Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What album was the song "Express Yourself" on?
"Express Yourself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna, from her fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989). It was released as the second single from the album on May 9, 1989 by Sire Records. The song was included on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection (1990), and Celebration (2009). "Express Yourself" was the first song that Madonna and producer Stephen Bray collaborated on for Like a Prayer. Written and produced by them, the song was a tribute to American funk and soul band Sly and the Family Stone. The main inspiration behind the song is female empowerment, urging women never to go for second-best and to always express their inner feelings.
After a small saxophone interlude, a break-down comes with Madonna singing in a fuller voice, as horns and percussion beats continue. Madonna changes the lyrics at the end to "express himself", and after another repetition of the bridge and the intermediate verse, the chorus comes where she changes the lyrics back to the original title. The song ends with the words "respect yourself" fading out.[4] Set within a simple song structure, "Express Yourself" plays with ambiguity through a subtle control of harmony and the avoidance of diatonic closure. The song appears to be in the key of G major but its actual composition seems to be written in the key of C major. But the first note of the melody, "don't" in B♭ major, implies the G Dorian mode.[9] This is also evident in Madonna's vocal nuance on the words "express yourself", which initially centers on G, before moving down a semitone to E minor, the raised 6th in G Dorian.[9] Per the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Co. Inc., "Express Yourself" is set in time signature of common time, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. Madonna's voice range spans from G3 to C5 with a chord progression of G–F/G–C–G.[10][10]
Express Yourself is a 2004 (see 2004 in music) album featuring a jazz trio, led by the Dutch jazz pianist and composer Erik van der Luijt.
"The ultimate thing behind the song is that if you don't express yourself, if you don't say what you want, then you're not going to get it. And in effect you are chained down by your inability to say what you feel or go after what you want. No matter how in control you think you are about sexuality in a relationship there is always the power struggle... always a certain amount of compromise. Of being beholden, if you love them. You do it because you choose to. No one put the chain around this neck but me. I wrote 'Express Yourself' to tell women around the world that pick and choose the best for yourself, before that chain around your neck, kills you instead. It's my take on how man can express what they want, the same prerogative should be there for a woman too."[8]
Some listeners have expressed dissatisfaction over the editing of songs for radio airplay, arguing that it compromises the artistic integrity of the original song, and encourage listeners to seek out alternative platforms that are not subject to such censorship, such as digital streaming. At the same time, edits are considered a necessary concession to receive the radio airplay that can influence a song's overall performance. N.W.A.'s debut album "Straight Outta Compton" (which had attracted controversy for its song "Fuck tha Police") contains a song entitled "Express Yourself", which criticizes radio censorship of music as inhibiting free expression, and also criticizes other rappers for releasing inoffensive songs without profanity in order to receive radio airplay. Despite its themes, "Express Yourself" is the only song on the album to not contain profanities.
The song was omitted from "Do It Yourself" in keeping with Dury's then policy of not including singles on albums: the song was not available again until the compilation album "Jukebox Dury". The song can be found in abundance today, not only on Dury compilations but on various punk, new wave and rock albums.
Silkk the Shocker recorded a version of the song on the N.W.A tribute album, "" that also was released as a single and had a promotional music video.
