Chromatica has aged like fine wine

[Alxjcgn 702]

5 hours ago, steven said:

Listening to Chromatica again, the album still sounds divine and so well-produced.
Probably her best lyrics from all of her albums, and honestly, the best visuals she’s ever had for an era.

Thoughts?

 

I actually have been spending probably a bit too much time going down memory lane with her work and performances and re-listening to all the the albums and when I got to Chromatica I almost forgot just how much that album got me through the pandemic and everything else happening at that time! 

[Sylvia Browne 2,610]

Yall don’t understand house music and that’s ok 

more for the rest of us 

[steven 6,143]

1 hour ago, Alxjcgn said:

I actually have been spending probably a bit too much time going down memory lane with her work and performances and re-listening to all the the albums and when I got to Chromatica I almost forgot just how much that album got me through the pandemic and everything else happening at that time! 

Chromatica was such a relief to listen during the pandemic, and I think it's one of the main reasons why this album will always have a special place in my heart.

[bpmMonkey 6,349]

Interesting. 

[Ladle Ghoulash 27,713]

41 minutes ago, CubbyGaga said:

Yall don’t understand house music and that’s ok 

more for the rest of us 

I mean, I do, but I prefer house music that sounds like it wasn’t produced with stock instruments on GarageBand 

[palma 8,545]

The album has some of her best lyrics but production is sanitized and... boring, esp. when you consider the demos. Babylon's cut hook/bridge is one of her all-time best melodies but no, Bloodpop had room for the most basic versions of the songs only. I go back to Alice (which hasn't aged all that well compared to MAYHEM tracks), 911, Babylon, Replay and that's about it. Even RoM feels underwhelming considering the potential a Gaga+Ari collab had. The interludes and tracklisting are nice, and there are definitely more good songs than those I listed but few COVID-era albums survived post-2021, and Chromatica is, unfortunately, not one of them. I don't see any reinvigorated interest/revival for it down the line either. It did its job and was nice while it lasted, but it fizzled quickly. 

It's solid as a body of work but more of a 7.5/10 which puts it above Joanne (7) and below ARTPOP (8) but it's nowhere near TFM, BTW, or MAYHEM (all tens). Her b&w cover albums are incredibly superior tbh.

Also I liked the direction when she first introduced the world-building element but she didn't really do anything with it post-SL. Best multimedia experiences from the era (911 video + tour) had nothing to do with the great visuals on the booklet either so... yeah it's a no for me. 

I'm so relieved that she got her passion back when it comes to making music. Her lack of production is really felt throughout the album. Only production highlights are Replay and Babylon (which could've been 1000x better given the demos that leaked).

Edited Thursday at 11:39 PM by palma

[Gagaplayer315 14,283]

It really has.

Y'all need to redirect the hate to Dead aunt album 

[Nagini 3,305]

1 hour ago, Gagaplayer315 said:

It really has.

Y'all need to redirect the hate to Dead aunt album 

I can't listen to Joanne because it feels so much like a costume. But at least there are proper choruses unlike Chromatica... which is is mainly beat drops. The best part of any Gaga song is the chorus. 

[sarahb 16,646]

This thread has revealed to me what I've suspected all along, that I am a basic bitch 

I love Chromatica. No skips 

[ceminay 1,122]

I disagree... Thinking of Free Woman's demo version tears me up.

[Nagini 3,305]

1 hour ago, palma said:

The album has some of her best lyrics but production is sanitized and... boring, esp. when you consider the demos. Babylon's cut hook/bridge is one of her all-time best melodies but no, Bloodpop had room for the most basic versions of the songs only. I go back to Alice (which hasn't aged all that well compared to MAYHEM tracks), 911, Babylon, Replay and that's about it. Even RoM feels underwhelming considering the potential a Gaga+Ari collab had. The interludes and tracklisting are nice, and there are definitely more good songs than those I listed but few COVID-era albums survived post-2021, and Chromatica is, unfortunately, not one of them. I don't see any reinvigorated interest/revival for it down the line either. It did its job and was nice while it lasted, but it fizzled quickly. 

It's solid as a body of work but more of a 7.5/10 which puts it above Joanne (7) and below ARTPOP (8) but it's nowhere near TFM, BTW, or MAYHEM (all tens). Her b&w cover albums are incredibly superior tbh.

Also I liked the direction when she first introduced the world-building element but she didn't really do anything with it post-SL. Best multimedia experiences from the era (911 video + tour) had nothing to do with the great visuals on the booklet either so... yeah it's a no for me. 

I'm so relieved that she got her passion back when it comes to making music. Her lack of production is really felt throughout the album. Only production highlights are Replay and Babylon (which could've been 1000x better given the demos that leaked).

TF, TFM, BTW, Mayhem. I will take these w/ me to the grave. And her jazz stuff. And ASIB sountrack if I have space. 

[Anderson123 39,027]

Chromatica is a great album in Gaga's discography that came at the right time in her career, sadly not at the best time that deserved to be promoted. I love it so much and listened to it during the pandemic and I still do. The thing about Chromatica is that now that we have Mayhem you can clearly feel that something was missing from Gaga. Maybe it was because it feels like Bloodpop helped her come up with the concept and took care of sending demos to other producers, etc. while she wasn't in the best place but still wrote some beautiful and painful lyrics. Then she brought all of this music to the Chromatica Ball even if it was postponed for 2 years and still managed to put on an amazing stadium concert.

The production is clean yes, sounds great and it flows so well from start to finish. Maybe that was the idea, for it not to be risky or anything but just a dance album from Gaga. You can call it "average" but even Gaga's average is way better than many other popstars' successful albums.

Chromatica is also her best album cover and has some of her best photoshoot. Could've been a fun era even if she did a couple more music videos just to have a visual experience of it because it had that potential. Sour Candy, Replay and maybe even Alice or Babylon could've had great music videos. The most important thing about Joanne and Chromatica is that these albums have lead to MAYHEM.

[Essence 243]

I agree completely. The 90s house ethos is evergreen. I’m not saying it’s not valid to criticize it but I do think it’s easier to appreciate it for what it is if you have a general affinity for house. I’ll always love Chromatica.

[princedeeblebleble 2,097]

Idk if I listened to Chromatica as Bloodpop intended since release day, cause I immediately replaced Free woman and Stupid Love with fan mixes  later on did the same for Plastic doll and for a while Rain on me where they added the demo verses and demonic rain on me's.

Its not a bad album, its very good in its way.. it flows very well, the themes are beautifully vounerable and raw but it was so sterile for most of the album when it comes to production..like how do you add those lyrics to the most basic beats? No actual drums, guitars etc?

The visuals however are UNMATCHED, a pure eyegasm to the point where I thought it was all fake and fanmade cause it all looked so good when it started leaking  shame she didn't stick to it though, but 911 wouldn't have been as amazing if she did.

I give it overall a 7.5/10  when it comes to Gaga albums, mainly because they ruined Free woman so much from the demo   a 9/10 when i put into consideration the fan edits and my personal change to the tracklist flow.

[GoldenNovember 644]

I have to agree with some of the people here. Chromatica, while good, does feel lifeless at times. There is a cold, distant feeling to the music and production, which is sad as the lyrics are fantastic and deeply emotional at times. The emotion just doesn't translate into the songs all that well. Maybe that's a reflection of Gagas feelings during that point in her life? Especially compared to Mayhem, you hear the difference. Mayhem sounds like pure passion.