Lady Gaga’s latest album “Joanne”, released on Oct. 21, is a deviation from her classic synth-pop sounds, featuring rock, pop and country tracks. Photo fair use of Billboard.
By MADDIE ROSE HALL – Opinions Editor
Lady Gaga’s latest album slows down to give audiences something genuine.
“Here we go,” Lady Gaga announces at the beginning of the second track, “A-YO”, on her new album “Joanne”. What follows, at least for this track, is a downbeat that would fit right in at a hoedown, clapping to match and powerful vocals twinged with — could it be? — a fake Southern accent. Here we go, indeed.
“Joanne”, Gaga’s fifth studio album, was released on Oct. 21. The album features 14 songs, including “Perfect Illusion”, which was released early on Sept. 9 debuting at No. 1 on the US iTunes chart.
Amongst all of the notable moments in Lady Gaga’s career, a list which includes a now-iconic dress made of raw meat and a Golden-globe winning role on “American Horror Story”, “Joanne” may be the most so. This is not due to the grandiose special effects or intriguingly grotesque visuals Gaga is known for, but rather, to the lack of these classic Gaga antics. If “Born this Way” and “The Fame Monster” are Lady Gaga, “Joanne” is Stefani Germanotta.
Compared to the rest of her work, “Joanne” is by far the most human. Its title track, which inspired the rest of the album, is a tribute to Gaga’s late aunt, Joanne Germanotta. It is acoustic and it is not what anyone expected.
It is what one would get if the music of Fleetwood Mac and classic westerns had a love child: twang and dreamy lullaby blended. “Hey, I can’t wait to cast my spell/which one you’ll never tell/got it covered, city gravy southern,” from “A-YO”, is one example.
It should be noted the entirety of the album is not acoustic. In fact, it is sort of a grab bag of “Gaga-tries-every-musical-genre-she-can-think-of”. “Dancin’ in Circles” sounds like the sequel to Gaga’s 2009 single Alejandro, while “Come to Mama” is reminiscent of a show tune and could fit right into a dramatic musical about New York City and showbiz. In “John Wayne”, Gaga proclaims her love for cowboys and “Perfect Illusion” is a haunting synth-pop anthem about broken hearts.
In short, this is an eclectic collection of music that sometimes works and sometimes does not.
“Joanne”’s wide range of musical styles show Gaga’s talent as a musician; she has an incredible voice and can use it in what seems like any type of song and her lyrics are powerful and emotional without being boring. However, not all musical experiments are successes and that is showcased in the more country songs on “Joanne”, which sound as if a modern pop star tried to translate the soundtrack of an old western into the present — which, it seems, isn’t far from what happened. The result is music that feels half-heartedly country, not wanting to fully commit to itself.
The songs in which the listener can hear Gaga’s conviction are far superior and her ability to express herself beautifully through music shines through in most of the songs on the album. There is “Perfect Illusion”, which is as close to classic Gaga as the album gets. There is “Hey Girl”, which has a mellow disco vibe that anyone would have a hard time not dancing — at least a little bit — to. There is the song “Joanne”, where a simple combination of Gaga’s voice, guitar and hand drums plead to a loved one not to go.
Although there are a few misses on “Joanne”, the gems shine bright enough so there is something for every Gaga fan out there and even some things for non-fans.
