All of Lady Gaga’s Albums Reviewed
While it is a little early in her career to be doing this (twelve years and counting), I was so taken with her latest I figure it is worth tracking down the others and listening again… in chronological order
The Fame (2008) – framed by pure disco concoctions that arrive fully formed for the dancefloor, but anchored by “Paparazzi” and “Poker Face” until it reaches disco heaven – A
The Fame Monster (Deluxe) (2009) – adds “Telephone,” adds “Bad Romance” and adds that which is pop art and an open door to the modern world of women in pop today, sure, it pissed Madonna off and owes her, but it doesn’t owe her everything and the album stands as a continuation and a holding action and the little monsters understand – A+
Born This Way (Special Edition) (2011) – here is where Lady Gaga meets her little monsters and joins them in their otherness, including sexually. Meanwhile “The Edge Of Glory” found Gaga straining at the limitations of her sound – A
ARTPOP (2013) – this fails as an album but it isn’t an abject failure, rather it is an ambitious mistep with so many thrilling art meets pop moments that you try and look past them and into something else… if you managed to catch the tour (here) – A-
Cheek To Cheek – Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga (2014) – I’ll give em this, Gaga sings well and the songs are classics and Tony is Tony, but talk about an exercise in irrelevance. Still, the Radio City Music Hall gig was fun with or without the album (here) – B
Joanne (Deluxe) (2016) – The kneejerk is Lady Gaga goes Americana (that cowboy hat she is wearing on the cover helps), it remains something of a flop though she saved “Million Reasons” from the slagheep at the Superbowl – C+
A Star Is Born Soundtrack (2018) – Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper – Make sure you hear the one with the dialogue so you can relive the entire horror of this unspeakable work of faux American history of pop, “Shallow” is a personal worse for Mark Ronson and Lady Gaga – D+
Chromatica (2020) – straight ahead dance album from disco to EDM and ending with Art pop as defined in 2020 – A-
