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Review Summary: Gaga shows promise and progression, but she's not all the way there yet. Maturation, in musical terms, is a rather delicate thing. The end result of this maturation is somewhat unpredictable. The artist can either become a tedious monster or, on the flip side, an interesting creature that attracts its audience. Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster hinted at her undergoing this process from the get-go. I mean hell, an artist which such a transition in subject matter in this short amount of time has to grow up in some way, right? Well, Lady Gaga comes back to show us that, yes, she has undergone said process, subsequently releasing a far more enjoyable and adept album in the process.
“Bad Romance” shows the evolution in her music by way of lyrical content. Rather than commenting on the male genitalia, Ms. Gaga speaks out against sex slavery, even slipping into some French verbiage. The production value on this track is far less comical than that found on The Fame. This leads the listener to realize that Gaga is no longer your run-of-the-mill pop star. She has evolved from her fame days and is now showing true promise. “Speechless” is the best evidence of this evolution, as Gaga channels the eighties ballad inside everyone, and bursts out some emotional, albeit cliché, lyrics. And unlike “Telephone”, Gaga shows that she can not only possess musical talent, but she can intrigue the listener as well. Fortunately, this is not the only track to pique the listener's interest. The odd electronic bits and chants on “Bad Romance” satisfy the listener; the salsa-like chorus in “Alejandro” add dimension to an otherwise bland track, and the infectious, poppy rhythms on the album closer, “Teeth” augment a quaint spoken word. All of these aspects of her music are approached in a much more mature way now that she has undergone the aforementioned process. The charming growth she has experienced makes her music a more enjoyable, charming effort, but there are still the obvious faults.
As Lady Gaga becomes a more prominent figure in pop music, she also has attracted the attention of other mainstream artists. Case in point, Beyonce Knowles contributes her vocals to “Telephone”, arguably, the worst track on the EP. The saving grace of the song is the mediocre rap-stylings of Beyonce. This vocalization adds a much needed pizazz to this otherwise tedious track. Also, the album is still hindered by those cliché pop elements found on The Fame. This is true to her more radio-friendly past, but there are so many hooks on here that don't feel so run-of-the-mill. On “Bad Romance,” Gaga creates one of the most infectious bridges she has ever produced. On “Speechless”, the lounge vibe gnaws its way into your brain. It's the album's most original track, and this creativity is never contrived. More moments like these could easily boost the impact of this EP.
For every couple of fresh ideas Gaga produces here, there's another that reverts back to her earlier works. Therefore, the EP at hand feels less like a new take on her style, but rather a progression that signals a far better release in the near future. Hopefully my predictions are right, because with a little time, Gaga could create the pop opus of the decade.
| other reviews of this album |
dylantheairplane (3.5)
Just like The Fame but with better lyrics and a different message....
Blindsided (4)
Lady Gaga makes a good choice in not attempting to pair this great album with her previous subpar de...
Beauville88 (3.5)
After becoming more and more of a prominent figure in the pop scene, Lady Gaga returns with a strong...
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Write-ups rejoice.
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She has evolved from her fame days and is NO(w?) showing true promise.
Other than that nice review. Seems like you had something against her from the get-go though?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
Masturbation, in musical terms, is a very delicate thing
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Glad I'm not the only one who read it like that.
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Firstly, I had nothing against her from the get-go. I enjoy some of her tracks from The Fame, but it's really generic and not worth the hyperbolic praise it receives.
And masturbation is a very delicate thing; you could yank it too hard and wind up like Craig Owens, without a penis or a sense of self-confidence.
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She recorgnizes this as her sophomore album.
Then she's pretty lazy, if she couldn't wait to write 7 more tracks and release it separately
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Really? Her label wasn't too smart then, If they thought people would buy the same album again just for eight more songs.
I guess it works, though, because Eminem did the same thing with Relapse
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Find it and I'll change every EP to Lp/album. Till then, thou canst wait to be satisfied.
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Relapse is horrid. Eminem fell off the wagon.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
In the 70s and 80s eight track records were considered an album, however each song was hit whether it became a single or not. Now a days most records have 10 - 12 tracks to make up for a shortcoming.
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In the 70s and 80s eight track records were considered an album
I've noticed that. I'm always annoyed at albums only having like 11 tracks, when there could easily be 4 or so more, especially since B-sides sometimes exceed the quality of things that make the album
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I'll fix that tomorrow, but ffr, wiki is not the most reliable source.
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I never know where to look other than wikipedia anyway, and boy it grinds my gears when an article is a stub
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
http://www.interscope.com/artist/news/default.aspx?nid=23628&aid=599
"Says Lady Gaga, “In the midst of my creative journey composing The Fame Monster, there came an exciting revelation that this was in fact my sophomore album. I would not add, nor take away any songs from this EP, it is a complete conceptual and musical body of work that can stand on its own two feet. It doesn't need The Fame."
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
So it is technically an EP, but she, the artist, views it as a stand alone album.
I'd say it's still an EP.
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Now days, 8 tracks is still enough for a full album, but usually only if it's a prog-death epic or something, with 10 minute epics
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
That's true Asiatic667, the problem is that with a 13+ album each song has to stand on it's own and be memorable or else it'll start to feel like a chore listening to it.
As far as B-sides Kylie Minogue is a prime example to mention. Her B-sides from her last 2 records should've been included on the record to help make it more cohesive and tie in the lyrics, themes, and music together. Hell even Lady GaGa could've put Vanity, Rock Show, Fashion, Ka-Boom and maybe even Fooled Me Again on the original release of The Fame and created the the perfect pop album of the decade, but it's weighed down by (in my opinion) lame tracks like Eh Eh, I Like It Rough and Summerboy.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
LOL I said in my opinion it was a lame track, but it's ok if you like it
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Any idea why the title uses a crucifix for a t
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
If the only constitution for a defined EP to be called an album is the synergy between the tracks, then I can think of many EP's that should be called "albums."
Fall Be Kind comes to mind...
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