Lady GaGa's "Born This Way": A Track By Track Review

Lady GaGa's third album, the much anticipated "Born This Way," will be released worldwide on May 23rd. In preparation, I have posted streaming audio for each of the 17 tracks on the deluxe edition, as well as a short review for each one. On Monday I'll have for you my review of the album as a whole, which I plan to publish on The Examiner's website. Everything is after the jump. Enjoy!



1) Marry the Night:



A great way to start off the album, this song begins slow and quickly picks up. One can only imagine dancing the night away when the tempo picks up as GaGa belts out, "I'm gonna marry the night!" GaGa herself told Billboard it was one of her favorite songs on the album and that it was going to originally be the first single before "Born This Way" (the song) was produced (but after she had written it). She said that this was the song that inspired the sound for the rest of the album: "It was like this sonic light bulb went off and [co-producer Fernando Garibay and I] were like, 'That's the sound! That's the future.'...The record is just this massive, gas-station, disco record, music." Indeed it is.
Free Bitch Grade: B+

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2) Born This Way:



At this point, few people are unfamiliar with this song after GaGa's unforgettable Grammy performance, followed by the song's 6-week run at number 1 on the Billboard charts. "Marry the Night" flows effortlessly into the now iconic "It doesn't matter if you love Him..." spoken lines at the beginning of the song. This song is more than just a fun dance song--it holds an important message and ties the album together. Brava, Lady GaGa, for making such an empowering song that no other pop star seemed to have the ability--or balls--to make.
Free Bitch Grade: A

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3) Government Hooker:



GaGa previewed a remix of this song when she made her runway debut at Thierry Mugler's fall/winter 2011 fashion show in Paris back in March (her stylist, Nicola Formichetti, is Mugler's Creative Director). Many fans were highly anticipating the album version of the song, and it didn't disappoint. It's a little less harsh than the version used for the runway show (which makes sense...after all, it's a runway show, the music needs to pump up the models and the audience). With classic lines such as "Put your hands on me, John F. Kennedy" and an unforgettable chorus that will stay in your head for hours, this song is truly unlike any other contemporary pop song.
Free Bitch Grade: A-

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4) Judas:



The second single, released back in April, this is truly one of the best songs on the album. With a classic chorus and hook (who can't get "Ju-das, Ju-daaaaaas" out of their head?), the song accomplishes a rare goal in pop music: a mega club thumper that gets you on your feet but also has meaning behind it! All the religious allusions and imagery aside, who hasn't had a Judas they've been betrayed by but still go back to?
Free Bitch Grade: A

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5) Americano:



The singer herself described the song as "A big mariachi technohouse record where I am singing about immigration law and gay marriage and all sorts of things that have to do with disenfranchised communities in America." Once again, GaGa seems to be the only pop star explicitly sticking up for the small, disenfranchised communities, especially the gay one. She sings at the beginning of the song, "I met a girl in East L.A....We fell in love but not in court." Later, she sings, "I will fight for/ I have fought for/ How I love you. /I have cried for/ I will die for/ How I care." As one of the biggest female singer in the world, singing to another female about how wrong it is that they can't marry or be together because of unfair immigration laws is huge. Once again, brava, Lady GaGa. Plus, the song is catchy as hell.
Free Bitch Grade: A

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6) Hair:



This song also has a very important meaning behind it. She sings, "Whenever I dress cool, my parents put up a fight/ And if I'm a hot shot, Mom will cut my hair at night/ And in the morning I'm short of my identity/ I scream, 'Mom and Dad, why can't I be who I want to be?'/ I've had enough, this is my prayer/ That I'll die living just as free as my hair." It's great that the song encourages her fans to be who they are and express themselves however they choose, but the song just doesn't hold up as well as the others on the album. It's not as memorable or catchy as most of the others, and at times seems like a generic pop song--and generic is definitely not the word to describe most of the other songs on the album. It is important to note though that this is the first appearance Bruce Springsteen's sideman Clarence Clemons makes on the sax for "Born This Way."
Free Bitch Grade: B-

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7) Scheiße:



Lady GaGa also previewed a remix of this song at the Mugler runway show, and the album version is a bit more similar to the remix than "Government Hooker" was. However, the additional elements that weren't in the remix, such as the "I, I wish I got to dance on a single prayer/ I, I wish I could be strong without the scheiße, yeah" in the chorus. The song is a strong female empowerment song ("When I'm on a mission/ I rebuke my condition./ If you're a strong female/ You don't need permission"). It is another song unlike any other pop songs out right now: how many American pop speak German in their songs, let alone center a song (and title) around it?
Free Bitch Grade: A-

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8) Bloody Mary:



Another song that's definitely different from other pop out there right now, this song is actually a bit haunting. It includes a Gregorian chant of "GaGa" juxtaposed with GaGa screaming “LOOOOVE!” like one would shout in a metal song. This isn't necessarily a club banger (albeit still danceable), but it's still a great pop song that you'll be glad to have in your head after the song ends.
Free Bitch Grade: A-

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9) Black Jesus - Amen Fashion:



