OK... since I gave this album a listen and gave my initial thought, I'll review all of the standard tracks briefly:

• Marry the Night - definitely reminded me of La Bouche's "Be My Lover" and Snap!'s "Rhythm Is a Dancer". But the verses and choruses were disjointed. The ending part was the saving grace but that seems to be the case with MOST of the songs on the album.
• Born This Way - I definitely haven't warmed up to it. I get the message and Gaga gets props. I can see she's genuine about gay rights but the song itself seems to lose its message in the verses.
• Government Hooker - The ONE track a LOT of her fans were excited about. After hearing it, I can say the music is nice but the verses again are a distraction. I loved the bridge though. Otherwise, it's a meandering track to me.
• Judas - To me it's still horrid and non-listenable. I can get why some of you like it. I still don't.
• Americano - it struck me more like a Broadway number than anything else. That's all I can say about it. I like camp but this seemed like bad camp. Not the kind of camp you see in Hedwig and Rocky Horror but more like Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamboat or some shit.
• Hair - No. Just no. And Clarence Clemons was undervalued in this song... definitely an attempt to Springsteen her sound.
• Scheiße - Remember that SNL skit with Mike Meyers doing a song in faux-German? This is a mixture of that and Daft Punk's "Technologic", which is OK I guess.
• Bloody Mary - To me it's the better of the tracks though I admit it lacks a hook. Don't get the screaming part though but I guess it helps to accentuate its darkness.
• Bad Kids - This is definitely one of the worst songs on the album.
• Highway Unicorn - What is this? Poker Face meets Glee meets Bonnie Tyler's "I Need a Hero"???
• Heavy Metal Lover - I didn't dig it first listen but second listen it's real good actually.
• Electric Chapel - I love a lot of things about this song - the guitar intro and even the song itself is enjoyable. Even the guitar solo in the middle of it was real good.
• You & I - It's like Rascal Flatts meets Queen (I think the handclaps and Brian May's part in the song gave it away) meets Elton John but I love it. But the live version of it is better though. Too bad it's not like that
• The Edge of Glory - You know when I said I loved this of all the singles she put out? My love for it has dropped. It's still decent but definitely something amiss here. I did like the beginning and ending of this (with the beginning emulating heartbeats and the ending with Clarence's saxophone ending in a note that sounds like a flatline) and it's part-Donna Summer (the tonight yeah baby vocals), part-Celine Dion (that chorus), part-TGIF family sitcom themes, part-Bonnie Tyler/Laura Brannigan.

Overall the album is not close to being the best album of the 2010s (since this decade is still young) but I do give Gaga props for trying to branch out from her usual pop sound mixing '80s pop, rock, and even some country (You & I had some country influences to me) but maybe she should take more time next time in preparing an album.

The best songs:

• Bloody Mary
• Heavy Metal Lover
• Electric Chapel
• You & I

Okay songs:

• The Edge of Glory
• Scheiße
• Marry the Night

Definitely need more improvement songs:

• Government Hooker (but only because the song was all over the place, I liked that GOV-ERN-MENT HOOKAH part )
• Born This Way

Aw hell naw songs:

• Judas
• Americano
• Bad Kids
• Highway Unicorn
• Hair

[Edited 5/18/11 11:52am]

several listens in now, here's my take:

marry the night: i cringe everytime it starts, but those first few moments almost seem like tshe's pscyhing you out, trying to make you think this album is super-cheese. then it kicks in, and i like the song again. it's nothing spectacular, but it certainly sets the tone of this album. on its own, this song kind of bores me, but as part of the entire album, i think of it almost as an overture, and it works on that level.

born this way: i still think this track is one of the weakest on the album and not a good first single either. a good friend of mine is a longtime friend of stephanie's and played me an early version of her doing this as a ballad back before the single was released. i really still am of the opinion that it works better as a ballad, and if you need further proof, watch this:

gov't hooker: okay... i hate when prince talks about politics, and really winced hen i saw the title of the track for the same reason. fantastic artists that deal in the way the fuck out there usually do not mix with politics. i braced myself for a chem-trail like song... nothing of the sort, thank god. ulltimately just a grindy industrial song that is kind of senseless. interesting for a couple of listens, but seems like one i probably will skip over a lot when it comes up on shuffle.

judas: judas seems to take a lot of hate from people, but i rather like it. trippy little song and catchy as all hell, much like telephone. same lack of any kind of real meaning, just a great dance track about loving the bad boys. i honestly think it's one of the better songs on this album.

americano: the thing i most took from the album last night after two listens was the daring and coolness of this song. two full listens into the album it was my favorite, so i was curious to see what my morning after reaction would be like. i still love it. i think it's very clever, much more than alejandro. i also thinik it's going to provide her with a great chance to showcase dancers in her tour. this song was probably largely created for exactly that reason. people keep saying they feel it's very broadway, and i think this might be why. this seems like it was was written to provide the tour with a very cool dance number.

but it works as a song too. the catchy sing-along nature of the Ah-aha-ah-ahh's will really help sell this an a arena stomper as the dancers pasa doble.

hair: i honestly think this is par, but nothing more. i like the freedom aspect of it, but it just makes me think of the similarly themed musical hair. as a song it's fine, but nothing special.

