Boytoons Magazine

If you’re like me, you’ve already bought Lady Gaga’s “Born this way” album.  Hell, you probably also bought every track released prior to the actual album on iTunes, and the proudly went out and bought the disc on May 23rd!  Odds are you’ve had it on repeat since you got it in your hot little hands.

I’ve let the songs soak in over the past couple of days, and I’ve come to the conclusion that while “Born this way” is an extremely solid, highly energetic concept record, it may not necessarily be the “album of the decade” as Gaga herself so boldly promised. But that’s perfectly okay. I don’t need the disc to be the best thing since sliced bread. I just need it to be a great album.  It is.  I’m undeniably hooked and quite taken by several tracks.

"Marry the Night" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

"Marry The Night" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

The disc opens with “Marry the Night”, which finds Gaga embracing her lot in life as the apparent new mistress of the nightlife.  The song begins quite softly, but quickly explodes into a chorus of synth-dance heavily laced with special effects.  This basically tells you that you’re in for a record that will make you feel as the though the sun will never be coming up again! And where pop-dance is concerned, that’s precisely the feeling you want to convey!

The by now all-too-familiar “Born this way” follows, and though the song has been played to death on nearly every pop radio station in like, the GALAXY, it still fills you with a feeling of pride and empowerment. Yes, there’ve been comparisons to Madonna’s “Express Yourself” (my all-time, absolute FAVE Madge song), but as a devout Madonna fan, I’m here to tell you that short of sharing a similar message, both songs stand nicely as their own entities, with “Born this Way” speaking a little more directly to several target audiences.

"Government Hooker" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

Fabulously filthy, “Government Hooker” drills itself into your brain with its electro-pop bleeps and robust bursts of radiation. You feel fabulously naughty just listening to the it. And then enter “Judas”, the track that has the über-religious folks tossing their cookies with their intolerant panties all up in a bunch. Maybe if they’d bothered to consider that the song is actually about how you can still love someone deeply, no matter how badly they’ve betrayed you, they’d reconsider their hateful slings and arrows. In a sense, “Judas” speaks to the most cherished of Christian values… forgiveness. Isn’t it said that “to forgive is divine”?

"Judas" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

"Americano" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

“Americano” is so completely addictive, and pardon me for saying so, highly caffeinated in the very best of ways. It’s one big hook that just doesn’t let you go. It is the perfect summer theme-song, while speaking on some very serious social issues.  Prepare to belt out the chorus at the top of your lungs. This track just demands that you sing along as loud as you possibly can! It’s that glorious!

It’s been touted as a “promo single” for the album, but “Hair” is a bit teeny-boppy for my taste. I can’t say that I dislike the track, it simply isn’t a favorite. It feels a bit less mature than it’s sisters, and that’s perfectly fine, except that I can take it or leave it. Maybe if I streaked my hair regularly I’d feel a deeper connection to the track?

"Sheibe" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

“I don’t speak German, but I can if you like…!” Maybe it shouldn’t, but that somehow seems like a kinky declaration to me. “Scheiße” is hooky enough, and pays homage to “Bad Romance” by way of spoken passage à-la “You know that I want you. You know that I need you…”.  I think this might well be the first hint of Gaga’s previous efforts to appear on “Born this way”.  It works quite well on this disc, even of the album feels like such a pronounced departure from “The Fame Monster”.

"Bloody Mary" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

This leads us to one of my favorite tracks on the disc. “Bloody Mary”, like many of her sisters contains yet more religiously-laced lyrics, but the song is absolutely lovely.  Its tempo is slightly less “high on crack” than most of the other tunes. It’s a welcome and beautifully melodic little piece of music that has a chorus laced with tender, dripping  sweetness and an “operatic choir overture-meets-Marilyn-Manson-screeching” that makes for a very potent and haunting mixture.

“Black Jesus † Amen Fashion” takes a lot of its inspiration from the 80’s.  The song might have been well at home in an episode of Miami Vice.  That’s actually a big part of its charm.  It’s deliciously retro and catchy.

"Fashion of His Love" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

“Bad Kids” is guilty of pandering to the teen audience that will undoubtedly eat this track up whole.  Here again we find a very effective hook that is pleasant enough on repeat.

