The Fame

A bit odd to be reviewing this in 2013, but seeing as how I want to do album review videos, this seems like a good start. Let me start by saying I've been a huge Lady Gaga fanboy ever since I saw her "Poker Face" music video in early 2009. I often associate that year with this album because I listened to it a lot that year and honestly couldn't go anywhere without hearing one of her songs! Haha. I guess you could say it was the soundtrack of my '09. Anyways, I've actually never been all that into mainstream/radio music, nor was I a big pop/dance person. I preferred rap and rock, mostly. The main reason I checked out "Poker Face" was that I found Gaga to be so beautiful, and I've had a major crush on her ever since. It's hard to describe her music as a whole because of how varied she is, but her instantly-recognizable voice, clever use of metaphors, and addictive, catchy beats make for something I can fully enjoy. I received the 3rd edition rather than the usual 2nd edition that was more common in the US, and this one is definitely the definitive version of the album. It contains 16 songs, all but "Retro Dance Freak" which can be easily found with a YouTube search. I will give a quick summary of my thoughts on each song:Just Dance: Explosive, energetic beat, very catchy chorus, lyrics are a bit simplistic compared to the rest of the album, but it's not too repetitive or anything. Good lead single.LoveGame: A rather infamous song featuring the now-iconic "Disco Stick" line. Many say that music can't "turn you on", but this is quite a sexy song, for lack of a better word. Easy to dance to!Paparazzi: Hands down, my favorite Gaga single to date. The music video tells an interesting story, and out of all the singles, this one carries the most complex and often strange lyrics. It's essentially about a stalker. Has similar sex appeal to LoveGame.Poker Face: What many consider as her "signature song". Contains humorous metaphors and allusions to gambling turned into sexual puns(if that makes any sense). Dark, almost hypnotic beat.I Like It Rough: For some reason, this one was #5 on this version of the album. It's the perfect song to drive fast to, although you may wanna listen to it and play Need For Speed or something, because driving fast IRL could get you into some trouble, haha. As always, it's uber-catchy, and the title kinda speaks for itself!Eh, Eh: A rather overlooked and underrated single. It was given comparatively low reviews for being too different from the others, but albums are supposed to be varied, after all! It's a happy, feel-good song with pretty simple lyrics. Good to listen to when feeling down, maybe?Starstruck: Yet another sexually-charged song full of clever sexual puns made out of musical terms. It has a hip-hop feel to it, and has a guest rap verse by Flo-Rida. Auto-tune is used here, but it's one of the only songs since "California Love" to actually use it right. Sex appeal factor ranges from equal to or greater than that of LoveGame, your mileage may vary.Beautiful, Dirty, Rich: A promotional single that was originally going to take the place of "Poker Face". Has a driving, up-tempo beat and was apparently written while LadyG was rather high off of cocaine. Again, the title kinda speaks for itself. Overall a pretty fun song and great for rhythm games.The Fame: Well, it's the title track, and as it should, it really stands out! This one is a look into the lifestyles of the famous, albeit a bit of a tongue-in-cheek one, full of sarcasm.Money Honey: Probably my least favorite song on the album, but not terrible by any means. Her vocals are a bit different here and she tries to do this thing with her voice that I can't really describe. She does it in Retro Dance Freak, but pulls it off a bit better there. Lyrically it's aight.Boys, Boys, Boys: Another one of my least faves if I had to pick, but then again, it's not made to lyrically appeal to straight males. I love the beat, however! Reminds me a bit of her later song, Dance in the Dark.Paper Gangsta: A bit of a genre shift here, as this is a rap song, and surprisingly, she raps pretty damn well! This song is about Def Jam records turning her down abruptly when she was trying to make it big. It has a degree of emotion behind it; it's a bit melancholy but catchy nonetheless.Brown Eyes: This is my favorite song on the album by far, and my favorite song she's ever made. It's a rock ballad. I was actually quite appalled that someone said it sucked in another review. This one really hits home with my emotions and shows a more serious side of Gaga. It's about a love lost, which is something anyone should be able to relate to.Summerboy: My second-favorite song on the album. It's about how relationships, particularly with random people you meet during summer, can be very fleeting and short-lived. Again, it really plays with your emotions, but is very happy and feel-good, similar to Eh, Eh.Disco Heaven: First bonus track on this version. As the title suggests, it's a pretty straight up disco song, very catchy and fun to dance to. I played this at my senior prom, and everyone loved it!Again, Again: Second bonus track on this version, was originally a regular track on the first version. It's another rock ballad with a similar feel to Brown Eyes, or her later hit, You and I. It's another one of my favorites, and I even uploaded my own cover of it on YouTube.In conclusion, this is one of the most solid albums I've ever listened to, and after 4 years, it still hasn't gotten old or boring. Though I adored Lady Gaga's next two albums, I feel like she's yet to top her original. Either way, sorry for the long ass review, but I hope I gave enough insight here.

The vinyl came in perfect condition

Amazing record, my all-time favorite from gaga. Cd came fully intact and the disc works perfectly. If your on the fence about getting it, GET IT

Thanks

This debut is one of the best debut albums i've listened to in many many years..If you are into pop and dance music, this is definitely for you...the album is packed with songs that are potential hits starting with 'Just Dance' which already proved to be huge and pushed GaGa under the spotlight of international 'fame'.In my point of view though, the lead single isin't the only stand out track, 'poker face', 'lovegame' and 'starstruck' all show the power of becoming hits just like the first single.. you can tell so while listening to them. they are nothing less than 'just dance'.But the reason i fell in love with this album is that most of the songs are great too, unlike other artists who release an album with 3 or 4 good songs (which become singles) and the rest are just fillers.. this is not the case here at all. Infact I would give it 6/5 if I could only for this point because its been so long that i bought an album and loved almost all the songs in it.'Money honey', 'paper gangsta', 'paparazzi', 'like it rough', 'eh eh' and 'the fame' are all amazing, demonstrating how this lady can really make many good songs all on one album and not saving anything for later... simply Talented!!It worth every cent from the $8 dollars it will cost you. You'll Love it!

I'm not like some of these other people that go into great detail about the nuances of every song and what "they" believe the artist was trying to say or invoke. I just rate and judge things as they appear to be and leave the psycho analysis to others. I don't remember when I first heard about Lady Gaga, or exactly what song it was that perked my interest, all I do know is that it took me back to the decade of the 80's, but with a refreshing twist; perhaps just the quality of the recording has improved so much. Like all albums there are tracks I love and others that let's just say might not make it onto my ipod. If you liked 80's music along with a techno spin that I highly recommend this album. Since hearing her I've pretty much pulled together most, if not all of her library; which isn't that much. In my opinion if you really want to appreciate Lady Gaga as an artist you need to listen to the acoustic version of Pokerface or No Floods. To me this is where you can really hear and appreciate the lovely voice she has. For me I would love to hear her do an unplugged set of all her music; that would be an album I'd buy in a heart beat.

Amazing album but the cd that was inside was the fame monster cd. Not the fame cd. Will be returning this for the correct cd inside! That’s all.

Surprise: Bought off Amazon (July 2023) turned out to be a very good pressing relatively speaking. Digitally recorded and remastered, there is still some 3-D depth (not to flat) to this pressing and no noticeable pops, clicks, or skips (very clean). Well worth the buy and addition to your collectionBarcode (Scanned): 602517854772Matrix / Runout (Side A): B001180501-AMatrix / Runout (Side B): B001180501-BMatrix / Runout (Side C): B001180501-CMatrix / Runout (Side D): B001180501-D