Channelling acid electronica, Kabbalah, and motherhood, Madonna’s 1998 reinvention stripped away the controversy of her past and became one of her most unexpectedly successful albums. There was no reason Ray of Light should’ve been such a hit. After the collapse of grunge in the mid-90s, the music industry had begun to lean into the perky pubescence of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. 1998 was the year that “TRL” launched on MTV, and soon after, Britney Spears would release her teasing teen debut ...Baby One More Time, catalysing a string of young women—like fellow teens Christina Aguilera and Mandy Moore—to overrun the charts with coy love songs. But in the eye of this gathering storm of adolescence, Madonna, then 39 years old, released Ray of Light—and it became the best-selling studio album of her career since Nielsen began tracking retail, a record it still holds. How did a monastic and austere album about emotional and spiritual maturity by a woman and new mother strike such a chord?
Ray of Light sounds like an anthology of “only in the Nineties” ideas, from its coffeehouse-techno vibe to the whole notion of seeking mystic wisdom from a Gap ad. Yet the most Nineties thing about it is the way Madonna assumes you’ll put in the time the music demands. Its pop designed to unfold over time, from an artist serenely confident her listeners will pay attention. If Ray of Light came out now, it would get dismissive Friday-morning quickie reviews listing the flaws of her latest rollout strategy. But because people still paid for their music in 1998, people really did put in the time to absorb it. You gave it a few chances before you gave up. So people stuck with Ray of Light, even if they initially laughed at it.
When Ray of Light was released, there was a suggestion that Madonna would have ‘calmed’ down and settled down with middle age and motherhood. The first single off the record could have led many to that conclusion. Instead of announcing Ray of Light with a bass-heavy dance single, Madonna introduced the record with a ballad: “Frozen”. Written with long-time collaborator Patrick Leonard, “Frozen” would announce Madonna’s new sound and unveil an artistic ambition unseen in her career.
OK, you struck gold with this post! The Japanese edition of this album is one of the few places to find the song "Has To Be" which was unfortunately left off the album everywhere else, so thank you!
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DeleteAnother thing worth mentioning is that the music was created by WIlliam Orbit, in conjunction with Madonna. It could easily be called a William Orbit album with Madonna adding vocals. See his "Strange Cargoes" albums.
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