Like a Prayer
| Like a Prayer | ||||
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| Studio album by Madonna | ||||
| Released | March 21, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | August 1988 – January 1989 at D&D Recording, New York City, New York Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California |
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| Genre | Pop, gospel, rock | |||
| Length | 51:13 | |||
| Label | Sire, Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Madonna, Patrick Leonard, Stephen Bray, Prince | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
| Madonna chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Like a Prayer | ||||
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Like a Prayer is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 21, 1989 by Sire Records. The RIAA certified it Quadruple Platinum on July 16, 1997,[1] recognizing four million shipments in the United States, making it her seventh best-selling album there. It has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. The album was also ranked number 237 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [2]
The album also found success with its following singles; "Express Yourself", "Cherish", and "Oh Father", which found varied success across the globe. "Express Yourself" and "Like a Prayer" are regarded as two of Madonna's signature songs, and along with "Oh Father" and "Cherish", have garnered much acclaim over the decades and also furthered the creativity within music videos ("Express Yourself" was the most expensive video ever made at that point). Madonna's lyrics in the album reflect her then very public divorce from Sean Penn ("Till Death Do Us Part") as well as revisiting the emotions dealt with in her family life from when she was a child through to when she was a teenager ("Promise to Try", "Oh Father", "Keep It Together"). "Love Song" (a duet with Prince) and "Keep It Together" would be revisited in Madonna's tenth studio album Confessions on a Dance Floor in the hit songs "Jump" and "Hung Up".
Contents |
Background
In a rather unique instance of album marketing, the packaging on the first pressings of the CD, cassette, and LP of Like a Prayer were scented to simulate church incense, reportedly with Madonna's favorite scent, patchouli oil.[3] Also included was an insert about the dangers of AIDS and how to avoid it.[4]
Musical Styles & Themes
Like a Prayer incorporates rock, dance, pop, soul, and funk elements. Rolling Stone magazine hailed it "as close to art as pop music gets"[5]. Recorded in 1988 with collaborators Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, it includes a duet with Prince and features the first of several songs in her repertoire, "Promise to Try",[5] about her mother's death. The album is dedicated to "my mother who taught me to pray." She also addresses her failed marriage to actor Sean Penn in "Till Death Do Us Part."[5]
Commercial Reception
The album debuted at number eleven, and within three weeks was number one, where it would stay for over a month. The singles "Express Yourself" and "Cherish" both reached number two. "Oh Father" was her least successful single since 1984, peaking at number twenty. "Keep It Together" reached number eight, and "Dear Jessie" became a hit single in Europe, with an animated video. After the advent of the Nielsen Soundscan era in 1991, the album sold a further 575,000 copies.[6]
Promotion At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna performed a high-energy version of "Express Yourself" as a preview for her upcoming world tour. She embarked on the Blond Ambition World Tour, which initially known as "Like a Prayer Tour". A remix mini-album, Remixed Prayers, was released in Japan to promote the album on August 25, 1989. It reached number 24 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart and was present on the chart for five weeks.[7]
Legacy and Impact
According to a list released by Time magazine on November 13, 2006, Like a Prayer is one of the All-TIME 100 Greatest Albums. In 2003, Rolling Stones magazine named it the 237th greatest album of all time. Apart from that the album is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. [8] In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #14 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s". [9] Before the commercial release of the first single, the title track "Like a Prayer," Pepsi decided to use the song as part of a soft drink commercial featuring Madonna. In addition, the company struck a deal to sponsor her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour. The commercial aired twice before the release of the music video on MTV. Pepsi was unaware of the video's content: Madonna witnesses a murder, kisses a black saint (St. Martin de Porres), displays stigmata after cutting her palms on a knife, and dances in a field of burning crosses. Some religious groups were furious and threatened to boycott Pepsi, who in turn decided to cancel the ad campaign and tour sponsorship, though Madonna kept the contracted $5 million. The promotional Pepsi cans featuring a picture of Madonna from the "Like A Prayer" commercial were recalled, and have become one of the most highly sought after Madonna collectables.[10] Perhaps partially due to the publicity created by the controversy, the single soared to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA. This album was lauded by critics, and is considered to be Madonna's greatest effort of the 1980's, and most confessional record.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Like a Prayer" | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 5:39 |
| 2. | "Express Yourself" | Madonna, Stephen Bray | Madonna, Stephen Bray | 4:37 |
| 3. | "Love Song" | Madonna, Prince Rogers Nelson | Madonna, Prince | 4:52 |
| 4. | "Till Death Do Us Part" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 5:16 |
| 5. | "Promise to Try" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 3:36 |
| 6. | "Cherish" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Dear Jessie" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 4:20 |
| 8. | "Oh Father" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 4:57 |
| 9. | "Keep It Together" | Madonna, S. Bray | Madonna, Stephen Bray | 5:03 |
| 10. | "Spanish Eyes" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 5:15 |
| 11. | "Act of Contrition" | Madonna, P. Leonard | Madonna, Patrick Leonard | 2:19 |
Additional notes
- "Spanish Eyes" was re-titled "(Pray for) Spanish Eyes" on later editions of the album and also the "Oh Father" single release in 1989.
