Lady Gaga

DISCOGRAPHY

The Fame (2008) 5/10

The Fame Monster (2009) 5/10

Born This Way (2011) 4/10

ARTPOP (2013) 3.5/10

w/ Tony Bennett: Cheek To Cheek (2014)

Joanne (2016) 4/10

   A third of her debut The Fame were catchy radio-hits (Just Dance, Lovegame, Paparazzi, Poker Face) and other tracks like The Fame, Money Honey, Summerboy, Paper Gangsta, and I Like It Rough were just as contagious. There is also the surprise of piano-rock in Brown Eyes, which is not really even a "good" song, but the sudden change of style is nonetheless refreshing. 

   But, as Madonna's weaker albums demonstrated, when Pop music as flamboyant as this falls flat, the failure stings three times over. Hence the filler stings like poison: Eh Eh, Starstruck, Beautiful Dirty Rich, Boys Boys Boys.

   Shorter and more theatrical, The Fame Monster marked Lady Gaga's fall into the "serious" dark-art scene when the music is clearly still intended for dance clubs. 

   The hits Bad Romance, Alejandro, and Telephone have the most infectious hooks. The album's remainder dawdles in sappy chamber/electropop "experiments" that were already performed decades before this record's release (the Prince-esque chant Teeth being the most embarrassing).

   And, like with The Fame's Brown Eyes, The Fame Monster also features another (poor) piano-rock number, Speechless. 

   Born This Way would be over an hour long with only two radio hits: Born This Way and You And I.