Lady Ga Ga, "The Fame Monster," Album Review

Lady Ga Ga's 2nd studio album entitled, "The Fame Monster," is a rather short collection (8 songs) that defines burlesque electronic music and one that captures a feeling of gloom as if looking outside on a cloudy day and expecting it to rain. Ga Ga's glam rock influences are felt throughout this album, offering a different darker feel than her pop friendly, "Fame," debut album.

The album starts off with the hit single, "Bad Romance," which is clearly the best song on the album and the clear attention getter as far as commercial sales are concerned. Track 4, "Speechless," takes a turn and through a different rhythm, constitutes a cabernet feel and I feel I need at least of couple shots of something hard while listening to it. (Something such as whiskey because I can't tolerate vodka).

The meat of this short album consists of 80's retro music that is not quite as easy to dance to as the first songs in her previous album were, but they are definitely infused with enough rhythm to keep the foot tapping. "Telephone," is a clear club theme followed by "So Happy I Could Die," which has a catchy melody and will probably be the 2nd successful single on this album following, "Bad Romance."

The last track is the most alternative track from the album. I must say I'm kinda creeped out from it after the first listen because of the mood it evokes, but after a few more times, the infectious drum loop gets in your head and isn't so bad. The trance like beat with Ga Ga repeating, "show me your teeth," isn't my kind of style, but it will appeal to those open-minded fans looking for something different.

Positives

Ga Ga successfully instills a sense of style in this album that is definitely unique.

The type of rhythms and styles portrayed throughout the songs has European flavor written all over them so the album should do moderately well in the U.S., but I see it being more popular overseas.

Negatives

The album is rather short, consisting of only 8 songs for a total of just over 34 minutes.

With such a successful first album, it's a disappointment that such a well anticipated 2nd album will fall short of expectations with fans.

Summary

The latest album by Glam superstar Lady Ga Ga is a saturated collection of 80's influenced songs with a burlesque type feel that individually displays Ga Ga's unique sense of style. The album has a clear darker feel and actually produces an overall sadness after listening to the album through.

Her 1st album is much more radio friendly and poppy. This 2nd album will do well because of the success of "The Fame," but success will not follow as there is nothing special with the tracks.

The current trend in music is obviously electro rock with techno synth laced grooves. This is a perfect time for one Lady Ga Ga because electronic music seems to be her forte and is what she does best. Open about her bi-sexual orientation, she has become somewhat of a leader in the gay community and look for her to progress in this niche as we move forward. I fully believe this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the creativity we've seen from her and expect a much bigger and better 3rd album as we move forward. This album gets a 3 out of 5.

Lady Ga Ga - The Fame Monster - 3/5

Copyright 2009 Dan Rozak