Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated album Born This Way—you know, the one she boldly decreed the “greatest album of the decade”?—dropped last week. But is it the best?
All the pomp and circumstance leading up to its debut (TV appearances on everything from the Grammys to Good Morning America, countless cover stories, and four—count ‘em, FOUR!—singles released) caused critic skepticism and fan frenzy. But the media’s eye remained on Mother Monster.
In just one week of sales following its May 23 release, 1.11 million copies of Born This Way were purchased, Nielsen SoundScan announced, making it one of the most commercially successful debuts in the tracking system’s history. Then there’s the title track (and lead single), which shattered records: It stayed No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, is the fastest-selling song on iTunes ever, and was even the 1,000th No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
No one can deny how impressive the numbers are. But the numbers don’t make Born This Way the top record of the next (or last?) 10 years, though—because it’s not.
The main problem with the disc (Gaga’s third in four years) is that it lacks cohesiveness, a stark contrast from her debut, The Fame—as well as its 2009 follow-up, The Fame Monster—which were concept albums in their own right (essentially the pros and cons of celebrity, respectively).
This time around, Gaga showcases the quirky, progressive pop for which we all know and love her. This is the stuff that can only be described as, well, gaga. Prime example: “Government Hooker.” It’s pure, electro-pop genius. I can assure you you’ve never heard anything like it, with its unusual beat and even more unusual lyrics (“Put your hands on me, John F. Kennedy”). Then there’s “Scheiße.” This driving-dance-song-meets-feminist-anthem features an unforgettable hook composed of German-laced gibberish. (Hey, singing a bunch of random syllables worked on “Bad Romance,” right?)
But there’s a heavy classic rock and ‘80s feel on the album, too. Two tunes, including third single “The Edge of Glory,” actually feature a sax solo by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s own Clarence Clemons. And BTW is chock-full of rock power ballads: One of them, “Yoü and I,” is singlehandedly the best song Gaga has ever released.
While the aesthetics differ from track to track, Born This Way has two recurring themes that, in their own way, unify the entire album and solidify it as classic Gaga:
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1. The girl has a message—other than bluffin’ with her muffin, riding a disco stick, and sharing her bad girl meat, that is—this time around: self-empowerment. BTW is riddled with liberating tracks, from the straight-talking (pun intended) title track to “Bad Kids,” which celebrates, well, bad kids. (“Degenerate young rebel and proud of it…I’m a bad kid.”)
2. And Gaga wouldn’t be Gaga without her over-the-top theatrics. With song titles like “Black Jesus + Amen Fashion” and “Highway Unicorn (Road to Love),” one can’t begin to image what she has planned for her next tour. I’m certainly expecting quite the spectacle out of “Americano”: Complete with mariachi band, West Side Story-style handclaps, and ringing gunshots, it could be better referred to as “Gaga Goes Broadway.” (Side note: It may be gayer than “Born This Way.”)
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Whether or not it’s the “greatest album of the decade,” Born This Way may be the record that establishes Gaga as the rock star she really is. It should go without saying that there’s more to the 25-year-old Italian girl than the garish get-ups and weird wigs.
She doesn’t lip-synch.
She's already generated 10 successful singles.
She wrote and co-produced every song on BTW.
She’s been touring nearly nonstop the past two and a half years.
Simply put, she’s talented.
