CD Review: Lady Gaga, “The Remix”

Michael Parr August 3, 2010 4

The RemixShe has had seven consecutive top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100, a pair of Grammy awards, two ASCAP awards, two BMI awards and a handful of Billboard awards among countless others. Her Monster Ball Tour is easily the most successful summer tour of 2010. Her visage is plastered over every magazine from Rolling Stone to Vanity Fair. The tabloids are rife with sordid tales of inappropriate actions at ballgames, and that whole “is she, really a he” thing.

All of this, and Lady Gaga has technically only released one record.

So why is Gaga choosing to now release another rehashing of her hits? The answer is simple: because she bloody-well can. And more than that, her “little monsters” will eat it up and ask for more. Does this seem like a bit overkill? Perhaps, but the Haus of Gaga seems knows what her fans want, and have done a great job meeting those needs. So that leaves the question, what about the music?

The majority of the tracks are standard club/dance remix fare, bringing little in the way of anything new; a fresh beat here, a sped up tempo there. There are few exceptions, though; the less-unlikely-than-you’d-think pairing of Gaga with shock rocker Marilyn Manson on “Lovegame” works surprisingly well. The Stuart Price remix of “Paparazzi” injects even more pop into the hit track. The Sound of Arrows remix of current hit “Alejandro” takes the Ace of Base out, replacing it with a brilliant bit of pop and indie-pop kings Passion Pit make “Telephone” sing.

Sure, this is just a bridge to tide the fans over until she releases her second record in 2011; but on the other hand it’s a damn fun slice of club-land pop, and well worth the price of admission. (Interscope Records 2010)

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  • Mindy

    Great review and I love “because she can.” I am not a huge dance club remix fan but some of it is fun and I will listen to anything she puts out. She gets criticized a lot but you take away the crazy outfits and controversy and the girl can sing and sing well. Her and her team are just brilliant at marketing and really who can fault them for that?

  • http://kittysneezes.com revme

    Two, actually — The Fame Monster was a stand-alone record that was also re-packaged with the first one, though you could get FM separately as well — mainly because Lady Gaga balked at making her fans re-buy the same record.

  • http://www.popdose.com DwDunphy

    Well yes and no. The Fame Monster is more an EP, not a full album. Not that it should matter – it still managed to rack up a few hits, which doesn't happen much with EPs.

  • http://www.popdose.com Michael Parr

    This is why I said technically. To consider The Fame Monster as a separate work from The Fame is a bit of misnomer, as they appear to be linked to the same sessions. You are correct though, she did go above and beyond in ensuring her fans didn't have to purchase a second copy of the former -something that most artists/labels are unwilling to do with their “special edition” re-releases. Just in case it didn't reflect properly, I applaud Haus of Gaga for the way they have taken care of the fans.