Review: Lady GaGa - The Fame

Beneath Lady GaGa's flamboyant exhibitionist personality, The Fame, might just have the makings of a dance floor burning album

Asif Khan

Lady GaGa - The Fame
Interscope
The score: ★★★

Artistes have a way of cultivating an image for themselves, which is supposed to act in conjunction with their brand of music, and allow growing space for the creation of a superstar package. And while some have been taciturn, most have been fairly flamboyant and unabashed in their revelling ambitions, with a distinct few bordering, and at times crossing over the picket fences of being termed downright bizarre. Surprisingly though, while the past couple of decades could boast of acts, which had been successful at developing larger-than-life surrounding paraphernalia, the past few years hadn’t quite been able to bring up anything that could be closely comparable in stature.

And though, we still might not have anyone remotely close to the theatrical opulence of Freddie Mercury or the distraught eccentricity of Frank Zappa, we surely are witnessing the rise of an act which, self admissibly, draws heavily from Andy Warhol’s Factory. Joanne Stefani Germanotta, better known by her stage name of Lady GaGa does bring back faint memories of such names as Candy Darling and Ultra Violet, owing more to the adoption of a stage name and the nature of burlesque exhibitionism, more than anything else. Which makes it rather more apt to call her an act, rather than identifying her in the singular, for her coterie within the Haus of GaGa is said to be behind creation of the entire orb of high end, in your face fashion, which by now is absolutely synonymous with her image of leaving no stone unturned in leaving her audience horny as hell during any of her stage shows.

Spotted by Akon fairly early for her knack of songwriting skills, and inducted onto his record label, Lady GaGa worked on combining the musical influences of her growing up years, the thick dance floor hook providing beats popular around the world today, and sex spiced imagery to create her debut album The Fame. There is a pronounced feeling of retro pop and rock throughout the album, which has been layered heavily upon resounding beats from the untiring efforts of drum machines, mix and mashed with psychedelic transports into the outer reaches of the stratosphere, and all of this shrink wrapped in sounds from a futuristic landscape to result in an orgy of sound, which echoes throughout a hedonistic sci-fi fantasy.

Evidence can be amply found on the lead single Just Dance, which doesn’t leave you with an option but to be seduced into following her instructions to boogie, and as if dancing wasn’t enough, she paves the way for a close one on one grind session by voicing thoughts of ‘riding your disco stick’ on Lovegame. When you are famous (and specially if the album is called The Fame), how can there be no mention of that absolutely fleetingly hollow phenomenon composed of being moneyed and good looking (Beautiful Dirty Rich, Money Honey), and being hounded by intrusive now-wanted-now-unwanted lensmen to carve out sleazy images in those glossy tabloids (Papparazzi), a feeling, which bares itself completely on the title track while making a slight departure from the musical setting, which established itself till now, by the introduction of a brief guitar line in its sections, with everything reaching a crescendo on the retro influenced Poker Face.

However, once you move on to the somewhat down tempo attempts at R&B assimilation on Again Again, the pop ballad-esque Brown Eyes and rock married Summerboy, there is slight sense of confusion, which creeps in regarding the direction the album was supposed to take. However, all this is put to rest on the ultimatum served on I Like it Rough, which makes you heave a relieved sigh, for the last track finally puts everything back in perspective again. Let’s just hope that the image in this case doesn’t outgrow the music it is supposed to accompany; however, considering the fact that Lady GaGa reportedly does feel a certain Ms. Hilton fit to be idolized, this doesn’t seem like a bleak possibility.
Download Poker Face, Just Dance

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