Review Summary: In which Madonna truly expresses what she's got and kicks off a decades worth of incredible albums.
I didn't really gain consciousness until the new millennium. I can have no true idea of what it was like when Madge burst on to the scene in the early 80's. Nor can I ever experience the height of her superstardom as the eighties themselves came to a close. I
can tell you that it has had an effect on culture that is still seen today. Having gone quadruple platinum with four top ten hits (and its title track securing a #1 on the Billboard charts), and it's big hit having a video condemned by The Vatican (you go girl!), Like A Prayer is
stuck in the fabric of culture. From Lady Gaga's queer call-to-arms Born This Way swiping Express Yourself's nachos (Listen to how similar some of those vocal lines are. I'm not complaining! I see two cakes, etc,.) to Like A Prayer being an actual recurring theme in the 2024 movie Deadpool vs. Wolverine, to me hearing Cherish in the supermarket but also in a Kohl's at least twice a year. She hit on something universal with this album. Its sound sums up the 80's and it's visuals are full of iconic imagery (with an iconic budget, to boot).
But we're here for the music! And this really is a decades worth of inspiration looking forward, all jammed on to one album. It's all big sounding, drums pounding, echoey and chock full of hooks baited with so many shout-out-loud lyrics that I feel sorry for the other fishermen in this songwriting metaphor. The record opens with two massive hits, the first being Like A Prayer. That itself is a great example of her poking and prodding for controversy. Lyrics aim to invoke spirituality, but not quite - the obvious double entendre of praying and giving head is smack dab in the middle of the chorus. It's got a gospel choir to lead out its second half, but make no mistake - this is about how a sexual experience can provide the same ecstasy a religious one can.
The second hit, Express Yourself (and Like A Prayer, to an extent) feels dance-floor ready, a full band providing grooves for Madonna to sing over, her voice strong enough to cut through pounding beats, a horn section, a gospel choir, and so on. Til' Death Do Us Part is her at her most new-wave - a bitter, fast-paced tune about a love that's turned sour and dangerous. A good bit of the record is slow jams and airy violin-laced ballads, and they work for the most part. Love Song in particular gets a lot of help from Prince, and the tune verges on dirge-like, but only gets better as their back and forth continues. Dear Jessie and Oh Father compliment each other very well. The former is an ode to youth and childhood with a warmth so uncommon from Madonna that it still remains the runt of the litter here for a lot of fans. I find it beautiful, but I've found myself a sap recently anyways. AND it goes so smoothly - musically and thematically - into Oh Father, a dark but cathartic look at Madonna's own unresolved paternal trauma.
There's cheesy but easy to swallow new-jack swing on Keep It Together, and for all the flings and fractured relationships that come earlier in the album this one's about how important family is, through good and bad. Spanish Eyes closes the album on another slow jam with that nice latin flavor Madonna is so keen on. Any and all religious themes of this rollout come to a head on the 'epilogue' right after, Act of Contrition. It's a two minute spoken-word hip-hop reversed vocal cluster*** that, on first listening, really made it click that Like A Prayer is Madonnas first impressive statement as a capital-A artist.
I imagine Act of Contrition sees her trying to pass through the pearly gates after all of that controversy she's stirred up, trying to recite the titular act of contrition as a show of good faith. She's unable to finish though, cut off. Turning her repentance to aggression she angrily states "I HAVE A RESERVATION!" over a reversed choir and a reversed guitar line (shredded by prince). Then the song ends, as does the album. No word on the pearly gates. Regardless of how common the religious themes found here are, bookending the record with this and Like A Prayer feel very poignant. She'll never truly be sorry for this sort of thing, the act of contrition will always fall short, she will always be drawn to controversy like a mosquito to warm blood. Controversy is the hook Madonna has used since Like A Virgin was a lead single, and the audience falls for the bait every time. With each album though, there's more and more to chew on beyond just the initial bait.
Here the sound is so varied and the themes so serious that the
whole thing feels like a hook. Honestly, Like A Prayer is probably the easiest Madonna album to show someone to make them a fan. Whether it's somber, sweet or high energy, she's able to tackle topics concisely, turning out a catchy chorus with no problem. It helps that nearly every song is as smooth as butter. It's no surprise that this was the best selling record of its year, and it's kind of charming that it's recognizable enough 35 years on to be heard over both supermarket speakers and Deadpool action scenes. Pop music gets ragged on for its simplicity, but the truth is there is power in a song digging its way into the brains of a generation so deeply that it just straight up does not leave, ever. Like A Prayer did that.
