A lot has been said about Lady Gaga over the past three years and pretty much everybody on the planet knows of and has an opinion of Ms. Gaga. When 'Just Dance' hit the dancefloors back in 2008, most people realised that a new star was born. Not many people would have realised just how big a star she would end up being.
Recently listed as the seventh most powerful woman in the world, she has sold more than 15 million albums and 50 million singles as well as being a fashion pioneer and a multi millionaire. All at the age of 25 and one album (plus cash in re-release).
However, she also has her critics. The infamous meat dress wasn't particularly loved and there are claims that she is simply a 'product' of the industry but the big question is can the music match the reputation of the machine that is Lady Gaga? Is the difficult second album her masterpiece? She recently described it as "the greatest album of the decade", so no pressure.
The opening track 'Marry The Night' is fantastic. As far as pop songs go, it is pretty much perfect. Ridiculously 80's - as most of the album is - it's catchy, it's epic and it's the best way to start off the biggest album of the year.
'Born This Way' is up next, the title track has been everywhere over the past few months and as pretty much everyone has pointed out, it's Madonna's lovechild. There's a trend starting with the 80's comparisons.
Next up is 'Government Hooker' and it's as mental as it sounds. Effectively four minutes of Gaga screaming hooker with the odd shout out of an ex president. It's even weirder than you'd imagine. We then have 'Judas', a song which you'll hate until the 10th time you hear it when you will start to hate yourself for loving it. The only way to describe it is that in the track, she advises you to wear an ear condom, take what you want from that.
'Americano' and 'Hair' are up next. Dodgy spanish is all over 'Americano' but the amazing chorus will stop you from buying her spanish lessons, however it's in 'Hair' where the album is at it's best. The saxophone turns up and an epic five minutes about her identity awaits us. The best song on the album, guaranteed to end up everywhere.
'SchiBe' starts off well with a minute of german (I'm going to assume she has recently hired a translator) and continues to be impressive but then unfortunately, the second half of the album is nowhere near as fantastic as the first. And it helps to answer the question of whether it is infact going to be the best album of the decade.
The next few tracks don't have much to them, the lyric quality seems to drop as does the music. 'Bad Kids' and 'Highway Unicorn (Road 2 Love)' aren't bad songs and would probably work as album tracks on some strange 1980's album but they don't work in one of the biggest albums of 2011. Compared to the rest, they're not really good enough. Although Meatloaf and Debbie Harry would be proud.
However, the quality of the album kicks in again with the last two tracks. 'U&I' and 'The Edge Of Glory' finish proceedings off with a couple of ballads. The first is about a relationship whereas the other is about a late grandfather, simple yet effective. The repeat button will be worn out after you have heard the latter - the vocals are truly fantastic, the lyrics even better and you really do see a different side to Gaga. She's not all about stadium filling cheese, she can also do this.
All in all, it is a very good album. The message of it is simple - you are who you are and considering the album will be mainly aimed at teenagers, that's pretty influential. There is enough in it to refrain from calling her a 'gimmick' and it has literally something for everybody. When the worst thing about an album is that some of it isn't 'epic' enough, then you know you're onto a winner.
I've already heard better albums this decade and I'm sure I'll hear more but at the moment it'll be in my top ten. Good effort, Gaga.
Album Rating: 8/10
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The opening track 'Marry The Night' is fantastic. As far as pop songs go, it is pretty much perfect. Ridiculously 80's - as most of the album is - it's catchy, it's epic and it's the best way to start off the biggest album of the year.
