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Ray of Light is the eighth album by singer Madonna, released in 1998 (see 1998 in music). The introspective concept album, an aural hybrid of atmospheric electronica, drum and bass, and emotional trance, is widely considered to be Madonna's greatest artistic acheievement thus far.

Drawing influence from a number of Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism, mystical Judaism, and the Kabbalah, the record explores the themes of motherhood, death, and re-birth. The production by William Orbit includes signature Eastern instrumentation such as the sitar, rebana, and tabla. One track, Shanti/Ashtangi, is sung entirely in Hebrew.

Light won three awards at the 1998 Grammy Awards, was voted the tenth greatest album of all time by VH1 viewers in the United Kingdom and the twenty-ninth best recording ever by Rolling Stone readers in 2002.

Instrumentation

Ray of Light includes elaborate instrumental arrangements – for example, the string arrangement on "Frozen" – and extensive use of mordern studio effects including echo, modulation, and compression. Many of these effects were devised in collaboration with producer William Orbit, an underground electronic artist who created a string of instrumental albums in the 1990s. Orbit later revealed how he banged on trash cans to create the effect on "Frozen", unale to achieve a similar sound on a snare drum or rebana.

In another innovation, the track "Sky Fits Heaven" segues straight into Shanti/Ashanti through the use of a seemingly endless loop made by the runout groove looping back into itself.

Juxtaposed with Orbit's synths, stuttering break beats, and trip-hop textures, Madonna's vocals are notably stronger, the result of extensive vocal training for her previous project, the film adaption of the musical Evita.

Drugs

Although Madonna has never been a habitual drug user (despite claims that she had been smoking Indo when appearing on a notorious episode of the Late Show With David Letterman in 1994), the singer controversially told VH1 that she believed "the whole record would sound great on drugs" because of the trippy effects and themes on Light, especially during the tracks "Skin", "Sky Fits Heaven", and "Shanti/Ashanti". Madonna later told reporters that she was not advocating substance abuse.

In 1998, The Good Drugs Guide claimed that Ray of Light contains a number of tracks that glorify the experience of taking Ketamine, a drug nicknamed "psychedelic heroin" which is very common in UK clubbing culture.

Album cover

The album packaging was created by art director Kevin Reagon, in collaboration with photographer Mario Testino. It featured an etheral Madonna on the cover; the lyrics were printed in the accompanying booklet.

Track listing

1. "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" (Collins, Kerr, Madonna, McKuen, Orbit) - 5' 09"
2. "Swim" (Madonna, Orbit) - 5' 00"
3. "Ray of Light" (Curtis, Leach, Madonna, Muldoon, Orbit) - 5' 21"
4. "Candy Perfume Girl" (Madonna, Melvoin, Orbit) - 4' 34"
5. "Skin" (Leonard, Madonna) - 6' 22"
6. "Nothing Really Matters" (Leonard, Madonna) - 4' 27"
7. "Sky Fits Heaven" (Leonard, Madonna) - 4' 48"
8. "Shanti/Ashtangi" (Madonna, Orbit) - 4' 29"
9. "Frozen" (Leonard, Madonna) - 6' 12"
10. "The Power of Good-Bye" (Madonna, Nowels) - 4' 10"
11. "To Have and Not to Hold" (Madonna, Nowels) - 5' 23"
12. "Little Star" (Madonna, Nowels) - 5' 18"
13. "Mer Girl" (Madonna, Orbit) - 5' 32"

Personnel

• Madonna — vocals
• Pablo Cook — flute
• Donna Delory — background vocals
• Marius DeVries — keyboard
• Fergus Gerrand — percussion, drums
• Nikki Harris — background vocals
• Suzie Katayama — conductor
• Marc Moreau — guitar
• William Orbit — sound effects

Production

• Producers: Madonna, Marius DeVries, Patrick Leonard, William Orbit
• Engineers: Mark Endert, Jon Ingoldsby, Patrick McCarthy, Dave Reitzas, Matt Silva
• Mastering: Ted Jensen
• Programming: Mike Bradford, Marius DeVries
• Drum programming: Steve Sidelnyk
• Arranger: Patrick Leonard
• String arrangements: Craig Armstrong
• Translation: Vyass Houston, Eddie Stern
• Art direction: Kevin Reagan
• Design: Kerosene Halo, Kevin Reagan
• Photography: Mario Testino

Charts

Album — Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Madonna albums
• 1998 albums