tracks from the album. While recording, Orbit kept "Ray of Light" a semitone higher than the singer's limit, resulting in a strain added to the vocals. "She got frustrated when we were recording but you want that bit of edge with singers, that thing of reaching. You can't fake it, and you can hear it when she cracks it on the record," he recalled. Before the final chorus there is a synth solo again, reminiscent of a 1970s prog-rock record. According to Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, this was a link to the origin of the song from "Sepheryn". Lyrically, the track is upbeat, keeping in theme with the music. According to Madonna the verses are a mystical look at the universe and how small we are compared to it. She wanted to capture a feeling of "wonderment" with the lyrics, as if some one has just opened their eyes and looked at the world for the first time. With NME, Madonna further clarified that the lyrics convey the feeling of being small in comparison to the vast universe. It also talks about how regular life goes on faster "than the speeding light", but one can get out of that journey and look at themselves from an outsider's perspective. Critical reception "Ray of Light" received acclaim from music critics. In a review of the album as a whole, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as "swirling". In a review of the maxi CD single, Liana Jonas of the same website called the track a "wickedly good club song" and "sonically progressive yet listener-friendly". She also praised Madonna's vocals, comparing them to those of a "club diva to celestial goddess". "The title track builds from another incongruously pretty guitar arpeggio into thumping rave anthem mode," Stuart Maconie wrote in a Q review of Ray of Light, "but always underscored with keen musical intelligence. It could be a lighter, less one-dimensional Chemical Brothers." Larry Flick of Billboard described it as Madonna at her best, calling it a "spiritually charged, often poetic song". He especially mentioned the flexible vocals and Madonna's progression as a recording artist. Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone in his review for the album as a whole, wrote that, alongside other tracks such as "Swim" and "Drowned World/Substitute For Love", Madonna is "positively ferocious" sounding on "Ray of Light". Sal Cinquemani of