A Retrospective Review: Cheek To Cheek

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

Please read my Retrospective Reviews and Analysis of The Fame, The Fame Monster, Born This Way, The Fall Before ARTPOP and ARTPOP. This is one massive piece reviewing Chromatica on the lens that it's interconnected to all of her previous efforts. Thank you for reading! 

2011 - in Lady Gaga's hyper-sensationalized era Born This Way - she was working behind the scenes working on her most "experimental" material yet. When she dropped The Lady Is a Tramp in October of that year, the sultry-smooth jazz cover with Tony Bennett flew largely off-the-radar. In times when she would make international headlines for dressing "normal", this was completely unexpected. It could've never been predicted that this cover was foreshadowing something bigger, crazier and the most unexpected. 

2014 - in a time where Lady Gaga's career and reputation became stalling to a brutal halt - she needed to recede from the spotlight. Space was needed for Gaga to both heal herself and find a track for artistic growth. In true Gaga fashion, this refused to be done in typical way. Instead of social media absences and extended hiatuses, she instead released a lead single for her next project a minimal four months after ARTPOP's last music video. There must have been solace in Tony Bennett and jazz music -- or solace in a artistic path that won't have many followers, as proved in 2011. 

Gaga, who established and operated her entire career around exploring fame, couldn't just stop being famous. Instead of truly receding from the spotlight, she just refocused it. Cheek To Cheek, the subsequent record, was arguably the most unexpected move she could've made. It introduced her to a much older, conservative audience. Being self-described as a passion project, this was something that made Gaga happy. From a business perspective, it was a brilliant move. As Chromatica is currently being celebrated around the world and her reputation is intact, it's Cheek To Cheek that become her ground zero to build from. Without this record, would Chromatica have been as successful or artistically liberating?

Cheek To Cheek is difficult to critique on the basis of none of the music is original. That in itself forces the music to tumble into the forgettable, or at least destined to not be everyone's favorite version. While Anything Goes, Cheek to Cheek, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) and Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) all shine, the rest are just perfectly acceptable. Don't mistake: that it doesn't make them bad. It just makes for a record that doesn't have a discernible identity. 

It's brilliance lies in emphasizing Gaga's pristine vocal range. Where The Fame, her most recognizable record, subdued her vocals under layers of editing, Cheek to Cheek let them shine in all their vocal gymnastic qualities. To onlookers, especially of the younger variety, this came as no surprise. For that much older, conservative audience, this was just as shocking as anything else. From the tour and uber-popular PBS special, she courted a new league of fans. In expanding her genre palette, she did what she could have done best: let the world build respect to her as an artist, not just a performative persona. 

It's equally brilliant that an album full of covers of antiquated songs was able to feel fresh. When has a major artist (in the leagues of Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Shakira, etc.) radicalized the approach that much? It was experimental in design, while still being entirely safe. It was exciting to watch in pop culture, especially when the success repeatedly proved itself. It didn't sell much - in terms of albums, tickets or merch - nor was it streamed well. It proved that music doesn't always have to be popular to be interesting. 

Touted as a back-to-basics approach, there was something disingenuous about how Gaga presented herself. Instead of a more natural aesthetic, she brought in her the defining dark brown wig. If she was channeling something, there was no proof it needed to be channeled. In stripping the avant-garde from her first four efforts, there needed to be something more natural. There always needs to be camp in a Gaga record, but it could have been done differently in this era. 

Since no one has replicated a moment similar to this, it remains remarkably unique six years later. With rumors of a follow-up album floating around, there is an anxiety that it could strip what made Cheek To Cheek so special. It wouldn't have the same effect with Gaga on a ravishing high, compared to a definitive low. Gaga has mentioned how this era has saved her life a multitude of times. Could a follow-up hold a candle to that? Would a sequel become more a business move instead of a passion project? 

