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Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ at 35: All the Songs Ranked
Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' album: Songs ranked from worst to best on the 1989 classic album.
With its slightly perplexing blend of distorted guitars (courtesy Prince, at least in part), warped tape loops and Catholic prayer recitals, “Act of Contrition” sounds more like an improvised jam session plucked from the vaults for an oddities collection than an epilogue to a pop masterpiece. Although continuing Madonna’s late ‘80s penchant for the sounds of Latin music, “Spanish Eyes” is a different beast to her summery Hot 100-toppers “La Isla Bonita” and “Who’s That Girl.” It’s hard to imagine anyone dancing the samba to a mournful acoustic ballad which, thanks to lines like “How many lives will they have to take? No doubt ex-husband Sean Penn’s ears were burning – she filed for divorce just two months before Like a Prayer ’s release – as Madonna sings of being belittled, betrayed and bruised, with the sound of shattered glass and references to flying vases evoking an atmosphere of domestic strife.
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