Tony Bennett is great and Lady Gaga surprised me with what a great ...
357529
as always, Tony Bennett is great and Lady Gaga surprised me with what a great voice she has for Jazz.
2302093
Not a fan of Tony Bennett, but this is a can't miss, and is Gaga at her finest.
724070
After hearing a leak of another ARTPOP track, "Burqa", I was fairly surprised when "Applause" finally arrived.  The two songs are nothing alike, and that just makes me more excited for the full album.  "Applause" is, considering Lady Gaga's recent releases, a fairly toned-down pop track that's more in line with her days from The Fame than Born This Way.  It's like it mixes the two styles together.  The result is pretty great, and deserving of the same level of success she's enjoyed since "Just Dance" took radio by storm.  The vocals on "Applause" hearken back to David Bowie during the verses before exploding into the upbeat chorus.  Short but sweet, the song's frantic beat doesn't let up before abruptly cutting off after a mere 3 and a half minutes.  It's far removed from the 4-5 minute opuses on Born This Way!  While not the strongest single in Gaga's repertoire, "Applause" is still worth of its namesake.
1342084
I wasn't that much of a fan of Tony Bennett, at first. But his caring and giving nature come through and that sold me on him! His duets with various artists are really great!!
1925737
What great chemistry this May/December duo has. Lady Gaga really shows her amazing vocal range in this 40 minute masterpiece of standards.
2913993
i don't understand why gaga fans think lady gaga is so original and is the first artist to be weird and do electronic pop music. clearly lady gaga has been ripping off other artists fashion style like roisin murphy, grace jones, madonna, dale bozzio and bjork. artist like kylie minogue, madonna, goldfrapp, cascada have been doing electro pop for years and years before lady gaga became famous. christina was talking making a futuristic eletronic pop album years before lady gaga. gaga fans are giving this album bad reviews to bring down the ratings

this is a great album christina loves experimenting and reinventing herself. this album delivers a variety of genre filled with effort, emotions and fun. my favorite songs are
elastic love
morning desert
sex for breakfast
prima donna
bobblehead
lift me up
you lost me
bionic

overall i think christina is just having fun trying something new because that's what she all about. this album is great and i can't stop listening to it
2752846
Most of my music collection is not pop music.  It's eclectic, but mostly indie.  That being said I think this is an absolute triumph of pop music artistry.  It's catchy, it's quirky, it's honest, and best-of-all the artist actually contributes to the songwriting.  I really have no respect for artists that simply sing (likely auto-tuned) and dance but have little if any creativity.

In any case I first heard about Marina from hearing "Primadonna" on the radio.  I thought it was a very catchy and very clever pop song.  Furthermore I thought Marina had a very pleasant voice and good vocal range.  Obviously going with Dr. Luke as the producer of this song was a good choice as he really knew how to give the song that very infectious beat that makes you want to bob your head.

I started looking for more of her songs and the next one I heard was "Power and Control".  I was arguably even more impressed with that song, not only because of the stark contrast to "Primadonna" but because it also emphasized the honesty of her songs, her great vocal range, and the overall dark subject matter of the album itself.  After hearing this song I knew she wasn't just a one-hit-wonder.

I heard essentially the whole album before I bought it, but listening to the songs in bits and pieces just isn't the same as listening to the album all the way through.  There really is a good focus to the album.  Even if I didn't hear her explain it in an interview the album is obviously about the darker side of love and relationships.  "Primadonna" is probably the most out-of-place song on the album but it's such a pleasure on its own you really couldn't leave it out.  After owning the album for about 4 or 5 weeks I've probably listened to it 12 times in succession.  "Lies", "In The Valley of The Dolls", "Lonely Hearts Club", and "Buy the Stars" are the best songs on the album that don't have a single.  Of course the singles themselves are good too.

I was a little disappointed to discover that "How to be a Heartbreaker" is not on the Deluxe Edition of the album.  It isn't exactly one of my favorites, but it's just annoying that one CD doesn't have it all.  I definitely think I bought the better version though, since I'd be giving up "Lonely Hearts Club", "Radioactive", and "Buy The Stars".