This is the first of three songs only available on the Deluxe edition. Probably the weakest song on the album, it is reminiscent of an old school 80s Madonna song mating with a newer, current Madonna song. It utilizes the synths of classic Madonna songs, yet has the sophistication and spoken auto tuning of recent ones. All in all, the song is too ambitious for its own good. It may fit in if played during a fashion show, but not as much in the middle of this album.
Free Bitch Grade: B-

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10) Bad Kids:



A song for GaGa to vocalize her acceptance of those who are different and labeled freaks by others, she calls herself nearly every name in the book, from loser to jerk to selfish punk. Don't be mistaken--she is not glorifying being evil. She is just embracing those who have been called so for the wrong reasons. She gives comfort to her fans, telling them she's the exact same way, when she sings "Don't be insecure/ If your heart is pure/ You're still good to me/ If you're a bad kid baby." All this over a catchy, 80s type beat? Yes please! Not the best on the album, but definitely a great song.
Free Bitch Grade: B+

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11) Fashion of His Love:



The most blatantly sounding 80s song on the album, this is the second of the 3 songs only available on the deluxe edition. While you can hear the 80s influences in most of the songs on the album, they don't sound dated. They are 80s-inspired but still sound fresh and modern. This song, however, sounds like it came right out of that decade--and it's brilliant! Perhaps it is GaGa's direct tribute to some of the music she grew up listening to, but this song sounds like it could have come right off of a Madonna or Whitney Houston album from the 80s. It's a bit campy but super upbeat and definitely catchy.
Free Bitch Grade: B+

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12) Highway Unicorn (Road to Love):



A tie in to all the unicorn imagery GaGa's been making lately, this is another 80s-inspired song that has a killer chorus and bridge. It may be a little cheesy, but the song is an uplifting quest for GaGa to find her perfect love, in a way only she could.
Free Bitch Grade: B+

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13) Heavy Metal Lover:



A tribute to all the dirty things GaGa likes, especially bad boys, this song also sounds like it could have been on one of Madonna's recent albums--but in sound only, not in content. The spoken-word verses are entertaining in some parts, but drag in others. The best part of the song is the chorus, with GaGa repeating "Ooooo/ Heavy metal lover," the latter in the same auto-tuned vocals she used in "Starstruck" from her first album, "The Fame."
Free Bitch Grade: B

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14) Electric Chapel:



Perhaps one of the best songs on the album, this complex and interesting song begins with an unforgettable guitar riff before segueing into synth beats, organs, church bells and a screeching guitar. GaGa said she wanted to build on her signature sounds for this album and take them even further, and she definitely does that in this song. A sophisticated pop song, none of her contemporaries would even be able to attempt to pull this off. The song continues the religious imagery that runs rampant through much of the album, adding to its sophistication--especially juxtaposed with the instruments that are so common in religious ceremonies.
Free Bitch Grade: A

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15) The Queen:



The last of the 3 deluxe-only songs, this one begins as a simple, cookie cutter type of pop song. However, about 3 minutes into the song, it completely changes. It literally slows down as GaGa belts out vocals that you'd hear from 70s power ballad. Add on some classic 70s-sounding electric guitar and you get a unique song that would be a lot better if the first half wasn't so generic.
Free Bitch Grade: B

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16) Yoü and I:



This song was first introduced to GaGa's fans when she performed it on The Today Show in the summer of 2010 in its original, piano-driven form. After, it became a staple in GaGa's Monster Ball Tour. Since then, GaGa enlisted famed producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who's produced smash records for many artists including AC/DC, Def Leppard, and his ex-wife, Shania Twain. He added a pounding "We Will Rock You" type beat, extra guitar, and some background harmonies. If one just heard this version without hearing it in its original, piano-driven form, it would be an excellent song. And it still is great--but hardcore fans can't help but feel that it lost a bit of its charm and character. GaGa's ode to the love of her life (who's from Nebraska, in case you're wondering why she keeps referring to it) and all her close friends was perhaps best left a little more simple. And that is the only thing keeping it from being a solid 'A' song.
Free Bitch Grade: A-

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17) The Edge of Glory:



This song, about the death of GaGa's grandfather, is slated to be the third single off the album. She said, "My dad and I were going to say goodbye to [my grandpa] at the hospice, and I got out a big thing of agave tequila and my dad sat next to me at the piano and we started doing shots back and forth, and I wrote 'The Edge of Glory' on the piano and my dad and I cried. The song's about your last moment on earth, the moment of truth; the edge of glory is that moment right before you leave the earth. So that song can be played on the piano, but it's actually set to this giant, huge techno rock Springsteen-esque dance beat." The song plays like it was written right out of the 1980s but still manages to stay modern and fresh. GaGa belts out the chorus with some of the same gust as Pat Benatar cried out about love as a battlefield; the lyrics and tone of the song have the same complexity as a classic Cher song like "If I Could Turn Back Time" or Madonna song such as "Like a Prayer"; and the signature sounding saxophone, which is uncoincidentally played by Bruce Springsteen's sideman Clarence Clemons (his second appearance on the album), can trace its root to any Journey or Men At Work hit. "The Edge of Glory" starts off with a heartbeat and ends with a flat line in the form of Clemons' sax, and, as the last track on "Born This Way," is the perfect note to end the album on.
Free Bitch Grade: A

Overall Album Grade: A-