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.
Read more on Wikipedia
Keywords from Reviews
Rating Over Time
Reviews
The good songs...you already know. The other songs are...fine.
It's Madonna's best album, I think it's not perfect, is that the smell of Patchouli?
the title track is a fucking all time banger. going in, i figured this would be an instant 5 stars if the rest was even close to that level, and my hopes were pretty high. it's so nice to not have my hopes dashed by this list for once. this album is great. all i knew going in was "like a prayer" itself but theres so much more to love here, from the surprisingly minimal sex music of "love song", to the somber latin-flavoured ballad "spanish eyes", to my favourite track, "till death do us part", with its delicately duelling vocals riding on a pulsing dance-pop beat. im not sure how to feel that, about the track that's explicitly about domestic violence being my favourite on the album. but like, the track fucks. what can i say. even the album's outro is great. you just gotta listen to this one. its not the strongest 5, but it's sure as hell a 5 all the same. music is awesome.
Excellent album!!
я не буду вдаваться в глубокий лирический ЛОР Мадонны и т.д., и просто скажу что это хорошая поп-музыка, несмотря на то, что вышла она на рубеже декад, как мне кажется, она звучит одновременно как и то, что задаёт свежее звучание которое будет в 90-х, но и одновременно с тем, не лишена приятного "восмидесятовского" флёра. Прикольно.
Not really like a prayer at all. But some people have trouble with metaphors.
Madonna is hit or miss for me. L”Like a Prayer” had some nice touches with the choir, church sound. “Express Yourself” is great pop. “Act of Contrition” has a great opening. If’s my favorite on the album. Possibly it’s because it doesn’t sound like a pop song hit and I love Prince. I can hear why her music appeals to many, It’s just not the sound that draws me in. She did have the best videos though.
super 80s loved
lol. Why?
over produced. some real shit songs.
Growing up with Madonna, she was ubiquitous and I never gave her "music" much thought. It was all over the place, all the time, and the woman could definitely produce pop hits and videos to go with them. So, I definitely knew the singles off this one, word for word after all these years, and I couldn't tell you a single other track, so I kind of got to re-experience Madonna at the peak of her game here and came away thinking "she's ok." Her voice isn't all that amazing, the tracks on this are overproduced, and it still kinda works. No denying the cultural impact that Like A Prayer (the song and video) had, and when this one's good it's pretty damn good.
When Madonna was very popular I was not a fan. I was too "cool" for her and pop music in general. Eventually I chilled out and loved her greatest hits CD, The Immaculate Collection. This was my third album by her in the project, and I've found that I still mostly like the singles. In the case of Like a Prayer, this is especially true. The singles are by far the songs I enjoyed, and the rest was either decent or boring. My takeaway is that fun Madonna is my favorite Madonna, and serious Madonna isn't.
Madonna has a knack for pop bangers. She doesn’t miss a beat here. Not my kind of music & she’s not a great vocalist.But this comeback album really shows her grit and range. A 4.
Huh. This was alright. A total pop bomb, which is sort of the bane of my existence, but it didn’t bug me quite as much as usual. In a way it’s sort of ahead of its time, but just sort of. Most of these songs are pretty forgettable, but there are a few that sound neat, and the addition of Prince is basically welcome. Not one I’ll put on again very often, if ever. Fave tracks: - Like A Prayer - Express Yourself - Love Song - Oh Father - Keep It Together
3 absolute bangers and 8 so so 80s pop songs.
I didn’t realise Prince was on here
5 - AVERAGE
Madonna's famous songs are well-known for a good reason. Madonna's not so well-known songs are not famous for a good reason. I listened to the Cyndi Lauper album on this list yesterday and, as an album, it was way better than this.
Boring to me.
Im sorry but im just not into this type of music
truly a pop bible
Wow this album is all over the place. It .makes sense that she pivoted after this because it feels like the end of her teeny-pop persona. I think the song like a prayer is that next evolution but the rest of the album didn't get that message. Also some of these songs I haven't heard the original in ages only remixes. Cherish is so hokey. Love you Madonna, but man outside of the singles you are phoning this in.
First listen. All I can think of is the people on social media using the title track on some feel good redemption post, unaware that the song is about oral sex. It’s good and I don’t love it. I prefer the video’s mix of Express Yourself.
I’m a child of the 80’s but today I learnt Madonna and Prince was a thing and he is part of the album. Mostly chart favourites from this album but a couple of tracks that probably wouldn’t have had appeal despite the phenomenon she was, weirdly the Prince track included. Poptastic.
Radio 2 music. Not something I voluntarily listen to, but hear anyway when out and about as Radio 2 seems to be the go-to station for waiting rooms, cafes, shops, etc. Normal people seem to like this kind of music and I'm very happy for them. To be fair, I enjoyed Dear Jessie and Act of Contrition - both a little less "Eurovision-y" than the rest of the songs.
