Born This Way by Lady Gaga - Album Review

*Note: I have the deluxe version of the album. A few of the songs mentioned may only be available on that version.*

With Gaga, who has only released two major albums and achieved record-breaking success in only a matter of a few years, it's interesting to look at this, her third and extremely hyped-up album, and see what she has to offer. With an artist who is constantly reinventing herself, her image, and her music, it's intriguing to see what she is going to offer -- how she is going to continue being new and exciting without alienating the voice and sound that people fell in love with.

So let's see how it went.

With Born This Way being the first single, I was skeptical of how this album would hold up to The Fame and The Fame Monster, and it is one of the weaker tracks on the album. My initial listen of the full album left me unimpressed, but I knew that I would need a closer listen, and perhaps several of them, to form a full opinion. The overall feel of the album has much more rock influence than her previous work, and several tracks have some synth-pop and vocals reminiscent of the '80s, (specifically, Madonna), including Fashion of His Love, Government Hooker, and Bad Kids. Nearly all the songs sound very similar to me -- but only because the various influences throughout the album (the rock, the synth, and some occasionally rockabilly) are present throughout every single track. It's really kind of cool, feeling like you're hearing some brand-new Gaga as the song begins only for the chorus to kick in and switch to sounding like a classic '80s hit you've yet to here before. Still, every track definitely has telling Gaga imprints, both in the carryover from her prior works and some definitively new sounds (Americano is, by far, the most unique- and interesting-sounding track on the entire album -- and in a good way). Though it seems impossible for her to go without rhythmically repeating syllables in the chorus of every song, as has been evident in the past ("P-p-p-poker face", "Ale-Ale-jandro", "Judas, Judas, Juda-a-as", etc.), I'll let that slide. It's not every song, just several of them.

Lyrical hemes throughout this album include several mentions of whiskey, Jesus and various other types of religious imagery (ironically splattered alongside lyrics about sex and alcohol and all that fun, sinny stuff), and fashion. Initially, these lyrics seemed less interesting to me than her previous work -- but now that I've listened to the album numerous times (partially out of necessity to write a well-thought-out review and partially because, well, I really freaking like the CD), I would say they're definitely able to compare to her earlier songs, if not surpass them. I mean, you've got her coining gems such as "fame hooker prostitute wench" - Judas; "I want your whiskey mouth / all over my blonde south" - Heavy Metal Lover, and "Put your hands on me / John F. Kennedy" - Government Hooker. Not to mention possibly my favorite line from Heavy Metal Lover (and the album overall), "I could be your girl / but would you love me if / I ruled the world?"

Then there's those really sad songs (not by the emotion conveyed, but by the severely lacking lyrics thereof) that are still painfully catchy, like Hair (-- "I'm as free as my hair"?). I mean, it's got a nice message, "I just want to be myself / and I want you to love / me for who I am" -- but then she goes on in the next few lines -- "I just want to be myself / and I want you to know / that I am my hair." It has the feel of the anthem without the punch of an anthem, just a sad attempt at being revolutionary and freeing. I would definitely consider it the weakest track on the album, along with The Queen, although both have grown on me significantly since first listening to them.

You and I is the staple ballad of the album, but I personally find it a little lackluster compared to her previous work -- Brown Eyes from The Fame, which was fairly soft and simple but powerful, and Speechless from The Fame Monster, which packs an epic punch, and is one of my favorite, and arguably one of her best, songs. Regardless, You and I has the accessibility of Brown Eyes and the drama of Speechless, so it succeeds in being one of the highlights of the album, one that will get better each time you listen to it.

As far as the album's strong points go, it's pretty evenly spread. I consider the "best" songs to have solid lyrics, a catchy beat, and impressive vocals. Vocals are actually Gaga's strong point on the album, I feel; she has the talent to do interesting things with her voice, not just make infectiously catchy pop tunes with questionable content. Overall, I would say the strongest songs are Heavy Metal Lover, Judas, Edge of Glory, Marry the Night, and Americano. But I can fairly well break down the best songs in the aforementioned categories -- lyrics, beat, and vocals.

The Best: Lyrics
Bad Kids
Judas
Scheisse
Marry the Night
You and I

The Best: Beat*
Judas
Edge of Glory
Hair**
Government Hooker
Americano
Scheisse
Bad Kids

The Best: Vocals
Judas
Fashion of His Love
Electric Chapel
You and I
Bloody Mary
Highway Unicorn

*Nearly all of the songs are very catchy in some respect, but these are probably the best "radio-friendly" songs.
**Unfortunately, it's catchy as hell.
***Her vocal abilities aren't outwardly obvious in every song, but show up in spurts, and I'm not necessarily talking about reaching especially high notes or filling the bridge with runs, but more so about how interesting she makes the sound by use of her vocals -- this is done often in Judas, for example.