It's amazing, even unimaginable for those who follow Madonna's career, to see how the perception of her has changed over the years.
Who in the 1980s was considered a pop star with featherweight hits and became in the 1990s one of the most important American cultural symbols of the time and an icon of strong femininity, today tries hard to hold on to her youth in a way that evokes pity for her at best.
And since this is a figure that for members of the current youth generation (Gen Z in the popular opinion) does not carry too much sentimental value, it can be cautiously said that today's attitude towards someone who was considered a breakthrough artistic and career peak, is more of a contempt.
Maybe if they only knew the story behind "Ray of Light," her acclaimed and perhaps most important album, and understood its contribution to shaping the contemporary sound of international pop, they'd be a little more forgiving of every botched interior makeover or puzzling video she insists on uploading. to tiktok
And considering that yesterday was exactly 25 years since its release, it's a good time to remember what made it so revolutionary.
To fully understand "Beam of Light", the Queen Mother's seventh album, it has to be placed in the perspective of her career.
At the beginning of 1998, or in the middle of 1997 to be precise - the time of the creation of the album - Madonna was already a superstar for everything.
A musician who has maintained an impressive career since the early 1980s.
15 years of success earned her a high status among her peers, during which time she ticked off every item on the imaginary grocery list of those who dream of breaking out big and leaving a cultural mark that goes beyond the artistic content they create.
A series of huge hits that have become timeless?
Check.
An acting career (even if not particularly appreciated, then at least covered)?
Check.
Credit as someone who explored topics such as sexuality, control games and stretching gender boundaries in her albums (long before it was a trivial matter)?
Check.
Yes, by 1998 she was already an icon among icons.
This is also the year in which she will celebrate her 40th birthday - a not ideal age for the common pop star who strives to remain relevant, with little ones blowing behind him, or in her case - little ones like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera - who absolutely have to thank her for paving the way for them and allowing them to do so.
Since her last album, "Bedtime Stories" released in 1994, she has had time to become a mother for the first time in her life and consume a healthy dose of spirituality through the study of Kabbalah.
In addition, she was also cast in the movie "Evita" about the life of the Argentine politician Eva Peron - her most appreciated role in the cinema, the preparations for which included voice development classes that would allow her to improve her vocal abilities.
All these formed a great background for a more mature artist who wants to move to the next stage of her career - and still be true to the spirit of the times.
That is, for the sound and aesthetics of the late 90s, the first decade of the 2000s will come.
As someone who was known as a musical chameleon who was able to adapt to an ever-changing sound of two decades, she was about to do it again.
Or more precisely - to teach everyone how to do it properly.
Produce me, Orbit!
After not very successful attempts to work with other producers, her good friend Guy Ozeri (and here's an Israeli angle to the story) contacted William Orbit - a British producer whose repertoire includes works with names like Prince, U-2, Robbie Williams, Ricky Martin, Kevin, Beck, Beller and the list goes on.
He was no stranger to Madonna's work, and had even produced mixes for two of her songs in the past, but it wasn't until the summer of 1997 that they met face to face for the first time.
He - then a producer in his early 30s, she - a pop singer at the end of that decade of her life.
The meeting between them, as it will turn out, will change worldviews, will introduce the West to spiritual practices from the East and will help to re-establish Madonna's position as someone who knows how to choose the right producers of the moment, change and survive in a field where many refused to submit to the dictates of time (or understand them) and paid for it with careers.
The result - "Ray of Light", an album that was appreciated and praised by critics, and presented a mature but updated version of the pop queen.
It had elements of Kabbalah, Buddhism, spirit and mysticism, presented in the more mature and developed voice of someone who until then was not considered a very good vocalist.
All of these were packaged in a modern, even daring and experimental production for its time, which included layers of techno, trip-hop, ambient, psychedelia and even Middle Eastern music.
What seems like a routine cover of a pop hit today was actually a refreshing innovation back then.
After decades of synthesizers and later guitars that dominated the aesthetics of the common pop hit, Madonna was considered a pioneer and trailblazer who combined commercial and mainstream pop with a sound that until then characterized a subversive rave culture from the fringes.
Forgiveness and forgiveness
The album won her many awards (including 6 nominations at the 41st Grammy ceremony, winning 4 of them), and 9 nominations at the MTV Awards (of which she won 6).
Even if everything that followed no longer met the high standards she set for herself (if we put aside for a moment the great cover version of "American Pie" that she released as a single in 2000 and the not bad "Music" album), "Ray Of Light" marked Madonna As much more than a pop star or music celebrity riding on the fumes of her past success.
What was then mainly a successful, interesting and even experimental record is today considered one of the most important albums in pop history.
A point in time when the field made the transition to the new millennium.
A meeting between the old world and the new, which marked and outlined for those who came after her the way in which their work would be heard in the decades that would follow.
And for that alone it is worth forgiving her for the nonsense she uploads to Tiktok today.
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