Strong start, then completely collapses. Too repetitive, too much filler.
4/10
Eh
So very meh.
Liked it a lot more than I thought I would.
The hits of this album are definitely all-time bangers, but most of the album is just ok. Dig the collab with Prince on Love Song, but it makes the song feel out of place with the rest of the album since it sounds way more like a Prince song than it does a Madonna song.
Not an 80's fan but liked it more than I thought at times; more violin than I expected.
Couple of fine tunes, I can pass on the rest.
Like a Prayer - 4/5 Express Yourself - 3.5/5 Love Song - 2.5/5 Till Death Do Us Part - 3.5/5 Promise to Try - 3/5 Cherish - 3.5/5 Dear Jessie - 3/5 Oh Father - 3/5 Keep It Together - 3.5/5 Spanish Eyes - 3/5 Act of Contrition - 3/5 So here's to me hoping that Madonna could be an album artist. Nope! She's still very much singles-oriented. I was expected a lot more dance influence here, but there's way too much trending toward AC that I very much do not like. There's really only 1 good song on here and a bunch of fluff that could have been 2 minutes shorter individually. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: Like a Prayer
I quite like Madonna
Such a fun album
Like most American teenagers in the 80s, I endured the Madonna hit parade. Most of them whizzed by me, but a few broke through including two off of this album, which were very much earworms in the summer of 89. The lead single had the right amount of controversy to tickle my adolescent brain and another single express yourself had that lush David Fincher video, a stand out at the time. I never really heard the rest of this album until today and none of it measures up to those “iconic” tracks. It’s all cheesy and overproduced and unmemorable.
I don't know ... It feels better than a 2. Maybe that's the nostalgia talking, but it's really hard to separate nostalgia from music. In fact, there's no point in trying. For some music, a nostalgia-free review is like trying to review Christmas without nostalgia.
UUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH.... The difference between this album and Ray of Light, which I loved, demonstrates (to me) the importance of having a good producer.
As I was listening to this, Love Song came on and I thought, "this sounds like a Prince rip-off". And yeah, it's a duet with Prince that is co-written. I hate the bass on this album, especially the first couple of tracks. I don't really like her voice. I get the pop hooks, though, and I think there is a plenty of range displayed.
Has my two favorite Madonna songs: the title track and Express Yourself. Still great songs that I enjoy hearing. But although I bought the cassette (!) when it came out, I didn't remember the other songs. Of those, Cherish is catchy and pleasant, while Oh Father is affecting. The rest is mid.
3/5 - I like the hits here. I don't care much for the rest of the album, but 3 or 4 solid hits gets you a 3 in my book.
So, for Madonna, you know, the undisputed Queen of Pop, we're given her two worst albums and her second-best album. But for Nick Cave and Brian Eno, we get five albums each. Fun fact: these three Madonna albums - two of which suck - outsold the other ten combined. Let's let that sink in. Now, what do you need to listen to before you die? (Like a Virgin and Like a Prayer are the correct answers. You want True Blue, Madonna, or one more? I'm not mad about that.)
Remains bebopalicious
One of Madonna’s 80s classics- Like a Prayer (the song) is an ambitious, eternal song that’ll be played forever. Her duet with Prince, “Love Song” is also great, and Express Yourself is an underrated gem, if Madonna has such a thing. That said, the rest of the album is just okay. There’s some filler, and some duds. The others are mostly just by the numbers 80s tunes lost to time. Uneven and frontloaded, but essential Madonna ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not my cup of tea, but I get why it was so popular!
perfeição imaculada
Prince completists needed to get this album, of course, since it contains the WORST PRINCE SONG IMAGINABLE. Besides all that, I think I used to enjoy some of this. My main takeaway this time is more of a question than a theory. Does drinking milk make you a better singer? It seems like it would, coating your vocal cord with thick lubricating milkiness. Madonna’s singing voice sounds like she’s drinking lots of milk during the recording sessions, and I don’t think it made her a better singer. But going in I thought rate this higher.
The best thing about this album was it reminding me of the Gummo trailer. I went and watched that when it was done. I dedicate this one-star kill shot to Canadian treasure Alanis Morissette. I have been so unfair to Alanis.
There's nothing that makes "Like a Prayer" stand out from its contemporaries. It's filled to the brim with '80s clichés. You could replace "Like a Prayer" with another album, and you wouldn't tell the difference. The good news is that "Like a Prayer" is actually somewhat good. I especially liked the later tracks. 3 stars for "Like a Prayer".
Massiv 80er poplyd. Der er nogle bangers. Men også virkelig meget fyld. Vidste jeg at Rollergirls Dear Jessie bygger på en Madonna sang? I don’t know, and I don’t care.