Schiße: i love this track. it's catchy, clever, danceable, and high energy. this is gonna be huge in the clubs.

bloody mary: honestly, last night i didnt like it. i was so into the dance aspects of the album that i suddenly found myself face to face with this dreary little song. now that i've listened to it and really listened to the lyrics; i LOVE it. i honestly think this is one of the best cuts of the album. i really hope a video gets made, as this is some of her deepest songwriting. the lyrics still can be a bit trite, but the emotion and better lyrics really sold me.

bad kids: it's par, nothing more. just decent filler. likely to be the first i delete from the album to free up disk space.

highway unicorn: i dont really understand the title. it's an okay trck, better than bad kids, put probably just as much as a candidate for deletion

heavy metal lover: i didnt love it last night, but i sure do today. it's great as a dance track, great as a sex song, and has a nasty swagger about it that i love.

electric chapel: why hello, 80s hair band guitar intro. meet sub-par gaga song. get married, and have some filler children while you can before i delete the both of you. what's that? you wanna do a silly squeely guitar solo first? no.

you & i: i kind of like it. it's gaga country.it's different and i like the lyrics and story of this song.

the edge of glory: this song takes a lot of hate too. i have to say that cheese intro aside, i love it. i think it's a catchy upbeat song, and really good. while it not be the greatest song ever written: it makes me happy. it's uplifiting and empowering, which are exactly what it's striving to be.

Spinlight said:

Unholyalliance said:

The bonus tracks just leaked. I have to wait til I get home to get them though.

Where!?

They are all over tumblr. I gotta say though, they aren't very good.

(in track order)

best:

judas

americano

schiße

bloody mary

good:

hair

heavy metal lover

you & i

edge of glory

okay:

marry the night

gov't hooker

born this way

bad kids

highway unicorn

bad:

electric chapel

overall, a pretty good album.

[Edited 5/18/11 13:08pm]

I heard the album last night (including the 3 bonus tracks) and I think it's a solid effort from her. The ONLY song I don't really care for is "Hair". "Bloody Mary" which I think should be the next single, "You and I" and "The Edge of Glory" are my favorites

ViintageJunkiie said:

I heard the album last night (including the 3 bonus tracks) and I think it's a solid effort from her. The ONLY song I don't really care for is "Hair". "Bloody Mary" which I think should be the next single, "You and I" and "The Edge of Glory" are my favorites

EOG debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100.

Timmy84 said:

ViintageJunkiie said:

I heard the album last night (including the 3 bonus tracks) and I think it's a solid effort from her. The ONLY song I don't really care for is "Hair". "Bloody Mary" which I think should be the next single, "You and I" and "The Edge of Glory" are my favorites

EOG debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100.

U Go Gaga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

01. marry the night [7] nice start to the album, pretty good

02. born this way [4] still don't like it, horrible lyrics, the production irritates me

03. government hooker [7] would have been an 8, but don't like the male vox, cheesy

04. judas [4] screeching, and screeching, and some more screeching plus bad lyrics

05. americano [4] omg, here we go again, more screeching. to much, getting too old.

06. hair [6] mainly like the build up, which then doesn't really deliver, again dull lyrics

07. scheisse [6] nein mann, ich will noch nicht gehen. in fact, i do now. just ok.

08. bloody mary [7.5] contains the most interesting and well executed elements this far, nice vox

09. bad kids [4.5] some of the musical ideas are interesting but that's about it. urgh.

10. highway unicorn [5] by now i feel like every chorus on this disc sounds the same

11. heavy metal lover [7] good, solid album track, finally.

12. electric chappel [7] pretty good, except, the original 80s song was better, again

13. you and i [4] another magpie job, it's getting silly by now. are they all credited to others??

