Like A Prayer
Madonna
1989
Album Summary
Like a Prayer is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 21, 1989, by Sire Records. Madonna worked with Stephen Bray, Patrick Leonard, and Prince on the album, with her co-writing and co-producing all the songs. Her most introspective release at the time, Like a Prayer is a confessional record. Madonna described the album as a collection of songs about her mother, father, and bonds with her family. It was dedicated to Madonna's mother, who died when she was young. Like a Prayer is a pop album and incorporates elements of rock, R&B, gospel, and funk. Madonna drew from her Catholic upbringing, as seen on the album's title track, which was also released as its lead single. The lyrics deal with themes from Madonna's childhood and adolescence, such as the death of her mother in "Promise to Try", the importance of family in "Keep It Together", and her relationship with her father in "Oh Father", as well as encouraging female empowerment in "Express Yourself". Like a Prayer received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised the songwriting and recognized Madonna's increased artistic merit. The album was featured in several musical reference books and best-of lists including Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and Spin Alternative Record Guide. Commercially, the album was an international success, reaching the top of the charts in 20 countries, and was certified quadruple platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Worldwide, it has sold over 15 million copies and is one of the best-selling albums by women. Six accompanying singles were released: the title track, "Express Yourself", "Cherish", "Oh Father", "Dear Jessie", and "Keep It Together". "Like a Prayer" became Madonna's seventh number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, while "Express Yourself" and "Cherish" both peaked at number two, and "Keep It Together" became a top-10 hit. With the singles' music videos, Madonna furthered her creativity and became known as a leading figure in the format. The music video for "Like a Prayer" was met with controversy worldwide over its use of religious imagery, including the appropriation of Catholic iconography such as stigmata and the burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as a dream about making love to a Black saint, and a scene depicting an interracial murder by white supremacist groups. Family and Christian groups including the Vatican protested its broadcast and threatened to boycott Pepsi for having ties with Madonna. Eventually, Pepsi caved in to the protest and canceled the sponsorship, allowing Madonna to keep her $5 million paycheck in advance. Like a Prayer preceded Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour, which she used to promote it. At the end of the 1980s, following the release of the album, Madonna was named artist of the decade by several publications.
WikipediaTitle song 'Like a Prayer' is a masterpiece. 'Cherish' is also the epitome of 80s pop, I remember dancing as a small girl to this in my friend's house, her older sister would invent dance routines and make us be her back-up dancers. Prince on `Love Song` - anything with prince is gold. `Til Death do us part` - doesn't shy away from heavy themes - domestic violence. Pop is not really my thing, but this album is iconic and representative of a genre and an era.
'Like A Prayer', 'Express Yourself' and 'Cherish' are as good as anything Madonna ever recorded, and guest star Prince (on the duet 'Love Song') is always a welcome addition to any record. Yeh 'Art Of Contrition' is a bit underwhelming for an album closer, but when it turns out that Prince basically produced the track (it's also him on guitar uncredited) it's hard for me to be too critical. Elsewhere 'Dear Jessie' evokes the psychedelic 60's, 'Oh Father' is a brooding power ballad and 'Spanish Eyes' is a beautiful Latin tinged song confronting the then still-taboo issue of AIDS. Overall, this is a super pop album by a woman who was at height of her powers.
You can't really argue with what Madonna does, love it or hate it, she's very good at her pop thing. This album is full of classic pop tracks, easy to sing along with, easy to dance to, easy to relate to. I'm not a big pop fan these days but I enjoy most things she put out through the 80s. It's so streamlined and polished. Good stuff.
Quintessential 80s. Was originally thinking 4 star just based on personal preference but the influence and enduring pop sound is something that's hard to ignore and comes through when listening. Title track is so good... great song along driving song.
