BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989
Originally posted August 16, 2013
“Like a Prayer” is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her fourth studio album of the same name. Sire Records released it as the album’s lead single on March 3, 1989. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the track heralded an artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, who believed that she needed to cater more to her adult audience. Thematically the song speaks about a passionate young girl in love with God, who becomes the only male figure in her life.
“Like a Prayer” was acclaimed by critics and was a worldwide success. It was Madonna’s seventh number-one single on the United States’ Billboard Hot 100 and topped the singles charts in many other countries, including Australia, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Rolling Stone listed “Like a Prayer” among The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The music video, directed by Mary Lambert, portrays Madonna witnessing a young white woman being killed by a group of white men. While a black man is arrested for the murder, Madonna hides in a church for safety, seeking strength to go forth as a witness. The clip depicts a church and Catholic symbols such as stigmata. It also features the Ku Klux Klan’s burning crosses and a dream about kissing a black saint. The Vatican condemned the video, while family and religious groups protested against its broadcast. They boycotted products by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, who had used the song in their commercial. The company canceled their sponsorship contract with Madonna but allowed her to retain the fee.
It was long thought that the album version contained no Prince input, and only some of the remixes contain Prince’s guitar playing, however in a 2014 interview Patrick Leonard, the song’s producer revealed it’s actually Prince on guitar at the very beginning of the song before the door slams.
The 12-inch containing the versions with a bit more of Prince’s uncredited guitar input was released three weeks prior to the album’s release on Like A Prayer, the album’s first single. The ‘Dub Beats’ version, remixed by Bill Bottrell, also contains a sample of the studio version of Bob George, five years before its official release.
In the United States a promotional 12″ single was released to club and radio disc jockeys to help promote the song. This promotional 12″ contained three exclusive Dub Mixes.
EAST SIDE:
Like A Prayer (12″ Dance Mix) 7:50
Edited By – Junior Vasquez, Shep Pettibone
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Dave Way
Engineer [Remix Engineer] – Michael Hutchinson
Producer [Additional Production], Remix –Shep Pettibone
Programmed By [Programming] – Fred McFarlane
Like A Prayer (Instra Dub) 6:10
Edited By – Junior Vasquez, Shep Pettibone
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Dave Way
Engineer [Remix Engineer] – Michael Hutchinson
Producer [Additional Production], Remix –Shep Pettibone
Programmed By [Programming] – Fred McFarlane
Like A Prayer (Bass Dub) 5:47
Edited By – Junior Vasquez, Shep Pettibone
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Dave Way
Engineer [Remix Engineer] – Michael Hutchinson
Producer [Additional Production], Remix –Shep Pettibone
Programmed By [Programming] – Fred McFarlane
WEST SIDE:
Like A Prayer (12″ Club Version) 6:35
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Robert Salcedo*
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Bill Bottrell
Like A Prayer (Dub Beats) 4:40
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Robert Salcedo*
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Bill Bottrell
Like A Prayer (7″ Remix/Edit) 5:41
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Robert Salcedo*
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Bill Bottrell
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Like A Prayer | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 1989 | Like A Prayer | U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary | #3 |
| 1989 | Like A Prayer | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
| 1989 | Like A Prayer | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles | #20 |
| 1989 | Like A Prayer | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Year-End | #25 |
| 1989 | Like A Prayer | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Year-End | #10 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – PRO-A-3472
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix – △24341
Producer [Produced By], Written-By – Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Produced For – Mastermix Productions
NOTES:
Additional Production and Remix for Mastermix Productions.
From the Sire album LIKE A PRAYER.
Promotional Copy. Not For Sale.
Made in U.S.A.
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Password: burningtheground
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Where can I hear the Prince guitar section?
This is my very first Madonna, and I got it here thanks to PaulT 🙂
Very Thanks Paul.
Well, it´s Madonna. “Confessions” was her last album I bought. After that she totally lost me. Before that I adored her music. I have the two standard Like A Prayer 12inches (“Extended Remix” and “12inch Dance Mix”) which did not include any dub mix. However, as a bonus one of the records includes the awesome “Churchapella”.
Thanyk for this biblical post, Paul. 😉
Thanks Paul…
Hi, Paul. The cowbell has a weird hiccup in the 2nd bar of the Instra Dub.
It wasn’t there in your previous rip (2013 or earlier) or in the digital download that I purchased today.
Thank you Paul. 80s Madonna is that little bit extra special to some of us.
Nice work on this classic, thank you!
Do you have the one with the Public Enemy sample?
It is Justify My Love I think.
Wow, this great!
This awesome! Madonna and Prince at their very best!
Any chance one day you could rip Arcadia’ The Promise’ to complete the set of Arcadia 12inch singles? That would be amazing!
Thanks so much for this one — this is Madonna at her very best. Her material got better and better with each album in the 1980s, reaching a pinnacle with Like a Prayer. She’s never been as good since, unfortunately (although I do like quite a few of her later albums). I bought this promo 12″ back when the song first came out and LOVED it! It’s great to have such an immaculate transfer of the vinyl now (pun absolutely intended)!
