'Born This Way' album released

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 8:38pm

I pretty much agree with the Rolling Stone rave, but I wish the production had gone a little easier on the high end, as it stands it can get harsh with that metallic bacon frying sound the plagued most recordings at the beginning of the CD era. Who knows, that could be exactly the retro sound they were going for.

I'm particularly fond of the Country Roads remix on the second disc of the Special Edition. I wonder if the song will get much play in the upcoming Pride month? And the Pride months of the next century?

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 8:42pm

I just downloaded it for 99 cents via Amazon. Figured it was a good test run to see if I actually like it. Apparently the download is the "clean" version...if it's good, then maybe I'll invest in the unedited one.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 9:07pm

I never even saw an unedited version of The Fame Monster. She's always a "free bit".

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 9:43pm

I never found the unedited version of the Fame Monster either. I can live with "free bit" rather than re-buying the entire CD.

I ordered the CD from Barnes & Noble bc I had a great coupon and free shipping as a member. I cant wait to get it.

[Raspberry]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 11:35pm

The Fame Monster was never released as an uncensored version on CD, only in the digital formats. As far as I know, the only songs affected are "Bad Romance," "Monster," and "Dance in the Dark." I ended up buying the explicit versions of those three track individually on Amazon, in addition to the CD I bought when I didn't know it was censored.

I probably wouldn't have cared as much if they just bleeped the whole word, but something about the half-words drove me insane. Hearing her rap "work it, move that bi--- crazy" over and over made me feel like I had an itch I could never scratch.

[Raspberry]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 11:45pm

Also, on topic... I love the new album; I basically haven't listened to anything else since it leaked a week ago. I liked the Rolling Stone review too, but I think the write-up from Slate is probably my favorite. Of all the reviews I've read, it gives maybe the best overall sense of the album.... plus I just agree with everything he says. Check it out if you haven't...

http://www.slate.com/id/2294985/?from=rss

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/23/11 at 11:54pm

Thanks for the heads up.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 12:36am

I love it. LOVE.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 12:47am

I bought it for 99 cents and I still wasn't able to download it. And I have downloaded plenty of mp3s on amazon.com

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 1:41am

Apparently Amazon is having a difficult time keeping up with the traffic. I am not sure what they were expecting.

[AnthVoice2010]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 9:23am

Madonna, who? I never could STAND that woman!

I love the new Gaga album and I love that Gaga believes the pop stars can never be too skinny...BRAVA!!

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 10:23am

I downloaded it when it leaked and I plan to buy the 2-disc edition when I have more money. Initially, I was head over heels about it. But upon further listening, that feeling has mellowed a bit and I think I agree more with the New York Magazine review.

For an album that comes on so grand and imposing, Born This Way is fascinatingly slapdash, like a great Brutalist building constructed from cocktail-napkin sketches instead of blueprints. The ideas topple over one another in excess; certain lyrics feel like raw first-draft blurts. There are a few moments where swimming in Gaga’s mind-vomit is exactly as pleasant as it sounds.

But this is precisely how she’s conquered pop, isn’t it? With a jumbled, expulsive approach to creativity, in which ideas and passions are machine-gunned without apology, self-censorship, or fussing over coherence? In which the lessons of personal liberation are adopted as the keys to art-making and pop? It’s odd, though: My favorite part of Born This Way doesn’t come when she’s rallying misfit fans or reveling in freedom. It’s in a song called “Scheisse” (German for merde) where she seems to be lamenting what women get when they try to wield power. It makes me wish I could fast-forward to the point in her career where it’s no longer interesting to just declare, celebrate, and write triumphalist hymns about freedom—to when it’s time to think about what, specifically, to do with it.

I really, really enjoy the album. There's not a single song I dislike, but definitely songs I like more than others. The harshness of the album does get a bit grating from time to time. But the thought I have most often is "I really want to see what she does with all this obvious talent a few years from now, because then she'll be a force to be reckoned with not just in terms of popularity, but musically as well." As it is, Born This Way just doesn't feel as "finished" as I think it should.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 10:38am

IMHO "You and I" and "Edge of Glory" are two of the best pop songs of the decade.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 10:48am

The Amazon download worked fine last night - but wholly poor planning batman. What did they expect?

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 2:27pm

My home computer is older than dirt but the download, once I got the Amazon Uploader and Downloader BS situated, worked perfectly. That was at 5 pm yesterday.

I've been playing it to death at work today...it's not rocket science, but it's some pretty awesome ear candy. And "The Edge of Glory" is pretty spectacular. But man, is Mutt Lange a one trick pony or what? "You and I" is a really good song but it's got that same damn drum thing as half his Dep Leppard and Shania Twain product.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 2:45pm

Honestly, the whole album is worth is for the genius that is "Government Hooker", "Sheisse", "Marry the Night", and "You and I".

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 4:06pm

Agreed Kad. Plus any album with a song called Highway Unicorn is an automatic purchase for me.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 5/24/11 at 6:57pm

My fave is "Bloody Mary".

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 12:03pm

I might have written this Village Voice review!

"Born’s hair-metal tendencies, for example, find Gaga taking on more abrasive textures via screeching guitars, grinding synths, and stomping drums. When these and other elements pulverize in unison, as they do during just about every chorus on the album, her sound becomes as impossible to process as her trajectory: Sometimes, it feels like the next logical progression for Gaga will be a record of white noise."


Lady Gaga's Fame Ball Rolls On

[MagicBubbles]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 12:21pm

I had some trouble downloading on Amazon because servers overloaded. In the end I really like the album. Wouldn't say im obsessed though. We'll see some songs can definitely grow on me after listening a couple times

[strummergirl]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 12:31pm

I was also surprised by how country "You and I" on the record sounded. That is going to take some getting used to.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 12:50pm

It's the Mutt Lang production, of course. I have a preference for the straight-ahead piano version from the live shows. The Country Roads version of Born this Way is a much better example of her playing in the C&W vernacular, in my opinion.

[thejcm]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 5:25pm

I agree about the live version of You and I over the studio version. The live version had that epic rock song feel to it and the studio version is just kind of...meh.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 5:42pm

The live version is Guns & Roses, the studio is glossed over with a Shania Twain filter.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 5/25/11 at 7:41pm

I like the live version better too. Seeing her do it in concert is what made me first love the song. I still love the album version though. And I prefer it to the Country Roads version of Born This Way. But I think that's because "Country Roads" reminds me of "Country Strong" which reminds me of Gwenyth Paltrow. Something I never want to be reminded of.