Incredible album start to finish. The production value alone is worth the price of admission. Really liked hearing the songs I hadn't heard since they were in heavy rotation on 90's radio, plus all the other songs I hadn't heard. Highlights: Like a Prayer Express Yourself Till Death Do Us Part Cherish Pray for Spanish Eyes
The title track is perhaps her best song, and has held up so well it's practically become Midge's signature song. The big news at the time was that Madonna was collaborating with one Prince Rogers Nelson on at least one song ("Love Song"). It turns out Prince is all over this album. The Purple One plays guitar on the title track, "Keep It Together" and "Act Of Contrition", something that's obvious listening almost 32 years later. The latter song basically sounds like a Prince outtake with Madonna reading the catholic version of the Act Of Contrition and ultimately getting angry at a computer. This is where it all came together for Madonna. I'm an unashamed Stan for Midge's "Like A Virgin" album, and with the buzz this album was generating at the time, I went out and bought on a little format called Compact Disc the week it was released. I remember that I didn't warm to it right away. By then the song "Like A Prayer" was already being played everywhere, something that would happen with "Express Yourself" and "Cherish" and even "Oh Father". You couldn't get away from those songs in 1989. So I never really gave the CD the chance it obviously deserved at the time. I had a similar situation with her "True Blue" album (those songs were such a part of the radio landscape that I didn't even bother buying the album). So this was an overdue opportunity to revisit it and marvel at Madonna right smack in the middle of her Imperial Phase. I still ride hard for "Like A Virgin" (maybe the version of Madonna love the most is the one we discovered when we were 15), but from an album standpoint, this is as good as it gets for our woman. Every track is a banger in it's own way. Prince had that sort of impact on anything he touched, and Madonna knew it better than anyone.
Madonna’s masterpiece. Perfect pop music. Like A Prayer is one of the best songs of the decade.
I knew 3 songs off this album. Thought I might find some hidden gems. Nope! 3 great songs and the rest were complete duds.
I wasn't a Madonna fan back in the day. I recall in the late 80s my friend SK had tickets to Madonna's Toronto concert and asked if I wanted to go. I looked at him like he had two heads. A couple of years later (around the time JP II was lighting her up) some work mates were discussing Madonna and one of the church going brothers said " It's bad enough that she does such things, but why did she have to name herself Madonna." That got the rebel in me thinking that perhaps I should check her shit out a bit more. Anyway, I came to like her dance floor hits. While I never did go to a Madonna concert, I saw a documentary about one of her shows and can see that the hits from Like a Prayer were perfect for the show she put on and she put on an excellent show. I liked the way she could stir the pot with her comments and fashion. It's a little sad to see her still making comments that she hopes will raise eyebrows and controversy but do nothing other than cause head shaking and sniggering that says her time has passed. Except for Prince's excellent guitar work on Act of Contrition, I don't have much positive to say the songs that weren't hits. The hits are infectious and can't stop myself from grooving. If I could go back in history, I'd go to the concert with SK.
Every one of these songs are about 2 minutes too long. Record was fine but I don’t see myself playing this one again.
I really enjoyed this one. In fact, I wonder why I don’t actually have any Madonna albums. I pretty much like every song of hers I hear, so…that’s a mystery.
Even though a couple of songs on this album are dated, there isn’t a bad song on the entire album. All are amazing.
Realizing that Jan Delay covered the beat from "Till Death Do us Part". Apart from this a bit too poppy for me, but not a bad record per se.
You've gotta respect how long she has been at it. I have never been through an entire album of hers. I respect the song length, its almost 5 minutes. That is not easy to do as a pop Queen. The music and lyrics just doesn't move me in anyway but I do respect what she has done for music.
Not sure if I've ever voluntarily listened to Madonna before, other than Ray Of Light (which was really good). The big singles here are probably known by most everyone and in retrospect the title cut "Like A Prayer" is a pretty excellent song; I love the minor-key bridge - builds so well and finally resolves into the big final chorus. Just great. And "Love Song" was one I'd not heard before - Prince definitely makes a great collaborator on this and it's fun (if not a shade too long). "Till Death Do Us Part" is a nice-enough upbeat song.... "Dear Jessie" is an unexpected light melodic treat as well. But there is a pattern here - none of the tracks are even close to bad or objectionable, and the album *sounds* fantastic - you can really tell that a ton of time (i.e. money) was spent getting this to sound sonically great. They're all "nice" or easy enough to spend 4-5 minutes listening to but I can't ever envision being in the car or in the living room and suddenly think "yeah I have to listen to 'Cherish' or 'Express Yourself'" After that first track to me most of the album has a good melodic or dance mood but individually the songs don't grab me much overall. 5/10 3 stars
This was surprisingly not good. Like a prayer and cherish are solid. Everything else was uniformly terrible.
