^ all about the live version

Nobody Knows Me is the perfect American Life album track. Continues the abrasive tone of the album and hits out at the world in a powerful way.

 

12. Swim ~ 8.00 (more 9s)

 

I can't carry these sins on my back

 

The Ray of Light era loses its first track! Swim is about renewing yourself. In life we make mistakes, commit sins, have heartaches and troubles, but this song sings of the power of washing these hardships away and being renewed. The song continues added weight and power as it was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the murder of Madonna's close friend Gianni Versace. Throughout the song there is an overcoming of barriers and swimming towards a sense of peace and so the song is deeply spiritual and moving.

^ initially my fab track on the album

Swim is gorgeous. One of many album highlights. That's the first from the album to drop out here!

It’s funny, Swim has never been one I’ve referred to as an album highlight because I try to narrow that down to just a handful of tracks and that’s occupied by an already big list of the singles/Swim/Sky Fits Heaven/To Have and Not to Hold, however the full album is made up of high points and Swim is easily a 9/10.

 

I love how the track emerges from Drowned World, itself a song about starting anew and a rejection of superficiality (which kinda ties in with vanity which is seen as a sin). You’ve got those watery tones which really adds to the feel of the song; it’s very light and uplifting, which is odd considering lines like “children killing children” and “students rape their teachers”. I’m not sure if Madonna’s saying we should forgive these sins but more we, as a human race, cannot be burdened by the wrong doings of others; we cannot lose faith in humanity. I guess the murder of Versace in the day of recording makes that message even more appropriate.

'Swim' is an absolute highlight for me on an album full of them.

 

11. Spanish Eyes ~ 8.20

 

We were proud to fight but we cannot win this blind

 

Missing out on the top 10 it's Spanish Eyes from the Like A Prayer album. The tender and vulnerable song is about a brave man at the end of his life. Madonna prays for the man's soul as he faces death. Lyrically the song prays for those suffering with AIDS, those facing adversity and those that need saving or support. Madonna's vocals are incredibly tender and soft and the entire song is velvety warm and mournful. A powerful, moving ballad, it is only the first track from the album to appear in the countdown - the other two are still to come in the top 10!

My favourite album track on Like a Prayer - very heavy subject matter and Madonna really does it justice with the lyrics and her emotional vocal. I really love that rasp in her voice during the chorus, like she’s desperately pleading for a change in social attitudes. The production on the song is just magnificent too.

This done very well !! We so need a remaster of this album !!

 

Excited for the top 10!

Such a beautiful song. One of a few perfect ballads on the album :wub:

It's truly an amazing song. I love this album.

 

10. I Don't Search I Find ~ 8.20 (more 11s)

 

We live between life and death

 

Top 10 time and first up, it's one of two Madame X songs to feature in this final run. I Don't Search I Find was released to Italian radios as the fourth single there but elsewhere it remains an album track highlight. An EDM/house inspired track that harks back to some of Madonna's most signature sounds from her career to date. The song became her 50th chart-topping single on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs and provided inspiration for the name of her upcoming remix album collection celebrating the 50 #1s on this chart.

^ an obvious single choice not used WW and no video made!

 

Reminds me of her work with Shep Pettibone.

 

 

Definitely deserved full single treatment. A brilliantly retro Madonna of her at her best and so modern sounding too. A missed opportunity!

 

09. God Control ~ 8.80

 

Everybody knows the damn truth

 

Two Madame X tracks on the trot as the album bows out. Produced by Madonna, Mirwais and Mike Dean, the song is a fist-pumping banger about gun control laws in America. It features the Tiffin Children's Chorus who chant throughout the song and it's a defiant assault on US politics. The Jonas Åkerlund directed music video showed Madonna in a nightclub where a shooting takes place, alongside her as Madame X making sense of the world around her. It naturally received a backlash following news events in the US but it shows how abrupt Madonna's political stance is and how important her message is for the world to wake up.

Loving the fact that 2 Madame X tracks have made the top 10!!

God Control is so essential. What a journey of a song - so outlandish and yet so powerful and needed in the current landscape. It's like American Life and Confessions on a Dancefloor were put in a blender together and turned up to the MAX.

 

08. Skin ~ 8.80 (more 11s)

 

Why do you leave me wanting more?

 

Skin ranks as the 2nd highest album track from Ray of Light. The beautiful love song has Madonna longing for physical contact with her lover. Madonna is yearning for more throughout the song and her sensual vocals perfectly compliment the luscious production. There are dreamlike qualities throughout the song alongside the William Orbit signature sounds. All-in-all, it's a superb example of the album's sound and vision.