"Express Yourself" was released in the United Kingdom on June 3, 1989, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number ten, moving to its peak of number five the next week.[42] "Express Yourself" was the 20th best-selling song of 1989 in the UK, with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certifying it silver, for shipment of 200,000 copies of the single.[43] According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 209,000 copies there.[44] "Express Yourself" was Madonna's sixth number one single on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, reaching the top on July 1, 1989, and staying at number one for three weeks.[45] In Belgium, "Express Yourself" debuted at number 16 on the Ultratop chart on June 10, 1989, and reached a peak of number three.[46] In the Netherlands, "Express Yourself" debuted at number 27 on the Dutch Top 40, and reached a peak of five on July 1, 1989.[47] The song reached a peak of number three in Germany, where it remained for two weeks, before spending a total of 18 weeks on the chart.[48] On the Swiss Singles Chart, "Express Yourself" was one of the highest debuting song on the issued dated June 11, 1989. After seven weeks, the song reached the top of the chart for one week, becoming Madonna's third number-one single there.[49]
According to Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, the lyrics of "Express Yourself" make it a simple love song, with Madonna exhorting the women in her audience not to go for second-best, to express their feelings and get their men to express theirs.[4] Lucy O'Brien, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, described them as a "feminist call-to-arms", with Madonna dismissing the satin sheets and gold baubles of material pleasures.[11] Author Santiago Fouz-Hernández believed that the lyrics created identification with the gay community. When Madonna utters the line "Come on girls, do you believe in love?", she addressed both the gay male and the heterosexual female.[12] Subtexts are employed throughout the song, especially in the line "What you need is a big strong hand, to lift you to your higher ground", where the "big strong hand" is implied as one's own hand, and not the typical male helping hand.[13]
"Express Yourself" is a song by English musician Labrinth. Written by Labrinth and Charles Wright, it was released as the fourth single from his debut studio album, "Electronic Earth" on 7 May 2012. It interpolates "Express Yourself" by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, which was the same song sampled by N.W.A. in their 1988 song of the same name, and the famous drum break from James Brown's "Funky Drummer".
The song's vocals are primarily handled by Dr. Dre though an extended version features interludes from Ice Cube and MC Ren. The song samples Charles Wright & the Watts 103 Street Rhythm Band's hit, also titled "Express Yourself" (1971).
"Express Yourself" is an upbeat dance-pop song that features instrumentation from brass, hand claps and drum beats, while the chorus is backed by the sound of saxophone and percussion. The lyrics talk about rejecting material pleasures and only accepting the best for oneself; subtexts are employed throughout the song. "Express Yourself" received positive reviews from critics, who applauded the gender equality message of the song and complimented the song for being a hymn to freedom and encouragement to women and all oppressed minorities. Commercially, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Madonna's sixth number-one hit on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. It also reached the top of the singles charts in Canada, Italy and Switzerland, and the top five elsewhere.
In Australia, "Express Yourself" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 36 on June 4, 1989. After five weeks, the song reached a peak of number five on the chart, staying there for one week, before descending the chart.[39] It was present for a total of 19 weeks on the chart, and was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 35,000 copies of the single. At the year-end charts of ARIA, "Express Yourself" was the 28th best-selling Australian single of 1989.[40] In New Zealand, the song debuted at number five on the RIANZ Singles Chart, and reaching a peak of number two after three weeks. It was present for a total of 12 weeks on the chart.[41]
In the United States, "Express Yourself" was the highest debuting single at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, for the issue dated June 3, 1989, and after four weeks reached the top-ten of the chart, at number six.[28][29] It eventually peaked at number two, held at the runner-up spot for two weeks by the Simply Red song, "If You Don't Know Me by Now" and the next week by Martika's "Toy Soldiers".[30] "Express Yourself" was present for a total of 16 weeks on the Hot 100, and placed at number 55 on the year-end chart.[31] The song reached the top of the Dance Club Songs chart of Billboard, while on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart, it peaked outside the top-ten, at number 12.[32][33] "Express Yourself" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 1989, for shipment of 500,000copies of the single across United States.[34] In Canada, the song debuted at number82 on the RPM Singles Chart and reached the top in its ninth week.[35][36] It was present on the chart for 17 weeks and was the eighth best-selling Canadian single for 1989.[37][38]
"Express Yourself" is a song written by Charles Wright and performed by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. It was released in 1970 as the title song of their 1970 album, "Express Yourself", and is their signature song. It reached #12 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was also their biggest hit on the U.S. R&B chart, reaching #3.
The song received generally favorable reviews. "Taste of Country" contributors praised how the "understated" love song "takes a familiar experience and makes it sound very unique and very fresh," and "expresses how many feel as they begin to get over a broken relationship," noting that "It’s nice to have a song like this that doesn’t involve violence." 59.29% of readers of the country music blog voted "Keep It to Yourself" 5 stars out of 5. Daryl Addison of "Great American Country" called it one of the four best songs on the album, saying, "The songwriting is consistently superb while stories tend to take on different angles, as in, “Keep It to Yourself,” a deeply empathetic anti-love song where she’d really just rather be left alone in order to move on."
