Album Review: Lady Gaga – Harlequin
3 min read
Does the word ‘superstar’ even cover the magnitude of Gaga? A force in both music and film, Lady Gaga just casually decided to drop a new ‘companion’ album for the upcoming film Joker: Folie à Deux. Harlequin, named after the character Gaga plays in the film (Harleen “Lee” Quinzel A.K.A Harley Quinn) was somewhat of a surprise release, with Gaga only decided to make the album after shooting the film, as she “wasn’t done “ with the character. The jazz album was described by Gaga as being “indicative of a complex woman that wants to be whoever she wants to be at any given moment” – it will be interesting to see if an album predominantly comprised of covers can illustrate this expression.
Starting with a swing, Good Morning is a true to original cover of the 1939 Ignacio Brown classic, and this ‘true to form’ cover track motif runs through to following track Get Happy (2024) – the production is clean and the instrumentation crisp, with Gaga’s singing on point as ever… however, you’ve heard them before, and there’s nothing that’s setting these tracks over the originals. Next up, the popular Gospel Hymn Oh, When the Saints receives a glow up, with the blues guitar giving a real 1960s rhythm and blues feel, and this sixties vibe flows into World on a String, which has the sense of Dusty Springfield’s Bang Bang about the arrangement. Gaga’s take on Cy Coleman’s If My Friends Could See Me Now is very Broadway and has a ‘jazz hands’ feel to it (more so that the original Broadway production of the tune), and is a fun track, and this style of track continues into her take of Arthur Schwartz’s That’s Entertainment.
Smile begins the second half of the album – made famous to many by Nat King Cole’s rendition, Gaga makes a good stab of the 1936 Charlie Chaplin composition (true story – ok the lyrics were added in 1954 by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, but whatever). Gaga’s next track, The Joker comes from the lesser known 1964 music hall production The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd and this is the first track which is markedly different from the original, with a strong rock element to the rendition – for me the first improvement on the original, however the song choice was undoubtedly influenced by the track’s title and the links with the main character of the film.
The first of two original tracks on the album, Folie à Deux has a Germanic waltz-y Edelweiss feel to it – people might rave over it, for me it’s a great homage to Rogers and Hammerstein. Back to cover tracks, and my favourite track on the album. Gonna Build a Mountain is a great bluesy, Gospel rendition (replete with Hammond Organ) on the Bricusse original. Following up, Gaga takes on Burt Bacharach’s infamous Close to You, and does a good job, though she’s never going to improve on the Carpenter’s original take. The second original track is also the penultimate of the album – Happy Mistake is a ballad, a genre which Gaga always performs beautifully, and this is no exception… undoubtedly this will be in the running for a “Best Original Song” Oscar. Rounding off the album, we have a take on Dean Kay’s legendary That’s Life, which is a good cover… just not a patch on Frank Sinatra’s rendition.
Harlequin is predominantly a jazz cover album, with elements of blues and rock. It’s well executed, but largely it repeats the format of the original/famous rendition of the track. The two tracks that do stray from the original composition are, for me, the best tracks on the album, whilst the two original tracks are… ok. Happy Mistake is easily the better of the two, and may be in the running for an Oscar, but as a standalone track it’s… ok. I didn’t think the album was indicative of a complex woman, but rather that Lady Gaga has a respect for Jazz and Blues, and can cover those genres with respect, and to a high standard.