14. the edge of glory [7] sigh. same story. but the end result is at least nice.

the main problem is that every single track sound immediately like something else you've

heard before. mainly 80s tracks. it distracts a lot from listening to these tracks because i

kept thinking "oh wait, what song is this?" like "electric chappel" which is just a reworking

of "voyage voyage" by desirelles. there are miriad examples of it going on all over the cd.

i can dig the fact that you'd want to make a 'lost' 80s album when you grew up in the 80s

and enjoyed that music so much. but creating an album that sounds like the 80s with an

extravagant 00s technology production is one thing. hinging that album on bits and pieces

of other people's songs that are then woven into entire tracks (most of which feature an

incredibly jarring chorus, which sounds pretty much the same in every song) is another.

still, 6 songs that i like, not too bad. there's something to be said for her not taking the

easy route and making yet another fame/monster type album.

but this, to me anyway, feels like an 80s coverband, adding some of their own lyrics and

a producer du jour gravy to their favorit 80s songs.

i'll try to enjoy the tracks that i like and just wait until lady gaga actually releases another

gaga album.

IstenSzek said:

hinging that album on bits and pieces

of other people's songs that are then woven into entire tracks (most of which feature an

incredibly jarring chorus, which sounds pretty much the same in every song) is another.

Aka pop music.

Spinlight said:

Initial impressions:

Excellent: Born This Way, The Edge of Glory, Americano, Schiesse, Bad Kids, Heavy Metal Lover, Electric Chapel

Decent: Judas, Marry the Night, You And I

Just Alright: Hair, Government Hooker, Bloody Mary, Highway Unicorn

hmm... this is pretty much my exact breakdown as well, although I'd probably stick 'Judas' in Excellent and drop 'Marry the Night' and 'You and I' to Just Alright.

Overall I can tell i'm going to enjoy listening to it. Lots of fun pop/rock. Very retro/80s vibe, which is cool because i'm a huge 80s fan. Not particularly original, but it's not trying to be. I love the influences she cobbles together into a tasty package.

Timmy84 said:

OK... since I gave this album a listen and gave my initial thought, I'll review all of the standard tracks briefly:

• Marry the Night - definitely reminded me of La Bouche's "Be My Lover" and Snap!'s "Rhythm Is a Dancer". But the verses and choruses were disjointed. The ending part was the saving grace but that seems to be the case with MOST of the songs on the album.
• Born This Way - I definitely haven't warmed up to it. I get the message and Gaga gets props. I can see she's genuine about gay rights but the song itself seems to lose its message in the verses.
• Government Hooker - The ONE track a LOT of her fans were excited about. After hearing it, I can say the music is nice but the verses again are a distraction. I loved the bridge though. Otherwise, it's a meandering track to me.
• Judas - To me it's still horrid and non-listenable. I can get why some of you like it. I still don't.
• Americano - it struck me more like a Broadway number than anything else. That's all I can say about it. I like camp but this seemed like bad camp. Not the kind of camp you see in Hedwig and Rocky Horror but more like Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamboat or some shit.
• Hair - No. Just no. And Clarence Clemons was undervalued in this song... definitely an attempt to Springsteen her sound.
• Scheiße - Remember that SNL skit with Mike Meyers doing a song in faux-German? This is a mixture of that and Daft Punk's "Technologic", which is OK I guess.
• Bloody Mary - To me it's the better of the tracks though I admit it lacks a hook. Don't get the screaming part though but I guess it helps to accentuate its darkness.
• Bad Kids - This is definitely one of the worst songs on the album.
• Highway Unicorn - What is this? Poker Face meets Glee meets Bonnie Tyler's "I Need a Hero"???
• Heavy Metal Lover - I didn't dig it first listen but second listen it's real good actually.
• Electric Chapel - I love a lot of things about this song - the guitar intro and even the song itself is enjoyable. Even the guitar solo in the middle of it was real good.
• You & I - It's like Rascal Flatts meets Queen (I think the handclaps and Brian May's part in the song gave it away) meets Elton John but I love it. But the live version of it is better though. Too bad it's not like that
• The Edge of Glory - You know when I said I loved this of all the singles she put out? My love for it has dropped. It's still decent but definitely something amiss here. I did like the beginning and ending of this (with the beginning emulating heartbeats and the ending with Clarence's saxophone ending in a note that sounds like a flatline) and it's part-Donna Summer (the tonight yeah baby vocals), part-Celine Dion (that chorus), part-TGIF family sitcom themes, part-Bonnie Tyler/Laura Brannigan.

Overall the album is not close to being the best album of the 2010s (since this decade is still young) but I do give Gaga props for trying to branch out from her usual pop sound mixing '80s pop, rock, and even some country (You & I had some country influences to me) but maybe she should take more time next time in preparing an album.

