Like A Prayer - Madonna

I have been reading Madonna's autobiography this week on the insistence of my wife. It has made me think more about the person and her music, rather than just the image that she projects. Living with a pretty serious Madonna fan means that I have access to most of her album releases, so I had a look through and listened to most of them, and I have decided that this album is probably my favourite. It was released 14 years ago in 1989, at a time when Madonna was at her most deliberately confrontational. So many people were shocked by the images portrayed in her videos, but when I look at them now they just seem so tame compared to some of the images we find ourselves ...  Read the complete review

Have you ever bought an album for one song and then discovered that the rest of the songs were difficult to fall for? We have all done it and I'm afraid that's how I feel about Like a Prayer. Everybody knows the title track, what with the "controversial" music video that accompanied the single release. OH WATCH OUT - Jesus is black! Thankfully, despite lynching the world's greatest man into the scheme of things, the song remains one of the best pop moments of the 1980's. Madonna's voice shines and the backing choir suits the style of song really well. The funky bass and party time drums remind me a little of Prince. Talking of Prince, ...  Read the complete review

Madonna has made so many albums I’ve lost count. This is the crème de la crème of her work that is not a greatest hits album. It was made in 1989 and features many of her best songs including: ‘Oh Father’, ‘Cherish’ and ‘Express Yourself’ as well as the title track, ‘Like a Prayer’. Like a prayers material is varied from song to song and shows her true feelings and emotions. It was her first break from teenybopper pop that she had been doing before into controversial issues and she really does ‘express herself’. So what makes this album so good? Lets have a look… 1: Like a ...  Read the complete review

This album has to rate as one of the best Madonna has ever produced. Released in 1989, it strikes as one of the more mature earl(ier) albums. It begins with the amazing 'Like a Prayer', a song which was surrounded by much controversy. It was slammed as blasphemous and lead to problems with her Pepsi sponsorship. However, the song is fabulous, and interestingly a different version to the one you will find on 'The Immaculate Collection'. This version starts with a rock guitar intro before the gospel choir comes in. The choir really adds to the atmosphere of this song. The drums stop and start around the voices in this album version of the song, ...  Read the complete review

Madonna grows up! Madonna's previous three studio albums (Madonna, Like A Virgin & True Blue) were all great pop albums but nobody could ever have suspected that she was capable of producing an album as compelling, thought provoking, and musically stunning as this. At the time many considered Madonna to be talentless, Like A Prayer changed those preconceptions forever, The title track alone is certainly not a song a 'talentless' individual could have produced. The entire album proves time and again that Madonna IS musically talented. Diverse 'alternative' tracks (Act of Contrition) sit comfortably with upbeat in your face pop (Express ...  Read the complete review