Flashback to the late summer of 2008 for a second.It was August 1st, to be more specific, when Lady Gaga acquired my interest with her balls-out crazy performance of her first single "Just Dance" on So You Think You Can Dance. I immediately fell in love with the track and quickly featured it in a Download of the Day post, along with the performance. In that post, I likened the fledgling pop star with her idol Madonna.
Despite the appropriate comparison, I never once considered that Gaga would become the musical tidal wave that she is today.
Two number one singles, five consecutive top five singles, and a blizzard of wacky, avante-garde costumes later, Lady Gaga has become one of pop music's most creative artists. She cemented that fact with the release of the music video for "Bad Romance", the lead single from her latest album, The Fame Monster. Originally meant to be a re-release of her debut album The Fame, financial concerns led to its downscale INto an extended play album, featuring only eight songs.
What an unintentionally genius move on her part.
The Fame Monster escapes the pitfalls of many pop albums these days; filler. Every song on this album is, at the least, great, with most of them being excellent. That is certainly a triumph, but it wasn't one attained easily. With each song, it is apparent that Gaga is taking some kind of risk, or, to take it further, facing a "fear". On lead single "Bad Romance", she growls, screams, and even sobs about wanting a dangerous relationship, throwing in some French lyrics for good measure. It sounds like a deranged mess, but Gaga delivers her most monumental hooks yet, which isn't even a line of words ("ra, ra, ra, ah, ah, ro, mah, roh, mah, mah, Gaga, ooh, la, la"). "Dance in the Dark" is a glittery 80's dance dream about loneliness and self-esteem, but things really get interesting when Gaga name-checks, among others, Princess Diana and JonBenet Ramsey, in her broken-down middle eight about tragic women.
"Telephone" sees Gaga team up with Beyonce for a fun, floor-filler about ignoring a nagging lover's call on the dancefloor. Despite the dangers that come with sharing the stage with one of pop's reigning queens, the two work well together and the song is one of Gaga's most radio-friendly so far. Completely opposite is "Teeth", the album's closer, a fusion of industrial and retro pop beneath lyrics about wanting nothing but sex. It is certainly her most experimental song, but it doesn't fall over the line of "unlistenable".
Gaga's experiments don't exclude her past work. "Monster", which references her first hit in the lyrics, borrows and successfully reworks elements of the verses from "Paparazzi". "Alejandro" and "So Happy I Could Die" follow in the vein of "Eh, Eh" with its Latin influences and laidback attitude, respectively. After lukewarm results with "Brown Eyes", Gaga tries balladry again with "Speechless", a touching, slightly glam-rock tribute to her ailing father. While its miles better than her last attempt at the slow tempo, "Speechless" lacks the kind of emotional vocal that would truly bring the lyrics to life.
With all said, there is enough evidence to support the claim that The Fame Monster is the best pop album of the year, and one of the best of the decade. Not only does it provide enough pop masterpieces to adorn a DJ's playlist for at least a year, it's a testament to the potential Lady Gaga possesses. It would be so easy to write her off as a weirdo who got lucky with her first album. After listening to this collection, making that assumption would be a mistake.
Prepare for a few decades more of jaw-dropping performances, outrageous costumes, and storming pop music; Gaga is here to stay.
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
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