Madonna Challenges Faith and Masculinity!!!
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-711163-1260741206.jpeg.jpg)
Like A Prayer (1989)
1. "Like A Prayer"
This has got to be one of (if not the best) openings to an album I've ever heard! That is no overstatement!! From the brief sounds of an electric guitar to that ominous score in the background to Madonna's angelic (yeah I know! Puns again!), "Like A Prayer" is one of the best produced pop songs I have ever heard! The incorporation of a stunning gospel choir (with an even more amazing solo vocal performance) is so powerful and moving when you'd think it'd be cheesy but it works so perfectly, it's chilling! I haven't even gotten to the lyrics! My God, the allusions of sexual pleasure being similar to a religious awakening is...WOW! I have no words! It's pretty freakin' brilliant and the immense amount of controversy it caused is not shocking at all. Then you have the video itself with burning crosses, racial profiling, Madonna casually getting intimate with a black Jesus and there you go! But seriously, the song is one of the highest achievements in pop music. It's thought provoking, catchy beyond belief, has an epic production that remains timeless and is just remarkable music period! Once again, what an incredible start!!!
(A+)
This has got to be one of (if not the best) openings to an album I've ever heard! That is no overstatement!! From the brief sounds of an electric guitar to that ominous score in the background to Madonna's angelic (yeah I know! Puns again!), "Like A Prayer" is one of the best produced pop songs I have ever heard! The incorporation of a stunning gospel choir (with an even more amazing solo vocal performance) is so powerful and moving when you'd think it'd be cheesy but it works so perfectly, it's chilling! I haven't even gotten to the lyrics! My God, the allusions of sexual pleasure being similar to a religious awakening is...WOW! I have no words! It's pretty freakin' brilliant and the immense amount of controversy it caused is not shocking at all. Then you have the video itself with burning crosses, racial profiling, Madonna casually getting intimate with a black Jesus and there you go! But seriously, the song is one of the highest achievements in pop music. It's thought provoking, catchy beyond belief, has an epic production that remains timeless and is just remarkable music period! Once again, what an incredible start!!!
(A+)
2. "Express Yourself"
Madonna's ultimate feminist anthem! "Express Yourself" is another excellent pop track that delivers a universal message of self-worth. Not to mention, not lowering your standards to any man not deserving of your love and make him reveal his own true feelings for you. Here! Here! The overwhelmingly, catchy tune continues and you can't help but sing along. I also remember the unforgettable industrial inspired video in the steel mill. Is that where that cliché came from? Or did that come before? Idk.
(A+)
Madonna's ultimate feminist anthem! "Express Yourself" is another excellent pop track that delivers a universal message of self-worth. Not to mention, not lowering your standards to any man not deserving of your love and make him reveal his own true feelings for you. Here! Here! The overwhelmingly, catchy tune continues and you can't help but sing along. I also remember the unforgettable industrial inspired video in the steel mill. Is that where that cliché came from? Or did that come before? Idk.
(A+)
3. "Love Song"
You know, a part of me wonders how this collaboration happened in the first place?? You have the egotistical persona yet musical genius that is Prince and the controversial yet pop phenomenon that is Madonna coming together for a sexy ballad...but they proudly declare this isn't a love song!! The Minneapolis sound of course comes with the Prince package and Madonna never feels out of her comfort zone here, even with Prince's classic high notes/squealing. Honestly, I can barely understand the lyrics, but I don't care, it's freakin' Madonna and Prince, two of the biggest pop stars from that era not named "Michael Jackson" singing a song together and it doesn't suck. That in itself is amazing, even if Prince hated Madonna for years after it.
(A+)
You know, a part of me wonders how this collaboration happened in the first place?? You have the egotistical persona yet musical genius that is Prince and the controversial yet pop phenomenon that is Madonna coming together for a sexy ballad...but they proudly declare this isn't a love song!! The Minneapolis sound of course comes with the Prince package and Madonna never feels out of her comfort zone here, even with Prince's classic high notes/squealing. Honestly, I can barely understand the lyrics, but I don't care, it's freakin' Madonna and Prince, two of the biggest pop stars from that era not named "Michael Jackson" singing a song together and it doesn't suck. That in itself is amazing, even if Prince hated Madonna for years after it.