Couple bangers, some weird fever dreams, some fluff in between
Solid. Poo
I was gonna say something like "1001 album generator users when the album isn't some obscure post-indie-alternative rock album from the 90s 😡", but maybe they've got a point. I can understand why this is here and maybe it should get extra marks for that, but this just isn't something I'll ever see myself revisiting.
Started off super strong and I was debating giving this album a 5 after the first three tracks. Only for the middle of the album to lose the momentum. Last few songs were good as well but as an entire album it was too inconsistent
I can understand why it’s as famous as it is but at the same time it’s not something I would ever listen to again
I've never listened to this album. I was expecting more the typical 80s pop album, but there were some surprising songs like Dear Jessie. Overall not bad, just not my style :)
Nah, no thanks. It's exactly what you'd expect from the singles, and i didn't like them either.
Take away Like A Prayer and you have a slightly above average pop album, with a handful of pretty good songs and a few duds, but that song elevates it at least a star.
*45 Enkelte singler der er værd at lytte, men resten er lidt meh
Begynder bundsolidt, slutter eeehhh
*48 Jeg havde sådan glædet mig til at prøve Madonna i fuldformat, da jeg så dagens skive. Vi åbner med en generational banger … og så gik luften lidt af ballonen. Det blev sku lidt for meget en mariah carey julefest. Jeg nåede at høre det to gange, hvilket resulterer i at jeg må gå fra 3 til 2.
Bangers og meh
Crazy god første side, lidt mere so-so på anden side. 3.9
Nogle virkelig stærke numre i mellem. Og nogle virkelig kedelige. Og nogle virkelig dårlige. Ved godt det er Prince, og at han var et geni og alt det der, men synes virkelig ikke at 'Love song' og 'Act of Contrition' er særlig gode numre. Egentlig synd at det ikke fænger mere end det gør, for jeg kan godt værdsætte hendes ambitioner med albummet, og hvor personligt det er, eller hvor meget det har betydet for den sags skyld. Jeg kan godt lide at bruge argumentet om, at et album skal være noget, man har lyst til at høre igen, som et pejlemærke for om det kan snige sig op på en 3er, men jeg vil gøre en undtagelse her
Madonna may have started the 80s as a carefree material girl but as the decade closed, she was thinking about faith and family. The title track, and the accompanying video in particular, caused a huge fuss at the time, but looking back on this now shows that this is actually from the (small c) conservative viewpoint of someone raised in the catholic faith with all of the associated iconography. The rest of the album has songs musing about Madonna’s mother and father, and one about the importance of her siblings, showing her to have maybe reached a settled place in her life. Musically, it’s pure pop with touches of soul and gospel, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights of her 90’s reinvention with Ray of Light. I would have given this four stars, but I’d forgotten just how toe-curlingly awful the final track Act of Contrition was. What was she thinking? Madge-tastic!
Pretty good pop album. I can see why people laud her.
En hit sen är resten mer eller mindre skräp?
Några låtar som stod ut men utöver det väldigt tidsenlig, generisk pop
Ett otroligt starkt pop-album utan några skips eller fillers. En rolig lyssning rakt igenom!
The hits are great - the rest a bit mixed, but overall good enough to squeeze a 4 🙂
NOIA QUASI MORTALE. SUONA COME LA CLASSICA ROBA ANNI ‘80 STEREOTIPATA. 2/5.
Unlike some on here that let their politics and the politics of the artist cloud their judgement about the album, I won't be doing that. Madonna is a great artist, and I still enjoy this album as much as I did when I was first listening to it. It gets a five-star rating for being a great album and nothing else.
Much better than the late 90s dross this site gave me earlier, but still underwhelming vis a vis her towering reputation. You had to be there?
Good album and didn’t remember Prince collab on a couple of songs.
title track was great but the rest was pretty dated i feel
Blind album, know the artist by name. Im finding a lot of these later albums in the projects are ones I am glad I am trying, but it aint for me. Like this one. Title track was the best for sure.
The singles are what your here for. Like a Prayer, Respect Yourself and Cherish are great, the rest meh.
2.5 - Not bad listening.
It's better than I expected, but I wasn't expecting much. It hits more than it misses.
Timeless catchy pop songs, many that still hold up to today standards. 1st half is definitely stronger than the 2nd but it's enjoyable all the way through. 3.5* rounded up to 4*
Enjoyed it more than I expected to, very much not my genre.
Madonna is an artist best enjoyed via greatest hits compilations, she kind of has nothing beyond that. The hits are REALLY good though I'll give her that.
