FEATURE:
The Queen of Pop’s Crowning Glory
Ray of Light: A Work of Genius in a Career of Constant Evolution and Brilliance
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I am not necessarily a Madonna superfan…
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1983
and I know there are others out there who know her work a lot better than me! The reason I am so fascinated by Madonna, as I have said so many times, is because she is an icon and a real role model. Today, we do not have a culture and society that would foster a Pop icon like Madonna. The media is very different, and I do feel it would be impossible for someone to come in like Madonna did in the early-1980s and achieve the same status and success. Whether it is entirely true or not, Madonna had $35 in her pocket and a dream and, through sheer gutsiness, determination, and gutsiness, she made a name for herself. I confess that there are some Madonna albums that are not that good – 2008’s Hard Candy, and 2012’s MDNA are rare misses -, but she has rarely put a foot wrong when it comes to albums! On 18th September, Music turns twenty, and that was the album that followed my favourite; the one I will get to in a second. It is Madonna’s birthday tomorrow (16th August), and I wanted to put out a few features because, nearly forty years since her debut arrived in 1983, she remains one of the true originals who is unafraid to speak her mind. I cannot put into words just how incredible her legacy is and how far her influence spreads.
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 2013/PHOTO CREDIT: Terry Richardson for Harper's BAZAAR
From her style and story through to her support for the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community and the way she managed to rule and progress in a sexist music scene, so many artists today owe a debt to her. I think Madonna, more than most artists, has put out albums that are vastly different, but they manage to sound distinctly Madonna! Her 1983 eponymous debut is light in terms of substance and subject matter, but it is joyful and underrated. Madonna wrote most of the tracks on her own, and there are some terrific cuts on the record – such as Borderline, and Lucky Star. 1984’s Like a Virgin is a stronger album, and it saw Madonna maturing and becoming bolder in terms of her songwriting and image. The title track is one of her classics, and Material Girl is the first song of hers that I discovered – and its chorus is one of the catchiest ever! 1986’s True Blue was another revolution and, maturing even more, Madonna came a long way in a few years; showing great depth as a songwriter and her voice was more varied and accomplished. Her first true masterpiece, Like a Prayer, arrived in 1989, and it is many people’s favourite album of hers. Writing alongside her long-time collaborator Patrick Leonard, the two produced and wrote most of the tracks – bar a few -, and Like a Prayer, Express Yourself (Madonna wrote that with Stephen Bray) and Cherish are terrific tracks.
Like a Prayer created a degree of controversy, no less because of the title’s track’s video, where there are images of burning crosses! In terms of turning media heads, 1992’s Erotica was her golden period; a risqué and bold album that showed another evolution from Madonna – every album seemed to see her adopt a new persona, look and story. It is an underrated album, but it is an amazing record. 1994’s Bedtime Stories, again, is underrated, and it was a move away from Erotica, but it did poke at critics who judged Madonna in 1992 – and, with tracks like Secret, and Take a Bow on the album, few can ignore such a wonderful release! From 2000’s Music, Madonna continued to move and progress and, whilst she created few albums as historic and seismic as her early work, 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor is one of her best. Last year’s Madame X was a great return, after a few of slightly underwhelming albums, and many are looking ahead to see what comes next in terms of touring and albums – Madonna has suffered injury and ill health recently, which she occurred during a touring run for Madame X. With so few icons like her around, I know she will get a lot of praise and love tomorrow! I love so many of her albums, and the rest of my top-five would have Madonna, Like a Prayer, Bedtime Stories, and Music alongside one another. The top spot must be reserved for 1998’s Ray of Light.
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1998
There are many reasons why I think this is the peak of Madonna’s career. Few would have expected her to release anything like Ray of Light after 1994’s Bedtime Stories. That was not one of her best-received albums, and after four years away, few would have been prepared for the nuclear bomb she was about to drop! In hindsight, that naivety seems foolish. Madonna enjoyed peals in 1984 and 1989, I feel, so one could not have predicted a slump or a natural career decline. Ray of Light was released on 22nd February, 1998 by Maverick Records. After giving birth to her first child, Madonna started working on the album with producers Babyface and Patrick Leonard. Following failed sessions with them, Madonna pursued a new musical direction with English producer William Orbit. The recording process was the longest of Madonna's career and experienced problems with Orbit's hardware arrangement, which would break down, and recording would have to be delayed until it could be repaired. I have grabbed that passage from Wikipedia, but it shows how she was making these brave moves!