I love classic Madonna, I really stopped buying her albums after Confessions On A Dancefloor. Not to say the others after that weren’t good, I just think she started trying too hard to shock us all when she had already been there and done that. I really loved the Ray Of Light period.
Confessions is mostly fantastic, as is Ray Of Light, then came all the albums with desperate attempts to remain youthful and relevant. Each had a great track or so, but all could be consolidated into one great collection with the rest relegated to b-sides and outtakes galore. I mean there are usually some great remixes to be pulled out of each era, but Confessions was the last time she hit a home run and seemed like a real leader in the album making scene…I love the album version of Turn Up The Radio, and She’s Not Me feat. Wendy and… Read more »
Like s prayer that has been answered. Thank you so so much for this updated vinyl rip DJ PaulT
You’re welcome, Chad 🙂
I can’t say anything more than what everyone else has already said (and I too prefer Madonna as a brunette). Thank you, Paul. This is truly a gem – and a classic in Madonna’s already massive catalog of great tracks.
Thank you!
Thank you dugn 🙂
Yes, the brunette/closer to “real” hair color is a nice look! Love this era Madonna..Perhaps they can arrange with the Prince estate a release of the other track they did together… I once won tickets to a Prince concert because I could answer “Love Song” to a radio trivia question…of course, I already had tickets so I gave them to my sister… In all actuality, this album was the one that got me back into Madonna!
“Love Song” – that’s not one many people know. Nice work!
Well I have to be completely honest, it was Prince that brought me back to Madonna! LOL. Although I liked the track Like A Prayer a lot, it was the Prince co-write that got me to buy the CD! Man I had some Madonna-hating friends at the time that gave me serious grief for buying her CD! I’m like “but Prince is on it…”
Yeah – I can relate to friends mocking me because I liked Madonna. And it was all on me until a few years later I caught them on the dance floor dancing to Get Into The Groove. I never let them live it down… 🙂
Too funny! Yeah my Madonna went from debut album-Dress You Up-Into The Groove-True Blue-Like A Prayer-everything from there on until Hard Candy then it was pick a track after that…. she does her best work when she takes something underground into the mainstream without regard for trends in the radio IMO
Thank you for this material it’s so cool
You’re welcome 🙂
Brilliant, Paul! I’m proud to own the CD single promo that has 3 7″ edits. I’ve always preferred the promo cover artwork to the one released commercially; I really love Madonna as a brunette.
Cool! I prefer as a brunette also.
Thanks for the re-rip, Paul! All these mixes were just released on iTunes a few days ago. I bought them today and they sound like pure digital transfers(not vinyl rips) so that’s nice. I buy pretty much any/all Madonna as I’m always comparing the quality of her releases. 🙂
Thanks again, Paul!
Nothing wrong with an immaculate vinyl transfer. I bought the iTunes versions too, and Paul’s are sonically so much better with more depth and dynamic range. All Hail Queen Madonna and the Vinyl King DjPaulT.
Thank you All Hail The Queen! 🙂
Right. All I was trying to articulate was that they are available, as of March 5, on iTunes and they are extremely rare. Paul’s rip is better overall sonically, but what’s nice about the digital files is that there is no hiss/pop in the beginning since they are from the digital masters. I also post comments like the above to promote folks here to support the artist…in this case it’s $8 on iTunes.
I always encourage folks to support the artists if you read the disclaimer in my FAQ I mention doing that.
I didn’t even know they were released on iTunes but I don’t ever buy anything streaming or digital anyway. I am a physical media man myself I just prefer the analog sound.
Same here…I’ve only bought a handful of digital tracks because of their extreme rarity and I do not stream anything. 🙂
Thanks so much for your supreme attention to detail in this monstrous 12″! Superb sound quality!
You’re welcome, Retro Hound 🙂
WOW lsten just little and sound are amazing i play all this today is sure thanks again amazing work for Madonna lovers music.
Thank you 🙂
awesome tune
Thank you, Enjoy 🙂
Worth the wait – thank you. I’m sure this will rank up there as one of your most downloaded posts Paul. 🙂
Thank you so much, Jermajesty 🙂
Hi Paul, what a magnificent job you have done with this wonderful album. I congratulate you, thank you very much.
Thank you, pablo 🙂
Having this promo single already. This is one of many Madonna 12″ singles that I have in my collection. Some of them I’ve added over the years thanks to you Paul. This 12 is a massive kick ass start to the promotion of the album and is amongst my favorites.
Thanks for the great re-mastering of this most excellent 12″.
Thank you, Dj Veteran 🙂
Extremely pleased to get this gem from you Paul, as I’m sure the rest of the community here will attest to that! I can only imagine how many hours you spent ripping this twelve. I am elated over this record as I adore vintage Madonna. Thank you gain Paul for all your hard and expert work!
Jeff
In total two days off and on but it was fun working on a classic 🙂