Joanne vs. Harlequin

[pachinko 10,576]

Joanne is a stain on her legacy. 

[princedeeblebleble 2,335]

As much as I'm not a fan of Jazz covers, Harlequin CLEARS Joanne vocally and production vise. Like where was this for the two Tony albums?!

Yea Joanne has some nice lyrical moments but as a whole its so underproduced and bland. 

[RochesterJoannster 3,601]

I’m an obvious vote for Joanne, guilty as charged! 

[uglysexy 186]

Harlequin feels like what she wanted Joanne to be, jazz (something she started with and a genre very dear to her), reflecting about herself and her art with Happy Mistake and beautiful clear vocals. I like some songs on Joanne (Joanne, Perfect Illusion, John Wayne, Angel Down) but it feels like she's performing a type of "intimacy" that doesn't belong to her. Why country visuals and inspirations (complete with accent...) if country isn't a genre she's familiar with? Shouldn't jazz have a place in an album that's supposed to be so personal? Why so many grief-filled references to a family member she never met? And then the production which doesn't know what it wants to be...

Harlequin and Mayhem feel like "her" way more than anything on Joanne because that's where her heart actually is, jazz and all her musical inspirations since she decided to make music. So Harlequin!

[GerMonsterNotta 1,863]

My vote certainly goes to Joanne on this occasion, 

context is everything - I think it’s very tough to judge Gaga 2016 vs Gaga 2024 …. So much happened, and so much growth -personal, professional, vocal.. - happened between these times…..

Although Harlequin should be recognised as a success as her first solo jazz vocal album - it’s soul-punk tinged concepts and cohesiveness -  it’s based mainly on song covers, revamped and reimagined through her beautiful Gaga creative mind and stunning vocals….. on the other hand, Joanne is all original material - that takes years of work and soul searching, it is filled with thoughts and messages which live inside of her mind and heart, expressed through unique Gaga material… 

In addition, my vote is to Joanne as in 2016, it was a v.brave move for Gaga to try to strip it all back and tap into a different sound -

a lot of songs radiate beautiful messages, about family grief (Joanne), togetherness (Come to Mama), sisterhood (Grigio girls, Hey girl), compassion, social responsibility (Angel Down)…..

the acoustic versions of these songs during Mayhem Ball remind us of the beauty in this album… 

there is a lot of thought and raw love that went into Joanne and it deserves respect, the album truly kept the Gaga ship sailing after ARTPOP …..

it should be looked at as a career landmark which helped trigger ASIB and a series of other career highs….. (note it is not my favourite album either, and Gaga’s concepts, songwriting and vocals has stunned me more in other eras - but now, retrospectively dissecting Joanne highlights its importance)…. Let’s face it we’d still be all here bopping to Mayhem LG7, with or without Harlequin LG6.5 - it’s an amazing bonus - whereas Joanne feels like a key piece of the Gaga puzzle  ……. 

Edited December 21, 2025 by GerMonsterNotta

[TheSine 6,332]

Harlequin clears Joanne unfortunately.

[huttont 5,514]

They both have highlights and also skips. But I voted Joanne.

World On A String, The Joker, Folie A Deux, Smile, Close To You, and Happy Mistake are the only ones I listen to whereas I will listen to Joanne in its entirety. 

[MOT 3,329]

I'm a simple soul. I just want to play something in the car and I want it to be music to my ears, and I definitely prefer Harlequin. I like Joanne and I do actually go back to it from time to time, but I go back to Harlequin much more often. They're all such good songs on Harlequin, and her voice excels on them, and they're done with this quirky twist as well just to keep you on your toes.

Joanne is arguably the original Mayhem, because if it's lack of cohesion you want ... look no further. That's not a criticism, I just mention it in passing, but there are a few things on Joanne that irritate me, and I suppose it comes down to the production. I think Diamond Heart is a great song, but the intro is weak imo, and for that to be the first thing you hear when you play the album is a shame. I find the title track a letdown too, just a bit bland or something (if a track is making Gaga sound bland something's gone wrong). She has a couple of live performances of the song with Tim which are miles better than what ended up on the album imo.

[Awrah999 4,429]

Harlequin overall. More variety, better production, and some of the most impressive vocal performances of her career. 
 

I love Joanne too but I do find the overall sound to be a little grating at times. I love Joanne piano version, Diamond Heart, and Perfect Illusion as well as others like Come To Mama, Ayo, and Just Another Day, but there are several songs I barely ever play now even though I appreciate the artistry itself.  Harlequin was released more recently but I can see myself listening to 5-7 of those tracks often for a long time.