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1998
By departing with trusted producers and friends, she knew that her work needed to go in a different direction, and she needed to adapt to the changing music world around her. In 1997, The Chemical Brothers’ Dig Your Own Hole, Björk’s Homogenic, The Prodigy’s The Fat of the Land, and Spiritualized’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space were out in the world, and Madonna could see the influence of Electronic Music and how it had shifted since the 1980s and earlier years of the 1990s. Who knows what her seventh studio album would have sounded like if she had continued in the same vein as Bedtime Stories, but I don’t think it would have been as original and memorable if Madonna had not thrown a 180 spin! There is Ambient music and Middle Eastern flavours in the pot, and a spirituality that added so much to Ray of Light. Later in 1998, Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, and Fatboy Slim’s You've Come A Long Way, Baby arrived.
Both are big albums in terms of the electronics but, whereas the former is darker and has more elements of Trip-Hop, the latter is more upbeat and Big Beat. Madonna’s Ray of Light sort of sits in the middle in terms of sound, and it brings in darker shades on tracks like Drowned World/Substitute for Love, Shanti/Ashtangi, and Frozen, but there are lighter, euphoric songs like Ray of Light. Alongside the more accessible songs are cuts like Sky Fits Heaven, To Have and Not to Hold, and Mer Girl, that are deeper and demand longer focus and investigation. Throw that together with the big hits like Frozen, and The Power of Good-Bye, and Ray of Light is a masterpiece! With Madonna co-writing and producing all thirteen tracks, Ray of Light is an album that still sounds fresh today – some of her earlier work sounds a bit dated, whereas other albums of her rely a bit on nostalgic value. I think there was this wave of albums like Ray of Light from 1997-1999, but none that quite had the same blends and magic as Madonna’s magnum opus. Her voice has never sounded stronger, and I think William Orbit gave her music more edge and nuance – if Madonna has tried to repeat Bedtime Stories or her work in the early-1990s, I think it would have been a mistake! There are album-ranking articles like this, this and this and, whilst Ray of Light does not always claim the top spot, most people are going to put it in the top-two – Like a Prayer is the album that many claim is her greatest moment.
I have a lot of love for Like a Prayer, but I think Madonna was on a roll in 1989, and Like a Prayer was her building and building from her previous albums. Despite massive pressure and expectation, she delivered a staggering album in 1989, but I think there was something different happening in 1998. Many had written Madonna off, and I think the scene was so different that year compared to 1989, so it was more difficult for Madonna to deliver an album that equalled her best and fitted in with what else was occurring at the time. The reviews for Ray of Light are universally positive, and people were blown away when it came out. In a more-recent review, this is what AllMusic wrote when they tackled Ray of Light:
“Returning to pop after a four-year hiatus, Madonna enlisted respected techno producer William Orbit as her collaborator for Ray of Light, a self-conscious effort to stay abreast of contemporary trends. Unlike other veteran artists who attempted to come to terms with electronica, Madonna was always a dance artist, so it's no real shock to hear her sing over breakbeats, pulsating electronics, and blunted trip-hop beats. Still, it's mildly surprising that it works as well as it does, largely due to Madonna and Orbit's subtle attack. They've reined in the beats, tamed electronica's eccentricities, and retained her flair for pop melodies, creating the first mainstream pop album that successfully embraces techno.
Sonically, it's the most adventurous record she has made, but it's far from inaccessible, since the textures are alluring and the songs have a strong melodic foundation, whether it's the swirling title track, the meditative opener, "Substitute for Love," or the ballad "Frozen." For all of its attributes, there's a certain distance to Ray of Light, born of the carefully constructed productions and Madonna's newly mannered, technically precise singing. It all results in her most mature and restrained album, which is an easy achievement to admire, yet not necessarily an easy one to love”.
There will be a lot of articles published tomorrow on Madonna’s birthday, and there is going to be the inevitable rankings lists: people sorting out her studio albums and listing them from worst to best Rather than do that, I wanted to discuss my favourite album of hers, but also look back and show just how revolutionary and incredible her music was. From hr early singles, through to her Madame X album, Madonna has never stood still, and each album gives us something new. Ray of Light was a very special moment, and it took so many people by surprise. It is an unbelievable record that…
STILL resonates and moves the soul today.