I love Madonna, but I really don't think this album should be on this list. Outside of the title song, everything else is kinda bland pop repeating her earlier works and the only reason I can think it's notable is the insane controversy from the title song
I'm at Cherish and I think it maybe the first album that I stop early. Why did this make the list? 2/5
Kind of disappointing. Starts strong but after 'Express Yourself' the individual tracks start to congeal into one amorphous and fairly uninteresting sound. There's a lot of praise for 'Love Song' but to be honest, once you've heard the first 30 seconds you've heard the entire song. 'Cherish' has a bit of energy to it which helps perk up the ears but then it's back to the mush. The closer, 'Act of Contrition' isn't, well, good...but it is at least a bit interesting, so that's something I suppose.
Finally, some wholesome Christian pop/rock with a positive moral message. Sadly, Christian music, is vastly underrepresented on this list. I’ve asked my pastor to include this record as pre-mass entrance music at our megachurch on Sundays.
Not a fan of her music and this album did nothing to change my mind. Felt like i needed a shower after it was over to wash off the cringe that it induced.
Erm. 1 or 2? 😂Yeh 1. Just nothin decent about it. Sounds like some pop producer paid a young girl to sing like Prince.
Tancava un poker de 4 triomfs seguits, del millor que va donar el pop a la década dels 80. I ho va fer de la millor manera possible, amb el disc més ambiciós, millor produït i amb millors composicions de tots. No hi ha tema dolent (que el menys bo sigui el tema amb Prince, l'altre gran ídol pop dels 80, ja és significatiu). La portada, l'icònic vídeo del tema titular, l'olor a perfum a l'obrir el disc, i un seguit de hits incontestables li van fer tancar la década com la reina que ja era. Mai més tornaria a ser igual, però a aquestes alçades, tampoc calia....
Truly one of the great pop albums of the 80s. This is where her career began to be examined in new light. Great vocals and pop songwriting as a whole. Fantastic work by Prince in the background.
Мадонна! Тут практически без слов. Отличный альбом для того времени и сейчас тоже было приятно слушать. Провокативный, революционный, как и сама Мадонна собсна
Haven't heard this one in a long time. It surprised me how good it was. I thought it was just a bunch of pop hits, but the music is good. 5/5
jæja no offense en þetta er fimma, þetta er insane fokkin plata jeeesus christ banger eftir banger
Um dos álbuns mais icônicos e importantes de toda a música pop. Esse é o disco mais pessoal da Madonna, em que ela escreveu numa época conturbada (pós término do casamento com o Sean Penn), ao mesmo tempo em uma época em que já tinha conseguido sua consolidação como artista com True Blue. Se até True Blue a Madonna se vendia apenas como uma boa cantora pop, com Like a Prayer ela foi além, tanto pelas polêmicas quanto pelo trabalho como um todo (disco, vídeos, turnês), o que resultou com uma iconoclastia em torno de si mesma.
Overall I did enjoy this album, even if I didn't enjoy all of the tracks. The hits are all good, and there's a few good deep cuts too (e.g. Till Death Do Us Part).
Heck yeah. This is some good music. Didn't realize Prince was so involved either. Favorite tracks: Like a Prayer, Oh Father, Express Yourself
5/5. As much as I hate to admit it, this is a great album. NO, it is not in the same league as some others that I have given a 5/5 rating to, but It IS deserving of it.
