Maps of Music

Ray of Light (1998)

Where the lyrics of Ray of Light take you, and where it was really made.

Madonna spent the longest stretch of her career making this album, and sessions kept stalling because the producer's equipment kept breaking down.

Key places

Vocal sessions at The Hit Factory (1998)

Recording site The Hit Factory — Madonna and William Orbit booked studio time at The Hit Factory in New York, where they worked on Madonna's vocals. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Final stage at Larrabee Studio (1998)

Recording site Larrabee Sound Studios — They completed the latter part of the project at Larrabee Studio in North Hollywood, where they worked in what Orbit described as a more conventional way. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Ray of Light: seventh studio album by Madonna
• Released February 22, 1998 in Japan; United States release March 3, 1998
• Major stylistic and aesthetic departure from her previous works
• Reflects her embrace of Kabbalah, study of Hinduism and Buddhism, and daily Ashtanga yoga practice
• Electronica, trip hop, techno-pop, and new-age production with dense analog synthesizers and electric guitars
• Introspective themes: fame, spirituality, motherhood, and enlightenment
• Sold over 16 million copies worldwide

Background

• Bedtime Stories (1994) adopted a softer style to regain public favor after Erotica (1992)
• 1996: cast as Eva Peron in the musical film Evita, began vocal training and studied Argentina's history
• 1996: gave birth to her first child, daughter Lourdes Leon
• 1997: developed interest in Eastern mysticism, Hinduism, and Kabbalah, introduced by friend and actress Sandra Bernhard

Recording

• Recording began June 1997 with producer Babyface; the songs did not match the direction she envisioned and were abandoned
• Next worked with Rick Nowels, then Patrick Leonard, before turning to William Orbit
• Recording spanned four and a half months, the longest of her career to that point
• Frequent computer malfunctions caused delays until equipment was repaired
• Orbit performed nearly all of the instrumentation himself, including guitar
• BBC arranged telephone Sanskrit lessons with Vagish Shastri, after which she re-recorded the affected vocals

Cover

• Artwork taken from a November 28, 1997 photo shoot with photographer Mario Testino
• Madonna wears a turquoise Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 1998 vinyl raincoat on the cover

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Madonna Louise Ciccone, born August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress.
• Raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township; moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue dance.
• Performed as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in the rock bands Breakfast Club and Emmy before signing with Sire Records.
• Debut album Madonna (1983) brought her fame.

Career

• Like a Virgin (1984), True Blue (1986), and The Immaculate Collection (1990) are among the best-selling albums of all time.
• Rolling Stone ranked Like a Prayer (1989), Ray of Light (1998), and Music (2000) among the greatest albums of all time.
• Known for continual reinvention and for works addressing social, political, sexual, and religious themes.
• Acting credits include Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), A League of Their Own (1992), and Evita (1996), for which she won a Golden Globe.
• Founded the entertainment company Maverick (1992–2009), including Maverick Records.
• Is the best-selling female music artist of all time and the first female performer to accumulate US$1 billion from concerts.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, in her first year of eligibility.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone (Rob Sheffield): called the album brilliant, but criticized Orbit's production as repetitive
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): called it Madonna's most adventurous record and most mature and restrained album
• Billboard (Paul Verna): called it easily her most mature and personal work to date
• Entertainment Weekly (David Browne): said she seemed more relaxed and less contrived than in years
• Slant Magazine (Sal Cinquemani): described it as one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s
• Q (Stuart Maconie): wrote that she remains the only pop aristocrat keeping her ears open
• Melody Maker (Mark Roland): highlighted the lack of cynicism as its most positive aspect

Reappraisal

• Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: placed at number 367, then rose to number 222 in the 2020 update
• Pitchfork: ranked it the 55th best album of the 1990s
• NME's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2013): number 241
• Credited with bringing electronica into global pop culture

Records

• US Billboard 200 debut at number two, with 371,000 first-week copies, the biggest first-week sales by a female artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era at that time
• Topped the official charts of 17 countries
• UK: debuted at number one and certified six times platinum by the BPI for 1.8 million copies
• Germany: number one for seven weeks, with triple platinum certification
• United States: certified four times platinum by the RIAA on March 16, 2000
• 41st Annual Grammy Awards: won four of six nominations, including Best Pop Album
• 1998 MTV Video Music Awards: Madonna won six awards from nine nominations

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Madonna also considered calling the album Veronica Electronica, but dropped the idea along with the title Mantra.
• Her studio albums up to this point had each been titled after a song on the tracklist, so the album took the name of the song Ray of Light.
• Orbit played guitar in the studio for such long stretches that his fingers bled.
• Mer Girl was recorded largely as Orbit presented it, with Madonna completing the vocal in a single take.
• After release, Orbit said there was a whole album's worth of outtake tracks.
• Madonna's voice training during Evita led her to say it opened her up immeasurably.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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