Release date: 08-12-2003 (originally from 1998)

2003 UK 13-track 2-LP vinyl set, pressing on 180 gram vinyl. = For her first post-motherhood disc, Madonna and producer William Orbit showed the world that electronic music doesn't have to be cold. Songs such as the title track and "Nothing Really Matters" are beat-driven but restrained, filled with warmth and wonder. Ray also features her best singing ever.
Including 'Frozen', 'The Power Of Goodbye' and 'Nothing Really Matters', with picture sleeve plus lyric inner sleeves. sealed.

Tracks:
01. Drowned world (substitute for love)
02. Swim
03. Ray of light
04. Candy perfume girl
05. Skin
06. Nothing really matters
07. Sky fits heaven
08. Shanti/Ashtangi
09. Frozen
10. Power of goodbye
11. To have and not to hold
12. Little star
13. Mer girl

The Material Girl's 1998 return to pop after a four-year hiatus. Sonically, this the most adventurous Madonna record ever made. It is also the most mature and restrained album, which makes it extremely accessible.

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 -Amazon-