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Madonna: Ray of Light (Maverick 9362-46847-2)

Andy Gill, The Independent, 27 February 1998

Ray of Light opens like an Eno album from the mid-Seventies, with an amorphous, watery blur of sound. It even has an Eno-soundalike title, or an Eno title that a sixth-form poet has tried to "improve" upon, 'Drowned World Aka My Substitute for Love'. When Madonna starts singing, she's back in the confessional, but this time it's in the church of emotional integrity: "I traded fame for love/Without a second thought/It all became a silly game/Some things cannot be bought." What, she's no longer famous? Since when?

Total word count of piece: 279

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