(A+)
4. "Til Death Do Us Part"
Apparently, this song is about Madonna's marriage and divorce from Sean Penn, which you can hear in the revealing lyrics, even stating that "he doesn't see that there's something wrong" and that "he doesn't me anymore". It's sad yet the song sounds surprisingly upbeat, even optimistic as a whole. Usually a scorned ex would be full of anger and pain, but there's this strange sense of empowerment through the song even when Madonna describes the actions of what a woman would do in that situation, including braking the door down. It's a very good personal look into her life without making listeners feel overwhelmed by it all. You can dance to it and relate to the reality of it. Great!
(A-)
Apparently, this song is about Madonna's marriage and divorce from Sean Penn, which you can hear in the revealing lyrics, even stating that "he doesn't see that there's something wrong" and that "he doesn't me anymore". It's sad yet the song sounds surprisingly upbeat, even optimistic as a whole. Usually a scorned ex would be full of anger and pain, but there's this strange sense of empowerment through the song even when Madonna describes the actions of what a woman would do in that situation, including braking the door down. It's a very good personal look into her life without making listeners feel overwhelmed by it all. You can dance to it and relate to the reality of it. Great!
(A-)
5. "Promise To Try"
Wow! This is probably one of Madonna's most heartbreaking ballads as she's at her most vulnerable. Which is not surprising considering she's singing about the death of her mother and how she dealt with it at a young age. The melody alone just pulls at the heart strings making it you relate to it's heartfelt lyrics. There's nothing else to be said but I can understand what Madonna went through simply by listening to this song. That's pretty powerful stuff!
(A)
Wow! This is probably one of Madonna's most heartbreaking ballads as she's at her most vulnerable. Which is not surprising considering she's singing about the death of her mother and how she dealt with it at a young age. The melody alone just pulls at the heart strings making it you relate to it's heartfelt lyrics. There's nothing else to be said but I can understand what Madonna went through simply by listening to this song. That's pretty powerful stuff!
(A)
6. "Cherish"
Probably the happiest song of her career, "Cherish" reminds that Madonna an expert when it comes to the best of pop music. Its message is simple, the complete adoration she has for the love in her life but through a contagious upbeat production, wonderful background vocals and triumphant horn cues, it's a good as pop music gets. One of my favorites from her!
(A+)
Probably the happiest song of her career, "Cherish" reminds that Madonna an expert when it comes to the best of pop music. Its message is simple, the complete adoration she has for the love in her life but through a contagious upbeat production, wonderful background vocals and triumphant horn cues, it's a good as pop music gets. One of my favorites from her!
(A+)
7. "Dear Jessie"
Hmmm, "Dear Jessie" comes off like a glorified lullaby that's sweet, almost to the saccharine proportions of "Love Makes The World Go Round". I like the incorporations of the violins at the end, but I feel like I got lost in it's message. It's kind of a heartwarming mid-tempo song but nothing else really. I definitely enough it for it's strong melody.
(B-)
Hmmm, "Dear Jessie" comes off like a glorified lullaby that's sweet, almost to the saccharine proportions of "Love Makes The World Go Round". I like the incorporations of the violins at the end, but I feel like I got lost in it's message. It's kind of a heartwarming mid-tempo song but nothing else really. I definitely enough it for it's strong melody.
(B-)
8. "Oh Father"
Wow, so apparently, "Oh Father" is about her relationship with her father and her marriage to Sean Penn. I can hear the implications with lyrics like "You can't hurt me now/I got away from you". It's another very personal record and you can see that Madonna was fed up with the men in her life as well as the male superiority complex in general. I wouldn't be surprised if this song was a precursor to her sexual liberation with "Erotica" do to her feeling like she had to act a certain way because she was a woman having to take orders from men who ultimately heart her. Either way, it's a pretty profound song and touching.
(A-)
Wow, so apparently, "Oh Father" is about her relationship with her father and her marriage to Sean Penn. I can hear the implications with lyrics like "You can't hurt me now/I got away from you". It's another very personal record and you can see that Madonna was fed up with the men in her life as well as the male superiority complex in general. I wouldn't be surprised if this song was a precursor to her sexual liberation with "Erotica" do to her feeling like she had to act a certain way because she was a woman having to take orders from men who ultimately heart her. Either way, it's a pretty profound song and touching.
