Spins: Album reviews

Lady Gaga – The Fame

Artist: Lady Gaga Title: The Fame Label: Cherry Tree Records Genre: Pop/Electronica/Hip-Hop New dance-pop princess and velvet mafia diva Lady Gaga is making it hard to choose between favorites in the Viacom/radio pop music royalty. 2008 gave us some of the best new acts like Katy Perry, who rocked the airwaves with her album One of the Boys, and upped the ante for up-and-comers Rihanna who made cameos in T.I.'s number-one “Live your Life” and then had her own chart topper with “Disturbia.” Most importantly, it gave us Lady Gaga via The Fame. The Fame is a go-go black light paradise, filled with contagious, plastic boogie and funky verse-chorus grooves one would expect in today’s music. The thing that wasn’t expected really, was its amazing track listing which is few and far between with today’s artists. Packed with glitter techno dance-fluff that will hypnotize every nightlife lover to the dance floor, transforming the masses into club zombies, this album is pop at its apex. Not bad for a new-comer, right?

Let’s start with the over-addictive smash-hit, “Just Dance” written by Alianue “Akon” Thiam, RedOne and Lady Gaga herself. With the slick haired Colby O’Donis making his cameo, it’s a stand alone from the album that only pop genius music executives could create. It works. With its disco ball automation fidgets and Gaga’s speak-singing ladytron glamour, the sexy musical triumph sores to new levels in pop. Interesting for a song that’s quite different from other Fame songs, which are more of piano rock/baroque-pop quality. Its hard-hitting, juiced-up speaker box bass during its magic chorus comes from the same polished craft that made “Distubia” and “American Boy” famed classics. Expect this song to make several best of Y2K dance mix play lists.

“LoveGame” is another catchy tune, but the club inspired dance-pop lyrics are very stereotypical of the rudimentary window-shopping schoolgirl tween genre. With lyrics like “Let’s have some fun, this beat is sick/ I wanna take a ride on your disco stick,” the song is all quirky beat and melody backbeat. Nevertheless, it’s a grand song and deserves a place as one of the stand-out tracks on this dance album. But then there are songs that sound recycled and unoriginal.

Ever get the sneaky suspicion what Gwen Stefani may have sounded like without the boys of No Doubt, had No Doubt not existed? Well, you’re in luck. When her 2005 hit album titled Love. Angel. Music. Baby. smashed American airwaves with the ever-popular “HollaBack Girl,” people knew Stefani was up to something big, with her 80’s dance-pop, electro-synth rock, psychedelic hip-hop and roller-disco tunes. Now, imagine her at 22 years old. The third track “Paparazzi,” on Lady Gaga’s debut is very much like a great homage to Stefani, with its easy-breezy-beautiful girly-girl harmony and party-it-up glamazon delivery. The clash of synths and piano are a nice effort on Gaga’s part and Stefani would be smitten (and at the same time, outraged) that Gaga found the missing piece between L.A.M.B. songs “The Real Thing” and “Serious.” Other songs like “Eh, Eh (There is nothing I can say)” and “Summer Boy” are obvious efforts of Gaga’s inspiration as well. The sassy bubblegum pop “Eh, Eh (There is nothing I can say)” sounds like a remixed 90s Ace of Base island pop machine that made “The Sign” an instantly recognizable club sensation. The same can be said about the beach bum fun-in-the-sun discotheque rocker “Summer Boy,” which sounds like the great Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” sequel with Gaga’s soft coos and sassy come-ons.

The album is definitely a refreshing turn by today’s standards, where smash hit music seems to have shot out of a haywire bubblegum machine that shoots and scores at its own discretion. But, the lyrics are what make and break the album. While its clear that Gaga and the boys are very talented at making great pop songs, there are no standout choruses or memorable lyrics, just creative story telling and computerization wizardry. Just listen to “Poker Face,” another catchy and in-your-face too-cool-for-school dance song. The metaphor in comparing relationships to card games is very clever, and the RedOne collaboration is golden, but with lyrics like “’Cause I’m bluffin’ with my muffin” it seems Gaga is just desperate for lyrical inspiration. “Brown eyes” is another favorite, with a grungy piano sound that resembles pop tart Katy Rose or Vanessa Carlton at their prime.

However, the album is one the best pop records of 2008 and with Lady Gaga’s impressive spirit; Gaga is another popular music icon in the making. But, what concerns this critic is, how will she top this record?

- Marcus Scott

www.myspace.com/ladygaga

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