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intereact!Madonna
Retail Price (not our price): $13.98
Release Date: 1998-03-03
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...
| Disc 1 |
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com essential recording
Never underestimate Madonna's power of persuasion: By nearly all critical accounts, Ray of Light, Madonna's first album of new material since 1994's Bedtime Stories, and her first since motherhood, is her richest, most accomplished record yet. While Ray of Light is being tagged as Madonna's big leap into electronica, it's important to note two things: First, her music has always had close ties to dance culture, and, second, her collaborator William Orbit is no Chemical Brother. Though it has all the latest blips, bleeps, and crackles electronica has to offer, Ray of Light is still largely an adult album, completely within Madonna's realm. Still, Orbit's tasteful sonic constructions provide Madonna with her most adventurous, hippest musical backdrop ever. What's more, the arrangements and production are understated enough to highlight an even bigger development: Fresh from singing lessons on the Evita set, Madonna's vocal range, depth, and clarity have never been stronger. But larger pipes don't necessarily make for deeper, truer music. Never a master lyricist, Madonna's words have worked best when they've practically been slogans ("Vogue," "Express Yourself"). This time she goes for more emotional depth, and even tries her hand at ethno-techno-mysticism ("Shanti/Ashtangi"). She largely stumbles, however. The tone conveyed on songs like "Nothing Really Matters" is a self-centered pat on the back that belies her claim to a newfound altruism. It's enough to make you wonder, now that Madonna's given up being our material girl, if maybe she's set her sights on becoming the center of our spiritual world too. --Roni Sarig
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
1) New Rave [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Supposedly, fems (like me) find Madonna irresistible. It wasn't until "Live To Tell" I could muster much respect, however. Here, Madonna - with the collaboration of William Orbit - replaces her disco pop pouting and will-to-shock (all the way to the bank) with something resembling self-actualized artistry. Trendy is the surface, techno is the bling, but boomers will appreciate the backwards riffs, guitar arpeggios and unexpected seventh chords. The sound is trippy - Magical Mystery Tour via late-period New Order. "Drowned World/Substitute For Love" vibrates ambiguously, like a Lava Lamp; "Candy Perfume Girl" buzzes by on mists of gender navelgazing; "The Power of Goodbye" shimmers with zen assurance; "Shanti/Ashtangi" mines Exotica for trance profundity; and "Mer Girl" freaks ya out with Gothic New Age balladry. Other downloadable goodies, too, especially the jolting title track, mashing retro moves with crackling grooves, and Madonna's most 'rock&roll' vocal. Clockwatching or staying on task, Ray Of Light is computer organic space vibes - a full 10 years on. If Madonna is Bowie, here's "Heroes." Neoretro.2) TOP EARNING TOUR [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Cher Earned The Top Grossing Tour By A Solo Artist Billboard Changed Cher's Tour Statistics To Award Madonna The Top Grossing Tour By A Female Artist. The tours were different types of tours, Cher's tour had about 5 times more shows than Madonna's tour, and Madonna's top ticket price was about 5 times higher than Cher's top ticket price. ***I respect the fact that Cher chose to charge about $35 to $75 per ticket on her Living Proof Farewell Tour, and that Cher chose to extend her farewell Tour, doing 325 shows and leaving the prices low -as opposed to doing a shorter tour and charging a couple of hundred dollars per ticket*** BILLBOARD BOXSCORE Cher: Billboard Boxscore Year End Chart 2002 #2 Cher $67,624,323 selling 1,012,037 tickets from 83 shows Cher: Billboard Boxscore Year End Chart 2003 #3 Cher $76,269,364 selling 1,147,920 tickets from 113 shows BILLBOARD BOXSCORE YEAR END CHART TOTALS for 2002 & 2003 = $143,893,687 selling 2,159,957 tickets from 196 shows**with 4 shows "unreported" in this tally. Cher's Farewell tour had 200 shows up to this point. Cher: Billboard Boxscore Year End Chart 2005 #14 Cher $27,237,641 selling 381,436 tickets from 40 shows BILLBOARD BOXSCORE YEAR END CHART TOTALS for 2002, 2003 & 2005 = $171,131,328 selling 2,541,393 tickets from 236 shows **with 89 shows "unreported" in this tally. Cher's Farewell Tour had a total of 325 Worldwide shows Ray Waddell Billboard Magazine 11-8-2003 -reports that Cher's Living Proof Farewell Tour played 200 shows, sold 2.2 million tickets and grossed $145 million, becoming the top grossing tour by a female artist. "Every place we could possibly put this show, we've placed it" says tour producer Brad Wavra. Ray Waddell Billboard Magazine 5-28-2005 -reports that Cher's Living Proof Farewell Tour is the top grossing tour by a female artist, and that it grossed $194,683,927 selling 2,880,726 tickets from 280 North American shows that realized 90% of her gross potential and played to 92% of capacity. He goes on to report that the Worldwide tour had 325 shows and grossed well over $200 million. **that leaves 45 "unreported" shows in this tally. THEN CHER'S TOUR GROSS WAS CHANGED Ray Waddell Billboard Magazine 4-22-2006 -reports that Cher's Living Proof Farewell Tour grossed $192.5 million from 273 shows and that Madonna's Confessions Tour has a gross potential in the $200 million range and could become the top grossing tour by a female artist. **this would leave 52 "unreported" shows on Cher's 325 date Worldwide Farewell Tour. Tamara Conniff Billboard Magazine Senior Editor 