Madonna - Like a Prayer

  by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 19 / 12 / 2024

Label: Select Label
Format: N/A

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Nick Dent-Robinson reflects on Madonna’s 1989 third album ‘Like a Prayer;, which has just been re-released in a new 35th anniversary vinyl edition

On the 35th anniversary of its release back in 1989, Madonna's hugely successful album “Like A Prayer” is being reissued on opaque silver vinyl at £29. This is the second in an on-going “Silver Collection” series begun last year with a repackaging of 1986's ‘True Blue’. ‘Like A Prayer’ was the album that really transformed Madonna from dazzling 1980s pop icon to soul-baring, adult artist, adding rather more substance to her undoubted style. It was released at a challenging time for Madonna, who had just turned 30. Her troubled marriage to Sean Penn was over and her performance in the 1987 comedy film ‘Who's That Girl’ had not been well received. But, demonstrating the steely resolve that would come to be recognised as a key aspect of her personality, Madonna showed that she could be a boundary-pushing queen of reinvention as she delivered one of her strongest performances on the new album. Taking a more personal approach to lyric-writing, she sang of her struggles with a Catholic upbringing (‘Act of Contrition’), the death of her mother (‘Promise To Try’) and her relationship with her dad (‘Oh Father’). Her failed marriage inspired ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ - with richly ironic lyrics including the line, “I'm not your friend, I'm just your little wife”. Madonna's two principal producers made a big contribution, too. Her former borfriend Stephen Bray emphasised Madonna's dance-floor leanings (and her origins as a dancer rather than a singer) on ‘Express Yourself’ whilst her musical director Patrick Leonard was responsible for the melodic ‘Cherish’ and the title track. There are cameos from Prince, too - including on the soulful duet ‘Love Song’. Disappointingly, the re-released album has no bonus material and there has been no delve back into the archives. Nevertheless, the reappearance of ‘Like A Prayer’ is a welcome reminder of one of the better moments of 1980s pop.

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