Peak of 80s pop, when Madonna fulfilled her creative potential, mastering all she learned from her records that decade before she would experiment in the 90s. Pop was really shit in 1989, with such few highlights like Debbie Gibson, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, and some hip hop one-hit wonders (e.g. "Just a Friend", "Ride on Time", "Pump up the Jam", "Bust a Move", "Wild Thing"), none of which really worth talking about. But boom the queen of pop hits us with something big and grand. At this point in her career she's the most famous person alive and has finally started to be taken seriously since True Blue (more than just a teen pop star). She really delivers with this entry, full of diverse styles that hit one after the next. We start off with "Like a Prayer." It's the perfect pop song. From her flawless vocal delivery, the holy chamber sound reinforced by the gospel back vocals, and the disco-esque dance choruses that divulge into something grand and powerful. Ending with that two-minute long gospel coda and return to the chorus feels like a celebration. It deserves its title as one of the greatest songs of all time. We follow this up with "Express Yourself," the second most popular single. Honestly it's fine, and a lot of people seem to like it, but to me it sounds like her most generic single. It's apparently a gay anthem too somehow? Maybe she swapped up the pronouns for some recording? "Love Song" is pretty much a Prince song from head to bottom with Madonna guest vocals. This sounds like something straight out of Sign O' The Times, incredibly funky and weird. Smooth vocals by Madonna, especially in that bridge, reminds me of her style in Erotica. Absolutely love Prince so I welcome his involvement here. "Till Death Do Us Part" is exactly what I've been looking for. It's a really fast and happy song, sounds like no other. Catchy and I love the jangly melody. Is that Prince on the guitar again? Damn that sounds disco near the end. One of my favorites. "Promise to Try" is a ballad. Everyone's doing them, even rockstars, and they always suck. But for ballad standards, this gets all the marks. Her excellent songwriting is truly highlighted here. Doesn't stop it from being my least favorite track, especially when the much superior ballad "Oh Father" is yet to come. "Cherish" is a personal favorite of mine. A doo wop track, this one's also cheery and optimistic, giving me feelings of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" without oversaturation. Amazing production on this one, lots of diverse sounds in the guitars, drum machine, and horns that come together. "Dear Jessie" is a Baroque lullaby. A child's melody, it's a really beautiful song that again displays how much her vocals, her songwriting, and the high production value all come together. I really enjoy that grand magical bridge that's like a medieval fairy tale. I was a bit iffy about "Oh Father" until a minute in and instantly fell in love. This is a Baroque masterpiece, I really love her songwriting and the strings in this one, as well as the way she varies her tone and power in her voice. The bridge is a highlight here too. By the time we reach "Keep It Together" I'm reminded that Madonna writes dance hits. She completely moved away from that style until this track, and it fully delivers. An ode to Sly and the Family Stone (you can really hear them in those emphasized guitars), it's super fun and funky like a night at the disco. "Pray for Spanish Eyes" is a return to the Latin music she had played with on True Blue. It's no "La Isla Bonita" but she's really perfected that sound, and it's a nearly flawless piece that further adds to the remarkable diversity of this album. We end the album with Prince on the guitar for two minutes. Fun outro. I don't care much for it though and would probably shut it off here. I have a rule when reviewing albums. Whenever I come across an album with 8 or more tracks, and I can say something very positive and regard as memorable nearly every single track, it signifies nearly flawless album, and I must give it the full 5 stars. My only real general complaint is the length of the tracks. I really enjoyed most of them so didn't mind, but she's really stretching her tracks at 5 minutes a piece. Cutting most of them by a minute and getting rid of "Promise to Try" would result in a more refined 40-minute record.
Whenever I throw up Madonna my main concern is my neighbours' judgment. Never mind, I will punish them with some Black Dahlia Murder later on. And besides that, I always wondered: is she talented, or is she just someone who is surrounded by talented people? And then again, knowing how to surround yourself with the right people, is it a talent in itself, and to which extent is an "artistic" related talent? I won't add anything to whatever has been said about this record, other than it still sounds fresh to my ears, even more than 3 decades after its release. Also, I wasn't aware that Prince had ever played with her, and that was a nice surprise, especially Act Of Contrition, something that I would have never expected to hear on a Madonna album. All in all, the sprawling, eclectic nature of the album recalls Purple Rain, and I can clearly see how influential the latter might have been in this case. I am also surprised that I already knew some songs from the album, other than the title track (Cherish). The book compares this album to Revolver, which seems to be quite a statement, but Oh Father is as magnificent.
This album was released at a pivotal time in my own religious journey. LIKE A PRAYER came out at the exact moment I was making a decision to take one last big gamble on my Catholic faith. Over the following year, this album was a major part of my soundtrack I became disillusioned with religion and set my life on a new path. Personal stories aside, this is an incredible album released at the apex of Madonna’s imperial phase. From the upbeat Gospel-infused title track, pop confections like “Cherish”, the dance floor staple “Express Yourself”, to introspective and deeply personal tracks like “Oh Father” and “Promise to Try”, I consider this Madonna’s greatest album. There is not a song on it that I don’t love. Madonna’s exploration of family and religion is an incredible journey from beginning to end.