In 2012, she performed an excerpt of the song at the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show with Cee Lo Green and a large marching band.[90] That same year, "Express Yourself" was included on The MDNA Tour where it was given a majorette theme and was the opening song of the show's second segment titled Prophecy, where a mix of joyful songs that "bring people together" were performed.[91] Madonna appeared onstage and sang the song dressed in a white majorette uniform with ruby-red stripes and knee-high white boots designed by Miu Miu and twirled a baton; her female back-up dancers wore similar costumes in red .[92][93][94] Halfway through the song, Madonna sang the chorus of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", as the chord progression and melody of "Born This Way" was heavily compared to that of "Express Yourself" upon its release, many speculated that Madonna was "dissing" Gaga and the song. Towards the end of the performance Madonna also sang the chorus of her own song "She's Not Me" from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008).[95] Critics were positive towards the performance, Melissa Ruggieri from Access Atlanta felt that by singing the chorus of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" while performing "Express Yourself", Madonna was "proving how it swipes the same melody line, then twisted the knife in that perfectly Madonna way by adding the chorus of her own 'She's Not Me'".[96] The performance was included in the live album MDNA World Tour released on September 6, 2013[97] but the "Born This Way" sample was not credited in the album's liner notes.[98]
"Express Yourself" received mainly positive reviews from critics. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography called the song a "funky dance anthem" and reacted positively to its message of a "female call-to-arms in communication and self-respect."[14] Stephen Holden of The New York Times observed that Madonna repudiated the philosophy of her previous single "Material Girl" (1985) in "Express Yourself", which he described as "a 30-year-old's view of life unshadowed by rebellion and lingering lapsed Catholic pain."[3] In another article from the same newspaper, Carn James declared it as one of her most exuberant songs.[15] Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of Madonna's Drowned Worlds, complimented the lyrics of the song, and added that it apparently espouses "gender fluidity as a road to gender equality."[12] In his book Madonna As Postmodern Myth, journalist Georges Claude Guilbert described "Express Yourself" as a hymn to freedom, "an encouragement for all women and all oppressed minorities to resist, to express their ideas and their strength faced with tyranny."[16]
US 7" vinyl single[117] "Express Yourself" (7" Remix) – 4:30 "The Look of Love" (Album Version) – 4:00 US 12" vinyl single[118] "Express Yourself" (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57 "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49 "Express Yourself" (Local Mix) – 6:26 "The Look of Love" (Album Version) – 4:00 UK 3" CD single[119] "Express Yourself" (Non Stop Express Mix) – 7:57 "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49 German 12" vinyl maxi-single[120] "Express Yourself" (Non Stop Express Mix) – 7:57 "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49 Japanese 3" CD single[121] "Express Yourself" (Album Version) – 4:37 "The Look of Love" (Album Version) – 4:00 Japanese CD mini-album[122] "Like a Prayer" (12" Dance Mix) – 7:50 "Like a Prayer" (12" Extended Mix) – 7:21 "Like a Prayer" (Churchapella) – 6:05 "Like a Prayer" (12" Club Version) – 6:35 "Like a Prayer" (7" Remix Edit) – 5:41 "Express Yourself" (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57 "Express Yourself" (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49 "Express Yourself" (Local Mix) – 6:26
The Basque band Negu Gorriak released his cover version in their ultimate album Salam, Agur in 1996. This last album was only made of covers, "Express Yourself" is the last one, named "Adieraz zaitez" in Euskara
