Why is Madonna re-releasing ‘Like a Prayer’?

Like a Prayer, Madonna’s fourth studio album saw the singer as controversial as ever and still pushing boundaries in pop but also at her most introspective and confessional. Recorded when she had just turned 30, there was a lot of other things going on in her life at the time, which she dealt with by throwing herself into making a new album.

Her turbulent marriage and eventual breakup with Sean Penn (she filed for divorce in January 1989) was also at the core of Like a Prayer - a world away from the heady, upbeat optimism of True Blue, her previous release, which Penn also inspired but for all the opposite reasons. Like a Prayer went on to sell 15 million copies worldwide, going 4x platinum in five countries, including the US and the UK.

The title track was licensed for Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine and appears in three versions (Battle Royale Mix and Choir Version) on a soundtrack EP which hit stores last week.

‘Like a Prayer’ released in March 1989

Time flies by quickly and this year, Like a Prayer is celebrating its 35th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Madge is bringing out a special limited edition of the album, pressed on opaque silver vinyl. The album has the original running time of 40:20 and doesn’t feature any of the bonus tracks that came with the 30th anniversary edition. Some copies however, will come with a an exclusive poster of Herb Ritts’ black-and-white portrait of Madonna from the album’s back cover - available only from orders made directly through Madonna’s official webpage store (Madonna.com) or rhino.com.

The 35th anniversary Silver Collection edition of Like a Prayer retails for $24.98 and can be pre-ordered from Madonna’s own Madonna’s official webpage, Amazon and Dig. The album will be released on Friday 6 September.

It is the second release from Madonna’s Silver Collection in celebration of the singer’s illustrious four decades in the music industry. It follows on from the 35th anniversary re-release of True Blue, also pressed on opaque silver vinyl, which came out late last year to mixed reviews about sound quality with some noting that their pressings were warped. Let’s hope the plant get this batch right.

Expect to see other of Madonna’s classic albums feature in the Silver Collection series - the queen of pop has already confirmed that a reissue of Like A Virgin is in the pipeline and future releases could include Erotica and Ray of Light.