It’s 12 years ago since Lady Gaga unleashed her debut single âJust Danceâ and gave the world a much-needed injection of weird and woozy synth-pop. She spent the following decade releasing some of our eraâs definitive songs, along with albums that demonstrated her chameleonic ability for reinvention. The glossy Gaga from her debut record, âThe Fameâ, mutated into a leather-studded glamazon for the industrial âBorn This Wayâ, who then took an LSD trip through Andy Warholâs Factory for âArtpopâ, before emerging as a beer-swilling rocker on âJoanneâ.
Her latest pivot appears to be an amalgam of this journey. Trailed earlier this year with the buoyant single âStupid Loveâ, Lady Gagaâs sixth full length album, âChromaticaâ, is nearly upon us.
Or at least it was before the current global pandemic. Gaga announced last month that the record would be postponed indefinitely while she put her time into trying to figure out how to help humanity, which â given the $35 million she has helped raised for coronavirus relief organisations in just one week â seems to have been the right call.
Still, with the album due later this year, what better time to revisit Lady Gagaâs discography. Put your paws up and join us on Mother Monsterâs musical journey…
âA Star is Bornâ (2018)
Lady Gaga purists might debate the inclusion of a soundtrack when considering her back catalogue. And, to be fair, they have an argument. Many of the tracks from âA Star is Bornâ donât feature Gaga at all, focusing instead on her co-star and director from the film, Bradley Cooper. Nevertheless, Gaga is a pedant, and given that there can be 100 people in a room and only one believes in you, you just know that sheâd want this soundtrack included. It does have its moments, too. âShallowâ, the filmâs musical centrepiece, is a soaring power ballad, while âHair Body Faceâ and âWhy Did You Do That?â, surely meant to be ironic, are actually fun bops. Itâs just all so tied to the film and its characters that thereâs no space for Lady Gaga the artist here.
‘Cheek to Cheek’ (2014)
Who would have guessed that Lady Gaga would have scooped a Grammy award for her collaborative album with Tony Bennett? Filled with jazz standards, this extreme pivot initially felt incongruous from the meat dress wearing weirdo who had strung herself up and pretended to bleed while performing at the VMAs. Surprisingly, though, itâs quite a pleasant listen. There’s a beautifully produced, cinematic version of David Bowieâs âNature Boyâ, while Gagaâs often under-appreciated vocals shine on jazz classics âEvâry Time We Say Goodbyeâ and âLush Lifeâ. Unfortunately, neither really detract from the fact that, at its heart, this is just an album of quite good jazz covers.
‘Joanne’ (2016)
Named after and inspired by her aunt Joanne Stefani Germanotta, who passed away before Gaga was born, âJoanneâ is Lady Gaga at her most bare-faced. It was a disappointment to many fans, who would have preferred souped up electronics to rootsy, âauthenticâ Americana. The songwriting is patchy, too, especially in the recordâs second half: âHey Girlâ featuring Florence Welch is a âBenny and the Jetsâ rehash, âCome to Mamaâ is a little too honkytonk for its own good and âGrigio Girlsâ lacks the comedic self-awareness it should probably have.
But there are glimmers of classic Gaga here. âDiamond Heartâ is, in this writerâs opinion, one of her best songs; the rootinâ-tootinâ âJohn Wayneâ is delivered with a punch and a wink; and âDancinâ in Circlesâ is a brilliant ode to masturbation. The problem is that, for the most part, it takes itself too seriously in its over-eager grab for âauthenticityâ.
‘The Fame’ (2008)
This is the album that made Lady Gaga a household name, thanks to the likes of âJust Danceâ, âPoker Faceâ and the supreme âPaparazziâ. But for all its significance, itâs also Lady Gagaâs most generic record. âEh Eh (Nothing I Can Say)â might have done tropical pop before tropical pop became a trend, but itâs cloyingly saccharine, while âStarstruckâ feels fairly rudimentary, especially when you compare it to something like âPaparazziâ. Likewise, the albumâs production, while fizzy at the time, has flattened with age, leaving songs such as âPaper Gangstaâ and âLoveGameâ struggling to keep up by todayâs standards. Thereâs charm in abundance, though, and from the underrated âI Like It Roughâ to the songwriting majesty of âBrown Eyesâ, Gaga certainly proved herself as a force to be reckoned with.
‘Artpop’ (2013)
The unruly wild child of Lady Gagaâs discography, âArtpopâ arrived at a crossroads in the singerâs career. After she injured herself while performing and was suffering from a severe case of overexposure, Gaga decided that rather than keep her fourth album subdued sheâd make the most in-your-face, experimental and batshit crazy record imaginable. Album opener âAuraâ is deranged, as are âMary Jane Hollandâ and âVenusâ (and the less said about the trap-influenced âJewels Nâ Drugsâ the better).
Still, thereâs so much to love amid the chaos: bisexual banger âSexxx Dreamsâ is God-tier pop, and âMANiCUREâ hints towards the trajectory that Gaga would go down with âJoanneâ. Thereâs a haunting quality to the albumâs title track, too, while âFashion!â is a clever and camp nod to David Bowie. Itâs all tied up by the rattling âApplauseâ, a perfect, stomping album closer.
‘Born This Way’ (2011)
Sitting at 17 tracks, Gagaâs second album may be a little bloated around the middle, but this is an album chockablock with things to say. The title track may not live up to its lofty ambitions of unity, but the rest of the album delivers. The industrial pounding of âJudasâ, âGovernment Hookerâ and âScheiĂeâ complement the grungy â80s roar âBad Kidsâ and âElectric Chapelâ. Meanwhile songs such as âMarry the Nightâ and âThe Edge of Gloryâ are power-pop in their truest form: glittering, exuberant and totally ridiculous, complete with either saxophones or bombastic outros. Thereâs even a song called âHighway Unicornâ (Road to Love)â, while âHeavy Metal Loveâ actually features the lyric âDirty pony I canât wait to hose you down.â Incredible.
‘The Fame Monster’ (2009)
Is there such a thing as a perfect album? Perhaps not, but Lady Gaga gave it a good go on âThe Fame Monsterâ. And, yes, this is a separate record in its own right â itâs much, much more than just a re-package of her debut album, and the additional eight tracks some of the slickest, most well-constructed pop songs of all time. âBad Romanceâ remains a bizarre and ambitious piece of work, borrowing as much from German techno as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and âAlejandroâ, with its nods to ABBA and Ace of Base, feels spritely and current, despite being a decade old. The only dip comes in the form of âTelephoneâ, which under-uses guest star BeyoncĂ©, and even that is a grade-A banger.
The majestic âDance in the Darkâ is the aural equivalent of glitter landing in a deep red puddle of blood and even the albumâs more conceptual moments, such as âTeethâ and âMonsterâ, are taut and impeccably executed. More than just flooding pop with weirdness, though, âThe Fame Monsterâ proved how intelligent, inventive and progressive the genre can be, and in the process confirmed Gaga as one of its most important and exciting figures.Â
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