I am second to none in dissing Lady Gaga, I have ragged on the woman maliciously and incessantly since the single "Born This Way" was released and reached its zenith of horror in her atrocious performance at the Prudential Center.
But then something weird happened on my way to bury Stefani not to praise her: "Edge Of Glory" was pretty good, so was "Hair". And her performance on SNL was nothing but fun.
And the album? Once you hear "Born this Way" as an album, it all makes much more sense.
A very, very good pop album with hits (minor hits? maybe but) galore, a sense of proportion at odds with her persona, and a remarkably consistent hit to your brain releasing gushes of dopamine.
the main complaint here is that it is more of the same without hitting the heights of "Paparazzi" and maybe that's true, but if Lady gaga hadn't sold it as the second coming of Judas, it would have been enough as it is. A sophomore album, a treading water, but a consistent buzz that sustains pleasure from one end to the other and includes two or three welcome additions to the Lady Gaga song book.
So no it's not Like A Virgin, certainly not Like A Prayer. but it isn't a disaster, it isn't the end of the run, and it will be thought of fondly three months from now. grade: A-