I still remember watching for the first time Madonna open the MTV VMAs in 1989 with Express Yourself. That was the moment that my relationship with Madonna changed. If you'd asked me then why I liked it so much, I think I would've said that I just liked the choreography. But watching it on YouTube today, it occurs to me that there may have been a lot more happening for me at the time. Madonna's wannabes were all around me in high school (class of '86) and, while I thought some of her songs were catchy, I didn't quite understand her popularity. She was girly in a way that I couldn't relate to and frankly looked down on. (Hello, internalized misogyny!) But in Express Yourself, the sexy-baby voice from the Like a Virgin era is replaced with a deeper, more grounded sound and on the VMAs, instead of a lacy bridal gown, she and her backup singers wear suits over bustiers, still feminine but with a touch of masculine swagger. The thing that strikes me most of all today about the 1989 VMA performance is that every single aspect is exquisitely designed, rehearsed, and executed. It is very clear to me how high Madonna's standards were and how much she must have demanded from everyone on her staff in order to achieve such perfection. I think now that part of what appealed to young me, without my really being aware of it, was seeing a woman having that kind of vision, agency, and unapologetic power. So, thirty odd years later, I have mad respect and admiration for Madonna as a woman, a performer, and an artist at every single stage of her career. I don't know that Like a Prayer is my favorite Madonna album but it's got a special place in my heart with its elevated (but still catchy) pop next to some deeply revealing material and an appearance from Prince. These are some great songs that changed the trajectory of popular music and music videos.
I guess I grew up with Madonna. The teen pop she was known for was something I really enjoyed when I was a teenager. This album, which marked her transition to more personal and adult themes came out when I was 21, at a transition to more personal and adult themes... Beyond that, it's absolutely enjoyable to listen to now as it was, as well as being emotional and relevant. It's also so satisfying to see an artist be able to grow and define her own art. To quote a friend from the era, "Madonna is a genius!" Hail holy queen!
Great album, from the production to the individual songs. The album keeps things, at least musically, from getting to heavy, but she hides truly heart wrenching lyrics at times in pop music. It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this album, listening to it now as a child psychiatrist, these lyrics could serve as trauma reaction case studies, I’ll be it lucrative trauma reaction, but nonetheless.
Some great tracks in here. Promise to try is awful. Like, almost bad enough to tempt me to drop a star from the rating. But then Express Yourself is Madonna's second best ever song (Material Girl beating it) so it's gonna have to keep that fifth star.
Some pretty perfect pop songs on here. Iconic and anthemic. Loses a bit of momentum towards the end so I was considering 4 stars but the singles are so strong I’ve got to give it full marks.
Forgot about these but had a memory of my sister getting this album and listening to the whole thing. Start of my parents Christian shaming music….
Very fun late 80's pop! You can definitely hear Prince's influence. Expected to get a little sick of it, but every song was really fun! 4.5 and rounding up!