Another stand-out track on the disc is “Fashion of his love”. It’s as though Gaga went into the studio humming Whitney Houston’s “I wanna dance with Somebody” and came out with this fiercely empowering and uplifting retro-tasting track.  Incidentally, the “Fernando Garibay Remix” which appears on disc 2 of the Deluxe Edition is nothing short of danceable perfection. Ironically, “Fashion of his love” is a bonus track, not available on the standard edition of the album.  That’s a real shame for fans who purchased the standard disc. This really is a wicked little song.

"Heavy Metal Lover" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

“Highway Unicorn (Road To Love)”, another glorious anthem-esque song which seems directly divined from the mid 80’s precedes “Heavy Metal Lover” which has the distinction of being my second favorite track from the disc.  I mean, come on!  How could you not LOVE this incredible track with its mature and calculatingly menacing  dance beats, and lyrics like “Dirty Pony, I can’t wait to hose you down”?  Gaga sings about watersports, and she fucking rocks it!!!  You must admit…  The Lady is NOT shy about exploring and exposing the underbelly of sexuality and its every fetish.  “Heavy Metal Lover” is complete ear candy.

"You and I" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

“Electric Chapel” and “the Queen”, both perfectly suitable songs that I have yet to become attached to, serve as interlude until “Yoü And I” comes on. The song feels so very cool-country, and honestly, I could see Shania Twain belting this one out.  The thing is we all have a little Country in us.  Gaga knows this.  This track is pure genius, and really hints at Gaga’s versatility and ability to play with her musical stylings.

"The Edge of Glory" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

Last but not least is “The Edge of Glory”, which has been touted as the record’s inadvertent third single. There’s nothing wrong with this track as far as dance anthems are concerned. It’s just that as potential singles go, I can’t help but feel that it’s quite simple in some ways. And yet, once again, it drips with 80’s stylings that immediately have me grooving to the hook. This one’s gonna grow on me… but once it’s there, it probably won’t let go easily!

I’d say my biggest disappointment with “Born this way” is its cover artwork.  The sleeve design is almost un-Gaga in its strange simplicity.  Gaga morphing into a motorcycle may speak to the almost “heavy metal-dance” vibe of some tracks, but hardly encompasses the entire flavor of the album.  I am going to make a stand here – a stand that may be very unpopular – but I must confess… I actually HATE the sleeve design for “Born this way”.  Is that Britney Spears on the cover, anyway?  Gaga is always SO MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED in her visual creativity.

"Born This Way" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

I’m pretty anal about my music, so I immediately took it upon myself to find artwork I actually DO like for the disc and its tracks before ripping the record into iTunes and onto my priddy orange Nano. I naturally turned to the FABULOUS fan site COVERLANDIA for some truly awesome fan-made album and song art, some of which I’ve included in this review.

"The Fame Monster" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

Overall, “Born this way” might not be “The Fame Monster” in its sheer hit potential – I mean “Bad Romance”, “Telephone” and “Alejandro” were pretty massively monstrous successes – but it remains a wonderfully listenable musical experience that packs a Hell of a wallop and that will absolutely propel Gaga even further.  It’s a terrific concept album and delivers all the way.

"Born This Way" Lady Gaga FAN COVER

With “Born this way” Gaga treats us to 14 tracks on the standard disc, and 22 on the deluxe edition.  Nowadays most pop artists can’t even be bothered to deliver a solid 10-track album — often peaking at 9 songs, tops. So Gaga’s official sophomore release seems pretty damn generous to me.  But you see, Gaga loves and respects her fans. That’s evident in her music and in how she delivers it. So I can forgive an album cover I’m not crazy about when the disc itself is such a heftily potent slab of musical meat.

My advice, skip the standard edition and reach directly for the wicked dextended edition. It’s only a few dollars more, but is a much more complete version of “Born This Way” and a major bang for your buck.

And to the religious fanatics who claim that Gaga is the Beast set to bring about the ruination of the world and mankind, I say shut yer bitching and start your dancing.

Enjoy!
Patrick Fillion! XOXO

"Born This Way" Lady Gaga FAN COVER