Professor Maury Dean wrote in his book Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia, that the main appeal of "Express Yourself" lay in its teen appeal, although he understood that at its core, it was addressing a very important issue of female liberation.[20] Kevin Phinney from Austin American-Statesman commented that with "Express Yourself", Madonna struck out her "Material Girl" persona, there by demonstrating once more that no image of hers is concrete.[21] Based on the lyrics of the song, Ken Blakely of Philadelphia Daily News declared the song as a rare example of good taste and good advice from Like a Prayer.[22] Andy Goldberg from The Jerusalem Post was impressed with Madonna's vocals on the song, complimenting the soul inlfluences.[23] Rolling Stone's J. D. Considine called "Express Yourself" an unabashed groove tune and felt that it seemed "smart and sassy, right down to Madonna's soul-style testimony on the intro: 'Come on, girls, do you believe in love?"[24] Don McCleese from Chicago Sun-Times declared the song as one of the highlights of the album, feeling that it would become anthemic.[25] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine while reviewing Like a Prayer, announced "Express Yourself" as the "most soulful performance" of Madonna's career. He added that the song "turned Madonna's 'Material Girl' image on its head, denouncing material things for a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t."[26] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic wrote that the song consisted of "deep funk" music.[27]
Kelly Clarkson performed "Express Yourself" on her first audition for the first season of singing television series American Idol. She went on to win the competition and built a successful music career.[101] The 1999 compilation album, Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 1, features a cover version by Information Society.[102] In 2010, the female leads of the Fox TV show Glee performed the song in the episode titled "The Power of Madonna". When the fictional character Will Schuester observes a cheer leading group in the episode performing a routine with stilts to Madonna's "Ray of Light", he is inspired to set a Madonna-themed assignment for the members of the fictional Glee club, New Directions. To this, the female members of the club perform "Express Yourself", much to the uneasiness of the male members. This version was released on the soundtrack album Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna, and reached number 132 on the UK Singles Chart.[103] Nearly 30 years after the "Like a Prayer" controversy, "Express Yourself" was featured in a Pepsi commercial for Super Bowl 50. Chad Stubbs, the VP marketing of Pepsi, explained the song choice, "It was within that album and era that we had worked with Madonna before."[104]
In the liner notes to the original album Glenn Frey wrote of the song "Here's the message, folks. You can't change the world but you can change yourself. Coach John Wooden said you shouldn't concern yourself with people's perception of you but rather concern yourself with your character which is the true measure of who and what you are. I buy that."
The album's most controversial track, "Fuck tha Police", was partly responsible for the fame of N.W.A as the "World's Most Dangerous Group", and it did not appear on the censored version of the album. The song "Gangsta Gangsta" talks about the danger and violence in South Central and Compton. "Express Yourself" speaks of the ideas of free expression and the constraints placed on performers by radio censorship. Every N.W.A member except DJ Yella recorded a solo song. MC Ren made his solo performance on two songs; "If It Ain't Ruff" and "Quiet on tha Set". Dr. Dre, who mostly produced rather than performed, did a solo effort on the single "Express Yourself". Ice Cube performed on "I Ain't tha 1". Eazy-E's only solo recording was a remix of the song "8 Ball", which appeared on N.W.A's previous album "N.W.A. and the Posse". The only guests on the album were Ruthless Records ghostwriter the D.O.C., who appeared on "Parental Discretion Iz Advised", rhyming the intro, and founding N.W.A member Arabian Prince, who contributed minor vocals on "Something 2 Dance 2".
Biographer Mary Cross noted in her book Madonna: A Biography, how the song paved the way for its music video and became a testament to freedom.[17] Authors Allen Metz and Carol Benson noted in their essays on Madonna, how she decimated "patriarchal, racist and capitalist constructions", by the way she pronounced the word "self" in "Express Yourself". They added that the opening line "Don't go for second best, baby" transformed the song into a postmodernist anthem.[18] Scholar Sheila Whiteley noted in her book Women and Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity, and Subjectivity, that Madonna's acknowledgement of the pastiche and of being capable of imitating musical style was interesting to her, but given Madonna's ability to manipulate image, the musical exuberance of "Express Yourself" did not appear surprising.[9] Mark Bego, author of Madonna: Blond Ambition declared that "the song that most reflected the Madonna everyone had come to know and be shocked by was 'Express Yourself'."[19] O'Brien was impressed with the song, and gave a detailed review: