Gaga for This Lady

Stefani Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga, has pulled all the right strings to stir mass attention and create quite a buzz at retail and radio. It just so happens that she has single-handedly given pop music a stinging shot in the arm. Late 2000s pop needed an intriguing figure like Gaga to come along - a rearview mirror on this decade in Top 40 land makes for a relatively unmemorable glance. Or at least it did until now.

Her public persona may absolutely ooze pretense, but quite the opposite goes for Gaga's music itself - "The Fame" has a healthy serving of sticky, summery, track-repeat-button-beckoning pure pop confections. Save for Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears, no pop performer this decade has succeeded so well at delivering tunes that so squarely hit the musical sweet tooth - treats that are not guilty pleasures but simply pleasures. Gaga, however, outdoes her contemporaries in that she is the principal writer behind her material and creator of her style and persona, even if the music itself is not entirely original - nor need it be.

The opening foursome of "Just Dance" featuring Colby O'Donis, "LoveGame", "Paparazzi" and "Poker Face" are all the stuff of pure pop bliss with melodies that not only thoroughly entrench themselves in the cranium but do not irritate from overexposure or wear out their welcome. They at once demonstrate Gaga's gift for scintillating melodies and sexy, club-friendly lyrics. Choosing RedOne and Rob Fusari as producers was a stroke of genius. These tracks serve as a reminder of an important truth that seems to be eluding not only the general public but the entertainment industry as well - at its best, pop songcraft is as valid a musical endeavor as any other.

"Just Dance" and "Poker Face" have both been solid #1 hits, and "LoveGame" is headed in that direction, currently sitting at #22. With its slinky, sultry beats and yearning, tugging melody, "Paparazzi" is unlike Gaga's current hits in that it is not straightforwardly club-ready but instead benefits from a starker treatment, showing off her particular vocal versatility and grace. Its nearly twisted, dreamy take on unrequited love is wholly original.

Elsewhere, the quality of the album takes a small but noticeable dip. Tracks like the muscular "I Like It Rough" and "Money Honey" are choppy and energetic but instantly forgettable, while the flighty "Summerboy," which catches a ride on an awesome electric guitar, is quite fun yet falls substantially short of being in the league of the album's opening tracks, or, for that matter, substantially differentiating itself from much of the material that pads the middle of the album, "Boys Boys Boys" being a prime example.

"Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" is also a sprightly little piece of pop that renders itself completely innocuous. Other tracks such as the breathy, downbeat "Brown Eyes" and the title track attempt to demonstrate Gaga's versatility but show her creative palette wearing a bit thin. Her eagerness to please the listener is never in question, but that these tracks are not worth repeated spins - especially when given such a strong bunch of radio hits at the beginning of the record - is neither.

"The Fame" is not an out and out homerun, but it shows exciting potential for a rare new talent who is already deserving of the title 'pop star.' Gaga knows what people like and she demonstrates unrestrained determination to deliver it. Many young female entertainers draw comparisons to the entertainment powerhouse that is Madonna (Spears and Katy Perry chief examples), but in Gaga the public now has one who is truly worthy of such a comparison. It is a premature stage, of course, but if "The Fame" is any indication Gaga's engagement entertaining pop listeners will be long and fortuitous.

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