Cheek To Cheek is her least-promoted record. Since Interscope knew it wouldn't turn a massive profit, they released the brakes and let the music guide itself. With Gaga being able to drop her guard, she could go on and experiment with other ideas brewing her head. Instead of having an anchor to contractual obligations, she was allowed to experience a slice of freedom that would propel the latter-half of her career. It would follow a motif that was established in this era: she will dominate whatever she wants to do. 

At the end of the day, it comes down to one question: Was Cheek To Cheek worth it? It may not be saved in your library, or you may have never listened to it in full. No matter what you believe, there is no denying this is her most symbolic record. By stripping her persona down and relying on the old-school basics (both literally and figuratively), she was able to find the truest form of herself and work back to a more campy place again. Building off this album, another pop record wouldn't have made sense. Gaga needed to explore her identity without Tony, and that is where Joanne comes to play. 

Coming Tomorrow: A Retrospective Review: Joanne 

[Brecht 7]

This era was vital in saving Gaga's career but to be honest I have zero interest in it  The only thing I use from it is Bang Bang and the italian curls.

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

@pop ate my heart, @Salvador Sequea, @Alex Spade, @ARTGOD, @Thomas P, @Quartz, @Esme Squalor @GreenDiamond, @PrincessDiez, @DiamondAngel & @GGVS.

Thank you so much again!  I am sorry it went up so late today. I celebrated my 2.5 years with my man and had to help hunt for a missing dog. Tomorrow's should be back to a normal-ish time! 

We have the review of Joanne and A Star Is Born plus one analysis of the "side projects" of her career (AHS, Sound of Music Tribute, Superbowl...) and then a final one on Enigma because I find it very crucial and then Chromatica! Five more! 

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

3 minutes ago, Brecht said:

This era was vital in saving Gaga's career but to be honest I have zero interest in it  The only thing I use from it is Bang Bang and the italian curls.

It Don't Mean A Thing is that BOP! It's the Bad Romance of the album.

[steven 5,864]

I just can't get enough of your reviews. 

[TINDER 2,383]

I can't give you anything but love is BEAUTIFUL!

 

[Alex Spade 78]

Thank you, thank you for these 

[joannesrats 26]

Best songs off of it are Lust Life or Nature Boy. I feel bad for the ones who didn't give it a chance

[ARTGOD 3,266]

I think Cheek To Cheek was an amazing feat for her. It’s crazy how fast Gaga rebuilt her reputation.

She went from a career low with ARTPOP to being acclaimed and loved by the GP again in such a short time.

Katy is still trying to figure out what to do with her career and how to regain her commercial success and it’s been three years since Witness. Gaga finished the ARTPOP era and in a few months she was starting her comeback. She knew exactly what to do to fix the damage and she got to work right away.

I would definitely love more Jazz albums in the future. There is so much more to explore and it would be such a bummer if Cheek To Cheek was her only release in the genre. An album with original material would be a really interesting next step that I would be really excited to see.

As you said, it would also be interesting to see how a Jazz album would be received now that Gaga is at her peak instead of at a career low.

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

8 hours ago, joannesrats said:

Best songs off of it are Lust Life or Nature Boy. I feel bad for the ones who didn't give it a chance

I meant to include this in my review, but Gaga and Tony's voices compliment each other so well. It's really good, non-distracting background music. That's not shady, but it makes for something pleasant and easy. It helps me relax in ways her other albums don't. Everyone needs to listen to it at least once. 

 

7 hours ago, ARTGOD said:

Katy is still trying to figure out what to do with her career and how to regain her commercial success and it’s been three years since Witness. Gaga finished the ARTPOP era and in a few months she was starting her comeback. She knew exactly what to do to fix the damage and she got to work right away.

I would definitely love more Jazz albums in the future. There is so much more to explore and it would be such a bummer if Cheek To Cheek was her only release in the genre. An album with original material would be a really interesting next step that I would be really excited to see.

