Think of Lady Gaga and you think of a very odd combination of things that just don’t make sense – meat dresses, arriving to awards ceremonies in eggs and giving birth to gold liquid on stage. Regardless of her wacky and zany antics however there is no denying Lady Gaga is a clever woman and ultimately a damn good musician – Born This Way her latest album, proves this.

Hysteria began building for the album as early as November 2010 when Lady Gaga herself proclaimed that Born This Way would be ‘the greatest album in a decade.’ While this statement may be a tough one to prove, Lady Gaga has given birth to one of the most marketed albums of the past couple years – and there is no denying that this baby has indeed come out kicking and screaming.

To enjoy Born This Way however is to leave any expectations of Gaga you had before at the club door, along with your hair bows, disco sticks and bubble dresses – avid fans of her 2008 release ‘The Fame’ are in for a shock. Born This Way is at its core a dance album, with a mix of genres flitting in and out from pop, rock to electro beats and even some opera thrown in for good measure.

Rather than catchy pop songs with a difference, Gaga has taken a new approach with an electro-rock vibe beating throughout Born This Way. Vocally she is more aggressive. The songs are not as catchy nor as accessible as anything else she has ever recorded. Dancing between themes of religion and empowerment, freedom and freak-dom this CD is without a doubt is a creative masterpiece – just not always one that makes sense.

In having said that however, Gaga has created an album of tracks with each songs operating on multiple levels – every listen uncovers a new meaning and a new dimension or side of Gaga that hasn’t been seen before. ‘Marry The Night’ opens the album in a tame way – a seemingly simple pop song that starts out slowly before breaking into driving beats and an extremely catchy chorus.
The light-hearted days of ‘Just Dance’ are definitely over and while her creative genius has made a stronger appearance, the album at times can get all a bit too much or a bit too heavy within its themes and constant swapping and changing – until a point it’s almost exhausting to listen to.

Title track and first single ‘Born This Way’ is the most accessible and mainstream of the songs on the album, and even through the lyrics of that Gaga manages to incorporate themes of self empowerment and self-love.

What can be said about Gaga is that she is one amazing lyricist however Born This Way does offer us some hypocrisy throughout its lyrics.

“If you’re a strong female you don’t need permission” Gaga proclaims during one song 'Scheiße' after pleading “I’ll be your anything/I’ll be your everything....just touch me baby!” on the techno driven ‘Government Hooker.’ Just as we wrap our heads around these lyrics, we remember Gaga has already offered to wash her man's feet with her own hair in hit song ‘Judas’.

We’re offered some answers behind her sometimes cool, sometimes hideous and always crazy hairstyles in catchy pop anthem ‘Hair’ through lyrics such as “I’m the spirit of my Hair, it’s all the glory that I bare.”

‘Fashion of Love’ is possibly more reminiscent on something we would hear on ‘The Fame’ however with a more obvious upbeat dance theme, with some throwbacks to the 70s and 80s dance pop anthems, whereas ‘Heavy Metal Lover’ gives us a sultry Gaga but falls slightly flat in making any real memorable impression.

‘Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)’is basically a song you almost want to hate just because of its name and while it inevitably has the Gaga stamp of pure creativity and being ridiculously catchy it comes at a point in the album where you begin to wonder what exactly you’re listening to. It has to be said however that any listeners that want to give up at this point, to hang in there because there are still some gems to come.

'You and I’ is one of the highlight songs on the album; partly because it is clean and simple, partly because of the searing sax solo in the middle, and finally because Lady Gaga provides absolute proof of her vocal talent. Another highlight song and third single ‘Edge Of Glory’ ends the album perfectly, with a beautiful simplicity that shows even Lady Gaga can be guilty of trying a little bit too hard.

Just in case you haven’t had enough of Gaga already, the special edition CD allows us to hear remixes of songs such as ‘Born This Way,’ ‘Judas’ and ‘Marry The Night.’ If you’re into the whole remix thing, that the special edition is the way to go.

Born This Way doesn’t get everything right, nor is it the greatest release of this decade. However, it does deserve credit for being one of the most creatively put together albums I have heard for a while. There is no denying Lady Gaga is a superstar in her own right, and the level of dedication and commitment that is apparent in this album is one that is deserving of high recognition.

Review Score: 7.5/10