Man, Like A Prayer blew me away when I first heard it…but now I’m not so sure. Don’t get me wrong: the singles are all pretty good. “Like a Prayer” was a genius move in terms of public image, and—despite my personal distaste for it—is probably one of the best (and most iconic) pop songs there is. “Dear Jessie” has this unique, fragmented quality to it, and “Cherish” is catchy as hell. “Keep It Together” is…fine, nothing special but nothing bad; I do like the slap bass. “Oh Father” is emotionally raw and a great pop ballad that feels almost fantastical. Then “Express Yourself” is easily the best song on the album. The lyrics are peak Madonna, and it’s an effortless anthem whose influence you can still hear today. The deep cuts range from annoyingly-okay to great. “Love Song” is easily my least favorite, with the duet between Madonna and Prince being close to grating, and the sparse beat completely ruining the mood. The one positive is that the guitar is catchy. On the other end, “Act of Contrition” is my favorite on the album, save for “Express Yourself.” It’s an amazing closer, and Prince’s guitar playing as well as Madonna’s vocal performance are fantastic. Given the loose theme of the album, it’s also extremely clever, with Madonna screeching “What do you mean it’s not in the computer?” implying that she’s being denied entry to Heaven. It all works in perfect tandem with the opening title track. The others are…okay. My main problem is that many of them sound like Disney songs. I have that problem with some of the singles as well, but I can ignore it because they’re so catchy. Madonna’s lyricism also relies very heavily on cliches, which cancels out some of the emotional weight. The three stars are really for quality more so than anything. It’s undeniably a very influential record, with some great songs, but as a holistic experience that paved the way for new sounds and ideas…it’s just alright.
After an incredible opening salvo of the first two tracks it was all downhill from there. Madonna will always be able to produce z brilliant greatest hits album, but studio albums I'm not so sure.
Bland bland bland. Omelette de blanc d'oeuf. Like A Prayer, à la limite Cherish aussi... mais ceci confirme que j'ai de la misère avec la vision artistique de Madonna. Je vois pas trop ce qu'elle essaye de faire (à part de l'argent)
Like a prayer et Express Yourself sont excellentes, on voit tout le talent de la Madonne à faire une bonne toune pop. Après je trouvais ça un peu flat avant de reprendre du poil de la bête vers la fin.
There were some good songs and solid sounds here. After the first couple songs I thought I would like this more than I did after a full listen. 3.5 but on the three side.
Growing up liking men I always felt like I had to like Madz, just never clicked with me. Feel it’s the hits or nothing with her.
Like a prayer is so classic but I didn't know any of the other songs. I enjoyed!
I am giving this album one star for each track I actually enjoyed listening to.
A good album. It's your typical 80's Pop Record, but with her own twist to it. It's really good and I like how the closing track is more of an experimental song. Great album!
I grew up in the 1980s and always dreamed of seeing a video combining the symbolism of burning crosses and black Jesus. Then along came Madonna with Like A Prayer and the song was a banger too. I've never listened to this album before but although it has a pop sheen, some of the topics tackled are quite brave and personal.
This album made a big splash when it was released, as Madonna was so popular in those days. There were three hit singles off the album (“Like a Prayer”, “Express Yourself”, and “Cherish”). There is a quite a bit of a religious vibe throughout. I got the sense that many of these tracks were based on older music, and Wiki agrees. When I hear “Express Yourself” it makes me think of “Respect Yourself” by the Staple Singers. Overall it’s a pretty decent album, 3.5 stars.
Nice! 3 days in a row of artists I'm familiar with... maybe I'll even like this album. Life IS a mystery. Everyone MUST stand alone. I like that song a lot, and 'Beautiful Stranger' (from Austin Powers), but none of the other Madonna stuff really got its hooks in me. This sounds surprisingly similar to the pop girlies of the late 90s though (Britney, Mandy Moore, etc), which I like well enough. Not quite enough for a 4 though. Highlights: 'Like a Prayer', the possible double ellipsis in "Our luck_i is running out of time / You're not in love with me anymore / I wish that it_i would change but it_i won't [change] / If you don't [change(?)]" Lowlights: 'Promise to Try' (zzz), wiki tells me Madonna "cited 'Cherish' as one of the most "retarded" songs she had written" (...)
Obviously 'Like A Prayer' is the big draw here, but I also found a lot of the other stuff to be interesting. I've never listened to Madonna outside of her big hit singles before I don't think, but this was a pretty pleasant experience. There's more depth to her lyrics than I might have initially expected Standouts Like A Prayer Promise to Try Cherish 4/5
Oh Father cuts deeeeeeep
This is truly awful, and my life is worse for having heard it. Like a prayer is a bit of a bop, though, so two stars.
Bangers. One of those albums where I feel like any of the concerns that I have with it are probably because of how influential it is and how other artists ripped it off and a way that wasn’t as good
2/4