Fame Monster, The [Digipak] - Lady GaGa

...charts; her debut album The Fame went platinum and with the two number ones (Poker Face and Just Dance) it would seem that her unique brand of pop music infused with electro dance music was here to stay. With her insanely catchy music to her eccentric sense of style and equally eccentric personality it’s been impossible to ignore Lady Gaga this past year and now she’s back her new 8 track album The Fame Monster but is it any good?

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...a few ballads on The Fame so I’m glad that she’s realised her niche with this album and kept the ballads down to a bare minimum.

After the brilliant start to the album it seems to go downhill with Alejandro in which she starts the song speaking to her supposed lover ‘Alejandro’ the song is a mid-tempo dance number but I feel that this is a disappointment as it’s more annoying that catchy whereas her previous songs were just annoyingly ... more

Lady Gaga is a relatively new name in electro/pop music but you’ll struggle to find anyone that hasn’t heard of her these days. From her massive debut single Just Dance in 2008 it seems that Lady Gaga has ruled the charts; her debut album The Fame went platinum and with the two number ones (Poker Face and Just Dance) it would seem that her unique brand of pop music infused with electro dance music was here to stay. With her insanely catchy music to her eccentric sense of style and equally eccentric personality it’s been impossible to ignore Lady Gaga this past year and now she’s back her new 8 track album The Fame Monster but is it any good?

Track Listing

1) Bad Romance (4.55)
2) Alejandro (4.37)
3) Monster (4.09)
4) Speechless (4.30)
5) Dance In The Dark (4.48)
6) Telephone (3.40)
7) So Happy I Could Die (3.55)
8) Teeth (3.40)

The album begins on a definite high note with the first single to be released in Bad Romance. Bad Romance is without doubt the most instantly catchy tune on the album and is reminiscent of songs from her previous album The Fame. The songs chorus is ridiculously catchy and I’d hazard a guess and say that this chorus is to 2009 what Rihanna’s Disturbia was to 2008. This is bound to be a huge hit for the young singer with the huge beats thumping throughout behind her slinky voice that blends perfectly with this sort of music. Gaga is in her element when she’s singing big dance numbers, there were a few ballads on The Fame so I’m glad that she’s realised her niche with this album and kept the ballads down to a bare minimum.

After the brilliant start to the album it seems to go downhill with Alejandro in which she starts the song speaking to her supposed lover ‘Alejandro’ the song is a mid-tempo dance number but I feel that this is a disappointment as it’s more annoying that catchy whereas her previous songs were just annoyingly catchy! The chorus is instantly forgettable and this is a song that is likely to be forgotten pretty soon after listening to it. Unfortunately Gaga continues this disappointing phase with Speechless which sounds very similar to The Fame’s Brown Eyes. This is a slower tempo song that boarders on being a ballad. Unfortunately as aforementioned, ballads aren’t Lady Gaga’s forte and although this may appeal to some of her fans and it’s good to see her branching out but unfortunately this sort of music just doesn’t work in her favour and this is yet another track that I tend to skip when listening to this album.

Monster showcases Gaga back at her dance anthem best, this is a long way from being the best track on the album but it’s listenable compared with Alejandro and Speechless. This song has a little of Poker Face infused into with it’s repetitive nature, this isn’t however a bad thing as after a couple of listens you’ll find yourself quite enjoying this mid-tempo dance number that changes pace continuously throughout it’s 4 minute 9 second running time. The last song on the album Teeth falls into a similar bracket as Monster with it’s pacing however Teeth is possibly one of the most infectious songs I’ve heard all year. It has a stomping beat that doesn’t let up throughout the entire song as Gaga sings over them ranting ‘show me your teeth’. This showcases her eccentricity to perfection and is an excellent example of how Lady Gaga has a long career ahead of her if she continues to produce unique electro/pop music.

Dance In The Dark has more of a generic feel to it but that isn’t necessarily a downside, this song sounds very similar to a lot of dance tracks out there. You’d think that when Gaga’s voice appears it would set this song apart from the rest however this song sounds distinctly like her first hit Just Dance when the verses are being sung in her recognisable manner. To it’s credit this is a relatively catchy song but it’s similarity to other dance songs and indeed other Lady Gaga’s songs brings it down a little and I’d give this song 3 stars out of 5 at most.

Onto So Happy I Could Die; this for me is a highlight of the album. It’s not necessarily a dance anthem which you would expect but it’s a mid-tempo Euro-pop song which blends brilliantly into this album. The chorus is superb and the change in pace really captivates you into this song. The music during the chorus takes a backseat in favour of Gaga’s synthesised vocals which flirt with the music beautifully.

Then onto indisputably the best song on this pretty uneven album with guest vocals from none other than Beyonce. The song starts off slowly and my first thought was ‘oh no another ballad’ but this is an up-tempo, heavy dance tune which changes pace throughout between the versus, bridge and chorus. This is simply a fantastic song and if you only buy the album for one song buy it for this. Beyonce sounds superb and doesn’t belt out a tune like I was expecting, for anyone who owns her I am… Sasha Fierce album you’ll see the similarities in her vocals to the likes of Diva and Radio, both superb Beyonce songs. Beyonce definitely outshines Lady Gaga in this song with her strong yet subtle vocal ability. This song was a real surprise for me, given the subtle beginning when all we hear are a few chimes and Gaga’s relaxed vocals. This is set to be the second single and it’s easy to see why, I can’t praise this song enough.

All in all this is a very uneven album, a couple of songs (Telephone, Bad Romance) really stand out as great Gaga songs to rival the likes of Just Dance and Poker Face however the rest of the songs really don’t stand out and are very unmemorable. Upon listening to them they might seem like good songs (Teeth really stands out as a good tune) but then it’s simple forgettable nonsense and doesn’t do Lady Gaga any favours.

With only 8 tracks on the album Lady Gaga already had her work cut out for her with trying to win over her fans but with this lacklustre effort I can’t see why Gaga couldn’t spend more time in the studio maybe producing 12 or 13 superb tracks reminiscent of her first album and releasing it next year instead of working hard to produce a few superb tracks among mainly substandard tracks. Personally I feel that this album is a very lazy effort from Gaga and in no way does it measure up to the brilliance of The Fame. I’d say that you should download Telephone, Bad Romance and possibly So Happy I Could Die and leave the rest untouched because they really don’t deserve any credit.

Not recommended.

The album is available to download from iTunes for £7.99 which includes her previous album The Fame too.  

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