Lady Gaga teased the release of her surprise album, “Harlequin,” and it was definitely not what I was expecting.
The album was released on September 27, just 7 days before the film “Joker: Folie á Deux” hit theaters, where Gaga plays Harley “Lee” Quinn alongside Joaquin Phoenix who reprises his role as the Joker.
“Harlequin” is a nod to her involvement in her new acting role which creates excitement among both Gaga and movie fans alike.
Featuring 13 tracks composed of a mixture of cover songs and originals. The album follows a classical jazz style, allowing listeners to create a story as they listen.
“Good Morning,” starts the album with a delicate and light vocal from Gaga, and then turns to a more fast-paced and upbeat rhythm for the remainder of the song.
With lyrics like, “When the inmates began to sleep / The stars were shining bright / Now the warden’s on his way / It’s too late to say goodnight,” creates a contrast between the upbeat piano to a prison-like setting.
Although this type of jazz is not my go-to, it’s a good introduction to the rest of the album. A song that stood out to me was “The Joker,” dials into more of a cinematic musical, instead of the jazzy tune that follows most of this album.
Instead of the jazzy tune that follows most of this album, this song dials into more of a cinematic musical. Paired with what seems to be an electric guitar and drums, Gaga’s voice is stern and ends each lyric with an edgy and sharp note.
“The Joker” is another song that I would also normally not gravitate towards because I have never really been into jazz music and prefer more classical notes or electronic beats. Gaga’s voice and lyric choice fit well together in this particular song and gave me a triumphant feeling. The lyrics, “The king wears a funny suit, he’s a clown / The crowd rumbles with their roars / And everyone watches as he declines,” really plays into the musical aspect as well as almost portraying her character in the film as heroic.
Referencing the movie title that Lady Gaga stars in, the song “Folie à Deux,” meaning ‘double insanity’ in French according to Collins Dictionary.“Folie à Deux” is one of only two original songs from Gaga's newly released album, according to a USA Today article, and is my absolute favorite in the entire album.
The first 36 seconds of this song is a beautiful violin accompanied by other string instruments, which builds an image of a whimsical setting and a fairytale-like feeling.
Lyrics like “In our minds, we’d be just fine / If it were only us two / They might say that we’re crazy / But I’m just in love with you,” brings a delicate melody that gives insight into the complicated and delusional relationship between them and how, in both of their minds, is fine and maybe even joyous. However, the outside world sees a completely different picture.
Gaga then takes a unique approach to the song "Gonna Build A Mountain," originally sung by Sammy Davis Jr.
Gaga’s version of this song starts with an organ which gives a gospel-like feeling.
Then, the song picks up its tempo alongside trumpets which differs from the slow-paced tempo of the original.
The album ends with “That’s Life,” and holds to the album’s jazzy piano theme.
Coupled with Gaga’s vocals is a chorus singing, “I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a queen” as she highlights the many lives she’s lived and the difficulties that came along with it.
She acknowledges her lows in life but also how she picks herself up and keeps going.
The album's duration is only 41 minutes but is used quite efficiently. This album is a companion album with the movie “Joker: Folie á Deux” according to a Harper's BAZAAR article, which allows listeners to gain more knowledge about the characters.
Gaga is known for her iconic pop music and electric bass sounds so having more of an instrumental album was a bit surprising for me.
“Harlequin” as a standalone album brought so much excitement even before the release of “Joker: Folie á Deux.” I have been a Gaga fan since I was younger but have never really tuned into any of her jazz work.
Listening to this album not only shows me how talented Gaga can be across different genres but also, how it sets a sort of heroic tone for “Joker: Folie á Deux” without having to watch the movie.
