LADY GAGA
The Fame
(INTERSCOPE) A-

One of the most anticipated records of the year in popland is undoubtedly Lady Gaga’s “The Fame.”  And whether or not your find her intriguing, important, pretentious or just plain annoying, there’s no denying the fact this one little pop star has the kind of drive running through her veins that hasn’t been seen for a very long time.  I had the pleasure of chatting to her a couple of weeks ago (interview online after the weekend,) and, whilst I found her passion a little full on at times (for example, when she told me she may start to cry on the phone as we began talking about what’s changed in the American music scene over the years,) the fact that she was so strongly passionate about POP MUSIC really upped my respect levels for her.  This is a girl who has longevity in her eyes and, after listening to her debut several times through the week after it arrived on Monday, I have no doubt that longevity shall indeed be hers.  Provided she keeps her smarts about her, and releases the right singles from “The Fame.”  Interestingly, a number of the leaked tracks (”Disco Heaven” and “Dirty Ice Cream” which were early favourites of mine) don’t even appear on the finished released.  And yet, the record is STILL brimming with pop gold.

Album opener, The Gaga’s amazing debut single Just Dance, is a smart way to kick things off, with Lady inviting you to dance in a different context to the way she has been with the standalone single, a statement where she’s basically welcoming you by saying; it’s my album, let’s have a bit of fun together?  Come on, just dance.  It’s like her very own Into The Groove.  And that’s the first of several Madonna references I’ll be making…

Love Game opens with the classic line “let’s have some fun, this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick.”  Genius!  Heavy static-synths swizzle their way around which take that sound heard through the last Justine Timberlake album up a few more interesting levels.  The chorus quickly switches into extreme danceable pop, with a sassy-as-fuck middle 8.  Following the disco stick is Paparazzi, my first bona-fide favourite on the disc.  A bit of a stalker theme song, Gaga sings “I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me” over a deceivingly luscious chorus.  “Promise I’ll be kind, but I won’t stop until that boy is mine… chase you down until you love me.”  Not far off from bunny boiling really.

Beautiful, Dirty, Rich is, alongside one other song on the album, where the album loses marks and, as a result, is brought down from being a solid “A” record, to an “A-minus” one.  Whilst the song is by no means terrible, it overstays its welcome way before the 2 minute mark, is incredibly repetitive and one of two skippable humps on an otherwise remarkable album.  Caribbean fever erupts in the form of Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) which is yet another select favourite of mine on the record.  It’s also the biggest 80’s sounding track on “The Fame.”  That chorus sounds like it was created for a summers day full of smiles and long island iced tea’s.  The lyrics are simple, cute, and they absolutely work, work, work.  

I know muu felt Poker Face sounded a bit too much like Just Dance, but by god am I happy it’s on here.  Yes, it almost IS a carbon copy, but there’s something about the chorus of Poker Face which makes me think it’s just a little bit better than Just Dance.  I love the distortion through the verses, and the killer line (including her sharp delivery - something I also pin-pick in Madonna songs - which totally makes this song one of my favourites yet again) “Russian roulette is not the same without a gun, and baby when it’s love if it’s not rough it isn’t fun,” which COMPLETELY satisfies my musical senses.  Title track The Fame starts off with what sounds like minor influence from The Police, before a maraca makes itself known and a zippy chorus about being rich, famous, drinking champagne and all of that fun malarkey flutters about.

Money Honey is the second track on here which is a bit ropey.  All very same-same, and actually very boring.  The weakest moment on the record.  It’s a wonder a song like this made it onto the final pressing when songs like Disco Heaven and Dirty Ice Cream were left on the cutting room floor.  Gaga very quickly redeems herself with the piano-stomper Again Again, which comes complete with the heartbreaking line “I can’t have you, it isn’t fair… when you’re around, I lose myself, inside your mouth, you got brown eyes, like no one else,” which may only be heartbreaking for me, but it’s a personal connection I’ve made to the song and I’ll more than happily take it thanks.

Boys Boys Boys is not a Sabrina Solero cover, but IS just as fun come chorus time, and Summer Boy is the first time Lady Gaga sounds like someone other than herself; it’s VERY No Doubt/Glenn Stephanie.  Not a bad thing, but does come as a bit of a surprise.

The records biggest moment, though, is track 11: Brown Eyes.  WHOA.  Girl can whip out a ballad or what!!  I can picture this doing REALLY well in the American market (and here in Australia where we tend to enjoy a ballad) should it be released as a single.  That chorus is IMMENSE, and single-handedly solidifies Lady Gaga’s place in pop culture’s musical climate.  What a truly amazing, beautiful and precious song, and that last minute; wow, completely breathtaking.

Lady Gaga does not look like the kind of pop star that would find herself on the town with Paris Hilton, photographed high on coke without any panties on, or busted driving on the roads with a high blood alcohol reading.  It’s all very beneath her.  And maybe that’s another reason why there have been so many Gaga/Madonna comparisons made.  In that sense, they are very alike, and at the end of the day, I honestly believe that comes down to the level of drive they both house.  Gaga may have a very, very, VERY long road ahead of her before she reaches the legendary status of Madonna in the pop world, but if this debut is anything to go by, I’d go as far as saying that these comparisons are, overall, being fairly made.  After all, this may even be better than “Hard Candy.”

Watch this Gaga EPK for some of the best, incredibly pretentious but completely enjoyable, 5 minutes of your life.