Lady Gaga
Joanne
Interscope / Streamline
Release date: October 21, 2016
By Shawal Ras
Follow @shawalrasThree years ago, Gaga experienced a critical and commercial failure with her artsy fartsy project ARTPOP and since then, she is completely revived with a number one Grammy-winning jazz album with Tony Bennett, an Emmy-winning stint in American Horror Story, named Billboard's Woman of the Year, and proved the public that she's a real singer inside the extravagant costumes and meat dress with multiple performances in several televised events.
Today (October 21), she completed her career-defining comeback with what has been billed as her "most personal album yet", Joanne.
Rest assured, Little Monsters, the pop DNA is still there among the cheeky choruses, riffs, and bridges, but suppressed behind the rock-and-roll tune up provided by the Ronson and co. If I'm being honest, Joanne is rather a tame presentation, something that won't shock your grandmas once you hit the play button.
The LP opens with 'Diamond Heart', a rock stomping track about surviving rape and sexual abuse ("Some asshole broke me in / Wrecked all my innocence"). Her voice shines through in this stellar opener; it's rough and un-edited, sans the modern gimmick we last heard in The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, and ARTPOP.
'A-Yo', a rock-tinged second track changed the pace of the album. It's a danceable pop track thanks the the addictive handclap and Gaga is telling the world a New York gal can still do rodeo and be a stunner in her Daisy Dukes.
But the highlight of the album is 'John Wayne', a foot-stomping ode to the original cowboy and Oscar-winning actor. Pulsing beats and glitchy chorus made this song such a badass and a standout in Joanne. "I crave on a real wild man / I'm strung out on John Wayne!" she screams before the inaudible fuzzy chorus hits.
Another standout of the album is the tear-jerking ballad 'Million Reasons' that mimics the hits sung by the likes of Celine Dion, LeAnn Rimes, and Mariah Carey. It's a simple piano-driven track about heartache, and its charm lies in its lyrics, penned by Hillary Lindsey; "I bow down to pray / I try to make the worst seem better / Lord, show me the way," she pleads emotively over the masterclass melody. A sure hit if being given a proper release and promotional run.
Sombre final track 'Angel Down' closes the album, giving Lana Del Run a run for her money. It's a melancholy track serves as a dedication for Trayvon Martin who was shot to death in 2012. In an interview with Zane Lowe, the singer said; “I can only hope my voice and the lyrics will reach people. It’s also a complicated thing. I’m not an African American woman, so how do I speak about those things? It feels impossible; how can I not say something."
After listened through the album a few times repeatedly, I do agree with most critics; 'Perfect Illusion' seems like an odd choice as the lead single. As I said in my earlier review of the song, it's a hella good pop song but it'll never be a hit. Label interference, perhaps?
Looking through her discography and body of work, Joanne is perhaps Lady Gaga's most radical reinvention yet. After years of parading in ten-inch heels and extravagant fashion, the new era shocks everyone with its minimalism and fresh idea of the "real" version of Stefani. In my opinion, it's still a concept nonetheless, but in an understated and subtler manner.
Musically, despite it's tame presentation, this album seems to be the singer's most focused work to date; it is cohesive and filled with emotional despair, something that was alien to her previous solo album, ARTPOP.
Joanne may not be a commercial success, but it is surely a critical accomplishment, and Gaga has once again proved the world she's the true pop queen of the millennium.
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