The best songs:

• Bloody Mary
• Heavy Metal Lover
• Electric Chapel
• You & I

Okay songs:

• The Edge of Glory
• Scheiße
• Marry the Night

Definitely need more improvement songs:

• Government Hooker (but only because the song was all over the place, I liked that GOV-ERN-MENT HOOKAH part )
• Born This Way

Aw hell naw songs:

• Judas
• Americano
• Bad Kids
• Highway Unicorn
• Hair

[Edited 5/18/11 11:52am]

Nope I think the remix might have been a little better but that is a banger I don’t care as well as Scheiße

From the songs I heard the album is not bad just she hype it up and it has filler unlike TFM which was flawless. She could do better though

RKJCNE said:

Spinlight said:

Where!?

They are all over tumblr. I gotta say though, they aren't very good.

I’ll wait LOL

I wanted to love this but most of it sucks.

smoothcriminal12 said:

I wanted to love this but most of it sucks.

Do you even like this kind of music? At all?

Just watched part 2 of her FUSE interview with Tore, and that guy is in lurrrvvee with Gaga ! She is really well-spoken and intelligent for such a young woman. It's interesting hearing her speak on culture and politics, etc.

SEANMAN said:

Just watched part 2 of her FUSE interview with Tore, and that guy is in lurrrvvee with Gaga ! She is really well-spoken and intelligent for such a young woman. It's interesting hearing her speak on culture and politics, etc.

Sometimes. I often want to tune her out like I do most artists I stan for because I think their ideas are only half-baked. Artistic people exist in that grey area between plausible and absurd when it comes to their political views most of the time.

SEANMAN said:

Just watched part 2 of her FUSE interview with Tore, and that guy is in lurrrvvee with Gaga ! She is really well-spoken and intelligent for such a young woman. It's interesting hearing her speak on culture and politics, etc.

Lol he seems to laugh at her a lot so you sure about that.

babybugz said:

SEANMAN said:

Just watched part 2 of her FUSE interview with Tore, and that guy is in lurrrvvee with Gaga ! She is really well-spoken and intelligent for such a young woman. It's interesting hearing her speak on culture and politics, etc.

Lol he seems to laugh at her a lot so you sure about that.

Yeah, I'm definately sure. It's in his eyes, and that last "mmmhmmm" he delivered was proof he's Googoo for Gaga!

I like Government Hooker, Bloody Mary, Heavy Metal Lover, Americano, and You and I. Still not as strong as FM though...

[Edited 5/18/11 18:50pm]

SEANMAN said:

babybugz said:

Lol he seems to laugh at her a lot so you sure about that.

Yeah, I'm definately sure. It's in his eyes, and that last "mmmhmmm" he delivered was proof he's Googoo for Gaga!

. I didn’t see part 2 I saw it yesterday though he’s tickle by her really when she talks I laugh too she likes to hear herself talk at times.

Unholyalliance said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

I wanted to love this but most of it sucks.

Do you even like this kind of music? At all?

Depends on the mood I'm in and what the song is like, but I do enjoy it. Not nearly as much as other genres though.

So here's my opinion so far:

1. Marry The Night - Great start for the album. Club anthem that'll be overplayed to death. I can dig it. 7/10
2. Born This Way - A bit overplayed but still nice to hear. A good anthem for equality and whatever. I like it. 7/10
3. Government Hooker - EXCELLENT just because of the beat. The lyrics are crap, but I tend to tune those out . 8/10
4. Judas - Purely blasphemous but enjoyable only because of the hook. Otherwise: meh. 6/10.
5. Americano - Oh gosh. This song is horrid. I felt like someone was ripping out my ear drums, slowly but surely. I was hoping it would get better. But it didn't. 4/10
6. Hair - What kinda song is this? Stupidest lyrics ever. Annoying beat. Meaningless lyrics. 3/10
7. Schibe or whatever the heck its called - Love this song. Nevermind her inability to speak German, the beat is rocking and I love her vocals. Extremely catchy. 8/10.
8. Bloody Mary - Sounds far out but electronic as heck. Definitely one of the best. Love the dark twist. Very laid back. 9/10
9. Bad Kids - If this is what being a bad kid is like then I'd much rather be a nerd. I just cannot get with this one. Dull and boring. 3/10
10. Highway Unicorn (Road 2 Love) - To be honest, I am neither here nor there regarding this track. I never paid attention when it was on. It struck me as slightly boring. 5/10
11. Heavy Mental Lover - Love this song. The beat is nice, Gaga's vocals are far out. Just perfect. 9/10
12. Electric Chapel - It's ok. Not one of my favourites, but I like it. Like the guitar, not something you hear in many dance songs. Definitely innovative. 7/10
13. You And I - I like it. Good melody. Gaga's voice sounds good on this one. Definitely one of the better songs. 8/10
14. The Edge Of Glory - Sounds like pseudo-80's Europop to me. And I like it. 7/10.

