Lady Gaga uncorks big band classics, her finest moment yet on 'Joker 2' album 'Harlequin'
The spirit of Tony Bennett is alive and well in Lady Gaga.
As are the spirits of Judy Garland, Bette Midler and Harry Connick Jr.
Gaga’s surprise Friday drop of “Harlequin,” the companion album to “Joker: Folie à Deux,” in which she stars as the complex and unpredictable Harley Quinn, could have zigzagged around pop or dance or any of the other genres Gaga has tackled in her formidable career.
But an already classic performer opted for 11 classic gems (and two new tunes), again showcasing her chameleonic tsunami of a voice and innate flair for drama.
Gaga is an old soul; we’ve known this from her darling pairings with Bennett over the years and her knowledge of not just singers, but performers – like Angela Lansbury on Broadway or Liza Minnelli in everything.
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Here, she’s having a ball, taking elements of the razzle-dazzle in her Las Vegas Jazz & Piano show and merging it with the resiliency of her "Joker" film character.
Lady Gaga's finest moment on record
You hear in her voice as it drops an octave over bent electric guitar notes in “Get Happy.” And you feel it in the adrenalized “Oh, When the Saints,” her guitar-whizzing reconstructed version of the 1923 stomper “When the Saints Go Marching In” that would earn a high-five from Connick Jr.
But the tour de force on an album full of head-spinning glee is “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” the 1966 Broadway burner from “Sweet Charity” popularized by Gwen Verdon and Shirley MacLaine.
In Gaga’s vision, she starts the song deliberately, both breathy and coy. But you just know once the snare drums start rolling that she will quick-change into a gutsy belter. As the horns bleat louder, Gaga rises with them, scatting and striking like Ethel Merman unleashing “Rose’s Turn” in “Gypsy.”
It’s easily one of her finest moments on record.
Lady Gaga recasts Charlie Chaplin, The Carpenters
For the quieter moments, Gaga modifies the Charlie Chaplin weeper “Smile” with a languid pace and mournful brass. Her voice is crystalline as she whisper-sings the pensive words, nudging the listener in the ribs to try to see the sunshine through the murk. It’s also a callback to the 2019 “Joker,” where the ballad is used in a movie theater scene.
Meanwhile, her rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David valentine “Close to You” – immortalized by The Carpenters – swaps the sweet piano of that version with a walking bass line, clip-clopping beat and prominent trumpet. There is a fresh-faced giddiness to Gaga’s take that expertly captures the innocent flush of love.
Lady Gaga offers two worthy new songs
Both of the new compositions on “Harlequin” are worthy additions to the Gaga canon and again spotlight her diversity.
“Folie à Deux” is a string-drenched waltz which comfortably fits the vibe of the album. As the midtempo song swirls and swells, you can picture it slotting perfectly into a Busby Berkeley musical.
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“Happy Mistake,” meanwhile, uses a gentle acoustic guitar as its anchor. “My head is filled with broken mirrors/so many I can’t look away,” Gaga croons, sharing her translation of “the show must go on” motto. But as the song progresses, her voice escalates, hitting ragged notes to visceral effect.
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'Harlequin' is Gaga at her boldest and best
The album wraps with “That’s Life,” the high-kicker most associated with the 1966 Frank Sinatra version.
Gaga, as she learned from Bennett, swings her way through the lyrics, urging herself to shrug off the blues and prepare for the next round. Few contemporary singers can match her instinctiveness with a line read, best illuminated in the extra beat between “a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn.” Accentuation is the point, and Gaga drives it into the ground.
It is impossible to hear “Harlequin” and have nothing but increased respect for the singer-actress.
It’s bold, grand and perfectly Gaga.