It’s a shame that Lady Gaga’s debut album was released in late October: this is a perfect summer album. Sounding like a combination of Gwen Stefani (without the annoying vocal tics and posturing) and Fergie (without the seriousness and inflated sense of self-importance), Gaga has produced an album full of infectious, slick electro-pop rich with hooks and attitude.
A strong mix of pop, R&B;, rap, disco, and techno, The Fame is both of the moment and an ode to a more carefree era. Gaga mixes her modern sensibilities with vintage synth and drum sounds and a distinctly New Wave sense of style and purpose. Gaga’s strong voice and distinctive musical palate are often powerful enough to make her lyrics, which sometimes border on the ridiculously literal, flow through the ears easily. While most of the songs lack any subtext or hidden meaning, they’re still a stronger set of tracks than can be found on most pop-oriented albums.
Lead single “Just Dance” is an immediate crowd-pleaser, a song that hits your brain and stays there for quite a while. Tracks like “Poker Face”, “The Fame”, and “I Like It Rough” are a perfect balance between pop and techno. But Gaga is not all about the dance-floor, as is proved by effective electro-ballads like “Paparazzi” and “Eh Eh (Nothing More I Can Say).” Gaga falters when she tries too hard to be soulful, such as the not-as-good-as-it-should-have-been “Brown Eyes” or the schizophrenic “Boys Boys Boys”, which sounds like two tracks hastily mashed together. But the highlight is perhaps the darkest track, “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich”, a delicious slice of alt-pop.
Anyone who enjoys out-of-the-ordinary pop music or just a great dance album should definitely end up checking out Lady Gaga. With any luck, this album will still be in heavy rotation next summer. 8 out of 10.
I haven’t bought the CD yet, but I’m planning to. (even though GaGa’s attitude has been really off-putting to me as of late…hehe) My favorite from everything I’ve heard online so far is ‘Poker Face.’ I really like that one. I think it’s creative.
Anyhow, the full sales numbers haven’t come in yet, but so far she looks to be flopping in the US. She’s probably going to be bigger overseas right off-the-bat, though initial opening numbers can be a bit deceiving. She may have longevity.
What’s really funny about Gaga’s album is that it sounds a lot like a bigger-budget version of an album done by a friend of mine, Lolly Pop, who’s a Minneapolis-based dance-pop singer. Same type of attitude and vocal, same subject matter, just better produced and more expansive. I didn’t like Gaga at first, but the more I listen to it, the more I really dig it.
You’re right, though: she’ll be way bigger overseas than she ever will here.
What’s really funny about Gaga’s album is that it sounds a lot like a bigger-budget version of an album done by a friend of mine, Lolly Pop, who’s a Minneapolis-based dance-pop singer. Same type of attitude and vocal, same subject matter, just better produced and more expansive. I didn’t like Gaga at first, but the more I listen to it, the more I really dig it.
You’re right, though: she’ll be way bigger overseas than she ever will here.
Does your friend have a Myspace or anything where I can listen to her music?
Yeah, I’m the same.— The more I listen to her tracks, the more I’m loving her style. The off-putting thing to me though, is the whole Christina issue with the hair and GaGa’s recent commentary about it…
She’s been ultra nice when asked about Christina, but in more recent interviews she’s been kind of taking the credit as being the inspiration, whereas before she was saying something completely different. You know, kind of getting full of herself and all… LOL
Plus, on one of Christina’s official videos, there was a sponsored link from Lady GaGa’s camp, directing folks to purchase her CD, with a description that’s trying to cash in on the whole thing. I’m sure Christina and her team approved it…but still.
I think Christina is helping her to get more noticed.
She’s also on iTunes. If you like Lady GaGa, I would check out the tracks “Everybody Loves Dancing”, “Glamorous Life”, “The Chauffer”, and “Elevator Operator.”
She’s also on iTunes. If you like Lady GaGa, I would check out the tracks “Everybody Loves Dancing”, “Glamorous Life”, “The Chauffer”, and “Elevator Operator.”
Thanks. Will do.
Oh—And Lady GaGa did approx. 23,000 copies in the US.
I love this album. The only song that I don’t like to listen to is “Brown Eyes”. There’s a lot of really good stuff on this album, and I hope Lady Gaga has a great career.
Ever since her song hit #1 on iTunes, her album sales have really picked up. Of course the Christina hair ‘Scandal’ helped get her noticed too, which GaGa acknowledges in some interviews.
One song that cracks me up on there is “Money Honey”
I love this album. The only song that I don’t like to listen to is “Brown Eyes”. There’s a lot of really good stuff on this album, and I hope Lady Gaga has a great career.
“Brown Eyes” isn’t a bad song, but it’s certainly the weakest. From a construction standpoint, it’s great. It’s well-written, arranged, and produced. The fault of it lies completely in Gaga’s vocal performance. She’s trying too hard to pull off some kind of “Pink does a soulful rock ballad” thing that’s completely outside of her persona’s comfort zone. A good friend of mine is a local dance artist named Lolly Pop who has a similar style and similar vocal, which is why her ballads are all still very much electro.
Personally, my favorite song on the album is “Beautiful Dirty Rich”, although I’m really getting into “Poker Face” these days. I plan on spinning the Jody den Broeder remix of it at the next show I DJ at.