This isn't a Britney Spears album, Marina can actually write and sing, and this isn't a Katy Perry album, you can actually tell each song has a personal meaning for her.  She's not a fad, she's here to stay, love you Marina, every day!
4430439
One of the best CDs ever! Lady Gaga really shows her range and abilities. Tony is still able to dazzle with his voice. These two are awesome together!
3058931
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tony-Bennett-in-the-Studio-A-Life-of-Art-Music/dp/1402747675/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tony Bennett in the Studio: A Life of Art & Music</a>&nbsp;This book exeeded my expectations.  The paintings, reviews, and comments by friends reveal a Tony Bennett I had only just glimpsed - he is so much more.  I have a new respect for his talents and life.  I ordered copies for each of my sisters, artists, who will find it as enjoyable as I have.
3748296
My favorite song on Tony Bennett's Duets was the one with Lady Gaga - The Lady is a Tramp.  So when I heard about this album coming out, I was over the moon!  And this album doe not disappoint!  It's a bunch of old standards sung by a master who knows how to sing a phrase, and an up an comer with more talent than should fit in that little frame.  (Yes, she's odd, but she knows she's odd.  The odd is for attention - the pipes are for real!) (And his voice isn't as strong as it once was, but man, that guy knows how to inject charisma into every line!)  My favorite track is the first one - Anything Goes.  I've always liked that song, and this is a great addition.

After reading a bunch of other reviews, I love that fans of each separately were surprised to learn that they liked the other one.  I am in the generation that is exactly in between their respective fan bases - my parents loved Tony, and if I had kids, they would probably be listening to Lady.  But as an in-betweener, I was fortunate enough to appreciate both talents separately.  And now I can appreciate them together.  Yay!

Now they need to get together and do an album of her songs - can you imagine Tony singing Poker Face?  Ma-ma-ma-mah...
4167071
When you get to the level of popularity that Gaga has reached you have to know it's hard to top what you've already done. And people are so quick to tear down your latest work. Let me say I am a fan of Gaga's music not her costumes, videos, or theatrical stunts, that being said I feel the music of Artpop is an excellent addition to Gaga's body of work. she's trying some new things some of them work for me some of them don't. The first thing I notice is the noticeable absence of religious thems in the songs which is a plus for me, I don't feel that religion should be used as a shock value hook in music and that's what she did in several songs from Born this Way. She has some very strong entrys on this album Venus,Sexxx Dreams, ArtPop,DO What U Want,and Gypsy really shine they sound like Gaga with nice new twists.
Some songs have such a heavy use of electronica they are almost unlistenable I like Swine but the screeching electronica in the background was so strong they overwhealm the vocals and make it hard to make it through the song. Donatella, Mary Jane Holland,  Aura,and G.U.Y also suffer from over use of Electronica, I know she's trying something new but the music many times is tearing down some great vocals.
She trys 2 colaborations on the album Jewels and Do What You Want. In Jewels she is totally over taken by her colaborators and basically sounds like a guest singer on they're song rather then the other way around. Do What you Want is very different though she meshes perfectly with her collaborator and makes a very nice slow jam for the album.
My biggest beef with this album is the over use of electronica not the songs themselves except for Dope. I think it was supposed to be a ballad similar to You and I but it turned out to harsh for my tastes.
Overall this is a good album but I think it could have been so much better with different background music I think its deffintly worth adding to your music library!
237488
Underrated masterpiece.

After hearing Gaga singing with Tony Bennet and her surprise tribute to "Sound of Music", it's obvious that this is her attempt to break out of the shell she'd been put into in her first two albums. Her vocals become more bombastic and music become more experimental - a sign of things to come. I can only see amazing things in the future *as long as * she doesn't change her quirkiness. Her music is distinctive, jaunty, and even a bit heavy. I'm looking forward to seeing her full vocal range with music distinctly hers.
4590578
Wow this is an album every Gaga and Tony bennett fan should have i love jazz and grew up with it because of my parents and she has such an amazing voice in here wow
86043
This CD was alot better then I expected. I only really bought this for the Instrumentle and I'm glad that I did because the remixes were just great.

The "Space Cowboy Remix" is a good upbeat remix were the music in the background changes quikly at after each beat which gives it a wild an energetic feel.

The "Jody Den Broeder Remix" is, in my opinion, the best remix on the CD. I really liked this remix, this remix is so good that if it was sold on a CD by itself I would have bought. It's really hard to describe this remix because it is just so good.