p610. 1989. 5 stars An absolutely perfect pop record. And beneath the shiny veneer of love songs and chart hits there are also songs about religion, domestic abuse, sex, dysfunctional family relationships, loneliness and loss. There is not a weak track on this. "Romeo and Juliet/They never felt this way I bet"
"Like A Prayer" is the fourth studio album from Madonna. Four producers were involved including Madonna herself, Stephen Bray, Patrick Leonard and Prince. One of the things that stands out is the variety from song to song and I think using all these producers helped that. On her first three songs, she goes from pop to more dance to soul/R&B. This is considered her most introspective release, a confessional record with songs about her Mother, Father, family and God. It drew critical acclaim for taking on serious, personnal subjects. Plus, the music is very solid in its production. The album begins with the self-tilted "Like A Prayer," a massive hit world wide. A guitar intro and the guitar remains kind of in the background throughout. The synth and backing vocals gives this a church feel as it should since it's about a child's/teens' relationship with God. At its hear it's a pop song and a great one at that. Let's go dance in "Express Yourself." I love the strain in Madonna's voice and the extended album version. A song about female empowerment and gender equality. To me, the third single "Cherish" takes us to more pop, early 80's Madonna. It's lighter, peppier. I think just a happy song about a relationship. "Dear Jessie" was inspired by producer Patrick Leonard's daughter and is more like a pop lullaby. Strings, synths, trumpets. It changes pace. Fantasy imagery with pink elephants and mermaids. Another inspiration must have been the Beatles as well. "Oh Father" is most defintely a ballad, with strings, a baroque pop one at that. Based on Madonna's relationship with her Father. A very mature Madonna vocal approach highlights its seriousness. The sixth and final single is the funky "Keep It Together." Dedicated to Sly and the Family Stone. Nice percussion, congas and a banjo. Very nice production. Madonna stresses the importance of her family. An interesting ending in "Act of Contrition" with searing guitar (sounds like Prince), gospel singers and spoken word sometimes screaming by Madonna. Hmmmm. I really like the variety from song to song on this album with everything still very much in the pop category. The production is high with the strings, horns, synths, percussion and backing vocals. A definite recommendation to the whole album including the songs you might not have heard.
insanely good… loved it! what do you mean it’s not in the computer?!?!?
Like A Prayer makes me elevate 50 ft in the air consistently without fail
It was about July of 1989 when I heard this album and I remember exactly where I was. I was in the Finger Lakes region of New York with the people of my childhood hero, Karl Johnson. We were waterskiing and tubing in the lake by day, but by night, the kids of a variety of ages would gather on the dock and listen to tunes. Like a Prayer was the one that hit and hit hard. It was a truly singular song and it was tremendously exciting. I still just love it. Perhaps because of those warm nights in New York, but probably just because Madonna is amazing. To this day, I follow her Insta and she's awesome. Tonight when I revisited 'Oh Father' again, it hit me so differently. I have a friend that says we all love strings because they make us all feel the feelings. that can be said about this intro which I had to rewind and listen to about 16 times today. It's really excellent. Probably TMI as usual but the song now, today, is so much more relatable with my own relationship with my father that has shattered the false golden haze of childhood and has now become so diminished. And I realize his shortcomings. Pray for Spanish Eyes is also an underrated Madonna song. Go to 2:01 and listen to what she does with her voice. It's nuts. It's organic. It just spits into a million shards and I think that is just the raw amazing power of Madonna-- before auto-tune y'all. Nothing but pure talent. We don't have singers like this today. Not really.
One of the best album history. You couldn't die before listend all the songs. A lot of hits from 80s and 90s an much more.
Very good, one of the best pop artists at the top of her game. Probably wouldn't have been a 5 without Prince turning up, but he did, so ... Cherish is a wee charmer, title track is obviously a classic, Dear Father and Oh Jessie are better then I remembered them being. And Prince is on this! Probably my first 5 to a pop album, but fully deserved in my opinion.
Really enjoyed this album. The clean and bright shine that emanates from every pore of this album is so much fun to listen to. Such a great sound with so much pop star power.
Just some classic catchy pop straight through, makes me understand how big Madonna was
What a phenomenal example of 80s/90s Pop. Madonna is a Queen and an icon and I will fight anyone who says otherwise The fact that she's still blazing the trail decades later is nothing short of incredible
I've never cared for Madonna, but this album was pretty good. Classic 80s pop.
Perfect pop - contains some of her greatest tracks, very little anyone could class as throwaway.
An amazing pop album with so many hits it's unreal. An artist at the top of her game.
The pleasing pop album with a good-hearing voice and fast and lively music.
Really enjoyed this album. Clever lyrics and beautifully crafted songs.
it was sooo good! Some songs were just so long! (I wanted to give it a 4.5)
I'm my opinion Like A Prayer is the greatest pop song ever written. However, as a full album this is not the best. I'm shocked to see that Lucky Star isn't on this list because I think it's a much better album. Regardless it is a good album.
Enjoyed that - I know the Madonna hits and a few others. Was fun listening to a proper album
Yeah, I like the poppy sound. Sometimes you listen to an album so much you know the next song that comes up, but might not know the name of the song because it isn't regularly played. This is one of those albums for me.
A great window onto a very particular kind of intricate pop arrangement and production