10-14-2006 -reports that Madonna's Confessions Tour is the top grossing tour by a female artist grossing $193 million from 60 shows that sold close to 1.2 million tickets, besting Cher's tour benchmark of $192.5 million "however, Cher remains one of the top divas" -- Pollstar reports Madonna's Confessions Tour earned $85.9 million from 34 shows with an average ticket price of $183.76.Ray Waddell Billboard Magazine 8-12-2006 -reports that Madonna's Confessions Tour grossed $85.8 million selling 467,312 tickets from 34 North American shows. He goes on to report that Madonna should gross $200 million Worldwide and make "history" by Posting the top grossing tour by a female artist. MADONNA:Billboard Boxscore Top 25 Tours Of 2006 #2 -$194,754,447 selling 1,209,618 tickets from 60 shows ***POLLSTAR STATS*** Cher: Pollstar Year End Tours 2002 #3 Cher $73.6 million selling 1,106,471 tickets from 93 shows $71.89 average ticket price, $875,593 average show gross Cher: Pollstar Year End Tours 2003 #5 Cher $68.2 million selling 1,034,057 tickets from 102 shows $65.91 average ticket price, $695,412 average show gross POLLSTAR TOTAL for 2002 & 2003= $141.8 million selling 2,140,528 tickets from 195 shows **leaving 5 of the 200 shows "unreported" Cher: Pollstar Year End Tours 2004 #17 Cher $29.1 million selling 447,039 tickets from 54 shows $65.19 average ticket price, $582,807 average show gross. Cher: Pollstar Year End Tours 2005 #32 Cher $17.8 million selling 252,584 tickets from 26 shows $70.37 average ticket price, $740,624 average show gross. POLLSTAR TOTAL for 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005 = $188.7 million selling 2,840,151 tickets from 275 shows (of 325 Worldwide shows) **this leaves 50 "unreported" shows in this tally. NIELSEN TV RATINGS CHER Farewell Tour 4-8-2003 NBC 9-11pm #7 -16.6 million viewers #10 -5.9/15 rating in the 18-49 demographic Cher was aged 56 MADONNA Confessions Tour 11-22-2006 NBC 8-10pm #73 -4.6 million viewers #72 -1.8/5 rating in the 18-49 demographic Madonna was aged 48 Nielsen Soundscan reports that Cher's "Living Proof" album sold 500,000 copies in the U.S, and Madonna's "Confessions on a Dancefloor" sold 1.6 million copies3) A must-have! [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Madonna's return to prominence with the correct amount of elements from pop (to appeal to general audiences), electronica (enough to make it an outstanding and trend-setting album) and spirituality (yes, she's still a pop icon). Ray of Light put Madonna in the spotlight once again with rave reviews from critics and people in general. You don't have to be a fan to enjoy this music journey through Madonna's best accomplished album.4) My favorite Madonna album [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is my favorite Madonna album. It is pure ear candy from start to finish. It includes the hit singles "Frozen", "Ray Of Light", "The Power Of Good-Bye", and in Europe, "Drowned World/Substitute For Love". This album is very electronica heavy. It was produced by electronica genious Britan's own William Orbit. This album put her back on the map after being gone from the music scene with new music for the previous six years.5) Ray of Light truly is like a prayer [Rating: 5 out of 5]
This is Madonna's work of art. And this CD is the very best collection of any music she has ever produced since "Erotica." Madonna's lyrics are beautiful and strong because even after 9 years it still stands the test of time. It's completely impossible for this CD to be dated; with the electronica beat and fast moving dance numbers, such as the title-track this CD was way ahead of its time. Even in the double-00's "Ray of Light" is still very trendy.Besides the song, "Ray of Light," I also adore "Frozen." This was the perfect song to be the lead-single because it mixed both the old and new Madonna into one. "Frozen" also helped resonate a steady flow of continuity. I also love the song "Shanti/Ashtangi." In this song Madonna sings a very pretty melody in Sanskrit that is both unique and uplifting. I don't know what she's saying but I do know that I want to keep listening. I wish she would have done an entire CD like this (although she did release a similar song, "Music's" B-side, "Cyberraga" in 2000.) Some of the other truly magical tracks on this CD are: "Swim" "Skin" and "Sky Fits Heaven." These songs are like pieces to an intricate quilt that come perfectly together. "Ray of Light" is almost like one big tune because all the songs on this CD live as one in perfect harmony. Why is this CD so perfect? Because it mixes the old with the new. It includes a very young sound that still sounds familiar and welcoming. "Ray of Light" totally reminds me of Madonna's two other greatest masterpieces, "Erotica" and "Like A Prayer." This is the Madonna that I truly love because this CD was so unique and artistic. She took a huge gamble with "Ray of Light" because she hadn't had a hit record in years and boy did it pay off. You cannot deny "Ray of Light" its place in music history as one of the greatest popular dance records of the 90's.A reporter in Europe once asked Madonna what she liked the most about the "old Madonna" and she said something to the effect of, "both the old Madonna and new Madonna have a sense of humor about these sort of questions." I suppose she didn't want to spend her time talking about the "old Madonna." Instead she was more interested in the present. And that's what "Ray of Light" is about. It's like a day at the beach with someone you love. It's a reminder that even after the dark there is some light. It's like a sunny day when everything turns out great. In this crazy world, "Ray of Light" gives me hope that there is still some optimism out there. You are home with "Ray of Light."