well-received by critics, its sales exceeded those of her previous two studio albums.

In 1998, 15 years into her career, "Veronica Electronica" was more plugged in to her art than ever before. As Madonna said in the studio that prior summer, "It's about wonderment."

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Rick Nowels, spoke to Idolator last week, recalling, “Madonna and I wrote nine songs together over a two week period in late April 1997. Madonna would show up at 3 p.m. and we would start from scratch. She would leave at 7:00 and we would have a finished song and demo with all her lead and background vocals recorded.

“She is a brilliant pop melodist and lyricist,” Nowels continued. “I was knocked out by the quality of the writing. The lyrics to ‘The Power Of Good-Bye’ are stunning. I love Madonna as an artist and a songwriter… I know she grew up on Joni Mitchell and Motown, and to my ears she embodies the best of both worlds. She is a wonderful confessional songwriter, as well as being a superb hit chorus pop writer… She doesn’t get the credit she deserves as a writer.”

Can I get an amen?

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I've always enjoyed this interview. I get the feeling she was into the interviewer. This is probably the closest we'll get to seeing what she's like on a date. She's very flirty. But she was dating Guy seriously by this point, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiujjmCMJFc

oh, definitely. In the scheme of what's happening now, with all these Lessers borrowing from drag and cartoon characters to keep their image "unique" - Madonna's look for NRM still feels current. As does the quirkiness of the video, which is now standard in videos from Lessers.

Yeah! Also, Mer Girl and Headphones are "cousin" songs to me :)/>

"Headphones" is absolutely fucking genius. It's too bad Tricky didn't want to work with Madonna. And I've always wanted her to work with Mark Bell (who produced Homogenic and some other stuff for Bjork). He's to Bjork what Orbit was to Madonna.

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Guest Rachelle of London

Thank you for posting those letters, I've never seen them before, I've only heard about them!

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I have no idea, I can't find a catwalk picture or something of it.

We need one of the booklet outfit as well.

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Guest Moonbeam

This thread is awesome. Thanks for posting magazine articles and other miscellany. It's a great tribute!

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"She is a brilliant pop melodist and lyricist," Nowels continued. "I was knocked out by the quality of the writing. The lyrics to "The Power Of Good-Bye" are stunning. I love Madonna as an artist and a songwriter... I know she grew up on Joni Mitchell and Motown, and to my ears she embodies the best of both worlds. She is a wonderful confessional songwriter, as well as being a superb hit chorus pop writer... She doesn't get the credit she deserves as a writer." Though Ray Of Light peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart - it was blocked from #1 by the unstoppable Titanic soundtrack - the LP won four Grammys, including Best Pop Vocal Album. The album remains an artistic watershed for Madonna; not only was it well-received by critics, its sales exceeded those of her previous two studio albums. In 1998, 15 years into her career, "Veronica Electronica" was more plugged in to her art than ever before. As Madonna said in the studio that prior summer, "It's about wonderment."
Can I get an amen?

Interesting. I don't think the feeling is mutual. I think Joni has been pretty scathing about Madonna's skills. Strange that she should have chosen instead to work with ghost-writer Janet.

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^ She didn't really "work" with Janet. It's the equivalent of when ABBA allowed Madonna to sample their song. I'm sure if Madonna had wanted to sample one of Joni's songs, she would have said yes too. Bitch probably needs to money.

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Ray of Light had so many layers and depth, and not just musically, there was a lot to that record, and whenever I listen to Ray of Light, there's always something new I discover. It was very unique.

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Lately I've been listening to Mer Girl a lot. For many years---- I thought the track was very good, but maybe just too slow for repeated listening. Now I feel like it's perfect & has to be one of her most interesting album tracks that was not released as a single. P.S. I'm also slightly obsessed with Candy Perfume Girl right now. Both the studio & live version kicks ass!

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118458__UNOPT__safe_rainbow-dash_animated_vinyl-scratch_headbang.gif

"Candy Perfume Girl" is one of my all-time favorite Madonna tracks.

Did you know...

"Manufacturers of Magnetic Poetry -- those magnetic word bits usually seen gracing refrigerators and file cabinets -- are claiming that the Material Girl could have used one of its boxed kits to write "Candy Perfume Girl," a song off Ray of Light.

An employee for Magnetic Poetry noticed the similarities between the lyrics for "Girl" and the words included in one of their products, and the company noted in a press release that less than 4% of the song's words are not found in one of their poetry kits. A spokesperson for Madonna said the singer denied ever having heard of Magnetic Poetry." (MTV News)

:rotfl:

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:lol: Who cares if she did or not. The song is brilliant!

Shame they had to edit it down :( I've listened to the instrumental album non stop for the past 2 years that it's almost unbearable to hear the original album because of all the editing.

Candy Perfume Girl has a pretty sloppy edit if you listen to the instrumental.

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:lol: Who cares if she did or not. The song is brilliant!

Shame they had to edit it down :( I've listened to the instrumental album non stop for the past 2 years that it's almost unbearable to hear the original album because of all the editing.

Candy Perfume Girl has a pretty sloppy edit if you listen to the instrumental.

I love all of the extra parts heard in the instrumentals.

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Me too. Shanti is so exotic, especially without the fade.

And after all these years, it's cool to finally hear Marius's son in Skin.

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In the Ultrasound interview, she tells Kurt that she's listening to DJ Cam, so I thought I'd check him out. As we speak the song "I Love Hip-Hop" is playing from his 1998 album (presumably released after this interview) and there's a looped sampled of a rapper saying "And I love hip-hop like Madonna loves dick." It's apparently a sample from a 1993 track by Tony Tone called "Flow to the Bone." Anyway, funny. I wonder if Cam heard about M's endorsement.

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Does anyone have easy access to download the ROL instrumentals? I have a few, I have heard them all, but I didn't bother to download them all when they first appeared.....bad, lazy fan.

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