The Good

Marry The Night

Born This Way

Government Hooker

Schibe

Bloody Mary

Heavy Mental Lover

Electric Chapel

You And I

The Edge Of Glory

The Meh

Judas

Highway Unicorn (Road 2 Love)

The Ugly

Americano

Hair

Bad Kids

Very, very underwhelming. I think my favourite track is 'Heavy Metal Lover', but I far from love it.

I won't write all my thoughts out again, but instead just lazily copy and paste my thoughts as I listened to it a couple of times and posted on facebook

I don't get it. I'm scratching my head here. What are your favourite tracks on it? I quite like Marry The Night. Born This Way I quite liked when I first heard it, but now it seems a bit dull. I like parts of Heavy Metal Lover, even though it reminds me a bit of Justin Bieber meets Utada Hikaru remixes. You and I is quite good. But how can you defend an absolutely nothing song like 'The Edge of Glory'? There are a bunch of those too. If the good tracks from The Fame were the starting five of a basketball team then a handful of songs from this album would be vying for being sixth man. There's nothing musically interesting here and it doesn't have strong hooks like her previous singles.

Gaga's 'Born This Way' album thinks it's Utada Hikaru's 'You Make Me Want To Be A Man' when it's just 'Boys, Boys, Boys' by Sabrina. So underwhelmed.

5.5/10

.

[Edited 5/18/11 18:46pm]

I heard this mashup last weekend in a club.

I think it's great.

Yes, it should be called Born on Wood!

"Don't be a drag, just be a queen. Just be a drag queen".

What do you think?

I'll wait until I can buy it

tritoncin said:

I heard this mashup last weekend in a club.

I think it's great.

Yes, it should be called Born on Wood!

"Don't be a drag, just be a queen. Just be a drag queen".

What do you think?

That is fucking awesome!

smoothcriminal12 said:

Born This Way - Horrid song that makes you want to rip your ear drums out. Waste of the ink and paper used to write the lyrics. 0/10

Your assessment of the album was perfect except for a minor mistake so I ftfy.

omg, I love this album!!

Bad Kids, Bloody Mary and Heavy Metal Lover are especially brilliant but I'm really enjoying the whole thing. Well done, Gaga, you got me worried for a minute.

Unholyalliance said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Born This Way - Horrid song that makes you want to rip your ear drums out. Waste of the ink and paper used to write the lyrics. 0/10

Your assessment of the album was perfect except for a minor mistake so I ftfy.

LOL! That was my first reaction to Born This Way but it eventually grew on me.

1. Marry The Night - An odd start turns into an instant favorite, I get giddy everytime I hear here sing "I'm gonna MARRY the night" 9/10
2. Born This Way - An Amazing single, and remains my favorite off the album. 10/10
3. Government Hooker - Sexy beat and I LOVE the lyrics, the male voice is brilliant and sexy too. 9/10
4. Judas - I still don't get how this didn't catch on, it's not her best but its hot! 8/10.
5. Americano - The hand claps are a bit cheesey, otherwise I love the feel of this song. 7/10
6. Hair - I don't really love anything about this song other than the pre-chorus 4/10
7. Schibe -Sexy beat, sexy german and fun trancy lyrics. 8/10.
8. Bloody Mary - FUCKING AMAZING a close second. 10/10
9. Bad Kids - I think people have been a bit harsh on this song, I don't love it, but its a nice change of pace. 6/10
10. Highway Unicorn (Road 2 Love) - No matter how many times I listen this song just doesn't catch my attention... 3/10
11. Heavy Metal Lover - Alot of people are picking this as a favorite, it's def a standout 9/10
12. Electric Chapel - Besides the guitar not much stands out to me. 6/10
13. You And I - Its change quite a bit since we first heard it, i think the new electronic touch sounds better live, but its good enough that I have to sing along. 7.5/10
14. The Edge Of Glory - NO. just no. 1/10.

Overall I give it a 7/10

Best

Bloody Mary

Born This Way

Marry The Night

Government Hooker

Worst

Highway Unicorn

Edge Of Glory

Verdict

Her ballads are never as strong as her dance songs, however her slow burning electro ballads like Bloody Mary and Heavy Metal Lover are top notch.

Still have to listen to the whole album, but damn, Government Hooker rocks!