- "Act of Contrition" is produced by "The Powers That Be" (Madonna and Patrick Leonard).
Singles
| # | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Like a Prayer" | February 1989 |
| 02 | "Express Yourself" | May 1989 |
| 03 | "Cherish" | August 1989 |
| 04 | "Oh Father" | October 1989 (North America/Australia/Japan) |
| 05 | "Dear Jessie" | December 1989 (Europe/Australia) |
| 06 | "Keep It Together" | January 1990 (North America/Japan) |
Charts, Sales and Certification
Charts
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Certifications
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Chart procession and succession
| Preceded by Anything for You by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine |
UK Albums Chart number one album April 1, 1989 – April 14, 1989 |
Succeeded by When the World Knows Your Name by Deacon Blue |
| Preceded by A New Flame by Simply Red |
European Top 100 Albums number one album April 8, 1989 – May 20, 1989 |
Succeeded by Street Fighting Years by Simple Minds |
| Preceded by Shōwa by Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi |
Japanese Albums Chart number-one album April 17, 1989 |
Succeeded by Heart & Soul by Junichi Inagaki |
| Preceded by Lōc-ed After Dark by Tone Loc |
U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album April 22, 1989 – June 2, 1989 |
Succeeded by The Raw & the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals |
Album credits
Personnel
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Production
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References
- ↑ "Gold & Platinum - December 31, 2009". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ↑ Posted Nov 01, 2003 12:00 AM (2003-11-01). "237) Like a Prayer". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6599713/237_like_a_prayer. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ↑ "discography - like a prayer, 1989". madonna-online.ch. 1989-03-21. http://www.madonna-online.ch/m-online/discography/89_like-a-prayer/disco-89-like-a-prayer-album.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ↑ "Madonna". TrouserPress.com. http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=madonna. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Considine, J.D. (1989-04-06). ""Like A Prayer review"". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/madonna/albums/album/185201/review/5940859/like_a_prayer. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
- ↑ Grein, Paul (2010-08-12). "Week Ending Aug. 8, 2008: Taylor Swift Returns". Yahoo!. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/61449/week-ending-aug-8-2008-taylor-swift-returns/. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ↑ "リミックス・プレイヤーズ" (in Japanese). Oricon. 1989-08-25. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/162927/products/music/8563/2/. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ↑ Posted Nov 18, 2003 12:00 AM (2003-11-18). "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/3. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ↑ Q August 2006, Issue 241
- ↑ http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id135.htm Eightiesclub.com
- ↑ "Decenniumlijst Jaren '80 (1-1000)" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. 1989-04-01. http://members.chello.nl/f.jans/albums/jaren80_1.html. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ↑ "Madonna: Discografia Italiana". Federation of the Italian Music Industry. HitParadeItalia. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/mono/madonna_disco.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
- ↑ "ライク・ア・プレイヤー" (in Japanese). Oricon. 1989-04-09. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/162927/products/music/9160/2/. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 8480486392.
- ↑ "Discos de Oro y Platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=madonna&album=&LanDesde_MM=0&LanDesde_AA=0&LanHasta_MM=0&LanHasta_AA=0&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ↑ ARIA Charts
- ↑ IFPI Austria
- ↑ ABPD
- ↑ CRIA
- ↑ IFPI Finland
- ↑ Disque En France
- ↑ http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/
- ↑ NVPI
- ↑ IFPI Switzerland
- ↑ Platinum Awards Content
- ↑ Billboard – Ask Billboard
- Liner Notes, "Like A Prayer" CD. 1989 Sire Records.
External links
- Like a Prayer at MusicBrainz
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