Album: Like A Prayer
Artist: Madonna
Artist: Madonna
Born: Bay City, Michigan
Released: March 1989
Genre: Pop
Influenced: Kylie Minogue, Justin Timberlake, Janelle Monàe, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga
As it's my birthday, I'm allowing myself an indulgence. In the year of my 10th birthday, this was easily my favourite album. What surprised me listening to it very recently was how much I still enjoy it. Listening closer to the lyrics, there were clearly many things that my teenage ears missed, but my first and abiding connection with Madonna was through the eyes, and the MTV videos that accompanied the hit singles from this record were what first drew me to her music. I vaguely remember the controversy that Like A Prayer caused, especially in my house, where both my parents were Christians. Challenging religious and sexual attitudes is something Madonna has excelled at and, like Prince, she was as much a sexual icon as a musical icon. Film (Desperately Seeking Susan) and notoriety were just as important to making her a celebrity as her songs. The influence of Prince on this album is very obvious on Love Song, which was the only product of a much-discussed but finally aborted attempt by Madonna and Prince to create a musical. Prince also plays guitar on several tracks and helps Madonna to explore a much wider variety of musical styles than the electronically-processed dance music that she'd been most famous for prior to this LP's release. Another sign of her development as an artist are the adult themes, with Madonna dealing with her difficult upbringing and abusive relationships. The one song that's dearest to me though is the simple love song, Cherish, which reminds me of my first trip to the States as a kid, with my Dad driving us in a red sports car along the coastline of Florida, this song on the radio, the wind in my hair and not a care in the world.
There's a Phil Spector quality to the production of Cherish, while another single from the record, Express Yourself, is more reminiscent of the Stax style of soul. The gospel quality to Like A Prayer underlines just how important soul music was to Madonna's hybrid sound. The video to Like A Prayer was one of the most shocking things I watched as a young teenager, involving racism (Ku Klux Klan, burning crosses) and a strong challenge to sexual and religious stereotypes (Black Jesus, assertive feminist breaking free from Catholic guilt). Unsurprisingly, the controversy and the quality of the song (Madonna wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on this album) made Like A Prayer a No.1 single pretty much everywhere. Soul and gospel were not the only musical styles to feature on the LP; one of the strangest moments on the record is Till Death Do Us Part, which sounds like the more synthetic end of synthpop but deals with her alleged "night of terror"with Sean Penn ("he makes demands, she draws the line / he starts the fight, she starts the lie"). Another unique musical style is the psychedelic baroque pop of Dear Jessie, while the Jimi Hendrix-style guitar (played by Prince) on the opening to Act of Contrition is another nod to the 60s. There are also two emotive songs about Madonna's father (Oh Father) and mother (Promise To Try), who died in her 30s. The video to Oh Father was directed by David Fincher and haunted me a little as a kid, while the lyrics to Promise To Try are really affecting ("she's a faded smile frozen in time / I'm still hanging on"). This is all a long way from bubblegum pop.
The Spotify album is available here (not embedding for whatever reason).
As it's my birthday, I'm allowing myself an indulgence. In the year of my 10th birthday, this was easily my favourite album. What surprised me listening to it very recently was how much I still enjoy it. Listening closer to the lyrics, there were clearly many things that my teenage ears missed, but my first and abiding connection with Madonna was through the eyes, and the MTV videos that accompanied the hit singles from this record were what first drew me to her music. I vaguely remember the controversy that Like A Prayer caused, especially in my house, where both my parents were Christians. Challenging religious and sexual attitudes is something Madonna has excelled at and, like Prince, she was as much a sexual icon as a musical icon. Film (Desperately Seeking Susan) and notoriety were just as important to making her a celebrity as her songs. The influence of Prince on this album is very obvious on Love Song, which was the only product of a much-discussed but finally aborted attempt by Madonna and Prince to create a musical. Prince also plays guitar on several tracks and helps Madonna to explore a much wider variety of musical styles than the electronically-processed dance music that she'd been most famous for prior to this LP's release. Another sign of her development as an artist are the adult themes, with Madonna dealing with her difficult upbringing and abusive relationships. The one song that's dearest to me though is the simple love song, Cherish, which reminds me of my first trip to the States as a kid, with my Dad driving us in a red sports car along the coastline of Florida, this song on the radio, the wind in my hair and not a care in the world.
There's a Phil Spector quality to the production of Cherish, while another single from the record, Express Yourself, is more reminiscent of the Stax style of soul. The gospel quality to Like A Prayer underlines just how important soul music was to Madonna's hybrid sound. The video to Like A Prayer was one of the most shocking things I watched as a young teenager, involving racism (Ku Klux Klan, burning crosses) and a strong challenge to sexual and religious stereotypes (Black Jesus, assertive feminist breaking free from Catholic guilt). Unsurprisingly, the controversy and the quality of the song (Madonna wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on this album) made Like A Prayer a No.1 single pretty much everywhere. Soul and gospel were not the only musical styles to feature on the LP; one of the strangest moments on the record is Till Death Do Us Part, which sounds like the more synthetic end of synthpop but deals with her alleged "night of terror"with Sean Penn ("he makes demands, she draws the line / he starts the fight, she starts the lie"). Another unique musical style is the psychedelic baroque pop of Dear Jessie, while the Jimi Hendrix-style guitar (played by Prince) on the opening to Act of Contrition is another nod to the 60s. There are also two emotive songs about Madonna's father (Oh Father) and mother (Promise To Try), who died in her 30s. The video to Oh Father was directed by David Fincher and haunted me a little as a kid, while the lyrics to Promise To Try are really affecting ("she's a faded smile frozen in time / I'm still hanging on"). This is all a long way from bubblegum pop.
The Spotify album is available here (not embedding for whatever reason).
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