Tuesday, May 24, 2011

'Born This Way' by Lady GaGa Album Review

Having listened to the album a couple times through now I am happy to say that this is my favorite GaGa album thus far.  'The Fame' simply had too many duds on it, and, while 'The Fame monster' was incredible, it was just too short.  With 'Born This Way', GaGa has dabbled in the '90s, goth metal, and Eastern Europe electro pop to bring to us Little Monsters her most cohesive and intriguing album to date.

1. Marry the Night - 8/10

There could not have been a better way to start off the album.  'Marry the Night' is a classic GaGa song with the heavy synth pop beats that made her famous, but she adds just a tint of darkness to the song that makes it easily identifiable to this album.  I love the end of the song the most where she is just repeating the title accompanied by the hand claps. 

2. Born This Way - 6/10

I won't go too in depth with this since I've already done an entire blog post on the song.  It's a great song, but in terms of the overall album it gets lost very quickly.  It has nothing that distinguishes itself from the rest of the album and is simply one of the weaker songs.  Check it out HERE.

3. Government Hooker - 9/10

This is one of my favorite songs on the album.  The Gregorian chanting in the beginning is a little creepy at first, but after multiple times listening to it it is quite ingenious.  As you can guess from the title, GaGa is incorporating some of her political views in this song because she is talking about how corrupt the government is.  This is one of those things that really defines an artist.  When they can take political issues like this and weave them into a great song then they have done their job.  What I like most about this song is simply the beat.  It's just this ravenous, dark, brooding beat that makes my senses go bonkers.  This one will be on repeat for a long time. 

4. Judas - 7/10

'Judas' is till one of my favorite songs, but as with 'Born This Way', I just don't think it fits into the overall concept as well as it should.  Yes, it's got the crazy beats and GaGa's different voice stylings, but it doesn't have either that ominous dark beat or the '90s throwback vibe to it.  I love the song, but it doesn't flow well in the grand scheme of things.  Check it out HERE.

5. Americano - 10/10

Upon first listen I was totally thrown off by this one.  It was just so different and so out there that I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  After many listens I came to the conclusion that this is one of my top favorite songs on the album.  I love me some Spanish music, so to hear the mariachi infused with the signature GaGa beats, plus her distorted voice singing Americano really made a fantastic song.  It is definitely paying homage to Madonna because she loved to experiment with Spanish music.  I can already tell that the Born This Way Ball Tour will be very interesting...

6. Hair - 9/10

Again, I won't go into great detail, but this is the first real sampling of the '90s that we see on the album.  I think what I love most about the song is just the metaphor.  "I can be as free as my hair"  Check it out HERE.

7. Scheiße - 11/10

"I don't speak German, but I can if you like."  Hands down, my favorite song on the album.  I don't know if it's the incessant repeat of German, the insane beat or the fact that I used to live in Germany, but this song is absolutely incredible.  It is so unique and interesting that it is addicting.  I just don't know what to say about this one.  Let's just say it's indescribable.

8. Bloody Mary - 7/10

I must say, I was a little let down with this song.  I had read some reviews on it and it sounded incredible, but it was just very lackluster to me.  It's a great mid-tempo with a strong beat, but her voice is a little slur-y to me and I just got bored with it very quickly.  My favorite part of the song is the opening with the strings.  It reminded me a lot of Panic! At the Disco. 

9. Black Jesus + Amen Fashion - 7/10

This one was a little boring for my taste. Lyrically, I loved the message because it was about her growing up in New York City and trying to make it in the world, but the song just never went anywhere.  This is definitely just a filler track.

10. Bad Kids - 7/10

This is definitely an interesting song.  At first you're like "What in the world?" but then as it enters the traditional GaGa mode, you're like "Oh, OK, this is pretty good."  While it's nothing extraordinary, it's still a solid song.

11. Fashion of His Love - 8/10

This is one of the bonus tracks, but it is definitely not a "filler" song.  Many GaGa fans were upset that this was a bonus track because they simply didn't like it; I couldn't disagree more.  It sounds like a total '80s/Madonna type song, and her voice suits it perfectly.  Very reminiscent of the early Madonna, but GaGa-fied.

12. Highway Unicorn (Road to Love) - 9/10

This has to be one of my favorite songs on the album.  It's one of those huge, upbeat, uplifting songs that you just want to dance in your room to.  It's also got a great message "We can be strong, we can be strong, on this lonely road, on this road to love."  This is the track where the second half of the album starts gaining momentum to make a cataclysmic smash ending.

13. Heavy Metal Lover - 10/10

The beat on this one is simply amazing.  It is velvety smooth as the hard-hitting synth beat drives in the background, and GaGa croons "heavy metal lover" and her signature "oohs".  There's just something captivating about the song that makes you groove to it and it also intrigues your musical mind.  It's eerie but sexy at the same time.

14. Electric Chapel - 11/10

Just as with 'Scheiße', this song completely blew me away and made me a hardcore GaGa fan.  When the song begins it seems like it is an Evanescence song, but when the dark synth beats come in you know it's GaGa.  Everything about this song is simply orgasmic: her voice, the church bells, the suave beat, everything.  Just like a few other songs on the album this one is intriguing to say the least, and has made it's way into my Top 10 GaGa list. 

15. The Queen 8/10

When the song first stars you are being completely drawn in and it feels as if you are moving at hyper-speed.  The church bells add a great touch, but then I feel that the song looses some momentum.  It isn't anything outstanding like other songs on the album, and I can definitely see it as a filler track.

16. You and I - 7/10

This is one of GaGa's few piano ballads that she does, and I was a little underwhelmed.  I think this is simply a better song when performed live.  She has been performing it at the Monster Ball for a while now and I absolutely love the emotion she puts into it, but the studio version just doesn't cut it for me.  I actually wish there had been less production value to it, and it had been more piano driven like 'Speechless'.

17. The Edge of Glory - 10/10

Again, I won't delve into this one too much since I've already done it's review, but this is one of my favorite GaGa songs.  To me it's a perfect song, and does not have any faults.  This is one of GaGa's finest.  Check it out HERE.

Overall album score - 9/10

Notable tracks - 'Government Hooker', 'Scheiße', 'Heavy Metal Lover', 'Electric Chapel', and 'The Edge of Glory'

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