Madonna's Ray of Change! (Ray Of Light - Madonna)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Ray Of Light - Madonna
Date:	11/03/08 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Couple of good tracks

Disadvantages: Too much of a change. Not so easy to listen to

Madonna Ciccone has been nicknamed the 'Queen of Pop', and is wll known for groundbreaking music releasing themes of music and religion onto the stage with controversy attached. Following the release of her 1994 album 'Bedtime Stories', Madonna took a break from recording music and concentrated on the film production of the musical 'Evita', in which she takes the lead.

Following the birth of her first child Lourdes, Madonna wrote the bulk of the tracks on 'Ray of Light', her 1998 album. Its release heralded another 'new' Madonna. As a solo performer, she is constantly reinventing herself for fear of repeating herself within her music. This is evident in this album with the 'modern' sounds created by the majority of the tracks. There are 13 tracks in all, including the hit tracks 'Ray of Light', 'Frozen' and 'Nothing Really Matters'.

These are the tracks:

1. Drowned World/Substitute For Love
2. Swim
3. Ray Of Light
4. Candy Perfume Girl
5. Skin
6. Nothing Really Matters
7. Sky Fits Heaven
8. Shanti/Ashtangi
9. Frozen
10. The Power Of Good-Bye
11. To Have And Not To Hold
12. Little Star
13. Mer Girl

While this is a good collection of music technically, Madonna has never been my favourite performer. She has no doubt appealed to another young generation with this album, as well as revitalising her fans from previous releases, and it is easy to see why true fans would like this change.

Her voice remains a powerful weapon at the same time as being a soothing sound. Tracks such as 'The Power Of Good-Bye' prove this, yet I do not find interest personally in listening to the entire album. Tracks such as 'Skin' and 'Little Star' are nice tracks, but I find them too deep and meaningful to just listen to without thinking about reaons for them being written. Collaborations with William Orbit and Patrick Leonard are not unfamiliar to Madonna, yet this time Leonard's involved stopped before entering the studio for recording. While I cannot tell how this might have changed the album, I prefer the Madonna of the 1980s and early 1990s, and am not too enamoured by the Madonna we hear on 'Ray of Light'.

Since this album, she seems to have returned to a style which fits with the times. 'Ray of Light' was almost too different, released at a time when a lot of artists were experimenting greatly with their music in a controversial way.

I rate this album at 3 stars. Although I am not a fan of this album, I still appreciate the musical quality involved here and the deep and meaningful aspect. It is soothing music.

'Ray of Light' is available from amazon.co.uk for £4.98 new.

Summary: Madonna's 1998 album 'Ray of Light'