Madonna - Like a Prayer
Facts
 
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| Artist(s) | Madonna |
| Studio | Sire / London/Rhino |
| Release Date | October 25, 1990 |
| UPC Code | 075992584425 |
| Buy this item | $10.99 at Amazon.com As of Jul 4 9:14 EDT (details) 1 Audio CD, Usually ships in 24 hours, |
About Madonna - Like a Prayer
Considered by many to be the Material Girl's most mature effort of the '80s, Like a Prayer upped the ante of controversy with its gospel-infused title track and the singer's emotional confessions throughout. It also unveiled the hit "Express Yourself," which ushered in the era of Madonna as a "stainless steel sexual icon." Musically, Prayer showcased her burgeoning songwriting prowess, with the beautiful "Oh Father" and the perky pop of "Cherish." Besides a throw-away collaboration with Prince ("This Is Not a Love Song"), the CD stands as one of her strongest works, eschewing the strong dance beat influences from her past--she saved that for the remixes--and concentrating instead on melody and structure. Like a Prayer also gave a hint of things to come with the delightful "Dear Jessie" displaying a maternal side worthy of her name. --Steve Gdula Amazon.com essential recording
Tracks
- Like A Prayer
- Express Yourself
- Love Song
- Till Death Do Us Part
- Promise To Try
- Cherish
- Dear Jessie
- Oh Father
- Keep It Together
- Spanish Eyes
- Act Of Contrition
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User Reviews
Average user review:
(188 reviews)| |  | Best Madonna's Album Ever |  |
Long live the Queen of Pops. June 11, 2008
| | | Madonna's Best | |
 | | just like a commerical for Pepsi | |
2. Express Yourself - The album version of this song leaves so much to be desired to the "dance" ear. The guitar riffs are replaced with a bass line that induces the listener to move. This song is pure extacy on all levels. The lyrics leave you feeling independent, but happy and filled with freedom. One must listen to the "Immaculate Collection" version with Q-Sound to enter into this greatness
3. Love Song - This track is throw away, at best. The instrumentation is minimal as are the vocals. Prince has written this track as an homage to himself. He must have thoughts of greatness and infallibility to think, for a moment, that anyone would enjoy this potpourri of sounds. Madonna must have assumed that having Prince as a guest would boost sales of her LP, perhaps it did.
4. Till Death Do Us Part - Sean Penn and Madonna, Sean Penn and the press, this auto-marriage tale of wedded hell is very pleasant to the listener. It has been said that hard times are good for the artist, true for Madonna here. This pop song begins with a staccato synth line that draws you in and smashes you around the dance floor. Glass smashing and Madonna's voice, how can this be wrong? It isn't.
5. Promise To Try - One of the first in a long line of tracks about Madonna's mother. This ballad plays well in "Truth Or Dare" against the backdrop of a cemetery. A ballad just does not play well with the Madonna fan. We like to dance. We don't like to cry. "Little girl, don't you forget her name...."
6. Cherish - "Boo-boo-be-doo".... Please oh please Madonna. Cherish is Madonna's attempt to re-invent the "True Blue" era. This doesn't work here for several reasons. The synth lines are more suited to the late seventies disco. Most of the seventies riffs worked, but not with this composition. The lyrical content is immature and reeks of adolescent love.
7. Dear Jessie - An homage to youth. An almost danceable track that takes off where "Cherish" ended with the attempt to revert back to childhood. Not a very good track. Leaves you with a dull feeling.
8. Oh Father - Madonna's not an author. This song is Madonna's attempt to write a novel, that didn't work, so she decided to put her words into a song. Perhaps a better idea. But, again, paternal abuse and dance just DO NOT BELONG together. What Madonna was attempting to do with this trashy ballad is beyond me. NEXT!
9. Keep It Together - A bass line with a synth over-lay. Perfection in pop dance. I adore this song for it's simplistic, familial lyrics and equally simplistic composition.
10. Spanish Eyes - Another ballad with a slightly sexual-religious tone. Madonna seems to be infatuated with a certain Latin man and attempts to write a song about it. Please....
11. Act Of Contrition - Contains reverse samples of "Like A Prayer" within a record scratching, ear piercing, hodgepodge of crap whilst Madonna is reciting the Act Of Contrition from the Roman Rite.... Stupidity doesn't work, EVER.
All in all this LP is a good collection. The negative tracks are eclipsed by the dance tracks and Madonna's power as a dance artist is certain here. May 24, 2008
 | | The Sweet "Smell" Of Success. | |
It seems Madonna had the initial pressing of albums and cassettes scented with her favorite scent - Patchouli - which my cassette STILL smells of 19 years later!
As for the music, "Like A Virgin" showed a lot more growth musically for Madonna. Instead of 10 dance infused numbers, this set included some heavy material in song. She addressed her mother's death on "Promise To Try" and the end of her marriage to Sean Penn on "Til Death Do Us Part". Otherwise, Madonna kept the party light with her signature carefree, bouncy, pop creations we all loved.
Along with the title track, "Express Yourself" helped nickname Madonna the "Stainless Steel Sex Symbol" for her ability to dodge controversy no matter the subject matter. "Cherish" and "Keep It Together" also continued the dance party theme.
Aside from the controversies that accompanied the album (Pepsi, Like A Virgin Video) this is Madonna at her best and 12 million plus copies sold can attest to the power the Material Girl was gaining on her continued feat to "Rule The World" as she had famously advise Dick Clark on American Bandstand 5 years earlier.
She may not have ruled the world (yet) but she was certainly ruling the charts. April 29, 2008
| | | Classic | |