(A-)
9. "Keep It Together"
This is a smooth dance track that has some New Jack Swing influences and house music style beats. It's pretty infectious and is overall very enjoyable. It was inspired from Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair". It's a very cool experiment that sorts of smears in it's laid-back groove. I like it.
(B+)
This is a smooth dance track that has some New Jack Swing influences and house music style beats. It's pretty infectious and is overall very enjoyable. It was inspired from Sly and the Family Stone's "Family Affair". It's a very cool experiment that sorts of smears in it's laid-back groove. I like it.
(B+)
10. "Pray For Spanish Eyes"
A religious ballad with Latin influences, I like the production of the song but it's not much of a standout. It has some nice lyrics with the questioning of God existence but it doesn't much interest for me. Maybe I'm so burnt out by the brilliance of the album that I'm expecting too much at this point??? I don't know.
(C+)
A religious ballad with Latin influences, I like the production of the song but it's not much of a standout. It has some nice lyrics with the questioning of God existence but it doesn't much interest for me. Maybe I'm so burnt out by the brilliance of the album that I'm expecting too much at this point??? I don't know.
(C+)
11. "Art of Contrition"
With such a powerful title, Madonna ends the album with...some barely audit-able mumbling as she confesses her sins over a weird mix of "Like A Prayer" and her getting upset that her reservation wasn't in the computer. Ummmmmm, ok. It's so random and kinda hilarious. No score needed!
With such a powerful title, Madonna ends the album with...some barely audit-able mumbling as she confesses her sins over a weird mix of "Like A Prayer" and her getting upset that her reservation wasn't in the computer. Ummmmmm, ok. It's so random and kinda hilarious. No score needed!
WOW!! That was a hell of an album! Up to this point in her career, Madonna was an iconic popstar with an unstoppable record of hit songs. But as an artist, many critics didn't take her work that seriously. Sure, "True Blue" had a much more sophisticated tone to it than her first two albums, but it wasn't an indication of Madonna's artistry as a singer and writer. What followed was her highly publicized relationship and marriage to actor Sean Penn; which ended in divorce due to rumors and speculation of abuse and fighting between them. Madonna, for the first time, found inspiration in her recent relationship woes as well as controversial, idealistic opinions from other aspects of her upbringing/past. It all came to fruition with "Like A Prayer", one of, if not her best, album at the time....or even of her career. What made "Like A Prayer" different then her last albums was that it seemed more personal than them. For the first time, Madonna wasn't just delivering endless pop hits, she was showing off, for he first time, a vulnerable side like in songs like "Oh Father" and "Promise To Try". She is a self confident feminist in "Express Yourself" but also a heartbroken ex-wife in "'Til Death Do Us Part". We see that she is denouncing not only her ex-husband's sense of masculinity but her father's as well. There also this strong undertone of religion throughout with Madonna not only analyzing but criticizing her religious origins. It made critics FINALLY take notice of Madonna's willingness to delve deeper with her work and fans couldn't get enough of the confessional album. "Like A Prayer" would go on to hit #1 on the BB 200 and selling over 15 million copies worldwide! But the true success was a personal one for old Madge as people took notice of her creativity and innovation for the first time. No longer was she just a singer with some great hits but an ambitious artist with the flare for the dramatic production, introspected lyrics and emotional resonance. It's no wonder after the album's release (as well as the release of her soundtrack to "Dick Tracy", "I'm Breathless") that she would embark on her most successful and iconic third tour, "Blonde Ambition Tour". "Like A Prayer" for me is one of her best albums by far (I only think there is one that beats it on my lists) I just love that Madonna was willing to take a risk with not only her album but once again with her music videos, with the title track's video causing a media storm of controversy with her deal with Pepsi being dropped and the Vatican being outrage with such sexual and graphic imagery being associated with religion's concepts like stigmata, an black Jesus and burning crosses. WOW!!! Either way, it continued Madonna's wonderful success as an artist and closed out the decade as the artist of the decade. Neat! :)
(A+)
Comments
Post a Comment