Lady Gaga’s fifth studio album Joanne experiments with new genres and more personal lyrics; it is a good mix of her traditional power pop and slower ballads that emphasise her vocal talent.
After the mediocrity of ArtPop in 2013, Gaga had decided to halt her singing career, only to come back with her jazz collaboration with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek, in 2014 as a way of proving that yes, she can sing.
Joanne promised to show us something different. The album was produced by Gaga herself and Mark Ronson; the two of them also co-wrote all the songs on the record except for “Angel Down” which was a collaboration between Gaga and RedOne.
Although the first single, ‘Perfect Illusion’ — possibly about her recent break-up with ex-fiancé Taylor Kinney — didn’t make number one in the UK or US, it’s still awfully catchy and less autotuned than her previous singles, showcasing her powerful contralto.
Despite dealing with heartbreak and being, lyrically, melancholic (I still feel the blow / But at least now I know / It wasn’t love) the upbeat power-pop/rock proves she is stronger now than ever.
The album has a solid opening with ‘Diamond Heart’, hinting at her musical evolution by starting with subtle guitar sounds that build-up towards an electrifying chorus. It is followed by ‘A-Yo’, which is by far the catchiest song on the album: a feel-good, boot-stomping tune that you can’t listen to without wanting to dance.
We get a sudden change in tempo for the title track, ‘Joanne’, which is dedicated to Gaga’s late aunt Joanne Stefani Germanotta; although she died before Gaga was born, the singer claims she had a big influence on her. The song is the album’s first step into more personal writing, with simple but emotional lyrics.
Gaga claims that country music fascinates her, but ‘John Wayne’ was not the best way to bring up this idea. The super-autotuned song seems a little out of place from the rest, especially after such a raw song as ‘Joanne’. The cowboy references allude to the later country-style songs, but although it may have some lyrical connections, the genre of this song is as far from country as you can get.
However, this is made up for with the beautiful country-style ballad ‘Million Reasons’, which boasts her vocal talents in a song of raw emotion.
‘Come to Mama’ and ‘Hey Girl’ contain a similar message to ‘Born This Way’, in that they focus on getting along and supporting each other. The latter was composed by Lady Gaga and Florence Welch and their voices complement each other well. Girl power for the win!
The last track on the regular album is ‘Angel Down’, a stripped-down song with a focus on the vocals and some dreary sounding instruments. It deals with gun violence in the US where “shots were fired on the street / by the church where we used to meet”. It could also be an allegory for the corrupt political situation in general, with Gaga asking “where are our leaders?”. The relevance of this song compared to the rest of the album is questionable and leaves us feeling kind of bummed out.
The deluxe version is worth getting if you prefer to end things on a lighter note, where chilled out, part synth-pop, part jazz song ‘Just Another Day’ wraps up the album nicely by referencing the musicians that have helped create the record: Homer Steinweiss on the drums, Mark Ronson on the guitar, and Brian Newman on the trumpet. It is unusual to credit the other musicians in a song, and a respectable move on Gaga’s part.
Joanne may fall flat in a few places but works well as a whole. Gaga has proven her voice works for a variety of genres, now adding country to her portfolio. The best songs are the most emotionally vulnerable ones, and I think Gaga is stepping in the right direction with this album. Joanne is available physically and digitally now via Streamline and Interscope Records.
Originally published at https://www.thenationalstudent.com on 31st October, 2016.
