The opening still gives me chills.
A few seconds of a frenzied guitar, abruptly stopped by a slamming door. A hushed choir and a church organ give way to what sounds like an invocation.
“Life is a mystery
Everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home“
Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” album was released March 21, 1989 and forever altered her career and the course of pop music. Thirty years later, it remains a masterpiece and one of her crowning achievements.
The album revolutionized what it meant to be a woman in pop music and created a blueprint that every pop star has since followed. She wrote and sang brazenly about love and sex, religion and racism, family and freedom.
Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Christina Aguilera, Cardi B, Dua Lipa — they all owe a huge debt to Madonna.
The “Like a Prayer” album has sold 15 million copies worldwide. It was followed by the Blond Ambition World Tour, which kicked off May 4 and 5 at The Summit in Houston. The building now, ironically, is home to Lakewood Church.
It generated five U.S. singles but every song on the album is worth remembering and told its own story.
The title track elicited a firestorm of controversy because of the video, which prompted Pepsi to pull a commercial featuring the song. Madonna reportedly kept the $5 million advance.
The song itself is a whirlwind of religion, sex and a Prince guitar intro — and one of Madonna’s best.
“Express Yourself” and “Keep it Together” drew inspiration from Sly and the Family Stone. The “Express Yourself” video was inspired by the classic film “Metropolis” and at the time the most expensive ever made at $5 million. (Thanks, Pepsi.) They both placed Madonna in front of live instrumentation, a dramatic switch from her previously synth-heavy pop albums.
Read full article at HoustonChronicle