I think Katy needs to go a rock/punk route, I think she could really exceed and I think working with Brendon Urie (on something that wastes his talent like ME!) would do wonders. She also has to be willing to put in the work. Gaga's comeback just didn't happen in one era, because most people didn't care about Cheek To Cheek beyond the novelty of it. She scrapped (as I'll discuss in Joanne's review more) a darker pop album in exchange for something more personal, and that was NEEDED. 

I think a jazz album with Tony (or at least, him being featured) with original songs would operate better as an EP. I think doing something long with turn more people away as there is such a connotation that jazz is boring. I think a six song EP (which I believe would count for Billboard...) would be short enough most people who love her again would listen. 

[Salvador Sequea 813]

I'll be honest in this, I totally slept on C2C. But not only because Jazz "wasn't my thing", but also because personally I found the ARTPOP era to be a true disappointment, so I was done with her at the time. 

It wasn't until 2015 that I got the chance to buy that album and I truly loved it   It was something so different from what Gaga was doing. But I also loved it because it was so anti-ARTPOP. It was completely the opposite of it, and at the time I was angry towards ARTPOP, so I would defend Cheek To Cheek over it just for the sake of being "rebelious".

6 six years later I find mayself listening ARTPOP a lot more than I do with C2C (I casually listen to it twice a year or so), but there's no doubt she was clearly in her happiest time and you can tell on her performances of that era, aswell as in the album itself 

[NotMyFlop 1,979]

3 hours ago, Salvador Sequea said:

6 six years later I find mayself listening ARTPOP a lot more than I do with C2C (I casually listen to it twice a year or so), but there's no doubt she was clearly in her happiest time and you can tell on her performances of that era, aswell as in the album itself 

It's honestly hard to have a desire to re-listen because the songs aren't original. They aren't 100% uniquely Gaga and that's my major turn off. It's the only album I don't have all the music of on my phone, but I do visit my downloaded ones frequently enough. 

[MOT 2,974]

I have read all of your reviews to date. Labours of love, clearly, they are a joy to read for that reason alone. I look forward to the rest of them.

Can I add an observation about Gaga overall. I'm sure we would all agree that she is very talented, creative, intelligent, theatrical, daring, but there is another word I would throw in, and that is competitive.

Gaga, it seems to me is prepared to go to just about any lengths to sell a record or a ticket, and in my book that's a virtue not a vice. You might be the greatest painter in the world, but that will be no use to anybody if your work never makes its way out of your attic. You need to have the ambition not just to be the greatest, but to be recognized as such. You have to get out there and hustle, and our girl sure can hustle.

[PrincessDiez 532]

Loved it!

tag me in the next one aswell please

[ARTGOD 3,266]

11 hours ago, NotMyFlop said:

I meant to include this in my review, but Gaga and Tony's voices compliment each other so well. It's really good, non-distracting background music. That's not shady, but it makes for something pleasant and easy. It helps me relax in ways her other albums don't. Everyone needs to listen to it at least once. 

 

I think Katy needs to go a rock/punk route, I think she could really exceed and I think working with Brendon Urie (on something that wastes his talent like ME!) would do wonders. She also has to be willing to put in the work. Gaga's comeback just didn't happen in one era, because most people didn't care about Cheek To Cheek beyond the novelty of it. She scrapped (as I'll discuss in Joanne's review more) a darker pop album in exchange for something more personal, and that was NEEDED. 

I think a jazz album with Tony (or at least, him being featured) with original songs would operate better as an EP. I think doing something long with turn more people away as there is such a connotation that jazz is boring. I think a six song EP (which I believe would count for Billboard...) would be short enough most people who love her again would listen. 

Katy could easily go rock. Her first album is pop rock so she could definitely go back to that style and pull it off.

And yeah, Katy hasn’t put in the work. She’s been releasing single after single hoping one sticks and it’s just not working. It’s possible to pull off a comeback like that but it’s not a reliable strategy. She needs to do what Gaga did and rebuild her public image.

I think a cute Jazz EP would be a good way to tie us over between eras .