The "Dave Aude Remix" is less upbeat with a subtle groove.

This is a good buy, I recommend this to you if you like the song "Poker Face", are a Lady Gaga fan or if you like Pop Music.
3641024
I don't know why this is, but when I try to convince people that Lady Gaga is actually good no one pays attention because I'm a crazy fan of hers. But seriously, one thing is being a fan, another is knowing it's good. I'm a fan of High School Musical and I know the movies suck and I can't say no to that... But Gaga is completely different.

Born This Ways is a ride through Gaga's mind, seeing things from her political views to her love for fashion and her experiences as a rebellious teenager. Born This Way, the song, as she describes it, is a gateway drug to the album. It's an amazing pop song, with fresh beats and very literal lyrics (critics say that's not good, but they also say lyrics that are to hard to understand aren't good either...) Marry The Night, a very probable single, is a fantastic up-beat piece with incredible vocals - one of my favorites, just like Hair is, which is about Gaga's struggle as a young woman to free herself through her hair and her parents not letting her. Other Gaga classics include Scheie and second single Judas (which might not have gotten a lot of attention, but that I find very interesting and great, especially the way she puts her cheating boyfriends into the Judas betrayal story).
But I can't restring myself to the now-usual (and updated) Gaga songs. The album is made of many new sounds like The Edge of Glory, a song released as a promotional single, that rose to number one in several iTunes stores worldwide, making itself the official third single. The tune is a sort of ballad that sounds amazing just with a piano and her voice, but that with the whole Gaga-Fernando Garibay (remember Fernando from the 'Alejandro' lyrics? He produced the fan-favorite 'Dance in the Dark') production shows a complete new leveled Lady Gaga, with huge vocals and even a solo by Clarence Clemons from The E Street Band.
Also Government Hooker, featuring Gregorian chants, and that is about people knowing things are wrong in the political system, but not doing anything because it gives them money. Another remarkable songs include Fashion of His Love, MJ-liked to my ear, about Alexander McQueen; Highway Unicorn (Road to Love) with mad vocals and great variations in the song; Black Jesus ' Amen Fashion, a very electro-driven song, I'd say; and possibly Americano, which I don't like at all but can recognize that it is a very fresh kind of tune, with a latin music thing going on and a strong message.
The never forgotten ballad of the album is Yo and I, which sang live sounds incredible, but that with the electric guitar playing in the background makes it even more amazing. I could say what the song is about, but she doesn't want people to know (I'm sure you'll easily find the inspiration with a little Google-ing, if you want to).

I hope this is enough for you to get the CD, but if it isn't, I'm sorry. I tried my best to show you how Born This Way isn't some kind of ordinary, forgettable album; it's a pop masterpiece, with a whole lot of rock, jazz and electro influences, setting The Fame Monster as background. So get it, because I'm pretty sure you'll be less cultured if you haven't heard this piece of art.
1420495
From what I have been hearing this album is either love it or hate it. Personally I love every song except for Bad Kids and The Queen (latter of which is on Deluxe version). I would admit that for .99 cents this is a great bargain; for me though I am glad I got the deluxe version...I am a fan of remixes so it works.

One of the biggest things I noticed is that this album is a totally different style than what I - and presumably other - Gaga fans are used to. I think this is far from "trash" that people have been calling it. Again, I feel that you will either like these songs or they will not be your style. My personal favorites are Marry the Night, Government Hooker, Bloody Mary and Heavy Metal Lover. Overall the album does not disappoint. If you are looking for similar music to what she has released in the past, you may find similar beats/rhythms in parts of the songs; however, the songs are less general pop and more heavy rock style.

Also, a small comment - please STOP saying Gaga is copying Madonna. Seriously...every artist has obvious influences and they use those influences to help with the creative process. Madonna is just one of many influences that can be found in Gaga's music. And no, I am not "brainwashed" by her music either...I'm quite capable of thinking for myself - I just know good music when I hear it. And hey, if you don't like it, enjoy your your freedom to choose not to listen to it :)
2433779
i AM ENJOYING THIS  TERRIFIC DUO.  gAGA IS SOOOOGOOD AND REALLY DOES NOT NEED THOSE OUTRAGEOUS GET UPS..hER VOICE ALONE  IS PERFECT FOR ME.