Unreleased demos from the "Like a Prayer" sessions surface following auction controversy.

(Photo by Herb Ritts)

Welcome back on Blogger!

Yesterday, Patrick Leonard shared three unreleased demos from the "Like a Prayer" sessions on his official YouTube channel: Cherish, Like a Prayer and a scrapped song titled Angels With Dirty Faces.

As fans, we are obviously happy but there is more to this news.

Let's jump into the article! 

(Darlene Lutz)

Darlene Lutz, Madonna's ex-art advisor and friend, is selling our diva's personal belongings after winning a two-year lawsuit. Cassette tapes, lingerie, private letters and a brush full of hair are among the items, which were left by Madonna and her brother Christopher in Lutz's loft. 

Lutz justified her desire to sell the stuff as it follows: "Why shouldn't I be able to make money off of this? When did it become a sin to make money? 

Madonna, on the other hand, has stated: "Lutz has betrayed my trust in an outrageous effort to obtain my possessions without my knowledge or consent". 

Lutz wanted to sell the stuff to a museum and tried to involve Madonna in it but she did not agree: "Look at other artists. Prince didn't get it together. Michael Jackson didn't get it together. Neither of them expected to be exiting before they created their own legacy. I was trying to get Madonna to do that. But when you look at your legacy you are looking at your own mortality and that is something that most people don't want to do". 

To partly ruin the auction, Patrick Leonard apparently decided to make the content on the cassette tapes available for free on his official YouTube channel. I hope he at least asked her permission even if I think he did the right thing.

Now, let's review the real star of this hot mess....

(Photo by Arthur Elgort)

Angels With Dirty Faces: An uptempo track, it was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard in 1988. Lyrically, it tells about the intellectual and behavioral degradation that occurs when we surround ourselves with the wrong environment. Musically, it is highly reminiscent of Who's That Girl, which is probably why it wasn't included on Like a Prayer. 

The melody is classic 80's Madonna/Leonard and our diva's vocals particularly shine. It is obviously unfinished, it just needs a little bit more work to truly become a hit but the ingredients are all there. I've heard that an actual finished version exists but it was never released anywhere. 

I happen to think this song would have been amazing as a b-side or even as a promo single for The Bloodhounds of Broadway.

Love this demo. 

"Without the heart, there can be no understanding between the hand and the mind".