Today on the music roundup features none other than Mother Monster herself Lady Gaga as her second album, Born This Way is out Monday. Of course expectations are set very high for magic to strike again and Gaga has once again done it again. Even for an EP, The Fame Monster was proof that she is here to stay as the queen of pop music. We all thought she can't top herself after her breakthrough success of The Fame and yet she manages to prove those wrong and it is also the case with Born This Way. In a world where former pop princesses and pop stars that have been in the game for a while are having successful comebacks, the craziest chick still reigns supreme because she is still way more diverse than all the pop material out there now, which I'll explain why in a bit. In a nutshell, Lady Gaga's Born This Way is another modern pop classic and arguably my album of the year so far.
If you have been underwhelmed with the singles Gaga has put out so far like the title track, "Judas," and "The Edge of Glory," those concerns will be erased once you listen to the album from beginning to end. "Marry the Night" is a great start to get things going and then goes to the title track, which surprisingly she didn't begin with that at first. Gaga's crazy style of pop music definitely takes shape with personal favorites "Government Hooker," "Americano," (which sounds like the second coming of "Alejandro") and "SchiBe" (or "Schisse" if you're not German). Two of those songs I just mentioned are just examples that something only Gaga would do compared to other pop artists while "SchiBe" is her most "clubby" song in the album mixing in some German, which is something you don't hear every day. I just can't see anyone else even trying to take chances Gaga is doing with this album. The first half is just banger after banger as if this is same way The Fame Monster was momentum-wise. The second half, while not as fast-paced, manages to ride off that momentum well with "Bloody Mary," which is another well crafted song only Gaga would think of doing. It is hard to pick stinkers from the album as none of the tracks seems like filler to me, but I can see people not liking some songs in the second half such as "Bad Kids" and "Highway Unicorn" along with the singles she released. This is as multi-dimensional as it gets, which is expected coming from Mother Monster as diverse sounds and melodies are everywhere throughout the album mixing in pop, rock, electro, and house (Some tracks will be Rock Band DLC soon too!). Even instruments you never expect to hear a pop album are present here as the saxophone in "Hair" is an example. "You and I" and "The Edge of Glory" close out the album in fine fashion even though they're the closest things to ballads in the pop world. With the shape of pop music today, it is rare to listen a complete album and Gaga's latest does feels like one.
If I remember what I said back when I talked about The Fame Monster, whether you love or hate her, Lady Gaga is here to stay and with Born This Way being another multi-dimensional classic album. Of course, she has set new standards in the world of pop music with her crazy personality and creativity as other artists try too hard to go as crazy as her, yet they can't top the master. Even if they're some stinkers here, the good songs are just that amazing. Little Monsters better be proud of their mother as she has crafted something special once again. For other big name artists that still have anticipated albums coming out this year, it is going to be tough to top this album quality-wise. So don't be a drag and get this album!!!
Note - These are thoughts on the standard edition of the album. I haven't mentioned the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition yet, so this will updated with thoughts on those soon.
