 Madonna If memory serves, Ray of Light was released around the same time that we originally unveiled the Loud Bassoon Record Guide online, and I remember wanting to crank out a review of it to get something current posted – I ended up concluding that I'd rather give it some time to see if I'd still like it as much as I did the week it came out. I've always found it to be a serious flaw of most review forums in the media that there is a strong tendency to way overstate the greatness or awfulness of a new release – it's either the greatest album ever made or a huge letdown after the artist's previous album – in either case you don't get a very balanced view of the album (not like, say, in the Loud Bassoon, wherein reviews often give as much space to potty-mouthed tangents as to the actual music involved). Well, it's been over five years (!) since this album came out, and I've got to say, I still think it's near-perfect – arguably Madonna's best album ever, though I'm reluctant to give up Like a Prayer as my fave Madonna release. Certainly it's her most focussed album since that one, featuring easily the tightest songwriting and her most honest vocals in a long time. "Return to form" would be the wrong phrase, because she never really got that off track, and what's more, it's a totally new direction. Much (positive and negative) claptrap was written, when Ray of Light was being hyped, about Madonna "going techno" or "exploring electronica" or whatever, and the album definitely utilizes the basic ingredients of your typical electronica effort – but there is also much more real guitar on this album than her previous ones, and there is no less focus on songwriting – every track is fully realized as a composition, and the production values only emphasize the strength already there. Sure, the title track has since been abused by MTV and used in cellular phone commercials. It still kicks my fat ass every time I hear it – about as perfect a pop song as I've heard in the 90s, right up there with "Knockin' Boots" by Candyman. (Strangely, I wasn't even being facetious there.) Lyrically, the album is full of hope, but tempered with some contemplation and a lot of depth – meditations on fame, motherhood, love, and the personal quest for real identity beyond a projected persona. Critics seem to focus on the "spirituality" element of the album, and it's there, but I don't see it as "Madonna's spirtuality album" or whatever – rather, I see it as tying in with her attempts at self-actualization and self-definition, which are detailed in the lyrics of the record. Some criticize her spiritual journey as shallow, but to be honest, although I recognize the depth of the album, I also recognize it as a pop album, and therefore I don't think about it too much. What I care about is that the songs are awesome, and I fucking love listening to it. The singles are great – "Frozen," "Ray of Light," "The Power of Goodbye," "Nothing Really Matters" – it's crazy how many truly great singles the lady has made in the last 20 years – and the album tracks are equal to those, in some cases better. "Substitute for Love" is the perfect opener, a statement of purpose and a brilliant lyric---and Madonna's voice sounding better than ever, the Evita-era voice lessons having paid off grandly. "Little Star" is a cool little homage to Lourdes, reminiscent of "Dear Jessie." "Sky Fits Heaven" sounds a bit like "Till Death Do Us Part" from Like a Prayer – a brilliant one. Great vocal. William Orbit's production perfectly suits Madonna's quest here – the music itself becoming the perfect metaphor for her own searching nature. Sonically, this is her most exciting album, and probably has the least potential for sounding dated – though who knows, probably by 2007 we'll all be listening to modem squeals as music. Then people will listen to Ray of Light and say "God, can you remember when people actually produced music? It's so CORNY!" It's a great album. I find myself putting it on a lot around 1:30am – by like 2:30 I'm just knocked out (possibly also related to the massive amounts of horse tranquilizers I've consumed, and/or the detumescent catatonia from ten self-granted orgasms in half as many minutes) – it's a rare album that holds my attention for 66 minutes, not even 66 Minutes with the 60 Minutes Gang can make that claim, although if pushed I would be ready to declare Ed Bradley's take on Gil Scott-Heron's "Johannesburg" to be the best song of all time, theoretical or not. Ray of Light is primarily mellow, starting boldly and spiraling deeper into itself toward a genuine depth – highly recommended. Not every track hits me each time – "Shanti/Ashtangi" sometimes sticks out a bit, depending on how much GHB I've taken, and "Candy Perfume Girl" is a bit cutsey – but then neither of these is a "Hanky Panky." Sure, I agree that there's nothing like a good spanky, but that doesn't make it a good song.
Review by Charles Tampon-Padd |